PIT BOX: Whelen Modified Tour, Riverhead Raceway set to honor Eddie Partridge with special race format

Posted on September 13, 2022September 16, 2022 by Brandon White

An emotional weekend is ahead for everyone involved in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as the series heads to Riverhead Raceway for the third time this year.

Former Riverhead and long-time team owner Eddie Partridge is being honored with a 256-lap race named after him on Saturday. Normally a 200-lap feature, the race has been extended by NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Riverhead officials to its new distance to pay tribute to the No. 6 that Partridge fielded in the series for many years.

Having won both a driver and owner’s championship in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with Ron Silk and Ryan Preece, respectively, Partridge purchased Riverhead in 2015 and was instrumental in maintaining the facility’s vibrant weekly culture that features track champions like Kyle Soper, who picked up his first series victory at the track earlier this year.

FloRacing: Follow the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour all year long

Outside of managing Riverhead, Partridge stayed committed to fielding a competitive team in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Partridge picked up his final victory with Preece at Richmond Raceway in 2021 before suddenly passing away hours later.

Partridge’s legacy will carry on Saturday night as the local track heroes and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regulars remember an individual that meant so much to the historic track and to racing across the northeast.

Below is everything you need to know about the Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday evening.

Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway

What to watch for:

A unique component to Saturday’s Eddie Partridge 256 will be the inclusion of live pit stops inside Riverhead’s infield.

To accommodate this change, temporary walls have been installed that will separate pit crews and drivers on the frontstretch and backstretch. An additional wall for crew members to stand on will create four rows in total at Riverhead.

Live pit stops are set to create another obstacle in the tight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship battle. Jon McKennedy currently holds a 10-point championship lead and will look to add a second win on the 2022 season as he searches for his first title.

McKennedy currently has two drivers within striking distance of his lead. The 2011 series champion in Ron Silk has battled McKennedy all season long, but Justin Bonsignore’s third victory of the season during the most recent outing at Oswego Speedway has allowed him to close within 17 points of McKennedy’s advantage.

(Photo by Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

The championship trio will not only have to fend off the rest of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour stars, but also a healthy contingent of Riverhead regulars led by the most recent winner at the track in Soper, whose accomplishments at Riverhead include three championships and an Islip 300 win back in 2019.

Joining Soper on the entry list is the driver currently trailing him in Riverhead’s weekly standings in Dylan Slepian. In three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts this year, both of Slepian’s top fives have come at Riverhead, including a career-best run of fourth during the first race in May.

Other notable names set to take part in Saturday’s Eddie Partridge 256 include Ed Brunnhoelzl III as well as Timmy Solomito, who led a race-high 114 laps during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s second trip to Riverhead in June before fading late and settling for an eighth-place finish.

The complete entry list for the Eddie Partridge 256 can be viewed here.

RACE FACTS

Race	Eddie Partridge 256
Date	Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022
Track	Riverhead Raceway
Layout	0.25-mile paved oval
Location	Riverhead, New York
Start time	8 p.m. ET
Laps	256
TV channel	USA (Delayed: Sunday, Sept. 25, 1:30 p.m. ET)
Live stream	FloRacing (Live)

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Eddie Partridge 256 is limited to 28 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is nine (9) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is two (2) tires, any position.

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Staff Report

While Kyle Busch celebrates his 2023 plans to head to Richard Childress Racing, the move also brings goodbyes from Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing.

MORE: Full details on Busch’s future | Busch through the years

Busch will conclude his tenure with the manufacturer and team after 15 years together, a fruitful partnership for all parties after two Cup championships, 56 premier-level wins and numerous successes in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.

Joe Gibbs, the team owner who secured Busch ahead of the 2008 season from Hendrick Motorsports, offered his appreciation of the series’ lone active multi-time champion as the pairing comes to an end in November.

“Kyle has been a major part of our history and success here at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Gibbs said in a statement. “We are thankful for all his contributions to our organization over the years. When you look at all that he has accomplished already, it is truly remarkable, and we know someday we will be celebrating his Hall of Fame induction.

“We also know he still has many more achievements in our sport ahead of him including competing for the championship this season. We wish Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, and Lennix the very best.”

