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NASCAR Wire Release HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Kyle Larson has led a lot of laps and come awfully close to hoisting a trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway. On Sunday he finally did both, winning the Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race in dominant form. Larson swept both Stage wins and led 199 of the race’s 267 laps in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to pull away to a 1.261-second victory over Florida native Ross Chastain in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevy. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger was third with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five. It is the 2012 series champion Keselowski’s first Top-five finish since becoming co-owner of the organization this season. The win was 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson’s third of the year and 19th of his career – but the first at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval after a pair of previous near-misses. He led a race best 132 laps in 2016, but finished runner-up. He led 145 laps in 2017 and finished third. “No matter what team I’ve been with, things haven’t worked out on my end to get a win, so glad to get one today,’’ Larson said. “Definitely the best run we’ve had all year long,’’ he added. “We’ve been capable of it I feel like many weekends, we just hadn’t quite put it all together. [Crew chief] Cliff [Daniels] gave a great speech this morning and got us all ready to go and focused. “Amazing race car,’’ he noted with a smile. The 30-year-old Californian was eliminated from the Playoffs in the last round, so Chastain was the top-finishing championship contender with only one race – next week at Martinsville, Va. – to set the four driver Championship field for the Nov. 6 season finale at Phoenix. Only two Playoff drivers finished in the Top-10 Sunday at Homestead: Chastain and Denny Hamlin, who was seventh in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Playoff drivers Christopher Bell (finished 11th), Sunday’s polesitter William Byron (12th), Chase Elliott (14th), Ryan Blaney (17th) and Joey Logano (18th) were still running on the lead lap at the checkered flag. The eighth Playoff-eligible driver, Chase Briscoe, finished last (36th) after making contact with the wall on lap 160. Hamlin (four laps), Bell (four laps) and Byron (33 laps) all spent time leading the field before various setbacks. Team Penske’s Logano is the only Playoff driver who has already earned his position in the Championship race thanks to a victory at Las Vegas a week ago. Chastain, Elliott and Byron now complete the Top-four driver ranking. Hamlin sits in fifth place, five points below Byron. Blaney is 18 points below the cutline, Bell, 33 back and Briscoe now essentially in a must-win situation, trailing by 44 points. With his victory, Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet is eligible for the owner’s title. While Larson dominated the laps-led category and even paced the field by more than 9-seconds at one point late in the race, he had to earn this trophy after a late-race caution flag. Martin Truex Jr. had taken the lead after a caution period with 46 laps remaining and pulled away to a nearly 2-second lead when the final yellow flag flew again with 23 laps remaining. As the field pitted, Larson’s Chevy was right behind Truex’s Toyota and it appeared Truex was going to miss his pit box when Larson’s car bumped Truex’s car from behind. The contact spun Truex, whose team was still able to service the car, but he fell outside the Top-10 initially before racing back up to a sixth-place finish. “I was just going behind him and he had a hard left and was hard on the brakes at the same time and I got into the back of him, ‘’ Larson explained of the incident. “My team said he was late getting into his stall. I don’t know. If it was my fault I’m sorry, but I don’t think it was. It’s hard to see on this pit road. .. hate that happened. He was definitely the one I was going to have to beat.” Truex, who is still racing for his first victory of 2022, was obviously disappointed in the outcome, but could only shake his head at the circumstances. “It’s really hard to see through these windshields with the sun like that and all the stuff covering it,’’ Truex said. “I did see my box late for sure, so I slowed down before I turned out of the way of the 5 (Larson) there. “Partly on me, I didn’t expect to get turned around and glad nobody got hurt there. Overall, just tough, just disappointing to have a good day going like that and have a shot at winning and couldn’t close the deal. I hate it for my team. “It’s been one of those years.” The final race to set the Championship 4 is next Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman is the defending race winner, but won’t be competing while recovering from concussion-like symptoms. His teammate Byron won at Martinsville earlier this season. NASCAR Cup Series Race – 24th Annual Dixie Vodka 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida Sunday, October 23, 2022 (5) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 267. (20) Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 267. (10) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 267. (32) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267. (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267. (12) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267. (14) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 267. (16) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 267. (11) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267. (23) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 267. (2) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 267. (1) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 267. (8) Chris Buescher, Ford, 267. (3) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 267. (27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 267. (18) Michael McDowell, Ford, 267. (13) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 267. (17) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 267. (26) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 267. (21) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 267. (28) Aric Almirola, Ford, 267. (6) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 267. (31) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 267. (25) Cole Custer, Ford, 266. (24) Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 266. