Frontstretch Newsletter: June 20, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CI
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- NASCAR teams are at work, preparing for this weekend's Tripleheader at Nashville Superspeedway. Entry lists should be released later today. We'll have those and anything else that breaks for you at Frontstretch.
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Around the World in Motorsports: June 17-19
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- In TC America competition, Colin Garrett, fresh off his drug test nightmare that prevented him from racing in the DoorDash 250k at Sonoma, claimed victory in the first race of the weekend at VIRginia International Raceway. Stephen Cugliari was second, then Lucas Catania, Steve Streimer and Brett Scroggin. Kevin Boehm won the TC class with
his Honda Civic Type-R, while Gresham Wagner won TCA in his Subaru BRZ.
Race No. 2 on Sunday saw Jacob Ruud recover from an uncharacteristic sixth-place finish on Saturday to take the victory by 1.541 seconds over Cugliari. Garrett was third, then Catania and Scroggin. Boehm took the weekend sweep in TC over Jeff Ricca, Nicholas Barbato, Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra.
The TCA class was won by Carter Fartuch in his Honda Civic Si sedan. Devin Anderson was second, then Cristian Percocarpi, Spencer Bucknum and Mike Ogren. Wagner was Fartuch's primary competition but appeared to have a brake failure at the end of the backstretch and went off-course and hit the tires hard.
- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams spent two nights at Wisconsin's Beaver Dam Speedway for the Jim "JB" Boyd Memorial. It was a very good weekend for Sheldon Haudenschild.
Friday night saw Haudenschild nearly sweep the night. He was fastest in qualifying, won the Dash to claim the pole for the feature, then led all 35 laps to win $10,000. Carson Macedo was second, then David Gravel, Spencer Bayston and Logan Schuchart.
Saturday night saw Haudenschild start third, then sweep past Bayston on lap 12 for the lead. From there, he pulled away from the field to win the 40-lap feature and $20,000. Donny Schatz was second, then Schuchart, Bayston and Gravel.
Through 28 races, Brad Sweet still holds the points lead by 42 over Haudenschild. Gravel is third, then Macedo and Schuchart.
- Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship teams were at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Penn. for the fourth round of the season. In the 450cc class, Chase Sexton scored the holeshot and and led flag-to-flag to take a satisfying victory.
Sexton ended up 11.652 seconds ahead of Eli Tomac. Jason Anderson was third, then Justin Barcia and Joey Savatgy.
Moto No. 2 saw Ryan Dungey win the holeshot with Sexton and Ken Roczen giving chase. Roczen and Dungey exchanged the lead early multiple times before Roczen took control.
Further back, Tomac rose from fifth to take the lead from Roczen with 13 minutes to go. From there, Tomac pulled away to take the victory by 3.558 seconds over Sexton. Roczen was third, then Dungey and Anderson.
Tomac and Sexton both ended up with three points for the day. However, performance in Moto No. 2 is the tiebreaker. Since Tomac won the second moto, he claimed the round victory over Sexton. Anderson was third, then Roczen and Dungey in another tiebreaker. Roczen got fourth due to his third-place finish in Moto No. 2. In the points,
Sexton holds a 13-point lead over Tomac. Roczen is third, then Anderson and Dungey.
- In the 250cc class, Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker won the holeshot in Moto No. 1 and led early. However, Michael Mosiman on the GASGAS rose up to take the lead 12 minutes into the race. Mosiman had a comfortable lead until he fell after getting caught in a rut.
Mosiman's fall gave the lead to Hunter Lawrence, who was able to pull away to take the victory. He ended up 4.425 seconds ahead of his brother Jett. Jo Shimoda was third, then Hammaker and Mosiman.
Moto No. 2 saw Hammaker once again win the holeshot. This time, he had an accident on the first lap, resulting in the Lawrence brothers taking the top two spots. From there on, the brothers pulled away from the field and staged a battle amongst themselves.
Jett led for much of the race, but Hunter took the lead with 10 minutes to go. Jett took the lead for good with five minutes and pulled away to take the win. Lapped traffic allowed Hunter to close the margin by the finish to .553 seconds. Justin Cooper was third, more than 36 seconds back. Mosiman was fourth, then
Shimoda.
The Lawrence brothers ended up tied with three points. Since Jett won Moto No. 2, he claimed the round victory over Hunter via the tiebreaker. Shimoda was third, then Mosiman and Cooper. Through four rounds, Jett Lawrence has a 12-point lead over his brother Hunter. Shimoda is third, then Cooper and Mosiman.