David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, praised Busch, who has been a critical part of Toyota’s stock-car success. But he also conceded the hole Busch leaves behind that the manufacturer seeks to fill.

“Toyota and TRD are privileged to have raced with Kyle Busch, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history,” Wilson said in a statement. “While we certainly wish Kyle the best of luck in the future and congratulate him on his announcement to join Richard Childress Racing, we’re disappointed and saddened that his future won’t continue to be with Team Toyota.”

Busch also serves as team owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports, which fields three full-time entries in the Camping World Truck Series. Busch said Tuesday the team intends to compete in 2023 with backing from Chevrolet, but those plans have yet to be solidified.

“Kyle has been an ambassador for Toyota since joining the program in 2008,” Wilson continued. “He’s gone on to accumulate some of the most prestigious milestones possible for the Toyota brand, including our first Cup Series win for the Camry and first Cup Series championship. He will undoubtedly hold the record for the most wins in a Toyota across all three Championship Series for decades to come.

“But more than that, Kyle has been a friend, part of our family and has played a key role in the development of many of our drivers through his ownership of Kyle Busch Motorsports. We wish nothing but the best for Kyle and his entire family as he moves into the next chapter of his Hall of Fame career. We’re thankful to have been along for the ride.”

Posted on September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 by Zack Albert

Richard Childress Racing announced Tuesday that Kyle Busch will drive the No. 8 Chevrolet for the organization in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, bringing an end to the two-time champion’s long-running partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing.

The announcement — held Tuesday morning at the NASCAR Hall of Fame — means Busch’s 15th season with Coach Joe Gibbs’ organization will be his last. The 37-year-old driver won Cup Series titles with the team in 2015 and 2019, and he is JGR’s winningest driver, collecting 56 of his 60 total Cup victories with the No. 18 team.

“RCR has an impressive history in NASCAR and I’m honored that Richard is putting his trust in me to come in and continue to build on that legacy,” Busch said in a press release. “Growing up in a family of passionate racers myself, I feel like the culture that the Childress family has built within their organization will be an ideal fit for me. As I begin the next chapter of my career, I’m looking forward to driving for RCR and working with everyone there to add more wins and championships to both of our resumes.”

RELATED: Catch up on Silly Season

Busch will drive the No. 8 Chevrolet beginning in 2023 of what is a multi-year deal, with Randall Burnett serving as his crew chief. Tyler Reddick, who currently drives the No. 8, remains under contract to RCR and will drive for the team next year in a yet-to-be-announced ride. Reddick had previously announced he will drive for 23XI Racing beginning in 2024.

“The addition of Kyle Busch to the Richard Childress Racing lineup is significant, not only for our organization, but for the sport as a whole,” Childress said in a team release. “Kyle is a proven contender at the highest levels of the sport, and I believe that his experience and dedication to motorsports will elevate our race program across the board. I’ve always admired Kyle’s driving style and his ability to win and race for championships ever since he entered the sport. Who wouldn’t want a proven NASCAR Cup Series champion driving their car?”

Tuesday’s news brings an end to the long-running contract uncertainty that has surrounded the series’ top free agent this season. The move also creates a high-profile vacancy for the No. 18 ride, Gibbs’ original team since his first venture into Cup Series competition in 1992.

Busch had been open about his status in the weeks before his decision, telling reporters in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway he was willing to re-sign with JGR for less than his current value on the free-agency market. That aspiration, he said, was clouded by the organization’s search for a top-tier sponsor to replace longtime partner M&M’s/Mars. Busch indicated on Sept. 1 at Cup Series Playoffs Media Day he had multiple offers to consider, and that the negotiation process had weighed on him.

“Trust me, my gut doesn’t feel good, and that’s not just for decisions being made, but more so of decisions being weighed and the perception in how you come across to all of those that you’re going to disappoint, right?” Busch said at Media Day. “There’s going to be one winner, and the rest are not winners, if you look at it in that regard.”

MORE: Biggest NASCAR free agent signings

David Wilson, Toyota Racing Development president, had stressed the importance of keeping Busch in the automaker’s fold as discussions were ongoing, saying that “any other scenario is just unacceptable.” Busch ranks as Toyota’s top winner in all three NASCAR national series with 203 of his 224 total victories achieved during his time with the manufacturer.