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 266. (4) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 266. (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 266. (33) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 266. (22) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 264. (29) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 264. (34) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 263. (35) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 262. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, 262. (7) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, Accident, 242. (19) Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, Accident, 160. Average Speed of Race Winner: 129.612 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.261 Seconds. Caution Flags: 5 for 30 laps. Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers. Lap Leaders: W. Byron (P) 1-26;K. Larson (P) 27-32;W. Byron (P) 33-37;K. Larson (P) 38-87;W. Byron (P) 88;K. Larson (P) 89-122;C. Bell (P) 123-126;K. Larson (P) 127-213;M. Truex Jr. 214-216;D. Hamlin (P) 217-220;M. Truex Jr. 221-245;K. Larson (P) 246-267. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson (P) 5 times for 199 laps; William Byron (P) 3 times for 32 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 28 laps; Christopher Bell (P) 1 time for 4 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 1 time for 4 laps. Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,24,19,8,3,16,6,9,12,22 Stage #2 Top Ten: 5,19,24,12,6,9,99,1,22,11

Photo Credit: Crystal Clay By Adam Carabine Even before winning Sunday’s Cup Series Round of 8 Playoff race in Las Vegas, Joey Logano was a big favourite. The 32-year old Connecticut-born driver has always excelled at the track in the desert, and this weekend was no exception. Coming into this weekend’s playoff race, Logano’s average finish at Las Vegas was 8.89 – best of all current full-time Cup drivers. It’s also the only track where his average finish is below 10 (minimum 5 starts). “It’s just one of those tracks that, I don’t know why, it just suits my style a little bit,” said Logano before practice and qualifying. And suit his style, it did. The #22 Shell Pennzoil Mustang ran near the front all day long, but a late race strategy call to give up a little track position for slightly fresher tires sent him to the lead when it counted. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe, on the decision to take 4 fresh tires with 26 laps to go: “I felt like tires meant something today, and everyone had 8 or 9 laps on our tires. Honestly, I was just surprised that more guys in front of us didn’t peel off to come down for tires as well. That was a better scenario for us when everyone in front of us stayed out, and I think there were only three cars that were running behind us that stayed out. So really, we gave up three spots for four new tires, I thought that was a pretty good trade-off.” Then leader Ross Chastain tried his best to hold Logano off, but it was not to be. After the race, he told media, “Losing today hurts really really good. Competing for wins, in the Cup Series, in the playoffs, relevant, leading laps, both [teammate Daniel Suarez] and I, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I don’t want the trophy, I just want a chance for it. But now that we’re here, of course, we’re human, and it hurts to lose. But we’re going to go to Homestead and have some fun.” With both Logano and Chastain having reputations for a “win-at-all-costs” mentality, the late-race pass for the win was respectful and clean. Logano said, “[Chastain] and I, we have a great relationship. I’ve talked to him a lot, and we have a mutual understanding of how each other races, and honestly we work together pretty well on the race track.” “I thought, boy, he’s going to be willing to do a lot to get in [to the Championship Four], and my thoughts were, I need to make sure I am 100% positive that when I break the plane of his bumper, I am going to pass him. And don’t give him a chance to door-bang me down the straightaways or do anything. People are willing to do a lot of things when they’re desperate.” With this win (his 3rd at Las Vegas), Joey Logano can now look forward a few weeks to Phoenix, rather than worrying about whether he’ll be in contention when they get there. Logano may not know exactly why he performs so well at Las Vegas, but he recognizes his strength at the track, and is happy it sits where it does on the schedule, with maybe one little suggestion… “It’s a very important race in the Round of 8, heck yeah! It’s great! We should bring the Championship here! [laughs]”

Photo Credit - Crystal Clay By Adam Carabine What initially looked to be a sweet homecoming for Las Vegas native Noah Gragson, the Alsco Uniforms 302 was won by Josh Berry, punching his ticket into the Championship Four. The first race of the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was relatively tame, as far as attrition. In fact, winner Josh Berry might’ve been on the receiving end of the worst of it (though he was quick to admit that it was mostly his fault). “AJ [Allmendinger] left me just a lane, and nothing more. We were a little bit tight off of [turn] 4 all day and it just ran out of real estate.” Despite a healthy slap from the wall, his car was no worse for wear, and he cruised to victory on Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Noah Gragson led 87 laps, was up front all day, and was visibly frustrated with his P2 finish. “We were leading by seven seconds, had a restart, and the 10 stayed out for whatever reason, went all the way from the bottom to the top, and really killed our run. Unfortunate, but at this point what do you expect.” Justin Berry knew he had a good car and was able to capitalize on the situations around him. “We had a little bit of a hiccup on the first pit stop, got back to 17th, and the path just cleared for me, I just made all the right decisions. I had an amazing restart, I think I gained 6 or 7 spots right off the bat, that kind of just gave us the momentum throughout the rest of the race.” With Josh Berry clinching his spot in the Final 4, that puts Austin Hill, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer all currently on the outside looking in. Berry said, “It’s a great feeling, this is the home run when you start this Round of 8 and win the first race. You give yourself two weeks to prepare for Phoenix, it’s a great opportunity.” “I’ll let the rest of those guys figure out how they get in, because I’m already in,” he added with a big smile.

