Posted on by Dustin Albino

With two road-course races in the books this season, the main players — and teams — are set with who runs well turning left and right. Similar to Sonoma Raceway three weeks ago, the likes of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell and Chris Buescher will start inside the top 10. Meanwhile, the two Trackhouse Racing entries that have won both road courses this season will start 12th and 17th, respectively.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Chase Elliott
Starter 2: Austin Cindric
Starter 3: Chris Buescher
Starter 4: Michael McDowell
Starter 5: Tyler Reddick
Garage pick: Daniel Suárez

NEXT IN LINE: Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe

RELATED: Starting lineup | Set your Fantasy Live drivers | Full Sonoma schedule

RISING: Last year, Briscoe earned his three top-10 finishes solely on road courses. Road America equaled his best result of the year in sixth. This weekend, the No. 14 car has been sporty, turning the quickest lap in practice and will start on the front row. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Briscoe battling for his second win of the season. One concern: Multiple drivers said Briscoe’s car fell off on the lone long run of practice.

For just the second time in team history, Rick Ware Racing will have an entry starting inside the top 10. Joey Hand, making his fourth career start, delivered the team its best career starting position in ninth. Hand is an experienced road racer and has coached many of the Ford drivers on how to get around the track. The former Rolex 24 at Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner might help your team out.

FALLING: While Suárez is starting in my garage, the No. 99 team didn’t show the lights-out speed it had at both Circuit of The Americas and Sonoma. But sticking with conventional wisdom, plot at least one Trackhouse entry into your lineup — or garage — some way.

After turning the 34th quickest lap in qualifying, Justin Haley said neither he nor his Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger had much speed. The bigger concern here is Allmendinger, who will be a popular pick for fantasy players. The No. 16 car will take the green flag from 19th and was just 20th on the scoring chart in practice.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

 Chase Elliott vs. Martin Truex Jr.: Last year, these two drivers were considered two of the best road-course racers on the circuit. But in the two road courses in 2022, Elliott has been superior to the No. 19 car. With the No. 9 car starting from the pole, it could make for a long day at the office for the competition.

Alex Bowman vs. Corey LaJoie: The bad blood boils over from Nashville Superspeedway after these two had a run-in early in the race. Bowman is the layup pick this weekend, as he’s steadily shown an improvement when racing on road courses since joining Hendrick Motorsports.

Chase Briscoe vs. Ty Dillon: Theoretically, this is another easy choice in Briscoe. The No. 14 car will start from the front row, and he believed he had the best car on the short run. Briscoe had the quickest car in practice as well, so the speed is there this weekend. Meanwhile, Dillon had a disappointing 30th-place qualifying run, after posting the ninth-best time in practice.

Christopher Bell vs. Kyle Busch: Take your pick. Toyota has struggled on road courses this season, particularly at Sonoma. Based on recent success on said tracks, Bell should get the nod. More bad news for the No. 18 team: Busch will have to start at the rear due to an engine change.

Posted on by Brandon White

Not a single driver departed the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway on Saturday without some type of damage to their car.

A calm and orderly race that feature the largest starting grid in event history with 42 cars devolved into chaos during the final ten laps, which started when contact between Mike Looney and Jonathan Shafer triggered a 20-car pileup.

FLORACING: Follow the on-track action at South Boston Speedway all year long

By the time the white flag displayed, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Corey Heim and South Boston regular Jacob Borst were left to determine which of them would survive the carnage and open the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown with a victory at South Boston.

Heim ended up taking home the victory but not without one last accident to end a turbulent evening, as he and Borst crashed after the checkered flag with both drivers sustaining significant damage to their cars.

Below are the takeaways from a wild Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway.

Corey Heim continues Lee Pulliam’s dominance at South Boston

Lee Pulliam is a name synonymous with success at South Boston Speedway.

A former track champion and six-time winner of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, Pulliam’s efficiency at South Boston continued Saturday with Corey Heim behind the wheel, who proved to have the strongest car in the stout 42-car field.

Heim was unable to avoid the carnage that enveloped Saturday’s race after he and Jacob Borst tangled coming to the start-finish line, but he was still more than thrilled to bring home another win for Pulliam at South Boston.

“We parked it in Victory Lane, so you can’t go wrong with that,” Heim said. “We had a lot of pressure from [Borst] throughout the race and I think he might have had the better car on the long runs. The contact was unnecessary and I felt like he turned right to junk me and win, but we got the car in Victory Lane, so that’s all that matters.”