“I mean, Kyle Busch is our 60-home run hitter,” Wilson said Aug. 27 at Daytona International Speedway. “And we’d be foolish not to put everything in play to keep him in the family.”

Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota are now absorbing the loss of Busch’s looming departure from the heart of their batting order, and both groups will work to fill the vacancy. A handful of prospects for the seat exist in JGR’s Xfinity Series pipeline, including Ty Gibbs — a five-time Xfinity winner this year who has filled in for the injured Kurt Busch in the last eight Cup Series events.

Richard Childress gets a laugh out of Kyle Busch when he tells him to “hold my watch” at Tuesday’s press conference. (Alejandro Alvarez/NASCAR Studios)

“Kyle has been a major part of our history and success here at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Gibbs said in a team release. “We are thankful for all his contributions to our organization over the years. When you look at all that he has accomplished already, it is truly remarkable, and we know someday we will be celebrating his Hall of Fame induction. We also know he still has many more achievements in our sport ahead of him including competing for the championship this season. We wish Kyle, Samantha, Brexton, and Lennix the very best.”

The partnership of Childress and Busch — the former a Hall of Famer, and the latter a sure-fire inductee once eligible — might seem like an unlikely union. After an escalating series of tense moments between Busch and then-RCR driver Kevin Harvick, Childress confronted Busch after the driver had a run-in with Joey Coulter — another former RCR pilot — during a Camping World Truck Series race in 2011 at Kansas Speedway. NASCAR officials fined Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation for the physical altercation.

Both the driver and team owner cleared the air during interviews in recent weeks.

“He and I have talked. We put all of our differences behind us a while back and he’s a great race driver,” Childress said Aug. 28, after Dillon prevailed in the regular-season finale at Daytona. “He’ll land him a good ride somewhere, for sure.”

RELATED: Kyle Busch through the years

Busch joked about the long-ago fisticuffs last weekend at Kansas.

“Who’s to say he hasn’t punched me again in any of these conversations?” Busch said to laughs. “Whenever you go into negotiations, it’s never fun so you’re duking the whole time. I think you grow up and you work through things, and you talk it over. Really, it was fine the first time I sat down with him. Everything was OK. The biggest thing about it was just having an opportunity to kind of put that behind us.”

Kyle Busch wore his 2015 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship rings to Tuesday’s press conference. (Alejandro Alvarez/NASCAR Studios)

Kyle Busch qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a victory earlier this year on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt. That win in April extended his streak of seasons with at least one Cup Series victory to 18.

Busch began his career as a Chevrolet prospect, joining the Cup Series full-time in 2005 with Hendrick Motorsports. He collected four wins with Rick Hendrick’s No. 5 team before his shift to Gibbs’ operation in 2008. Only Denny Hamlin, driver of JGR’s No. 11 Camry, has been aligned with Gibbs longer — since he joined the Cup Series in 2005.

Busch has also enjoyed success on the team ownership side, forming Kyle Busch Motorsports for Camping World Truck Series competition in 2010. Since then, he and his drivers have combined for 98 Truck Series wins and two driver championships (Erik Jones in 2015, Christopher Bell in 2017), paving the path for several of the automaker’s top racing prospects. Busch’s renewed affiliation with Chevrolet on the Cup Series side adds a layer of uncertainty for his Truck Series operation in 2023.

Childress has won six Cup Series championships as a team owner, but none since Dale Earnhardt’s final title in 1994. This season has been Childress’ strongest in recent memory; Reddick and Dillon have combined for three victories, and both qualified for the Cup Series Playoffs.

MORE: All of Kyle Busch’s national series wins

Posted on September 12, 2022December 20, 2022 by Sean Montgomery

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When Bubba Wallace rounded Turn 4 at Kansas Speedway, he knew he had just secured his second NASCAR Cup Series victory. It meant that he was the first driver to advance to the second round of the owners’ championship playoffs and the first Black driver in premier series history to win multiple races. But it still signified even more.

Trust.

Two weeks ago, Wallace was tasked with chasing the owners’ championship in the No. 45 entry — a swap from his usual No. 23.