By Adam Carabine

By Adam Carabine The Cup Series wrapped up their practice and qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Some of the drivers were available to the media afterward, here’s what they had to say: Joey Logano on having the best Average Finish of all the Cup Drivers at Las Vegas: “It’s been a good track since the get-go for me. Even when I first started as a rookie, it just was one of those tracks that, I don’t know why, it just suits my style a little bit. I figured out what I needed. Even earlier in my career when I wasn’t good anywhere, I was still able to run good at Vegas. So, I hope that’s the case still, that it continues, but it’s been a good one for me for sure.” Tyler Reddick on his transition to 23XI Racing’s #45 Car a year earlier than expected: “The only thing that really shifts and changes, it was going to be a new team either way, but now I’m going to be working with Toyota a year earlier than I thought, too. Just having that transition from being at [Richard Childress Racing] to a different team, different organization, with a different manufacturer, all of that just kind of moves up. I knew there was going to be some change, it’s just going to be a little bit more than maybe I initially thought was going to happen. It’s all good things, though, I’m excited about it.” Christopher Bell on whether having your back up against the wall is better than a conservative approach: “Definitely whenever it came to that, it was a matter of winning or going home. There was some advantage to that, because if we were just there to try to get a Top 10, I don’t think our strategy was the same as what it was whenever we were going to win. But yeah, let’s not try not to get that at Martinsville.” Chase Elliott on whether Martinsville will live up to expectations in a few weeks: “I think what you saw in the spring is what you’re going to get. Like I told you guys last week, you’d better qualify well. That can be a big game changer, for sure. Not the Martinsville we’ve seen in years past, but it’s what we have to work with right now, so try to make it better moving forward. I think that was the goal of the test we did there a month or so ago. And I think it will get better, as we go forward, but right now it’s what we’ve got. It’s probably going to look a lot like what we saw earlier.” Chase Briscoe on what the strategy is to make the Final Four: “You’ve got to perform at your best. Strategy wise, you can’t eliminate yourself. Some guys have unbelievable speed, I think you’ve been able to have one bad race and make up for it. But in this round, I don’t think you can have a bad race at all. You almost have to be in a must-win from the get-go in this round. It’s just hard to have one bad race. I think the biggest thing for us is we just have to maximize stage points. That’s something we haven’t done the greatest job of throughout the playoffs. When you look at the difference maker a lot of the times in moving on and advancing, it is the stage points and that’s something we need to do better of. That starts with qualifying, I think we’re 15th or something. So we’ve got a shot to get a couple points. I think there’s only 4 playoff guys even in the Top 10. Just need to capitalize on that. It’s kind of the opposite of how our regular season went, where we would get a lot of stage points but then we would never finish. Now we’re getting the finishes and not the stage points. So just need to put the whole thing together, and if we can do that, the cars are what they are at the end of it all.” The Cup Series will take the green flag on Sunday, October 15th @ 11:30am local time (2:30pm ET).

By Crystal Clay and Adam Carabine Saturday morning, an emotional Kurt Busch formally announced that he is stepping away from full-time racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at a press conference at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In a prepared statement Busch said, “As I continue to focus on my health and work towards being cleared, I will be stepping away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2023. My long-term health is priority number one, and I don’t feel committing at this point to compete for a championship next year is in my best interest or the best interest of the team.” The statement also announced that Tyler Reddick would take over driving his #45 full-time in 2023. Kurt Busch posted the statement on Twitter. In front of a near-capacity media center, Kurt Busch was visibly choked up while making his announcement. However, in the question and answer session that followed, he retained an optimistic tone, interrupted with some laughter. “For me, I will get back to 100%, I promise. I will keep pushing myself and my health to get back that priority first, and then we can decide about racing afterwards.” The decision was mainly made by doctors not clearing him to race, but he also iterated that he felt it was the right thing to do for his team, 23XI Racing. His contract was originally for two years, expected to expire at the end of 2023. “I should be better by now, and I haven’t been cleared. This is more of being unselfish and respecting what has to happen in this industry, and that’s to know how to make a team move forward. I believe in 23XI, and everyone here.” Team owner Denny Hamlin was also on hand to confirm that Ty Gibbs will continue to fill in for the remainder of 2022. Hamlin also said that he has given Kurt Busch the green light to compete for 23XI Racing in the occasional race, once he has been cleared by doctors to return behind the wheel. “I told Kurt, never feel like you owe the team anything, if anything, the team owes you. Any race he wants to participate in, I will certainly field a third car for him.”

