Frontstretch Newsletter: April 25, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition LXI
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- Teams are back from Talladega and are preparing for this weekend's action in Dover at the moment. Entry lists should be out later today. We'll have those and anything else that breaks today at Frontstretch.
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Around the World in Motorsports: April 22-24
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- In Formula 2 action, Hitech Grand Prix's Marcus Armstrong took the lead on the start from second and led flag-to-flag to win the Sprint Race Saturday in Imola. He ended up 1.431 seconds ahead of Jehan Daruvala. Dennis Hauger was third, then Roy Nissany and Felipe Drugovich.
Sunday's Feature race had quite a bit more action. Juri Vips led from pole early on in a rough event. The start saw contact between Hauger and Jack Doohan damage both cars and result in a safety car period.
Vips led on the restart, then crashed on the exit of the Villeneuve chicane to bring out the second safety car. This split the pit strategy as a number of drivers pitted for their mandatory stops. Daruvala stayed out and took the lead until he made his mandatory stop.
Nissany ended up crashing out of a potential victory late, which gave the advantage to Theo Pourchaire among those who pitted during the Vips safety car period. A crash for Liam Lawson resulted in the race ending under yellow, giving Pourchaire his first win of the year. Enzo Fittipaldi was second, then Boschung, Clement Novalak and Ayumu
Iwasa.
Through six of 26 races, Pourchaire currently has a two-point lead over Drugovich. Daruvala is third, then Liam Lawson. Richard Verschoor and Ralph Boschung are tied for fifth.
- In Formula 3 action, Van Amersfoort Racing's Franco Colapinto was able to pass Caio Collet at the start of the final lap and held on to take his first F3 victory. Colapinto ended up 2.640 seconds ahead of Victor Martins at the finish. Jak Crawford was third, then Roman Stanek and Isack Hadjar. Collet crashed on the final lap and failed to
finish.
Sunday's Feature Race was run in mixed conditions. Collet chose wet tires and drove to the lead from ninth on the first lap. However, incidents negated a four-second lead almost immediately. Shortly afterwards, Collet stopped for slicks, giving the lead to Zane Maloney.
On a later restart, Maloney spun in Rivazza, allowing Oliver Bearman into the lead just as the safety car came out for Maloney's car. Shortly after the final restart, Stanek was able to take the lead from Bearman and held on to take the win. He ended up 0.654 seconds ahead of Crawford. Hadjar was third, then Arthur Leclerc and Kush
Maini.
Through four races, Martins is tied for the points lead with Leclerc. Stanek is third, then Jak Crawford and Isack Hadjar.
- The ARCA Menards Series West teams raced at Kern County Raceway Park Saturday night in the Salute to the Oil Industry NAPA Auto Parts 150. Here, Landon Lewis took the lead away from Jake Drew on lap 86, then held on for the remainder of the race to take his first ARCA Menards Series West victory on debut. Drew was second, followed by Cole Moore, Tanner
Reif and Paul Pedroncelli Jr.
- MotoGP spent last weekend at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo was able to run down Joan Mir and take the lead on lap 4. From there, Quartararo methodically drove away from the field to win the Grand Prix of Portugal.
Quartararo ended up 5.409 seconds ahead of Johann Zarco at the finish. Aleix Espargaro was third, then Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira. The win puts Quartararo equal on 69 points with Rins for the point lead. He wins the tiebreaker since he has a victory and Rins does not. Espargaro is third, then Enea Bastianini and
Zarco.
- Monster Energy AMA Supercross teams raced Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. Eli Tomac could clinch the 450cc championship, but he stalled his bike while battling with Cooper Webb. Jason Anderson was able to sweep past Tomac, then took the lead a couple of laps later. Anderson was able to pull away from Chase Sexton to take
his fifth win of the year and stay alive for the title.
Anderson ended up 3.111 seconds ahead of Sexton at the finish. Marvin Musquin was third, then Malcolm Stewart and Justin Barcia. Tomac ended up seventh and had his points lead cut to 43 over Anderson. He can still clinch the title easily next weekend as Anderson needs to outscore Tomac by 17 at minimum to take it to the final race. Barcia is
third, then Stewart and Musquin.
In the 250cc East class, Cullin Park won the holeshot and led for the first lap before Pierce Brown took the lead. RJ Hampshire, desperate to keep himself alive for the championship, ran towards the front and was able to run down Brown for the lead. However, it all unraveled with four minutes to go. Hampshire ran into the back of Brown's rear wheel
and crashed.
That allowed Austin Forkner, back from injury, and Jett Lawrence to get past. Both riders ran down Brown and overtook him in the final laps. Forkner was able to hold off Lawrence for his first win of the year. Lawrence was 0.58 seconds back in second, but that was enough to clinch the 250cc East title for 2022. Brown was third, then Mitchell
Oldenburg and Kyle Chisholm.
While Lawrence has clinched the 250cc East title, there are still positions to be had during the final East-West Showdown May 7 in Salt Lake City. Brown is up to third in points, then Oldenburg and Enzo Lopes.
The penultimate round for Monster Energy AMA Supercross will be April 30 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
- The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series was supposed to have two races last weekend. Friday night's race at Tri-City Speedway ended up being postponed.
Saturday saw the 410 sprints take on Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. Points leader Brad Sweet led the first 23 laps before a five-car battle broke out for the lead. This battle ended when lapped traffic crashed in turn 2 and collected James McFadden, who was second at the time.
Just as this took place, Carson Macedo was able to snatch the lead away from Sweet. When the race went back green, Macedo opened up the advantage. Sweet ran him back down late, but Macedo held on for his second straight win and third straight at Tri-State Speedway. Sweet was second, then Sheldon Haudenschild, Spencer Bayston and Logan
Schuchart.