Holding on to the lead through all 200 laps proved to be an arduous task for Heim, who believed that Borst was much stronger on the long run.

Despite this, Heim felt confident in his ability to roll the top and make Borst fight for every inch on the bottom until the penultimate restart, when contact between him and Peyton Sellers damaged his left-rear quarter-panel, affecting the aerodynamics on his car.

Borst took advantage of the opportunity and raced aggressively with Heim during the final nine laps. Every attempt to overtake Heim proved to be futile for Borst, which culminated in the last lap crash.

Borst did not regret being aggressive at the end of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200, adding that he wanted to come away from South Boston without leaving any option on the table.

“We were riding Corey’s bumper for about 150 laps, so I knew we only had one chance at it,” Borst said. “I wanted to give him a shot, but he drove it in too deep and I got underneath him. We’re racing for $10,000 in one of the biggest races of the year. I talked to him and we’re both happy because we both gave it our all.”

With Saturday’s outcome, Borst closed the gap on Layne Riggs in the South Boston track standings while Heim continued an impressive 2022 season that includes two victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

For Heim, he was simply happy to park a Late Model Stock in Victory Lane despite the circumstances and is thrilled that he can continue to display the efficiency that Pulliam’s cars have always been known for.

“My Late Model career in the past couple of years has been up and down,” Heim said. “There have been good days and bad days, so to park this car in Victory Lane gives me a lot of confidence that I can still win some Late Model races. It’s been about a year since I won the last one, so this feels great.”

Mike Looney, Jonathan Shafer reflect on big accident

The key turning point in Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 occurred with 12 laps remaining while Jonathan Shafer and Mike Looney battled for a spot inside the Top 5.

Contact between the two on the frontstretch caused Shafer to lose control of his car in front of the entire pack. The ensuing melee eliminated a plethora of contenders that included defending race-winner Bobby McCarty and current NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series points leader Layne Riggs.

“That was a bad deal,” Looney said of the accident. “[Jonathan and I] were both racing really hard. I got a run under Jonathan on the apron and we were both loose coming off the corner. He banged my right front, so I had to check up and catch it, but then the car snapped back and caught Jonathan.”

Both Looney and Shafer had successfully worked their way through the pack prior to the crash. While Looney started 13th, a poor qualifying run relegated Shafer to 27th on the 42-car grid before he finally broke into the Top 10 during the closing stages.

Shafer was frustrated over the sequence of events that led to the massive pileup, but he intends to quickly move on from South Boston and put together a full race during the next Virginia Late Model Triple Crown event in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway.

“I had a really good car,” Shafer said. “We were running on the outside of Looney, he hit my left rear and proceeded to drive through me on the frontstretch. It just sucks that things had to end like that but we’re more determined than ever going into the next race.”

Looney’s night ended not long after Shafer’s, as he would get swept up in an accident between Peyton Sellers and Carter Langley that damaged the radiator on his car.

A disappointed Looney expressed regret over Saturday’s big crash, but the 2016 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner remains optimistic that the speed his car showed at South Boston will translate into a victory before 2022 concludes.

“I tore up every race car here so that sucks,” Looney said. “I don’t really know what I could have done different other than stay home. We came down here and worked really hard, so I can’t say enough about my team. This was a really good hot road and we just needed some long runs. At the end, we were torn up like everyone else.”

Peyton Sellers closes gap on Layne Riggs in national standings

Layne Riggs’ misfortune late in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 proved to be Peyton Sellers’ gain.

After Riggs was eliminated in the massive 20-car pileup with 12 laps remaining, Sellers overcame a late spin to salvage a third-place finish, which tightened the gap between the two in the Weekly Series point standings.

“It was a very encouraging night for me,” Sellers said. “I was able to save some tires early on and be patient with the car. We worked our butt off to find speed in this car and we had the speed to win this race. The circumstances just weren’t right for us.”

Sellers felt that his car could create speed at any part of the track just like Heim and was patiently waiting for the right opportunity to make a run at him for the win.

The penultimate restart saw Sellers lined up to Heim’s inside on the front row, but contact between him and Carter Langley knocked Sellers out of line and into Heim. Sellers managed to save the car before he got swept up with Langley and Mike Looney in the final accident of the evening.

While Sellers wanted to add a third victory in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 to his prestigious short track resume, he was satisfied to settle for third after observing everything that happened to his competition during the evening.

