Hendrick offers Garage 56 update after Le Mans visit; driver lineup ‘a long ways away’

Posted on July 5, 2022January 28, 2023 by Zack Albert

Hendrick Motorsports provided an update Tuesday on its collaboration with NASCAR for the 2023 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, offering insights from their delegates’ visit to the endurance classic last month.

Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition, was an attendee for the second consecutive year. The notes and observations from this most recent trip, he said, will help shape his approach as the program manager of the Garage 56 project for next year’s race.

“This was much more of a scouting trip to talk to vendors, get an idea of the environment from a racer’s standpoint and how to conduct the events throughout the course of the two weeks that you are over there,” Knaus said. “It was a lot to consume, for sure, but we learned an awful lot. I would definitely hate to go over to that place and try to compete without having some type of experience like we just did.

“I think it’s going to be very valuable to understand how they do scrutineering, how the race cadence goes and what happens throughout unloading, garage setup and environment teardown post-race. All of that was definitely valuable.”

The Garage 56 project was launched in March. NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports plan to base the special entry on the Next Gen stock car that debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.

The spot in the field is reserved for an extra entry outside the usual maximum field, which is 62 cars. The designation is intended to spotlight technology and innovation.

Knaus said that among the next steps will be to build a working test vehicle, prepared with an assist from IMSA competitor Action Express Racing. Knaus did not divulge a testing schedule, but projected a build date for the actual Le Mans entry this fall.

“We will try to make sure that the implementation of the things we’ve changed that are different than the Next Gen stock car are functional and correct and work the way they are supposed to,” Knaus said. “If there are performance things we need to change or durability things we need to change, we start to get those implemented so that when we do build the real car – probably around November – it starts coming together that there are parts that are more tried and true as opposed to concept.”

Knaus also did not offer hints about a Garage 56 driver lineup. The NASCAR schedule for next season has yet to be released, so the availability of stock-car regulars for the 100th anniversary of the Le Mans event on June 10-11, 2023 has yet to be determined.

“We are a long ways away from (naming drivers),” Knaus said.

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Staff Report

Coca-Cola and Joe Gibbs Racing revealed Tuesday that Denny Hamlin will drive a classic, red-and-white No. 11 Toyota featuring the soft-drink brand in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The design — billed as Hamlin’s first with primary sponsorship from Coca-Cola — will hit the track for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM).

Hamlin has one career win (2012) and one pole (2010) at the Hampton, Ga., track, which was reconfigured and repaved ahead of this year’s racing events there. Coca-Cola is headquartered in nearby Atlanta.

Hamlin is among four active Cup Series drivers in the Coca-Cola Racing family, along with Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez. Hamlin’s most recent Cup Series win came in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