Hendrick Motorsports PR CONCORD, N.C. – Hendrick Motorsports has named Blake Harris as the crew chief for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. In 2022, the 35-year-old Harris has led driver Michael McDowell to a career-best season with 12 top-10 finishes in 32 Cup Series starts. He will complete his first year as a crew chief with the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team before joining Hendrick Motorsports in mid-November. Harris will replace current No. 48 crew chief Greg Ives, who announced in August that he will step down from the role at the end of the season. “Blake brings a tremendous amount of talent to our organization,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “In our conversations, it quickly became clear that he’s an excellent culture fit and believes in the way we approach competing and winning. He and Alex have already developed a relationship, so we’re excited to see how they grow together. Greg has assembled a winning team, and we believe Blake is the perfect person to continue that work.” A native of Maypearl, Texas, Harris began driving race cars at age 11 and moved to North Carolina immediately after high school to pursue a career in NASCAR. At just 18 years old, he joined Evernham Motorsports (later Richard Petty Motorsports) in 2006, working in both the engine and chassis departments. In 2010, Harris transitioned to Furniture Row Racing, where he became the car chief for drivers Kurt Busch (2013) and Martin Truex Jr. (2014-2018). He was an integral part of Furniture Row’s 2017 championship season when the No. 78 team won eight races and led 2,253 laps. In 2019, Harris followed Truex to Joe Gibbs Racing, where he served as car chief for the No. 19 team before accepting the crew chief role at Front Row Motorsports for 2022. “The opportunity to work with a winning driver like Alex, an engaged sponsor like Ally and a championship team like Hendrick Motorsports is huge,” said Harris, who as a car chief won 29 races and made five Championship 4 playoff appearances. “When I moved to North Carolina in 2005, my goal was to become a crew chief for a top-caliber organization that could win races and compete for titles. I’m grateful for the chance to fulfill that dream and look forward to building something special with the No. 48 team.” Bowman, 29, has driven for Hendrick Motorsports full-time since 2018, earning a playoff berth in each of his five seasons. The Tucson, Arizona, native, who is currently recovering from a concussion, has won seven races over the past four years, including five victories in the last two. “I’m pumped about the chance to work with Blake,” Bowman said. “He’s a great fit for me, for our No. 48 group and for the way Hendrick Motorsports operates week in and week out. With Blake and everyone who supports this Ally Racing team, I know we can build on what Greg started and take this to the next level.”

UPDATE October 2022 - Blake Harris will join Alex Bowman for the 2023 Cup Season. Click here for more ------- Coming off of the recent vacancy announcement, Front Row Motorsports announced the selection of Blake Harris as the crew chief for Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Ford Mustang team. Harris, 34, joins FRM from previous winning stints at Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing with NASCAR Cup Series champion, Martin Truex, Jr. “Blake has proven to be championship leader who is ready to take McDowell and our No. 34 team to the next level,” said Jerry Freeze, General Manager, Front Row Motorsports. “He’s young but has a wealth of knowledge and experience with one of the best teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played a key role in wins and a championship. Blake is the type of person we want to help us continue to contend.” He has past experience with other racing teams including most recently where he was a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. In 2021 he was a car chief for Front Row Motorsports.