Sellers feels confident that his performance at South Boston will put him in a great position to win his fourth Virginia Triple Crown and his second NASCAR Weekly Series title, but he stressed that the summer needs to be flawless for him to accomplish those goals.

“We’ve got a great car to go to Langley with,” Sellers said. “We’re taking a new car there for that one, but first we have to go to Dominion Raceway and then back to South Boston. A busy month is ahead of us, but it feels pretty good to start off the Triple Crown with a third-place finish.

NOTES:

  • Bobby McCarty, who won both the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 and Virginia Triple Crown last year, was never a factor after starting in the 32nd position. He was swept up in the big crash on the frontstretch but managed to make repairs to his car and finish in the ninth position, one lap behind Corey Heim.
  • In his Late Model Stock debut, two-time West Series champion Derek Thorn started 19th but found himself stuck in the middle of the pack as he tried to work his way through the field. Thorn’s night ended after the first stage break due to a mechanical failure on his car.
  • Quin Houff, who competed in two, full-time NASCAR Cup Series seasons with StarCom Racing, returned to Late Model Stock competition on Saturday evening driving for his father-in-law and former competitor Ronald Hill. Houff was unable to do much in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 and finished 37th after an accident on Lap 31.
Posted on by Terrin Waack

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — “Nice try, Kyle!”

Whether the fan meant it honestly or mockingly, shouting out as soon as Kyle Larson exited his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, the exclamation at least stands as a true statement.

Larson finished P2 in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Road America, coming up 0.858 seconds short behind winner Ty Gibbs in overtime. Larson still won both stages and led a race-high 31 of 48 laps, including the second-to-last go-around. But when the white flag waved, Gibbs pushed his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the shadows of Larson’s car.

“(Gibbs) did a good job of getting me to have to kind of change my angles up there those first couple of corners,” Larson said. “Then, I overshot (Turn) 3 just a little bit and wasn’t able to get the wheel turned like I needed, and yeah, he got by.”

RELATED: Watch the final Ty Gibbs-Kyle Larson battle

Without any unfair contact.

“The most important thing was to win,” Gibbs said. “But luckily, he just got wide enough for me to get around him.”

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN - JULY 02: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #17 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Henry 180 at Road America on July 02, 2022 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Logan Riely | Getty Images

Gibbs held off the defending Cup Series champion in the following nine turns. The victory marked No. 4 this season and No. 8 overall for the 19-year-old, who’s a decade younger than his runner-up. Gibbs is the Xfinity Series championship favorite, sitting second in the point standings but holding the most wins in the garage.

Larson, meanwhile, was making his first start in the Xfinity Series since 2018, when he won four of his six part-time races that year. He owns 12 career wins at the second-tier level, paired with 109 starts now.

“I wasn’t thinking at all about his championship while I was racing,” Larson said. “You know, he passed me clean, so I didn’t feel like it would have been right for me to go and move him out of the way. When he protected in (Turn) 12, I could have easily just shoved him through there and won the race. But I didn’t think that’d be the fair way to win.”

RELATED: Xfinity Series results from Road America

Gibbs was out front for just five laps throughout the HENRY 180. After beginning in second, he held the position through Stage 1 on Lap 10 and then fell back to 22nd in Stage 2 come Lap 20. The race went three laps past regulation. Gibbs fired off alongside Larson on the final restart.

“I just want to learn and be the best driver I can be,” Gibbs said, “and I want to be the best driver ever.”

In order to be the best, of course, he has to beat the best. Continuously.

Larson has two more Xfinity Series starts on tap this season with JR Motorsports – Watkins Glen International (Aug. 20) and Darlington Raceway (Sept. 3). And he’s already looking forward to a rematch with Gibbs.

“He’s obviously really good,” Larson said. “Watching, I feel like you can tell a good race-car driver by from the road courses and he’s always ran really well on the road courses since he started, so I knew he was gonna be really good. I hope to get to race him on an oval.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

PLYMOUTH, Wis. – With a masterful pass of pole winner Kyle Larson on the final lap of overtime, Ty Gibbs won Saturday’s Henry 180 at Road America.

Larson took the white flag in the lead, but Gibbs had a better run down the frontstretch and dogged Larson’s No. 17 Chevrolet through Turns 1 and 2. Gibbs took advantage of an opening to the inside in Turn 3 and powered his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota past Larson for the lead and the win.

The final caution was the result of a brake issue for Cole Custer in the No. 07, sending him slamming into the wall hard and ending his solid day. He was running third.