Posted on July 5, 2022July 9, 2022 by Staff Report

Jersey Shore 150

Wall Stadium Speedway

Entry list

Car No.	Driver	Car owner	Crew Chief	Chassis Mfg	Sponsor
01	Melissa Fifield	Kenneth Fifield	Jake Marosz	FURY Race Cars	Pine Knoll Auto Sales
03	Tom Rogers Jr	Ken Darch	Sean Corsetti	Chevrolet	Licensed to Chill / Stakeys Pumpkin Farm
3	Jake Johnson	Jan Boehler	Greg Fournier	Boehler Racing	Propane Plus – Lin’s Propane Trucks
07	Patrick Emerling	Jennifer Emerling	Jan Leaty	Troyer	Captain Pips Marina & Hideaway
7	Jimmy Blewett	Tommy Baldwin	Tommy Baldwin	Troyer	TBA
14	TBA	Richard Barney	TBA	FURY Race Cars	TBA
16	Ron Silk	Tyler Haydt	Philip Moran	FURY Race Cars	Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes
19	Anthony Sesely	Tommy Wanick	TBA	Troyer	Wanick Construction Inc.
22	Kyle Bonsignore	Kyle Bonsignore	Cam McDermott	FURY Race Cars	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto
24	Andrew Krause	Diane Krause	Robert Hyer	LFR	Supreme Mfg. Co.
26	Gary McDonald	Sean McDonald	Chad Mcdonald	Troyer	Lakeland Landscape Supply
34	J.B. Fortin	Nicole Fortin	Kenneth Lechner	FURY Race Cars	Red Camel Racing, Johns Fuel, John Tree Removal, Golden Jalapenos
36	David Sapienza	Judy Thilberg	Tommy Grasso	LFR	Sapienza Enterprises
51	Justin Bonsignore	Kenneth Massa	Ryan Stone	FURY Race Cars	Phoenix Communications, Inc.
54	Tommy Catalano	David Catalano	David Catalano	FURY Race Cars	FX Caprara
58	Eric Goodale	Edgar Goodale	Jason Shepphard	FURY Race Cars	GAF roofing
60	Matt Hirschman	Roy Hall	TBA	Troyer	PeeDee Motorsports
64	Austin Beers	Mike Murphy	Ron Yuhas Jr.	LFR	Dell Electric, Lumiere Electrical, Andrew James Interiors, AP Marquadt & Sons
65	Danny Bohn	Scott Brannick	TBA	Troyer	North American Construction
66	Timmy Solomito	Jerry Solomito	Shawn Solomito	LFR	Natural Designs, Highmark
71	James Pritchard Jr.	James Pritchard	Joseph Pritchard	FURY Race Cars	Freeway Automotive & Tire Pros & Automotive
78	Walter Sutcliffe Jr.	Steven Sutcliffe	Kevin Anderson	Troyer	Last Minute Racing
79	Jon McKennedy	Tim Lepine	Dale Hedquist	LFR	Middlesex Interiors
82	Craig Lutz	Danny Watts Jr.	Ryan Lutz	LFR	Horton Avenue Materials
120	Edward McCarthy	Edward McCarthy, Jr.	William Cole	LFR	McCarthy’s Marine Sales
176	Matthew Kimball	Jerel J Gomarlo	Bill Kimball Jr.	Troyer	Gomarlos Supermarket
181	Jack Ely	Jeffery Ely	TBA	Troyer	J.C. Smith Landscaping

Posted on July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 by Staff Report

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has turned into a pressure cooker with five spots left up for grabs in the NASCAR Playoffs and just two races left for drivers to win their way into the postseason. And with five spots remaining and only two races to go, that means at least three spots this season will be taken by drivers who transfer in on points.

Here’s a look at the scenarios ahead of Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | Truck standings

Already clinched
The following five drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-driver postseason field: Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen.

Can clinch playoff spot via points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fifth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from either Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar or Grant Enfinger.

Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 13 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 43 points
Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help
Grant Enfinger: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Matt Crafton or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fourth winless driver in the standings.

Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 23 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 53 points
Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch playoff spot via win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Derek Kraus, Tyler Ankrum, Matt DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray

The following drivers could clinch with a win:

Timmy Hill: Could only clinch with help
Colby Howard: Could only clinch with help
Lawless Alan: Could only clinch with help

Posted on July 4, 2022July 5, 2022 by Terrin Waack

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — There was never any doubt.

Tyler Reddick officially joined Richard Childress Racing’s Cup Series operation in 2020, taking control of its second full-time entry in NASCAR’s top tour alongside veteran Austin Dillon. It took 90 starts in the car, but on Sunday, Reddick personally returned the No. 8 Chevrolet to Victory Lane for the first time since 2006. The checkered flag marked career win No. 1 for Reddick and No. 110 for team owner Richard Childress.

“It’s great to see Tyler Reddick in the winner’s circle,” Childress said. “It wasn’t a matter of if he was going to do it, it was a matter of when they were going to win.”

Logan Riely | Getty Images

Especially in 2022.

Before Sunday, Reddick had finished runner-up twice this season alone — Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt) and Darlington Raceway. He had led laps in seven of the 17 races.

Then, with 17 laps remaining in the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America, Reddick passed 2020 champion and noted road-course expert Chase Elliott for the lead. He held it for the rest of the 62-lap event and captured the checkered flag by 3.304 seconds.

“Tyler doesn’t need a whole lot of cheerleading a lot of times,” crew chief Randall Burnett said. “Sometimes he gets down on himself a little bit and beats himself up if he makes a mistake. I think that’s the biggest thing with him is you’ve just got to keep him pumped up and let him know we can’t dwell on it, we’ve got to get on with it and go about our day.”