- Matt Sheppard drew the pole Sunday night and led flag-to-flag in a caution-free feature to win the Short Track Super Series Slate Valley 50 at Fair Haven, Vt.'s Devil's Bowl Speedway. Mat Williamson was second, then Demetrios Drellos, Anthony Perrego and Erick Rudolph. Stewart Friesen ended up 10th after returning from the NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series CleanHarbors 150 in Iowa Saturday night.
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| | Todd Gilliland Wins in Truck Return at
Knoxville
In a one-off appearance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, David Gilliland Racing's Todd Gilliland took the lead from John Hunter Nemechek with 11 laps to go and held on during a late restart to win the CleanHarbors
150 at Knoxville Raceway. Nemechek was second, then Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen.
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| | Max Verstappen Withstands the Pressure to Win F1’s Return to
Canada
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was able to hold off Carlos Sainz Jr. (who had fresher tires) to win the Grand Prix of Canada for his sixth win of the year. Lewis Hamilton was third, then George Russell and Charles
Leclerc.
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| | Canada Comeback Ends in 5th for Charles
Leclerc
Charles Leclerc had to start Sunday's Grand Prix of Canada from the rear of the field due to a power unit change. From there, he had to charge through the field with the help
of a couple of race neutralizations to finish fifth.
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| | Sammy Smith Wins at Berlin in
ARCA
Sammy Smith was the beneficiary of misfortune Saturday night, winning the Zinsser SmartCoat 200 at Berlin Raceway after Daniel Dye had mechanical issues in the final 10 laps. Tom Hessert was second, then Jesse Love, Taylor
Gray and Rajah Caruth.
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| | Mechanical Gremlins End Daniel Dye’s Bid for ARCA Win at
Berlin
Daniel Dye dominated Saturday night's Zinsser SmartCoat 200. Then, with seven laps to go, the engine started missing. Dye went from leading 192 laps to finishing two laps down in seventh.
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| | Helio Castroneves Wins Five Flags, Secures First SRX
Victory
Helio Castroneves was a last-minute entry to the Camping World SRX Series season opener at Five Flags Speedway Saturday. He was able to get past Tony Kanaan to take the lead
and took his first SRX win. Bubba Pollard was second, then Ryan Newman, Kanaan and Bobby Labonte.
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| | Bubba Pollard Shines, Finishes Runner-Up in SRX
Debut
Bubba Pollard earned his way into Saturday night's SRX opener via average finish in the PepperJack Kennels Twins in April. He showed off his substantial local knowledge by racing up to second.
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| | Helio Castroneves Adds Five Flags to 2022 SRX
Schedule
Superstar Racing Experience announced Saturday morning that Helio Castroneves would be a late 13th entry in the Camping World SRX Series season opener at Five Flags
Speedway.
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| | Andrea Caldarelli, Michele Beretta Dominate To Win GT Race No. 1 at
VIR
K-PAX Racing's Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta dominated on Saturday to win the opening Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS race of the weekend at
VIR. Triarsi Competizione's Ryan Dalziel and Justin Wetherill won Pro-Am and finished third overall.
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| | K-PAX Racing Secures 3rd Straight Weekend Sweep At
VIR
K-PAX Racing's Michele Beretta and Andrea Caldarelli. took the lead with a little under a half-hour to go, then pulled away as the rest of the leaders cratered to win Fanatec GT
World Challenge America Powered by AWS at VIRginia International Raceway.
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| | Eric Filguerias, Stevan McAleer Claim 5th Straight GT4 America
Win
Rennsport One's Eric Filguerias and Stevan McAleer claimed their fifth straight Pirelli GT4 America SprintX win to start the season Saturday in a race where only 20 of 60 minutes were run under green.
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| | Gavin Sanders, Michai Stephens Break RS1’s Streak, Win at
VIR
A full course caution during the mid-race pit stops Sunday wreaked havoc on Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 2 at VIR. Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports' Gavin Sanders and Michai Sanders were the beneficiaries of pitting
on the right lap to get the lead. They held on to take their first win of the year.
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| | George Kurtz Wins VIR GT America Race No.
1
George Kurtz was never really threatened Saturday morning from the overall pole en route to winning the first GT America Powered by AWS race of the weekend. Jeff Burton was second, then Jason Harward, Andy Pilgrim and
Jason Daskalos.