RELATED: Official results | Photos from Road America

The victory was Gibbs’ first at Road America, his fourth of the season and his eighth in 34 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“This is just awesome,” Gibbs said, who had just beaten the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion head-to-head. “I can’t believe it. This is just wonderful.”

“I think we were a little bit faster in the first half of the track… Hopefully, a lot of people were watching. It’s cool to be here, a cool race against some Cup Series guys. Hopefully, that says something.”

Larson felt he lost momentum in the final corner (Turn 14) of the next-to-last lap at the 4.048-mile road course.

“It really started with my final corner coming to the white—I didn’t get through there very good and got a little bit tight and missed my apex, was late back to the throttle, and he got a run on me down the frontstretch,” Larson said.

“Obviously, you have to protect the inside (in Turn 1), and he just got my angles messed up in those two corners. He just did a really good job executing, and I didn’t. Bummer, but it was a really fun race all race long.”

Larson led 31 of the 48 laps to Gibbs’ five and picked up victories in the first two stages, but he gave Gibbs full marks for a clean pass for the win.

“He was able to pass me without laying a bumper on me at all,” Larson said. “When he passed me clean, I felt like I should not use him up, like we’ve seen others do when they get passed for the lead late. He ran me clean, and I was going to run him clean. It just didn’t work out for me.”

If the decisive pass was clean, mid-pack action earlier in the race provided sharp contrast.

Contact between the Chevrolets of Noah Gragson and Sage Karam ignited a brutal 13-car crash on Lap 25, and the resulting caution, the third of the race, put the contending cars on the same tire and fuel strategies.

MORE: Karam reacts to incident | Hear Gragson’s side of the story

Brandon Brown, one of the victims of the accident, climbed from his mangled car and sat against the retaining wall in Turn 4, clearly in pain from the hit he had taken in the melee. When he exited the infield care center after an evaluation, however, Brown was in much better spirits.

“I caught the dust pile,” Brown said while watching a replay of the incident. “It looks like the 45 (Karam) went around. A lot of cars went around. I couldn’t really see anything until I saw the 48 (Tyler Reddick) and plowed him.

“It was a real gut-check, a little kick to the area that you don’t want to injure.”

Karam wasn’t charitable where Gragson was concerned.

“That was ridiculous,” Karam said. “I’ve never been turned into on a straight line like that… You can’t get that heated when you’re driving a race car. Unfortunately, he let his emotions get the best of him today.”

Not surprisingly, Gragson had a different point of view.

“I guess he forgot the three times before that he’d throw it into the corner, door us and run us off the race track,” Gragson said. “After a while, you get sick and tired of it. I hate that people’s stuff got tore up. I take responsibility. I hate it for his guys, but I’m fighting to race for a championship here, and I’m really over getting run over…He started it. I finished it. We’re good.”

Another victim of that wreck, Josh Berry, rebounded to finish third, followed by Austin Hill and Brandon Jones. AJ Allmendinger ran sixth after starting from the rear and drawing a pit road speeding penalty under caution on Lap 26, forcing him to come from the back a second time.

Riley Herbst, Gragson, Jeremy Clements and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10.

Gibbs is the 13th different winner in 13 Xfinity Series races at Road America.

The Xfinity Series returns to action Saturday, July 9 for the Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway at 5 p.m. ET (USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded with no issues, confirming Gibbs as the race winner. The No. 16 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger had one lug nut missing, which will result in a monetary fine.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Terrin Waack

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Family members fight.

Bubba Wallace snapped at his 23XI Racing crew members over the team’s radio last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway after a pit-road mistake. Almost a week removed from the outburst, Wallace used one word to justify his reaction, offered further explanation and acknowledged he could have reacted differently. Though, he does not hold regrets in life.

“Passion,” Wallace said Saturday at Road America. “I want to win, need to win, gotta win. I have a team capable of winning. The car is capable of winning. So, that just creates passion. With passion comes frustration. Just gotta manage it.”

MORE: Analysis: Bubba’s radio rant | Kurt Busch’s advice to Bubba

The No. 23 Toyota finished 12th at Nashville. Wallace fired off 30th, made his way up to seventh at the end of Stage 1 on Lap 90 but dropped to 19th come Stage 2’s conclusion on Lap 185. He had to make an extra pit stop during that second stage due to a loose wheel.

That sparked Wallace’s lashing, which included him telling crew chief Bootie Barker to not speak to him for the remainder of the 300-lap event.

“Heat of the battle,” Wallace said. “Talked to the team, they understand. Talked to Bootie, he understands. He understands the frustration. So, that’s the biggest thing.