And Reddick, a 26-year-old from California, is maturing in that way.

Reddick entered the Cup Series after back-to-back Xfinity Series championships. He won eight races and two titles at the second-tier level between 2018-19. He then moved up to the top ranks and went winless in his rookie season.

“We got slapped in the face with the reality of what Cup racing is like,” Reddick said. “And just, I’ve had to learn a lot over the course of these last three years in the Cup Series as a driver. But I’ve had some really great people behind me to help me do that.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Each year, Reddick has shown overall improvement.

In his introductory season, Reddick averaged a 17.5 finish. He did not make the playoffs, placing 19th at the end. As a sophomore, he posted a 15.4 average. He qualified for the playoffs on points, checking out 13th. His highest result in both seasons was second.

As a junior, 18 races into the 36-race schedule of 2022, Reddick may hold a lower 17.3 average finish, but he boasts a career-high five top fives and punched a provisional playoff ticket thanks to his win with eight races left until the postseason even begins.

“I’ve watched Tyler since he was running the Trucks. He struggled a bit there, but he was always driving the trucks to their limit,” Childress said. “Then when he got in the Xfinity (cars) at JR Motorsports, he was the same. He drove. He’s got so much talent. He just pushes that limit every week.”

In 63 career starts from 2013-16, Reddick won three Camping World Truck Series races; he broke through in start No. 18. He has tallied 10 Xfinity Series wins from 2017-22, winning in his 15th start. Road America was technically his 92nd Cup Series start.

That makes Reddick one of 41 NASCAR drivers all-time to find success in all three of the sport’s national series.

And those who know him knew it was bound to happen.

“I told him (Sunday) morning,” Childress said, “ ‘You’re going to win this race.’ ”

Said Reddick: “He’s always had a lot of confidence in me.”

Posted on July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 by Terrin Waack

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — The fact Sunday’s race at Road America marked Tyler Reddick’s first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series seemed unfathomable.

“He’s not got a win yet?” Chris Buescher said. “Really?”

Really.

“I honestly thought he did,” said Buescher, who finished sixth. “That’s actually surprising because they’ve been really good. That’s definitely nice to finally break through that one.”

Indeed, prior to the Kwik Trip 250, Reddick did not possess a checkered flag from NASCAR’s top level. It was his only goose egg in the national ranks. He owns three from the Camping World Truck Series and 10 from the Xfinity Series.

The 26-year-old California native is in the midst of his third full-time Cup Series season, and he has come close — so close. Reddick had five runner-up finishes, two alone this season, prior to this Victory Lane debut.

“Yup,” Reddick said, “I did.”

DATE	TRACK	WINNER	MARGIN OF VICTORY
July 19, 2020	Texas	Austin Dillon	0.149 seconds
Feb. 28, 2021	Miami	William Byron	2.777 seconds
Oct. 10, 2021	Charlotte Roval	Kyle Larson	0.782 seconds
April 17, 2022	Bristol Dirt	Kyle Busch	0.330 seconds
May 8, 2022	Darlington	Joey Logano	0.775 seconds

Those marks haven’t gone unnoticed in the garage.

“I know they’ve been searching for that first win for some time, and that’s a special thing to do,” 2020 champion Chase Elliott said. “I’m happy for him. He deserves it. He’s been really close.”

Reddick had to fend off Elliott of all people, too. Elliott won at Road America in 2021. He also holds the most road-course wins (seven) among active drivers.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

With 17 laps remaining, Reddick took three turns – from Turns 5-7 – to complete a pass on Elliott for the lead. Reddick’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet then beat Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy by 3.304 seconds.

“At one point, I was on (Reddick’s) bumper behind the 5 (Kyle Larson) and then we were third and fourth,” fourth-place finisher Ross Chastain said. “And he had enough grip and speed to pass the 5, and then there was the last cycle of pit stops and he was able to go past the 9 (Elliott). I just kind of stayed back there behind them; I couldn’t quite do it.

“Just the confidence that he was able to do that. He’ll look back and see that he was able to leave me behind. But then knowing you won a Cup race, it’s indescribable, and for me, it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.”