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| | George Kurtz Claims GT America Weekend Sweep at
VIR
Crowdstrike Racing's George Kurtz was able to lead flag-to-flag Sunday morning to claim the GT America Powered by AWS weekend sweep at VIR. Andy Pilgrim was second, then Jason Daskalos, Mirco Schultis and Justin
Wetherill.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Superstar Racing Experience, Chris Owens of INDYCAR Media, Brian Cleary, Regis Lefebvre and James Lietz of SRO Motorsports Group, Michael Kristl and our own Mark Kristl.
Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Cup Series was off last
weekend. They will return to action June 26 with the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
When they return to action, Chase Elliott will have a 16-point lead over Ross Chastain. Kyle Busch is third in points, followed by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.
With four drivers outside the top 16 in points that have won races, the points cutoff is at 11th spot in the standings, currently held by Aric Almirola. Almirola has a seven-point lead over Kevin Harvick. It is 42 points back to Tyler Reddick, while Austin
Dillon and Erik Jones are close behind.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 536, 2) Ross Chastain -16, 3) Kyle Busch -23, 4) Ryan Blaney
-25, 5) Joey Logano -30, 6) Martin Truex Jr. -55, 7) Kyle Larson -60, 8) William Byron -70, 9) Alex Bowman -76, 10) Christopher Bell -92, 11) Aric Almirola -113, 12) Kevin Harvick
-120, 13) Chase Briscoe -150, 14) Tyler Reddick -155, 15) Austin Dillon -160, 16) Erik Jones -168.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 17) Daniel Suarez -170, 18) Austin Cindric
-174, 19) Kurt Busch -181, 21) Denny Hamlin -211.
Playoff Points: t-1) William Byron 13, t-1) Ross Chastain 13, t-3) Denny Hamlin -1, t-3) Joey Logano -1, 5) Chase Elliott -5, t-6) Kurt Busch -6, t-6) Kyle Larson -6, t-6) Daniel Suarez -6, t-9) Alex Bowman -7, t-9) Chase Briscoe -7, t-9) Kyle Busch -7, t-9) Austin Cindric -7, 13) Ryan Blaney -9, 14) Martin Truex Jr. -10, 15) Tyler Reddick -11, 16) Darrell Wallace Jr.
-11.
Stage Points: 1) Chase Elliott
142, 2) Joey Logano -9, 3) Ryan Blaney -17, 4) Ross Chastain -21, t-5) Kyle Larson -22, t-5) William Byron -22, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -31, 8) Kyle Busch -36, 9) Christopher Bell
-47, 10) Tyler Reddick -64, 11) Chase Briscoe -67, 12) Erik Jones -79, 13) Denny Hamlin -80, 14) Daniel Suarez -83, 15) Aric Almirola -84, 16) Alex Bowman
-93.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 17) Austin Cindric -97, 20) Kurt Busch -102.
Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kyle Busch 483, t-2) Alex Bowman -15, t-2) Ross Chastain -15, t-4) Chase Elliott
-18, t-4) Ryan Blaney -18, 6) Joey Logano -36, 7) Kevin Harvick -39, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -42, 9) Kyle Larson -52, 10) Aric Almirola -53, 11) William Byron -63, 12) Christopher Bell
-64, 13) Austin Dillon -68, 14) Chase Briscoe -94, 15) Kurt Busch -98, 16) Austin Cindric -100.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 18) Daniel Suarez -107, 23)
Denny Hamlin -151.
Note: These
standings are based on the old point system that was used before stages were created.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Kyle Busch 2197, 2) Ross Chastain
-53, 3) Ryan Blaney -75, 4) Chase Elliott -105, 5) Alex Bowman -109, 6) Joey Logano -144, 7) Kevin Harvick -165, 8) Kyle Larson -176, 9) Martin Truex Jr. -184, t-10) William Byron
-237, t-10) Christopher Bell -237, 12) Aric Almirola -238, 13) Austin Dillon -267, 14) Kurt Busch -345, 15) Chase Briscoe -348, 16) Tyler Reddick -369.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 18) Austin Cindric
-386, 19) Daniel Suarez -388, 22) Denny Hamlin -524.
Note No. 1: The WC points are based on the original points
system created by Bob Latford in 1975.