“Outside is always going to have a comment.”

Oh, outsiders did. His radio audio was made very public.

LEBANON, TENNESSEE - JUNE 26: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Root Insurance Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 26, 2022 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Logan Riely | Getty Images

“Well, it is (a concern),” 23XI Racing team co-owner Denny Hamlin said. “I mean, you can’t embarrass the race team, that’s for sure. I think he knows where we stand on it. And hopefully, it continues to be better.”

Wallace didn’t snap solely because of the one mishap. It was more so the fact he knew it’d lead to yet another poor ending.

Through 17 races, Wallace has just one top-five result — and that came all the way back in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway (runner-up). He then adds just one top 10 (10th at Kansas Speedway in Race 13). Overall, he’s averaging a 21.2 finish.

“He knows there’s things that he can do to be better, but the team knows that they have to do a better job with it,” teammate Kurt Busch said. “So that’s where everybody’s got to put their arm around each other — like all right, we’re a team, there’s no more finger pointing, let’s get to the bottom of it and get it fixed. I think Bubba has been receptive. He’s just being challenged right now on how he handles it.”

There are nine races left in the regular season. Wallace sits seven spots and 139 points below the playoff cutline. If he wins – and there are berths available; 12 of the 16 are taken – he’s in. And Wallace has won before, breaking through at Talladega Superspeedway last year with this No. 23 group.

And that’s a detail he circles back to: This team holds winning capability. But everyone has to work together.

“That’s what I’m passionate about, is making the crew feel we’re one team and family,” Wallace said. “My family has chewed my (expletive) out a couple times and told me to be better. You just have to continue to work with them and show them that we’re all in this together. No matter how frustrated we get or how good the times get, we’re still in this together. It’s a team effort.”

Posted on by Staff Report

A major on-track incident sidelined multiple drivers in Sunday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Henry 180 at Road America.

Early in the final stage, Sage Karam and Noah Gragson tangled through the turns of the 4.048-mile track with frustration finally boiling over, breaking up a relatively clean afternoon of racing in Wisconsin. Coming down a straightaway, Gragson appeared to turn right into Karam’s left-side door, triggering a massive pileup that left many drivers driving blindly through a dust storm with nowhere to go.

More than half a dozen cars suffered noticeable damage and Karam’s No. 45 Chevrolet was totaled, requiring a tow truck to remove it from the track. Gragson’s No. 9 Chevrolet was able to continue and finished eighth.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Karam, competing part-time for Alpha Prime Racing this season, voiced his displeasure with Gragson after what Karam felt was intentional contact.

“That was ridiculous,” Karam told NBC Sports. “I’ve never been turned into on a straight line like that in car racing ever in my life. He just flat out turned to the right out of pure frustration. It was ridiculous. I think he tried to take officiating into his own hands and you can’t be that heated while you’re driving a race car. And unfortunately, he let his emotions get the best of him today.”

Gragson conceded the contact was a result of prior incidents between himself and Karam.

“I guess he forgot the three times he would throw it off in the corner, door us and run us off the race track,” Gragson said. “Eventually, you get sick and tired of it. I hate people’s stuff got torn up, but I mean three times is a bit ridiculous just today, not including the past.

“I take responsibility. I hate it for his guys. But we’re fighting to race for a championship and really over getting run over.”

Asked whether their rivalry ends at Road America, Gragson replied: “It’s over to me.”

“He starts it; I’m the one who finished,” he added.

NASCAR officials later spoke with Gragson in the Xfinity Series hauler after the race.

Among the cars collected in the incident was Brandon Brown in the No. 68, seemingly taking the brunt of the force when his Chevrolet was sent spinning into the wall with contact from another car. He exited his car under his own power but was visibly shaken up after resting along a wall. He escaped without injury, noting he had the breath knocked out of him.

The drivers involved in the accident were checked and released from the infield care center.

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

Kwik Trip 250 at Road America
(⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 USA Network, NBC Sports App | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America, the 18th regular-season event of the 2022 campaign.
NOTE: Through the NBC portion of the broadcast schedule, races will be shown on either NBC or USA Network alongside the NBC Sports App.