Chastain captured his first career win earlier this season at another road course, Circuit of The Americas. His teammate, Daniel Suárez, won the other road event at Sonoma Raceway to earn his first, too. Three first-time winners on road courses are the most ever in a single NASCAR season.

In addition to those two and Reddick, Austin Cindric (Daytona International Speedway) and Chase Briscoe (Phoenix Raceway) inked their names in the Cup Series win book.

“I’m very happy for him,” said Suárez, who rounded out Sunday’s top five. “Obviously he deserved it. He’s been knocking on the door for a few months now, just like we were in the No. 99 team, so very happy for him. I think it’s gonna be more fun now to race him now that he’s a little more relieved.”

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Reddick’s relief also comes in the form of a provisional playoff ticket. He made the 16-driver field last year on points. This year – unless there are more than 16 different winners; there are 13 now – he won’t have to worry about that.

Speaking of last season’s playoffs, behind Reddick and Elliott was reigning champion Kyle Larson in third. Larson won three of the seven road events in 2021. There are four more on the 2022 schedule.

“(Reddick’s) always strong on the road courses,” Larson said. “He outruns his teammate by a lot every time we come to road courses. He’s just really aggressive, really aggressive on the braking, and obviously just executed a great race.

“So, yeah, I’m proud of him. And I know the rest of Northern California is, too.”

Posted on July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 by Dustin Albino

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Whenever the NASCAR Cup Series visits a road course, Chase Elliott rockets to the top of betting lines as the race favorite. That was the same in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.

Elliott didn’t disappoint in qualifying on Saturday, putting his No. 9 Chevrolet on the pole. On the pace laps Sunday, however, he reported an issue with his steering in the right-hand corners.

That problem didn’t slow down the No. 9 car, as he dominated the opening stage, gapping the field by more than six seconds. But his crew chief Alan Gustafson saw 19 drivers enter pit road coming to three laps remaining in the stage, making a last-second call to change up Elliott’s strategy and not lose track position once the second stage began. That handed the playoff point to Chase Briscoe.

Same song, different verse in the second stage. Elliott cruised out front, though he pitted coming to two laps remaining in the stage, handing over the stage win to Ryan Blaney. With the guaranteed breaks out of the way, the No. 9 team wanted to be among the first cars to pit in the final stage in case a caution flew.

After seeing nine drivers pit in a span of two laps, Gustafson brought Elliott to pit road on Lap 43. Tyler Reddick, who was just more than one second behind the No. 9 car, followed suit and gained ground on Elliott coming back on the track.

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Three laps later, Reddick passed Elliott into Turn 5 after the No. 9 car went wide into the corner.

“I just did a poor job,” Elliott told a group of reporters after the race.

Over the final 16 laps, Elliott got within a half-second of Reddick but could never regain the lead, as Reddick went on to win his first career Cup race.

“When [Reddick] passed me, that was pretty much it,” Elliott said. “I did a poor job on my part. Congrats to him. I know they’ve been searching for that first win for some time, and that’s a special thing, too. I’m happy for him, he deserves it. He’s been really close. Happy for those guys.”

“We need to be a little better, but we were good enough to win, so that always stings a little more.”

MORE: Cup Series standings | At-track photos

Reddick admitted that it meant a bit more to outrun Elliott, who had entered the race winning seven of the previous 15 races on road courses.

“It certainly does,” Reddick said of his final-stage surge. “He’s been the guy that’s won more road courses over the last couple of years than anybody. Behind him, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain, guys that are really good on road courses. We’ve been right there with them a lot of the time over the last two years, but sometimes our agendas have been different.”

Elliott led a race-high 36 laps. He said he didn’t believe that the steering issue was a factor in the outcome of the race, as he dropped back to 3.3 seconds behind Reddick at the finish.

“It wasn’t as bad once we got going,” Elliott said, “just annoying more than anything.”

Finishing runner-up and earning 38 points on the day, Elliott stretched his regular season championship lead to 33 points over Blaney. He’s now winless in his last six road course races, dating back to Road America last year.

Posted on July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 by Reid Spencer

PLYMOUTH, Wis. – It was a dogfight between two drivers, pure and simple.

It was Tyler Reddick who outdueled pole winner Chase Elliott in the intense mano-a-mano battle in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.