“I remember the conversation that Denny pulled me aside down in Florida,” Wallace recalled in a post-race interview. “And he goes, ‘Hey, we want you to drive the 45 and compete for a championship. We believe in you.’ ”

To some, it seemed like a far-fetched attempt to salvage a season as fringe contenders outside the drivers’ championship. But the numbers say Wallace and the No. 45 team are performing among the best in the garage.

In the last 10 races, Wallace has finished outside the top 14 just once — and that run includes four top-five finishes, six top 10s and, of course, Sunday’s win at Kansas.

RELATED: Kansas race results | Wallace shines at Kansas

“We’re really trying to instill a really positive, one-team mentality,” said Hamlin, sitting alongside Wallace post-race in a joint press conference. “So by doing that and having an eligibility in the owners’ championship, we’re able to just pick apart and put our best pieces in each section of a race team to go out and compete at our best.

“Bubba Wallace was an easy choice for us. Especially the results that he has given us over the last two to three months.”

Wallace failed to qualify for the Round of 16 on the drivers’ side, narrowly missing out with a third-place run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and a valiant runner-up effort at Michigan International Speedway soon after.

His focus, however, has shifted to continual growth in his most productive Cup Series season to date, all while chasing the title for 23XI Racing.

And despite the challenges, Wallace has managed to find two things evading many in the inaugural Next Gen season: consistency and confidence.

“This is my best season ever of climbing in the race car and being, like, ‘All right, pal, it’s time to go to work,'” Wallace said. “You leave it all out there and not regret any decision that you make. Look how we’ve been running. It all starts with self. If you don’t show up with confidence, then you’re not going to run very good, so you definitely have to show up with that.”

Sunday, the season-long confidence finally paid off. Rooting him on along the way? Veteran teammate Kurt Busch.

You’re my boy blue!

One team, one dream. @23XIRacing https://t.co/YVycZaWaM4

— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) September 12, 2022

“The [phone] conversation I had with him in Victory Lane was really special,” Wallace said. “He just talked about believing in self, and he always believed in me, and so I thought that was pretty special.”

His 2022 season is turning out to be special, indeed.

RELATED: Photos from Kansas weekend

In previous years, Wallace was a legitimate contender mostly at superspeedway-style tracks — just a few drops in the bucket on the diverse 36-race Cup Series schedule.

He’s hoping his electric run-of-form and dominant performance late at Kansas can begin to change that narrative.

“We’ve talked about when we go to the speedways and kind of not so much the rest of the tracks,” Wallace said. “So, I wanna start changing that. We’ve been able to show up these last two months or so, all different types of race tracks, and be talked about. That’s cool. It’s a step in the right direction, we just can’t get complacent.”

It took Wallace 151 starts between two different organizations — Richard Petty Motorsports and 23XI Racing — to earn his first premier series trophy in October 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway. Before then, running inside the top 10, and even 20 at times, was an unreasonable expectation on most weekends.

Now, not even a year later, winning has become the standard. Unquestionably.

“I think winning at this level is the hardest thing in life for us race car drivers,” Wallace said. “To be able to say we’re winners today here at Kansas through the year that we’ve had and what we’ve been able to do the last couple of months is incredible.

“I’m proud of everybody. Proud of Bootie [Barker, crew chief]. Thankful for Denny for just continuing to believe in me and make the most of every opportunity.”

Following Wallace’s journey and rise through the national series ranks, it often becomes clouded with noise from naysayers who attempt to strike down his accomplishments.

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

First, it was the rain at Talladega. Then his near-misses and remarkable performances were lucky or due to others’ misfortune. The team heard it, too.

But through it all, everyone in the 23XI garage knows that no one can take Sunday’s win away from them. No one can take away their trust in each other and Wallace.

It’s not something they have just discovered, either.

“We know how good we are. We knew,” Barker said. “Knew how good Bubba was, how good he has been all year. So I feel very happy for him in the fact that we took it to ’em. There’s no ‘What are you going to say? What can you throw rocks at us about this time?'”

Posted on September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 by Staff Report

Kyle Busch is set to announce his NASCAR Cup Series plans for the 2023 season on Tuesday morning, and you can watch live on NASCAR.com and NASCAR’s social media platforms.

Bookmark the link above and come back at 10 a.m. ET as Busch addresses the media from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, detailing his future plans.