Race-day info 📝

Where: Plymouth, Wisconsin
Approximate start time: 3 p.m. ET | Full weekend schedule
TV/Radio: USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule
The purse: $7,145,001
Forecast: A 20% chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78 degrees, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker
Race distance: 62 laps | 250 miles
Stages: 15 | 30 | 62
Pit-road speed: 40 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Road America 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Where drivers will start
Pit stalls: Where drivers will pit

Key things to watch 🔑

Big story line

Though he has been atop the standings for nearly the entire season, it seems like Chase Elliott is rounding into his best form after a tough stretch in May. And for the competition, that comes as a scary sight with another road course on the horizon. Both of his wins this season have come in the last seven races and he has won a staggering six of the last 13 races on left- and right-turn circuits. He is the defending race winner at Road America after a genius spout of speed and strategy saw him take the checkered flag here in 2021 after starting in 34th. With a playoff spot virtually guaranteed, the No. 9 team’s focus is likely on capturing the regular-season championship and 15 additional playoff points. A win Sunday would go a long way to achieving that goal. However, so far this season, Trackhouse Racing has had the upper hand on road circuits, giving Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez historic first wins to elevate their careers. So, will Elliott continue to turn up the heat on other title contenders? Will Trackhouse keep their road-course streak alive? Or will another unsuspecting driver steal the show? | Cup Series standings

Who’s hot? Who’s not? 

Alongside teammate Joey Logano’s underrated prowess on road courses, Ryan Blaney has also been a quiet contender in recent history. The No. 12 Team Penske driver has four-consecutive finishes of ninth or better at road courses and has led laps in 14 of the 17 races this season. Tied for the series lead in Busch Light Pole Awards with three, Blaney has proven he has the speed at nearly every track this season. But he is still searching for his first victory with time winding down in the regular-season campaign. Without a win, Blaney and his crew cannot afford many other new winners or bad performances down the stretch. So, entering Road America with three straight finishes of sixth or better after a string of five finishes of 11th or worse, Sunday’s race will prove if Blaney can be consistent when it counts. | More on Blaney and road courses

After a decent start to the season, Martin Truex Jr. has cooled off in recent weeks, finishing 26th at Sonoma Raceway and 22nd at Nashville Superspeedway (though he led 82 laps and strategy cost him here). Even with the late-race mishap at Nashville, Truex still has six other finishes of 12th or worse in the last 10 races. After he announced his return to the No. 19 team for 2023, the team has a lot to smile about off the track. But with a so-far winless season on the books and a recent struggle for consistency, a good result at Road America would go a long way. The good news for the No. 19 camp is that Truex finished ninth here last season and has generally done well on road courses throughout his career. But with Toyota being just a step off at this track type, fortunes will have to change if Truex is going to get in the win column on Sunday.

Driving under the radar

Truex’s new contract, Kyle Busch’s uncertain future with Joe Gibbs Racing and other story lines surrounding the organization have left Christopher Bell’s recent resurgence a bit of a lesser talking point. Bell is on a tear as of late, reeling in six finishes of ninth or better in the last seven races. In a season where it has been increasingly harder to be consistent, Bell and the No. 20 team have found a niche. Oh, yeah. And he was only one position away from winning at Road America last season, as well. Things are lining up for Bell and company to make a strong push into the playoffs, although they may need a win to get there. Based on last season’s numbers, 2022 has not risen to the level of a spectacular improvement for the young driver. But if the current trend continues, he could be one of the leading dark horse title contenders.

Saturday’s sessions

Ford was the class of the field on Saturday, setting the pace during practice and sharing the majority of success in qualifying. Chase Briscoe was on top of his game early, setting the fastest lap time in the lone practice session of the day and holding onto the quickest lap in qualifying until the final few minutes of the session. And then, it was another Chase who stole the show — Elliott. Unsurprisingly, Elliott showed his speed around the Wisconsin track and earned the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday. In addition to the Chase vs. Chase battle, Ford’s performance (no pun intended) and consistency blossomed into the biggest story line. Blue Oval wheelmen Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell, who put together strong performances at Sonoma Raceway, once again showed up for the left- and right-turn challenge at Road America. Perhaps the most experienced road-course drivers of the bunch, Austin Cindric and Joey Hand also joined the party with Cole Custer and Brad Keselowski not too far behind. Sunday’s race should factor in a handful of unusual contenders. | Full practice and qualifying recap | Inspection updates

Road America Hill Shot
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Race-day staples ✅

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Paint Scheme Preview: Road America’s vibrant, patriotic colors | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick closing in on first win of 2022? | Latest Cup Series driver rankings
• Fantasy Fastlane: Can Chase Elliott get back to his winning ways on road courses? | Top plays, sleepers
• NASCAR betting: Odds, favorites for Sunday’s race | BetMGM betting odds
• Backseat Drivers: Which driver will win head-to-head at Road America? | Watch the debate
• Playoff Watch: How the postseason picture looks before this weekend | Bubble battles, playoff locks

Catch the pack 💨

Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.