Race
Winners: Austin Cindric (Daytona), Kyle Larson (Fontana), Alex Bowman (Las
Vegas), Chase Briscoe (Phoenix), William Byron (Atlanta, Martinsville), Ross Chastain (Circuit of the Americas, Talladega), Denny Hamlin (Richmond, Charlotte), Kyle Busch (Bristol), Chase Elliott (Dover), Joey Logano (Darlington, Gateway), Kurt Busch (Kansas), Daniel Suarez (Sonoma)
Note: Race wins in Italics do not count towards playoff eligibility.
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade
Photography.
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Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update No. 4
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series was off last weekend. They will be back in action at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25.
When the series resumes, AJ Allmendinger will have a 43-point lead over Ty Gibbs. Noah Gragson is third, while JR Motorsports teammates Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier are tied for fourth.
At the playoff cutoff, Ryan Sieg is the last driver in the playoffs at present. He has a 58-point lead over Anthony Alfredo. Alfredo's Our Motorsports teammates Jeb Burton and Brett Moffitt are 14th and 15th, while Brandon Brown is 16th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 573, 2) Ty Gibbs -43, 3) Noah Gragson -44, t-4) Josh Berry -64, t-4) Justin Allgaier -64, 6) Brandon Jones
-145, 7) Sam Mayer -149, 8) Austin Hill -157, 9) Daniel Hemric -184, 10) Landon Cassill -207, 11) Riley Herbst -209, 12) Ryan Sieg -228, 13) Anthony Alfredo -286, 14) Jeb Burton -295, 15) Brett Moffitt
-299, 16) Brandon Brown -300.
Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have locked into the playoffs.
Note No. 2: Drivers in italics are either ineligible for the playoffs, or outside of the top 12.
Playoff Points: 1) Ty Gibbs 18, 2) Noah Gragson -2, 3) Josh Berry -4, 4) AJ Allmendinger -6, 5) Justin Allgaier -10, 6) Brandon Jones -12, 7) Austin Hill
-13, t-8) Daniel Hemric -16, t-8) Trevor Bayne -16, t-8) Sam Mayer -16, 11) Myatt Snider -17.
Note: If they were eligible, Cole Custer would be tied for sixth, Tyler Reddick tied for eighth and John Hunter Nemechek 13th in playoff points.
Stage Points: 1) Justin Allgaier 150, t-2) Noah Gragson -12, t-2) Josh Berry -12, 4) Ty Gibbs -19, 5) AJ Allmendinger -21, 6) Sam Mayer -47, 7) Brandon Jones
-62, 8) Daniel Hemric -71, 9) Austin Hill -82, 10) Landon Cassill -107, 11) Trevor Bayne -110, 12) Ryan Sieg -111, 13) Riley Herbst -115, t-14) Brandon Brown -125, t-14) Ryan Truex -125, 16) Jade
Buford -128.
Note: If he were eligible, John Hunter Nemechek would be 10th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 508, 2) Ty Gibbs -43, 3) Noah Gragson -52, 4) Josh Berry -74, 5) Justin Allgaier -97, 6) Austin Hill
-99, 7) Brandon Jones -106, 8) Riley Herbst -126, 9) Sam Mayer -128, 10) Landon Cassill -131, 11) Daniel Hemric -139, 12) Ryan Sieg -144, 13) Jeb Burton -182, 14) Anthony Alfredo -186, 15) Brett Moffitt
-189, 16) Sheldon Creed -195.
WC Points (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 2191, 2) Noah Gragson -150, 3) Ty Gibbs -156, 4) Josh Berry -253, 5) Justin Allgaier -315, 6) Justin Allgaier
-290, 7) Riley Herbst -309, 8) Austin Hill -316, 9) Brandon Jones -329, 10) Landon Cassill -398, 11) Ryan Sieg -451, 12) Daniel Hemric -458, t-13) Jeb Burton -537, t-13) Anthony Alfredo
-537, 15) Sheldon Creed -556, 16) Brett Moffitt -589.
Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona), Cole Custer (Fontana), Ty Gibbs (Las Vegas, Atlanta, Richmond), Noah Gragson (Phoenix, Talladega), AJ Allmendinger (Circuit of the Americas, Portland), Brandon Jones (Martinsville), Josh Berry (Dover, Charlotte), Justin Allgaier (Darlington), Tyler Reddick (Texas)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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Seeking the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs: John Hunter Nemechek Regains Points Lead After Giant Mud Clump Ruins Ben Rhodes' Night
by Phil Allaway
Ben Rhodes' race got off to a bad start when a clump of mud punched a hole in his nose, causing an overheating issue. Rhodes recovered from there to finish 10th, but scored no stage points. This cost him the points lead.