The victory was Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season. As the 13th different winner this year, Reddick shrank the Playoff bubble by one position.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

With seven races left before the cutoff race at Daytona, there are currently three playoff positions available on points. Reddick’s victory bumped 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick below the Playoff cut line.

Elliott dominated the first two stages but won neither, choosing to pit before the end of the runs to preserve track position. And on the final green-flag pit stop on Lap 44 of 62, Elliott narrowly beat Reddick off pit road to start the last green-flag run.

But Reddick kept Elliott in his sights.

“I definitely knew he was fast, but we could stay with him on the long run, which told me if we cycled through that last … that pit sequence, we’d be close or get around him (on pit road), (and) we’d have a great shot.

“Didn’t quite get around him. We were within reach. Thankfully, just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage of it in Turn 6.”

Indeed. Reddick closed on Elliott on Lap 46 and outbraked the No. 9 Chevrolet into Turn 5, getting the nose of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beside the left rear quarter-panel of Elliott’s car.

Reddick pulled even up the hill into left-hand Turn 6 and cleared Elliott off the corner. Elliott fought back through Turns 7 and 8, but Reddick pulled clear in the Carousel.

At the time, the pass was for third place, given that Denny Hamlin and Harrison Burton still had pit stops to make. On Lap 47 Reddick overtook Burton for the lead and gradually pulled away in the closing laps.

He crossed the finish line 3.304 seconds ahead of Elliott and 21.138 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Kyle Larson.

Logan Riely | Getty Images

Reddick, who was 100 yards from victory on the Bristol Dirt Track in April when Chase Briscoe overdrove the final corner and knocked him sideways, couldn’t have picked a better venue to score his first win.

“What better place than Road America?” Reddick said. “I love the fans. I love this race track. Being here on 4th of July weekend is just so special, and just a huge shoutout to (sponsor) 3Chi and the special paint scheme we had this weekend.

“Love that they’re coming on board this year and taking a chance on a young guy like me, and we got it done. We won a race.”

Elliott took his second-place finish with grace, acknowledging mistakes he made in the final run.

“First off, congrats to him,” Elliott said. “I know he’s been super close to that first win, and I’ve been down that road, and it can be a rocky one. I’m happy for those guys. They deserve it.

“For us, just proud of our NAPA team. I didn’t do a very good job there. I just let him stay close enough to pressure me there while we had decent tires and never could get enough of a gap. Made a couple mistakes. I was gaining a gap there a couple times and made a couple mistakes and let him get back close enough to get me out of sync, and then after that just started struggling.

“Obviously, it was super difficult to get to somebody to pass them. It was impressive he was able to get up there and capitalize on my mistakes. … I felt like we probably needed a little bit, but I think we were good enough to win, so those always hurt.”

MORE: Elliott leads most laps, takes second

Trackhouse Racing teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as Chevrolets swept the top five positions.

Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Harvick completed the top 10. Martin Truex Jr. drove the top-finishing Toyota to a 13th-place result.

Briscoe, who started second, won Stage 1, and Ryan Blaney took the Stage 2 victory — bringing him to five stage wins this season. Blaney finished 11th with Briscoe 14th.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Notes: All three road courses so far this season have produced first-time winners: Chastain at Circuit of the Americas and Suárez at Sonoma Raceway in addition to Reddick. … Harvick trails Christopher Bell by 20 points for the final playoff-eligible position. Elliott leads the series standings by 33 points over Blaney. … Elliott led a race-high 36 laps. Reddick led the final 16. … Reddick’s victory also was the first his crew chief, Randall Burnett.