• Ryan Blaney: Analyzing the No. 12 driver’s sneaky-good results at road courses | Read more
• Kyle Busch: Busch chimes in on Toyota’s road-course struggles so far in 2022 | Read more
• NASCAR on USA: Nearly 200 hours of coverage in 2022 | Learn more
• Kurt Busch: Veteran driver gives calming advice to teammate Bubba Wallace | Hear what he said | Analyzing Bubba’s rant
• Austin Cindric: Assessing the Team Penske rookie’s challenges so far | Read more
• Penalty report: Four-race suspension for RFK Racing’s crew members | Learn more
• Ross Chastain: No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver seeking balance among highs and lows | Read more
• JR Motorsports: Organization, owners eye Cup Series racing in the future | Read more
• Michael McDowell: Finding a Next-Gen boost, consistent momentum heading towards final stretch | Read more
• Justin Marks: Trackhouse Racing owner set to return behind the wheel in Truck race at Mid-Ohio | Read more
• Chase Elliott: 2021 champion joins Georgia sports’ champion’s celebration | Read more
• Nomination: Kyle Larson nominated for Best Driver at 2022 ESPYS | Read more

Get in on the action 💰

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.

• The Action Network: The dominant driver to bet at 18-1 odds | See who it is
• BetMGM: All eyes on Elliott for Road America | Expert analysis
• Featured matchup: Which driver matchup should you key in on Sunday? | Read more
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here

Brie-nging you back in time 🧀

Wisconsin and cheese go hand-in-hand, but see which memories from Road America go hand-in-hand with the Cup Series.

• Blast from the past: NASCAR racing at Road America — 1956 | See gallery
• More photos from the archive: See the best scenes from 2021 Road America weekend | Scroll through them
• Last season: Chase Elliott surges to Cup Series win at Road America | Read full recap
• Race Rewind: Chasing Chase at Road America | Highlights, video recap
• Still racing: Active Cup Series drivers with road-course wins | See the list
• History books: NASCAR’s all-time winners on road courses | See the list

Fast facts ⏩

Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• July 3rd is the third race at Road America and the second in the last 66 years.
• Chase Elliott won the race at Road America in 2021 after starting 34th, the worst start position ever by a road-course race winner.
• The last two road-course races were won by drivers getting their first career Cup Series win — Ross Chastain (Circuit of The Americas) and Daniel Suárez (Sonoma Raceway).
• Chevrolet won 12 of the last 13 road-course races, including the last eight.
• Road America is the second of four road-course races run between June 12th and August 21st (70 days).

Say what? 🎙

Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.

• “I’m excited to get back to Road America. I thought last year’s event was really good. For me, I was always partial to having the Fourth (of July) race at Daytona, but the crowd was really good and the energy was super high, and I think we need to have an energetic race on the Fourth. That’s a big weekend for our country. It’s a race inside our sport that I think is deserving of a lot of energy too, because we are a sport that’s going on this time of year and that needs to be a big event. I felt like the people up there welcomed us with open arms and brought a lot of energy. Anytime you have energy at the track, it makes it fun for everybody involved – whether you’re working inside the sport, you’re a driver, you’re another a fan there, it just makes for a better event, better environment. Last year, I felt was a great example of that. I hope that’s the case again this weekend. I hope the results are the same this weekend and everybody has a big time.” — Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

• “It’s a great track. It’s obviously a very long track, so you get a lot of different types of corners and some elevation changes. We’re definitely looking at this weekend as being very important. We weren’t where we need to be at Sonoma and our guys have been working really hard since then to figure out why and hopefully come to Road America this weekend with a better shot at running up front like we know we’re capable of.” — Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

• “From the standpoint of driving in the seat, Sonoma was the most difficult physically. We’re lucky it wasn’t 100 degrees there, but you don’t have a lot of time to breathe. You don’t have a lot of time to do anything. You can’t let your guard down at all. At least at Road America, we’ll have some time to breathe. I mean, you could almost take a drink of water. There’s time to think about it, but, again, like I said before, Road America is probably gonna be the raciest track – for sure the raciest track we’ve seen so far, similar to COTA, but I think it’s gonna be a little bit more racy because of the long straightaways and the big brake zones and the way that corners lead onto the straightaways. It’s a fun track.  Most people seem to enjoy this track and look forward to going to Road America.  Everybody has a good attitude about it, but I think this is gonna be better racing.” — Joey Hand, driver of the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford.