` (Image credit: FIA on Twitter) The pouring rain in Suzuka could not drown out the championship celebration that ensued at the end of the 50 minute Japanese Grand Prix for the now two-time champion Max Verstappen. After a two lap stretch began the race, the event was postponed due to very heavy rain and unsafe driving conditions to take the full 53 lap event that was scheduled to a 50 minute heat race in Japan. The first incident of the day took place on lap one after Carlos Sainz hydroplaned and went right side first into the wall which ended his day. From then on the initial 3 hour race window winded down until there were 50 minutes left with the time limit to have our second rolling start of the 2022 season. Once the race restarted, Verstappen was able to pull away and win his 12th race of the year and his 6th win in the last seven races with a margin of victory of 27 seconds over his Red Bull Racing teammate, Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc was able to finish on the podium as well in third place even with a penalty assessed at the end of the race for cutting the final chicane on the last lap which dropped him to that position. With the points lost by dropping the position, it secured the championship title for Verstappen. But, what is a race without a little controversy. During the cleanup from the accident of Sainz, Pierre Gasly passed within a few car lengths of on-track safety personnel and their equipment. Now this normally wound not be an issue in dry conditions but in wet conditions, paired with poor visibility, this created a very dangerous situation that harkens back to the incident with Jules Bianchi a few years ago in which he lost his life after impact with safety equipment. Hopefully this will be reviewed and measures will be put in place to endure this never happens again. For Formula One, the series takes a couple weeks off before the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on October 23rd. For more news and opinion in the world of open-wheel racing, stay tuned to Racing Refresh

By Adam Carabine

(Photo Credit: FIA on Twitter) After an almost three year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hunt for the 2022 Formula One World Championship comes to one of the most popular race tracks on the calander for fans and drivers alike for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix at the famed Suzuka Circuit. Up until now, the season has been dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing as the team has not finished outside the top spot since the Austrian Grand Prix all the way back in early July. With a strong run for Verstappen in Japan, he could leave the land of the rising sun with the drivers championship secured for the second year in a row. Below is everything you need to know for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. Event History: Mario Andretti took the first ever win in the Japanese Grand Prix all the way back in 1976. After the 1977 season, Formula One did not return to Japan until 1987 and has remained on the schedule ever since. Traditionally one of the last races of the season every year, the event has crowned 12 different drivers as world champion by the end of the event. Most recent of them has been Lewis Hamilton in 2018. The famed Micheal Schumacher has the most wins in event history with six wins and Hamilton leads all active drivers with five. Joining Hamilton as winners in the event are Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, and Fernando Alonso. 2019 Event: Like the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this year, we have to go back to 2019 to look at the last time drivers took to the Suzuka Circuit. Sebastian Vettel was at the front of the field as the lights went out but due to a very poor start Valtteri Bottas was able to pass him off the start and was able to retain the lead for all 53 laps as he went on to win by a margin of 13 seconds over Vettel. For Lewis Hamilton, he finished third in the event and went on to win his sixth drivers championship towards the end of the season. Track Facts: As one of the oldest circuits on the Formula One schedule, the Suzuka Circuit is liked by mmany drivers and fans alike for its challenging sections of tracks that push man and machine to the absolute limit. Being only one of two tracks in the world that the has the FIA Grade One desgination while being in a figure eight layout, the first piece of track drivers have to navigate through is the famous esses that make up turns three through seven. One of the biggest passing sections on the track would be the turn eleven hairpin that is the slowest corner on the track. The most famous section of track is the famed turn fifteen, also known as 130R, one of the fastest turns in all of Formula One as drivers can take it flat out through the right-hand turn. Suzuka only has one DRS zone and that is on the pit straight heading into turn one. Tire Allocation: (C1 -> Hardest/Softest <- C5) C1 (2 sets) C2 (3 sets) C3 (8 sets) Weather: Expect cloudy conditions for race day as highs will only get to around 65 during the day. There is a chance for rain as it gets later in the day with a 40% chance of rain as the checkered flag flies in Japan. Where to watch: You can watch the Japanese Grand Prix on ESPN2 at 12:00 A.M. CST

Press Release / Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports Alex Bowman will not compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL due to continued concussion symptoms. Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, was evaluated by physicians this afternoon in Charlotte. The ROVAL will mark the second consecutive event he will miss due to the injury, which was suffered in a Sept. 25 accident at Texas Motor Speedway. “Alex’s health is our first priority,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re focused on supporting his recovery and seeing him back in his race car when the time is right. Alex has a long career ahead of him, so we will invest the necessary time and take our guidance from medical experts. We’re putting no pressure on him to return before he’s 100% ready.” Noah Gragson, 24, will again be the substitute driver for Bowman. The Las Vegas native qualified seventh and finished 19th in the No. 48 Chevrolet on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. Charlotte will be Gragson’s first career road course start at the Cup level. He has finished in the top 10 in 17 of his 20 NASCAR Xfinity Series road races, including all three ROVAL appearances.

NASCAR Truck Series competitor Hailee Deegan shared major news with fans on her social media accounts earlier today regarding the next run in her motor racing ladder. Driving for SS Greenlight Racing and longtime motorsports partner Pristine Auction, she will drive the #07 Ford Mustang at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In recent years, Deegan has been known for her below-expected NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results. After a total of 44 career attempts, her best results include only 3 career top 10's, however one of those is her best finish ever, a 6th place at Talladega which she earned just last weekend. Further information on her 2023 plans have not been announced regarding Xfinity Series competition.