John Hunter Nemechek finished second and scored 16 stage points. That was enough to move Nemechek from fourth to the points lead. Nemechek's advantage is just five points over Zane Smith with three races remaining in the regular season. Zane Smith finished third. Rhodes' 10th-place finish dropped him to third. Chandler Smith is down
two places to fourth after finishing 13th.
Ty Majeski remains in fifth after finishing fourth. Stewart Friesen was likely disappointed with his fifth-place finish, but it allowed him to maintain sixth in points and gain a couple points on the leaders. Christian Eckes remains in seventh, while Carson Hocevar lost a bunch of points due to his blown engine. He is
still in eighth, but he lost 25 points to the leaders.
Grant Enfinger remains in ninth after finishing eighth and leading lap. Matt Crafton finished seventh and is still the last driver in the playoffs. He has a 27-point lead over Derek Kraus, who finished sixth and scored 13 stage points. Matt DiBenedetto is still in 12th after finishing 14th.
Tanner Gray was involved in multiple incidents, but still finished 22nd. That performance dropped him from 11th to 13th. Tyler Ankrum is only three points behind Gray in 14th, followed by Chase Purdy. Timmy Hill moves past the idle Parker Kligerman to get back into 16th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 481, 2) Zane Smith -5, 3) Ben Rhodes -10, 4) Chandler Smith -14, 5) Ty Majeski -43, 6) Stewart Friesen
-49, 7) Christian Eckes -73, 8) Carson Hocevar -95, 9) Grant Enfinger -98, 10) Matt Crafton -129, 11) Derek Kraus -156, 12) Matt DiBenedetto -172, 13) Tanner Gray -179, 14) Tyler Ankrum -182, 15) Chase Purdy
-235, 16) Timmy Hill -260.
Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 20, 2) Ben Rhodes -7, 3) Corey Heim -11, 4) John Hunter Nemechek -12, t-5) Stewart Friesen -14, t-5) Chandler Smith -14, t-7) Ryan Preece
-18, t-7) Carson Hocevar -18, t-9) Ty Majeski -19, t-9) Parker Kligerman -19.
Note: If they were eligible for Playoff Points, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Ross Chastain would be tied for seventh.
Stage Points: t-1) Ben Rhodes 139, t-1) John Hunter Nemechek 139, 3) Zane Smith -34, 4) Ty Majeski -37, 5) Chandler Smith -39, 6) Carson Hocevar -56, 7) Stewart Friesen
-58, 8) Christian Eckes -65, 9) Derek Kraus -66, 10) Grant Enfinger -81, 11) Matt Crafton -86, 12) Corey Heim -96, t-13) Parker Kligerman -98, t-13) Ryan Preece -98, 15) Tanner Gray -101, 16) Matt
DiBenedetto -109.
Note: If he were eligible, Ross Chastain would be 16th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 328, 2) Chandler Smith -8, 3) Stewart Friesen -24, 4) John Hunter Nemechek -26, 5) Christian Eckes -36, 6) Ben Rhodes
-38, 7) Ty Majeski -39, 8) Grant Enfinger -50, 9) Carson Hocevar -64, 10) Matt Crafton -77, 11) Matt DiBenedetto -98, 12) Tyler Ankrum -109, 13) Tanner Gray -113, 14) Derek Kraus -121, 15) Chase Purdy
-143, 16) Colby Howard -167.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 1889, 2) Chandler Smith -25, 3) John Hunter Nemechek -64, 4) Stewart Friesen -94, t-5) Ben Rhodes -111, t-5) Christian Eckes -111, 7) Ty Majeski
-115, 8) Grant Enfinger -168, 9) Carson Hocevar -214, 10) Matt Crafton -281, 11) Matt DiBenedetto -359, 12) Tyler Ankrum -390, 13) Tanner Gray -392, 14) Derek Kraus -428, 15) Chase Purdy -572, 16) Timmy Hill
-575.
Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Circuit of the Americas, Kansas), Chandler Smith (Las Vegas), Corey Heim (Atlanta, Gateway), William Byron (Martinsville), Ben Rhodes (Bristol), John Hunter Nemechek (Darlington), Stewart Friesen (Texas), Ross Chastain (Charlotte), Kyle Busch (Sonoma), Todd Gilliland (Knoxville)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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