Posted on by Terrin Waack

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — If there’s one thing Tyler Reddick knows for sure, it’s where he’ll be in 2023 — and that’s competing in the NASCAR Cup Series for his fourth full-time season.

“Next year is all taken care of,” Reddick said Saturday at Road America. “I’ll be racing with RCR next year.”

Which is where he is right now, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

MORE: Full Silly Season tracker  | Road America schedule

Reddick has been with the two-car operation – teammates with Austin Dillon in the No. 3 entry – since joining the top level in 2020. He was with the organization at large a year prior on the way to a second straight Xfinity Series title.

The 2023 season was an option year for Reddick, and team owner Richard Childress has previously indicated the team would exercise that option. There has not been a formal announcement, though.

Rather than relaxing with that news, Reddick glances ahead periodically to 2024, when he’s not guaranteed a ride.

“Well, it’s a tough thing,” Reddick said. “It is far down the line, but you have to be thinking. You gotta give as much as you can in the present and the now, but some of what happens in the present now is set up by what you do in the future. So, certainly thinking about that. And we’ll see. I got a little bit of time, I guess.”

Career-wise, Reddick has 91 starts and is still seeking his first win. The 26-year-old already topped his previous season-best top-five (three, in 2020 and 2021) and laps-led (43 in 2021) marks by notching four and 249, respectively, this season – just 17 races into the 36-race schedule. His best finish remains second, doing so twice this year and five times overall. There’s only one driver all-time who had more runner-ups without a win in his career: G.C. Spencer with seven.

Reddick qualified fourth for Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where he came in eighth last season.

BetMGM lists Reddick at 22-1 odds to win. Polesitter Chase Elliott, a fellow Chevy pilot, is the favorite at 9-2. Reddick was 0.313 seconds and 0.252 mph slower than Elliott, last week’s winner at Nashville and defending Road America winner.

“Honestly, even if you’re secure like I am, you’re always racing,” Reddick said. “Because you got to be able to negotiate for the next better deal. You want to make a little bit more money or whatever it might be. … If you run really bad, you’re not going to be as valuable as you would be if you run really good.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Nearing the final buzzer, Chase Elliott edged out Chase Briscoe on his final lap of qualifying to earn the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Early on, Briscoe had the hot hand, setting the tone in both of Saturday’s sessions and seemingly locking down the first starting position with a blistering 134.465-second run around the circuit. But with time winding down, road-course ace and defending race winner Elliott had the last say, squeezing past the No. 14 on the leaderboard by just 0.038 seconds. Elliott won last year’s race after starting in 34th, so the outstanding effort makes him even more of a challenge to beat Sunday.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson checked in with the third-fastest time of 134.672 seconds, followed by Chevrolet counterpart Tyler Reddick (134.74 seconds) in fourth. Austin Cindric (134.78 seconds) rounded out the top five, contributing to an impressive Ford effort in qualifying. Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, renowned road racer Joey Hand and Cole Custer each raced inside the top 10.

ROAD AMERICA: Cup Series starting lineup | Weekend schedule | Inspection updates

PRACTICE

Briscoe topped the charts in Group A’s lone session of the morning, speeding to a 134.663-second lap time at 108.217 mph in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Briscoe is no stranger to success at the popular Wisconsin road course, finishing sixth in this race in 2021 and reeling in a pair of top-seven finishes when he was in the Xfinity Series — seventh in 2019 and third in 2020.

Group A’s short session went without many incidents, but there were some. Most notable was Larson’s spin near the end of his six-lap run. The No. 5 only suffered minor damage and set a 135.278-second lap time, good for fifth overall.

Second out on the track, Group B was led by Ross Chastain, continuing Trackhouse Racing’s road-course prowess so far this season. Chastain’s fastest lap — 135.262 seconds — was clocked at third-quickest overall, 0.599 seconds behind Briscoe’s mark. Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet did have break issues upon later inspection, forcing the team to make changes for safety before Sunday’s race. No penalty was issued.

MORE: Practice results | Photos from the track

Toyota’s road-racing woes continued early with Christopher Bell fastest among the bunch in 12th. Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. finished 16th and 18th, respectively, with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch slotting in outside the top 20. No Toyota driver made it into the final round of qualifying.