By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Always the unquestionable fan favorite at NASCAR’s famed Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Georgia-native Chase Elliott made a last-lap pass to claim the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 victory Sunday afternoon – having to better one of his best friends, Ryan Blaney, to earn the first automatic bid into the next round of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. With a lap to go, Elliott pulled his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the bottom lane to the top lane and got a huge push from behind by Petty GMS Racing driver Erik Jones – the momentum enough to edge fellow Playoff competitor Blaney by a slight .046-second at the line and give him a chance to hoist his series-best fifth trophy of the season; 18th of his seven-year NASCAR Cup Series career. "Moments like that, you have to really cherish and you guys are what makes this special to me," Elliott, 26, told the cheering fans. "So, thank you sincerely, I really appreciate it." "It was a wild last couple laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom and fortunately I got just clear enough off of [Turn] 2 to slide up in front of Erik [Jones] and he gave me some great shoves, obviously a Team Chevy partner there. Just had a good enough run to get out front and then was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan [Blaney] at the line to get it done. "These things are so so hard to win, you gotta enjoy them and just appreciate everyone’s effort today." Former Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell was third, followed by two more Playoff drivers, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. Chastain and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola led the most laps on the day – each out front 36 laps – in an afternoon that featured the most lead changes of the season (57) set by 17 different drivers. Although it was a typically dramatic superspeedway ending, the action was tame by Talladega standards. Only one of the six caution periods was for a multi-car accident. Two were scheduled “stage breaks” and the other two for single car incidents. The final caution -which set up the two-lap shootout ending – came for Daniel Hemric’s stalled car on pit road. That bunched up the field again and ultimately positioned Elliott (who restarted on the inside of the third row) to make his run forward. Blaney, who led 31 laps in the No. 12 Penske Racing Ford , had been trading the lead with Jones in the laps immediately before that final caution flag. "I thought about it," Blaney said, of making a different move for the lead. "The second lane was kind of the strongest, definitely the second half of the race. And I thought about (throwing a block on Elliott) but when you go to the middle without a Ford or teammate behind you, the chances of getting split are so high. "As much as I trust Chase, I don’t trust him enough for him not to take me three-wide and leave me in the middle so I chose to stay down in front of (fellow Ford driver) Michael (McDowell). He was awesome at pushing me on the last restart and giving me great shots. Just a little bit too late. "Maybe I could have faked the top and gone to the bottom there on the front stretch, but I don’t know if I could have gotten there anyway, but overall, not a bad day. Just probably going to replay in my head five different things I could have done different." It was a big boost for Elliott, who had a rough outing last week in the opening race of this Playoff round in Texas. Elliott crashed out and finished 32nd and came into Talladega ranked eighth – after earning the regular season championship and leading the standings for a season-best 23 weeks prior to Sunday. The opening four 2022 Playoff races have been won by non-Playoff drivers – an unprecedented occurrence. So Elliott’s advancement to the next round is the first “automatic” move by a Playoff-eligible driver. Beyond Elliott, Blaney now leads the points standings – 32 points ahead of Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Austin Cindric in ninth place with the top eight drivers advancing to the Round of 8 next Playoff round. Chastain is ranked third, followed by Hamlin and Penske Racing’s Joey Logano, who finished 27th on Sunday. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Kyle Larson – who finished 18th at Talladega – is ranked sixth in the standings, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in that final eighth place position. Cindric is tied with Briscoe in points. William Byron (-11), Christopher Bell (-33) and Alex Bowman (-54) complete the current Playoff 12. The Hendrick Motorsports driver Bowman did not race this week as he is recovering from concussion-like symptoms after an accident in Texas last week. Team owner Rick Hendrick said Bowman would be re-examined by doctors this week in hopes of getting clearance to return to competition. The next race, the Bank of America ROVAL 400, is Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the final road course event of the season. Larson is the defending race winner. Blaney won the inaugural race at the Charlotte ROVAL and Elliott is a two-time winner there as well (2019 and 2020). ---30--- NASCAR Cup Series Race - 54th Annual YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, Alabama Sunday, October 2, 2022 1. (16) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 188. 2. (19) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 188. 3. (29) Michael McDowell, Ford, 188. 4. (6) Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 188. 5. (3) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 188. 6. (12) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 188. 7. (34) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 188. 