MORE: Catch up on Silly Season news

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Sean Montgomery

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For Alex Bowman and Greg Ives, their final playoff run as a driver-crew chief tandem is off to a convincing start.

After a respectable run at Darlington Raceway in the playoff opener, Bowman came out the gates swinging again at Kansas Speedway, passing Joey Logano for control of the race on Lap 3. Bowman went on to lead a race-high 107 laps, trouncing his total for the previous 27 races combined and dominating Stage 2.

But as the afternoon went on, a pit-road miscue and waning speed left the No. 48 in fourth at the checkered flag.

“We had a fast car all day,” Ives told NASCAR.com after the race. “Short-run speed was really good for us. But after about 35 laps, we tended to fall off a little bit. That’s where I felt like the Gibbs cars were a little bit better than us on those longer runs. That final stage staying green kinda hurt us.”

Bowman held on for fourth place, securing his first top-five result since Dover Motor Speedway in May. It’s clear the No. 48 team has flipped the switch, cranking up the intensity after a so-so summer.

“[The playoffs] are when you need to turn it on if you’re gonna do it,” Bowman said. “While I want to run like this all year long and have more consistency than we’ve had this year, it’s definitely good to be on it when it counts.”

Entering the playoffs just two spots above the Round of 16 cutline, Bowman has improved his standing to sixth in just two weeks.

But he has more on his mind than just his playoff performance, wanting to go out on a high note with the seasoned leader atop his box since he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2018.

“Regardless of how the playoffs go, I wanna have fun with Greg these next eight weeks,” Bowman said after the race. “He deserves that. He’s a heck of a crew chief and it’s a very bittersweet thing not having him next year. So just trying to make the most of it and we’ve had good race cars the last couple of weeks and finally we’re finishing where we deserve.

ICYMI: Greg Ives stepping down after 2022

Nonetheless, Ives and company remain hungry to improve on the little things happening on the race track in pursuit of their first title — and they know they’re capable of peaking at the right time.

“Alex is doing a great job and the team is coming together well,” Ives said. “Minus two hiccups [on pit road], I think we would have had a pretty good Stage 1 as well. So, all in all a good day, we just always want more.”

Their next chance for more comes in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), a crucial elimination race to set the Round of 12.

Posted on September 11, 2022September 15, 2022 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

Monday, Sept. 12
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
7 p.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2007 Food City 500 (re-air), FS1
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Bristol (re-air), FS1

Tuesday, Sept. 13
2 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Kansas Lottery 200 (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
10:08 p.m., Race for the Championship: David v. Goliath (re-air), USA Network
11 p.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2007 Food City 500 (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, Sept. 14
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Kansas Lottery 200 (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, Sept. 15
7 a.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics (re-air), FS2
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice/Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
6:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, FS1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Camping World Truck Series at Kansas Speedway, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, FS1
10 p.m., Race for the Championship: Old School Versus New School, USA Network

Friday, Sept. 16
12:01 a.m., Race for the Championship: David v. Goliath (re-air), USA Network
1 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
1:01 a.m., Race for the Championship: Old School Versus New School (re-air), USA Network
3:30 a.m., ARCA Auto Racing (re-air), FS2
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Trucks (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
12 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (re-air), USA Network
1 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West at Portland International Raceway (re-air), USA Network
2:30 p.m, NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying, NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway, USA Network
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Countdown to Green at Bristol Motor Speedway, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, USA Network
10 p.m., Race for the Championship: Dawn of a New Era (re-air), USA Network
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
11 p.m., Race for the Championship: David v. Goliath (re-air), USA Network

On PRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway

Saturday, Sept. 17
12:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Sioux Chief Showdown 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Countdown to Green at Bristol Motor Speedway, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, USA Network
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Post-Race Show, USA Network
11:30 p.m., Race for the Championship: Old School Versus New School (re-air), USA Network

On PRN:
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Sunday, Sept. 18
1:30 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane, V-Day Do-Over (re-air), USA Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Auto Racing Classics: 2010 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1

MORE: How to watch NASCAR International

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Staff Report

After the second race of the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Kansas Speedway, here’s a look at the updated playoff picture. There is one race remaining in the Round of 16 before the field is whittled to 12, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason following the Sept. 17 race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Winner

Bubba Wallace. For the second straight week, a driver outside of the playoffs took the checkered flag. This time it was Wallace, who won for the second time in his career and the second time for 23XI Racing. Wallace became the 18th different winner of the 2022 season as he drove the No. 45 Toyota to Victory Lane at Kansas. Kurt Busch drove the No. 45 to a win earlier this season at Kansas. With Busch out injured, Wallace switched from the No. 23 to the No. 45 in an effort to give that car a better chance to compete for the owners’ championship.

RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos

Who’s hot

Christopher Bell. Bell won Stage 1 and finished second in Stage 2 en route to a third-place finish and a big points day at Kansas. Bell clinched a spot in the Round of 12 and leads the playoff standings after a third-place run at Kansas and a fifth-place finish at Darlington.

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has opened the playoffs with consecutive runner-up finishes, but this one has to feel a little bit better than first. That’s because as the co-owner of 23XI Racing, Hamlin at least got to see his team get the win even if he didn’t.

Who’s not

Kevin Harvick. Harvick was running in tight quarters with Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace in Stage 1 at Kansas when his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford got loose and hit the wall. Harvick brought the car to pit road but was unable to continue because the right-front wheel was unrepairable. Harvick’s last-place finish at Kansas basically puts him in a must-win situation next weekend at Bristol.

Tyler Reddick. Reddick smacked the outside retaining wall with his No. 8 Richard Childress Chevrolet in Stage 1 at Kansas and could not continue after that. The pole winner led 38 laps but could complete only 67 of the scheduled 267 laps for a 35th-place finish. The Midwestern misfortune will put Reddick on the hot seat heading into Bristol.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Cutoff
9.	Ross Chastain	+26
10.	Daniel Suárez	+6
11.	Tyler Reddick	+2
12.	Austin Cindric	+2
——–	ELIMINATION LINE	———-
13.	Kyle Busch	-2
14.	Austin Dillon	-3
15.	Chase Briscoe	-9
16.	Kevin Harvick	-35

Next race

The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Night Race on Sept. 17 (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This will be the second race at the 0.533-mile track this season but the first on Bristol’s concrete surface after there was a dirt race there in the spring.

Who it favors

Kyle Busch. Busch has eight wins at Bristol, the most of any active driver. His last victory there came in the spring of 2019. This will be the first race for the Next Gen car on the concrete, so it will be difficult to predict whether past performance will be a good indicator of things to come.

Who it hurts

Alex Bowman. Bowman finished fifth in this race last year, but his overall body of work at the track isn’t favorable. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished 15th or worse in eight of his 11 career Cup Series starts at Bristol.

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Driving the same car number that carried teammate Kurt Busch to victory in the May race at Kansas Speedway, Bubba Wallace claimed a dramatic win at the same track in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the second event in the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Wallace regained the lead on Lap 225 after the final cycle of green-flag pit stops at the 1.5-mile track and stayed out front for the final 43 circuits as his car owner, Denny Hamlin, chased him to no avail.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Wallace crossed the stripe exactly one second ahead of Hamlin, as a driver not competing for the drivers’ championship won for the second straight week. Hamlin finished second for the second straight playoff race, having trailed Erik Jones to the line last Sunday at Darlington.

“Man, just so proud of this team, so proud of the effort that they put in each and every week,” said Wallace, who won for the first time this season and the second time in his Cup career. “Just thankful for the opportunity, right? Took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny before it all even happened. He was ready to get the deal done…

“Just so proud. Pit crew was awesome today. We had one loose wheel. Just thankful. Thanks for the opportunity, and thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”

Wallace is competing for the Cup Series owners’ championship in the car Kurt Busch drove for the first 20 races of the season before suffering lingering symptoms from a concussion after a wreck in qualifying at Pocono. With his win, Wallace qualified for the next round in the owners’ competition.

Christopher Bell, who ran third, is the first driver to lock himself into the Playoffs’ Round of 12 on points. The other 15 championship contenders will have to establish their positions in the final 12 — or suffer elimination — next Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

During the final run, Hamlin passed Bell for the second position on Lap 252 of 267. With 10 laps left, Hamlin trailed by 2.066 seconds but could get no closer than the final one-second deficit the rest of the way.