Post-race inspection was completed in the NASCAR Cup Series garage at Road America without any major issues, confirming Reddick as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on July 3, 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, July 4
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1,
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
11:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network

Tuesday, July 5
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2005 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, July 6
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
7 p.m., The Day: Richard Petty’s last race, FS1

Thursday, July 7
2 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
2:30 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane, USA Network
12:32 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network

Friday, July 8
12:32 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
Noon, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 (re-air), USA Network
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition — Mid Ohio, FS1
5 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
7 p.m., The Day: Richard Petty’s Last Race, FS1
11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
5 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Saturday, July 9
Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., The Relentless, FS2
5:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: DAWN 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
8 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network (Coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports App.)
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: CWTS at Mid-Ohio, FS1
1 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Countdown to Green, USA Network
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, USA Network

On MRN:
1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

On PRN:
4:30, NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, July 10
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
Noon, IMSA: Michelin Pilot Challenge, USA Network
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
1 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: Napa Auto Parts 150 (re-air), USA Network
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Countdown to Green, USA Network
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Post-Race Show, USA Network

On PRN:
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Posted on July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 by Dustin Albino

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Tommy Joe Martins wasn’t even competing in Saturday’s Henry 180 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America, but he was fired up post-race, specifically with Noah Gragson.

Shortly after the start of the final stage, Gragson and Sage Karam swapped paint multiple times. The result was a 13-car pileup after the No. 9 car turned the No. 45 Chevrolet down the straightaway between Turns 3 and 5, triggering multiple hard hits. Brandon Brown gingerly climbed from his battered machine before leaning against the wall.

“I would be embarrassed to be associated with (Gragson),” Martins said after the event. “How many times is he going to publicly apologize? Now he’s trying to act like he’s a bad dude, tough guy. Like are you kidding me, that’s the softest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll tell you what’s tough, trying to come out here and racing with a budget that’s less than a quarter of what they’re doing.”

Before the pileup, Gragson and Karam restarted sixth and seventh, respectively. Initially, Karam recalled getting a good run out of Turn 3 on the initial lap of green, making a clean move past Gragson. Entering Turn 1 of the next lap, Gragson moved to pass Karam, in what the No. 45 driver said was a “dive bomb.”

From there, the two leaned on one another and drove through Turn 3 side-by-side. And when Karam got the spot, Gragson used a right hook to turn the No. 45 car into traffic, which created a dust cloud. Chaos ensued.

“I think he got upset that a little team and the No. 45 and Alpha Prime Racing got around him,” Karam said. “I think his ego got hurt.”

After taking the checkered flag in eighth position, Gragson was unapologetic for his actions with Karam. Gragson did take blame for the other teams that got caught up in the mess.

“It’s one thing if you’re faster than someone,” Gragson said, “but to throw it off in there and run you off the race track in the corner, door you, run you off the track. Finally, after the third time, I’m over it. It’s not the ideal situation for him and his team, but two or three times, I’m done with it.”

Josh Berry of JR Motorsports was running directly behind Gragson and Karam and had to make an evasive move to miss the incident. Berry thought Karam was leaning on Gragson.

“These guys come in and run one race and just don’t race a lot of the regulars with respect, in my opinion,” Berry said. “You see half the time all of their cars are torn all to hell every race.

“That’s between them and Noah, not me.”

Road America was just Karam’s seventh career start in the series. In his previous six tries, he had a pair of 16th-place finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Circuit of The Americas.

“I’m here to win races,” Karam said. “I’m more comfortable on road courses than I am on ovals, so am I going to run better on road courses? Probably. Am I going to run more aggressively on road courses? Probably, because I’m going to be more into the game. When we’re running for a top five, that’s a win for Alpha Prime if we can get a top five.

“I knew I was faster than Noah, and he didn’t like that a little team was doing that to him. He can go out there and drive however he wants and it’s not a worry for him. It affects us a lot more than it affects him.”

Gragson didn’t believe Saturday’s incident will hurt him down the road, specifically with the weekly competitors that were a byproduct of the Nos. 9 and 45 getting together. Karam wasn’t planning to retaliate, but won’t be doing Gragson any favors anytime soon, either.

“I’m not going to intentionally drive into somebody or take somebody out,” Karam said. “That’s just not the type of driver I am. Twenty-something years of racing, that’s never happened to me until today. I would say that’s racing, but to me that wasn’t racing.”

Brown was in good spirits at the infield care center after piling into Tyler Reddick and losing his breath. His 34th-place finish did, however, end a streak of four consecutive top-20 finishes.

“Just an area where there’s no spotters and very high speed, trying to carry as much as you can,” Brown said. “Caught the dust cloud.”

Karam will return to Alpha Prime next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he wrecked out and finished 32nd in March. In that same race, Gragson led 38 laps and finished 26th.