8. (14) Daniel Suarez (P), Chevrolet, 188. 9. (17) Austin Cindric # (P), Ford, 188. 10. (5) Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, 188. 11. (33) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 188. 12. (9) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 188. 13. (20) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 188. 14. (4) Aric Almirola, Ford, 188. 15. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 188. 16. (27) Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 188. 17. (1) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 188. 18. (2) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 188. 19. (7) Noah Gragson(i) (P), Chevrolet, 188. 20. (26) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 188. 21. (28) Cole Custer, Ford, 188. 22. (25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 188. 23. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 188. 24. (18) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 188. 25. (23) Chris Buescher, Ford, 188. 26. (22) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 188. 27. (11) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 188. 28. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 187. 29. (24) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 187. 30. (31) Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, 186. 31. (36) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 184. 32. (37) Cody Ware, Ford, 184. 33. (35) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 182. 34. (13) Daniel Hemric(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 180. 35. (32) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 44. 36. (15) Harrison Burton #, Ford, Accident, 23. 37. (10) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, Accident, 23. Average Speed of Race Winner: 153.569 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 15 Mins, 23 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.046 Seconds. Caution Flags: 6 for 25 laps. Lead Changes: 57 among 17 drivers. Lap Leaders: C. Bell (P) 0;A. Almirola 1-2;R. Chastain (P) 3-5;A. Almirola 6-7;R. Chastain (P) 8-13;E. Jones 14-15;R. Chastain (P) 16;E. Jones 17-20;R. Chastain (P) 21-22;E. Jones 23-25;C. LaJoie 26;K. Busch 27-29;D. Suarez (P) 30;C. Elliott (P) 31-33;D. Suarez (P) 34;A. Almirola 35;D. Hamlin (P) 36-38;A. Almirola 39;D. Hamlin (P) 40-42;A. Almirola 43;D. Hamlin (P) 44-50;C. Custer 51-52;D. Hamlin (P) 53-55;W. Byron (P) 56;D. Hamlin (P) 57-59;R. Blaney (P) 60-61;M. Truex Jr. 62;K. Larson (P) 63-64;E. Jones 65-66;R. Blaney (P) 67-71;E. Jones 72;A. Almirola 73-76;T. Gilliland # 77;E. Jones 78;A. Almirola 79-103;T. Reddick 104-110;K. Larson (P) 111-112;T. Reddick 113-115;K. Larson (P) 116;T. Reddick 117;K. Larson (P) 118-119;C. Elliott (P) 120-122;L. Cassill(i) 123;C. Elliott (P) 124-126;E. Jones 127;C. Buescher 128;R. Chastain (P) 129-152;R. Blaney (P) 153-160;D. Hamlin (P) 161;K. Larson (P) 162;R. Blaney (P) 163-168;E. Jones 169;R. Blaney (P) 170;E. Jones 171;R. Blaney (P) 172-179;E. Jones 180-186;R. Blaney (P) 187;C. Elliott (P) 188. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ross Chastain (P) 5 times for 36 laps; Aric Almirola 7 times for 36 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 7 times for 31 laps; Erik Jones 10 times for 23 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 6 times for 20 laps; Tyler Reddick 3 times for 11 laps; Chase Elliott (P) 4 times for 10 laps; Kyle Larson (P) 5 times for 8 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 3 laps; Daniel Suarez (P) 2 times for 2 laps; Cole Custer 1 time for 2 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 1 lap; Landon Cassill(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 1 lap; William Byron (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Todd Gilliland # 1 time for 1 lap; Chris Buescher 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 12,11,9,2,22,47,18,5,48,43 Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,31,5,99,43,1,77,17,16,14

By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Three times A.J. Allmendinger has led the white flag lap on a superspeedway track and not been able to lead that next lap to earn the big trophy. On Saturday, the veteran waited and pulled ahead of the field in the final feet coming to the Sparks 300 checkered flag at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and edged 19-year old Sam Mayer by .015-second – about three feet - in a photo finish to earn his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win at NASCAR’s biggest track. It marked the regular season champ Allmendinger’s fourth victory in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this season and first ever at a superspeedway venue. Most importantly, the win - coming in the second race of the opening round of the Playoffs - is an automatic ticket through to the next round of Xfinity Series Playoff competition. "Let’s gooooooo," an absolutely elated Allmendinger screamed into the grandstands after climbing out of his car and accepting the checkered flag at the iconic track. "Gosh, we’ve been so close to winning one (superspeedway race) and I feel like I keep giving them away. Thought I might have given it away. I’m still learning, trying to know what too big of a lead is. But honestly, all credit to (Kaulig teammate) Landon Cassill. "He kept shoving me. He stuck with me. That’s what is great about Kaulig Racing, when you have teammates like Landon and Daniel (Hemric) that you know wherever you go, they’ll go with you. So thank you Landon. "Man, I just wanted to win a superspeedway and finally got it," added a grinning Allmendinger, who now claims 14 career Xfinity Series victories. Cassill finished third, followed by Ryan Sieg and JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry – all Playoff contenders. Parker