Hamlin clearly had mixed feeling about his pursuit of the No. 45 23XI Toyota he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“It’s been a good overall day,” said Hamlin, who recovered from an equipment interference penalty — his 34th pit road infraction of the season — on Lap 27 under a competition caution. “Still frustrated about the first half of the race. We just aren’t executing all that well. …

“Really happy for our 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that 45 team and Bubba Wallace and (crew chief) Bootie (Barker). Bubba has just really worked hard on his craft, and we’ve just given him fast race cars, and now he is showing what he has got.”

Alex Bowman led a race-high 107 laps and finished fourth, followed by non-playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. Championship contenders William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suárez completed the top 10.

MORE: Analysis: Cup Series Playoffs field

Other playoff drivers weren’t as fortunate.

A sudden disaster knocked Kevin Harvick out of the race before the end of Stage 1. Racing side-by-side, Chastain and Wallace steered up the track in front of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford as the cars sped through Turn 4.

Harvick’s Mustang snapped loose and the right-front of his car pounded the outside wall. With damage too severe to repair, Harvick retired from the race in last (36th) place.

“When those two cars came up in front of me, I just got super tight,” Harvick said after a visit to the infield care center. “When I lifted, it grabbed and got loose. I just wasn’t expecting them to come up and my car getting that tight.”

Harvick entered the race 16th in the playoff standings. The last-place result puts him in a must-win situation next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Yeah, it is what it is,” Harvick said. “We were racing to win anyway today, so that’s what we will do again next week.”

Harvick wasn’t the only casualty of the first stage. Pole winner Tyler Reddick blew a right-rear tire while leading on Lap 65 and slammed into the outside wall in Turn 2. He brought his No. 8 Chevrolet to pit road, but attempts to repair the car proved futile, and Reddick was eliminated in 35th place.

“The right-rear tire just blew like we’ve had a few times,” said Reddick, who fell to 11th in the playoff standings. “At Fontana (Auto Club Speedway), I was able to save it. But here, it snapped at the worst possible point, and we just killed the wall.

“It broke the control arm on the right-front, so our day was over. We leave here with not a lot of points, so we’ll have to fight hard at Bristol.”

Troubles continued for playoff drivers when Kyle Busch, whose team already had incurred two equipment interference penalties on pit road, spun off Turn 4 on Lap 137. Busch’s right-side tires went flat as he skidded toward the infield grass, and Busch lost a lap as he nursed his wounded car to pit road.

Busch got his lap back as the beneficiary under caution at the end of Stage 2, but he lost two laps during the final 96-lap green-flag run. His 26th-place finish dropped him two points below the current cut line for the Round of 8, trailing Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric by that margin.

Joining Busch and Harvick in the bottom four are Austin Dillon (14th Sunday) and Chase Briscoe (13th). The playoff field will be cut from 16 to 12 drivers after next Saturday’s race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Thunder Valley.

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Wallace as the winner of the event.

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Staff Report

Pole-starter Tyler Reddick dropped out early from Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, absorbing the impact of a Stage 1 wreck that placed a dent in his playoff hopes.

Reddick’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had led for 38 laps after an early competition caution, but he smacked the outside retaining wall exiting Turn 2 at the 1.5-mile track, damaging the car’s right side.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“The right-rear tire just blew like we’ve had a few times,” Reddick said after a check at the infield care center. “At Fontana, I was able to save it. But here, it snapped at the worst possible point and we just killed the wall. It broke the control arm on the right-front, so our day was over.

“We leave here with not a lot of points, so we’ll have to fight hard at Bristol.”

Reddick completed just 67 of the 267 scheduled laps in the Hollywood Casino 400. He placed 35th in the 36-car field, with only Kevin Harvick — a fellow playoff contender and the race’s first retiree — finishing worse.

Reddick finished third in the playoff opener last weekend at Darlington Raceway, offsetting some of the negative effects of his Kansas crash. He sits two points above the cut line, tied with rookie Austin Cindric for 11th place in the postseason standings.

The four lowest-ranked drivers among the 16 playoff contenders will be eliminated after Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Bristol Motor Speedway.