Kligerman was sixth, followed by Playoff drivers Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Noah Gragson. It marked quite the comeback for Gibbs, who qualified on the front row, but was involved in the only on-track yellow flag for an incident on the afternoon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s No. 54 Toyota was tagged from behind by Justin Allgaier while racing in a tight pack up front only three laps into the 113-lap race. Gibbs spun out but was remarkably untouched by any other car. A quick pit stop and impressive pit strategy later, Gibbs was running around the Top-10 in the closing laps of the race and managed to recover to that seventh place final effort. Gragson, driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, was looking to become the first driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to win five consecutive races and was running among the Top-3 with 10 laps to go. His ultimate move forward for the win in the closing laps was blocked and he instead finished 10th. Although just short of that historic victory nod, he had already earned his automatic ticket to the Playoffs second round by virtue of his victory last week at Texas (his seventh on the season and fourth in a row). "We’re going to keep it going," Gragson said after the race. "I have a super motivated team... you want to win them all, but you can’t do that sometimes." Polesitter and series rookie Austin Hill, who swept the two stage wins and for the second straight race led the most laps – 60 on Saturday – also dropped out of the lead group in the waning laps to the checkered flag. He finished 14th. With Allmendinger and Gragson having earned automatic bids in ton the next round of the Playoffs, Gibbs (-21) and Hill (-27) are ranked third and fourth in the standings, followed by Berry, Allgaier - who finished 15th Saturday – Mayer and Sieg in that eighth and final transfer position. Defending series champion Hemric (-6), Brandon Jones (-10), Riley Herbst (-10) and Jeremy Clements (-47) are ranked ninth through 12th heading into the final race of this Playoff round. Up next is the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A.J. Allmendinger has won the last three races. --30-- NASCAR Xfinity Series Race - 3rd Annual Sparks 300 Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, Alabama Saturday, October 1, 2022 1. (8) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 113. 2. (13) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 113. 3. (18) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 113. 4. (14) Ryan Sieg (P), Ford, 113. 5. (7) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, 113. 6. (9) Parker Kligerman(i), Chevrolet, 113. 7. (2) Ty Gibbs (P), Toyota, 113. 8. (12) Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 113. 9. (5) Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 113. 10. (6) Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, 113. 11. (23) Riley Herbst (P), Ford, 113. 12. (3) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 113. 13. (11) Trevor Bayne (P), Toyota, 113. 14. (1) Austin Hill # (P), Chevrolet, 113. 15. (4) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 113. 16. (20) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 113. 17. (16) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 113. 18. (35) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 113. 19. (30) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 113. 20. (37) Jeremy Clements (P), Chevrolet, 113. 21. (25) Joey Gase, Ford, 113. 22. (19) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 113. 23. (26) Derek Griffith, Toyota, 113. 24. (24) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 112. 25. (33) David Starr, Ford, 112. 26. (32) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 112. 27. (36) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, 112. 28. (22) Jesse Iwuji #, Chevrolet, 112. 29. (28) CJ McLaughlin, Ford, 112. 30. (10) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 112. 31. (31) Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, 112. 32. (34) Howie Disavino III, Chevrolet, 112. 33. (17) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 112. 34. (38) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 111. 35. (21) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 111. 36. (15) Blaine Perkins(i), Chevrolet, 110. 37. (27) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 109. 38. (29) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 95. Average Speed of Race Winner: 158.827 mph. Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 53 Mins, 33 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.015 Seconds. Caution Flags: 3 for 11 laps. Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers. Lap Leaders: A. Hill # (P) 1-7;J. Allgaier (P) 8-13;A. Hill # (P) 14-26;T. Hill(i) 27;A. Hill # (P) 28-30;T. Bayne (P) 31-40;S. Creed # 41-42;A. Hill # (P) 43-51;B. Currey 52;T. Bayne (P) 53-55;N. Gragson (P) 56;B. Jones (P) 57;R. Sieg (P) 58;A. Allmendinger (P) 59;R. Sieg (P) 60-69;B. Currey 70-80;A. Hill # (P) 81-108;S. Mayer (P) 109-110;A. Allmendinger (P) 111;S. Mayer (P) 112;A. Allmendinger (P) 113. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Austin Hill # (P) 5 times for 60 laps; Trevor Bayne (P) 2 times for 13 laps; Bayley Currey 2 times for 12 laps; Ryan Sieg (P) 2 times for 11 laps; Justin Allgaier (P) 1 time for 6 laps; AJ Allmendinger (P) 3 times for 3 laps; Sam Mayer (P) 2 times for 3 laps; Sheldon Creed # 1 time for 2 laps; Timmy Hill(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Brandon Jones (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Noah Gragson (P) 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,2,11,19,18,16,7,54,68,1 Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,7,16,18,27,1,68,19,39,8