Through 15 races, Sweet has a 44-point lead on Macedo. Gravel is third, then Haudenschild and McFadden.
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| | Ross Chastain Triumphs
Amid Last-Lap Chaos at Talladega
Erik Jones went up the track to block a move from Kyle Larson on the final lap. That allowed Ross Chastain to slip past to win Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega
Superspeedway. Austin Dillon was second, then Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.
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| | Austin Dillon, RCR
‘Knocking on the Door’ After Talladega Runner-Up Finish
Austin Dillon followed Ross Chastain Sunday to his second second-place finish of the season. Dillon believes that a victory is not too far away for the No. 3 team.
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| | Erik Jones Loses
Chance at Talladega Win on Final Lap
Erik Jones led 25 laps Sunday at Talladega, including laps 185-187. He was in good position to steal a victory, but got a little too far ahead. That allowed the pack to work their magic on him, dropping the No. 43
back to sixth at the finish.
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| | Worldwide Express
Partners with Trackhouse Racing Team
Trackhouse Racing Team announced Sunday morning that Worldwide Express has entered into a multi-year deal to serve as a primary sponsor with the team. The Nos. 1 and 99 will share the sponsorship for a total of 21
races.
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| | Noah Gragson Prevails
Over an Earnhardt, Wins Talladega Xfinity Race
JR Motorsports' Noah Gragson held on during a third Green-White-Checker restart Saturday to win the Ag-Pro 300 for his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season. Jeffrey Earnhardt was a career-best second, then AJ
Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill.
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| | Jeffrey Earnhardt
Scores Career-Best Result, Comes Up Just Short at Talladega
Jeffrey Earnhardt had an excellent opportunity Saturday in Talladega. After starting from pole, he led laps and put himself in position to contend for the win. He ended
up second.
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| | ARCA Driver Max
Gutierrez Attempting Truck Series Debut at Charlotte
TobyChristie.com is reporting that Max Gutierrez, a driver who competes in both the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, will attempt to make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway
next month for AM Racing.
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| | Indy 500 Veteran Ted
Prappas Dies of Colon Cancer at 66
Ted Prappas, a racer who competed in 26 CART races in 1991 and 1992, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 66.
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| | Max Verstappen, Red
Bull Dominate Imola While Ferrari Struggles At Home
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| | Lewis Hamilton Shown
Blue Flags in Imola, Made to Let Max Verstappen Pass
While Max Verstappen dominated Sunday, Lewis Hamilton had a miserable day. He drove up as high as 10th after starting 14th, then had a bad pit stop that put him back to 14th. He finished 13th after Esteban Ocon was
penalized, but more than a lap down.
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| | Nick Sanchez Wins
Time-Constrained ARCA Race at Talladega
Rev Racing's Nick Sanchez was able to slip the spinning Daniel Dye and was leading when the caution came out to end the General Tire 200 to claim victory. Bret Holmes was second, then Corey Heim, Thad Moffitt and Gus
Dean. The race ended due to time, eight laps short of the scheduled distance.
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| | Corey Heim Angry About
Controversial Finish in the General Tire 200
Given the way that the General Tire 200 ended, there were going to be a lot of angry drivers. Corey Heim was one of them, very angry with the officiating and the scheduling.
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| | Scott Melton
Transported to Local Hospital Following ARCA Crash at Talladega
Saturday's General Tire 200 was marred by a big crash on lap 50 when Toni Breidinger was spun, causing a multi-car incident. Kimmel Racing's Scott Melton t-boned Eric Caudell in the passenger side. Melton suffered a
leg fracture in the crash.
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| | Matt Hirschman Wins
Spring Sizzler, Earns SRX Ride at Stafford Speedway
Matt Hirschman was able to dispatch Ryan Preece on a late restart Sunday night to win the 50th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler at Stafford Speedway. By virtue of winning, Hirschman earns a local entry to the SRX event in
Stafford later this year.
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| | Bill Elliott Returns
to SRX Series for Two Races in 2022
Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) announced Friday that Bill Elliott will be back in the series in 2022. He'll compete in the Pensacola and Stafford events.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Adam Glanzman of ARCA Racing, Lars Baron and Clive Owen of Getty Images, David PeQueen and our own Tom Bowles and Daniel McFadin.
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: Chase Elliott Expands Lead With Strong Day in Talladega
by Phil Allaway
Chase Elliott was strong
on Sunday, spending much of the race towards the front with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates. He earned 14 stage points and finished seventh. This allowed Elliott to expand his points lead up to 21 over Ryan Blaney, who finished 11th after leading 23 laps, but scoring no stage points. William Byron is up one place to third after winning stage two and tying for the most stage points. He ended up 15th after crashing on the
final lap. Kyle Busch finished third and moved up to fourth.
Alex Bowman retains sole possession of fifth after finishing ninth. Joey Logano's lap 90 crash put him out for the day. The 32nd-place finish dropped him from third to sixth. Kyle Larson moved up to seventh after a fourth-place finish. Martin Truex Jr. is down
one place to eighth despite a fifth-place finish.
Despite winning Sunday, Ross Chastain is down one place to ninth. Aric Almirola moved up two places to 10th following a 13th-place finish. Kevin Harvick also gained two positions after a 10th-place finish. Chase Briscoe dropped to 12th after crashing out early.
Austin Dillon's second-place finish gained four places to move into 13th. Christopher Bell is up one place to 14th after leading laps early on. Spinning while exiting pit road on his final stop dropped him to a 22nd-place finish. He is the last driver in the playoffs on points at the moment. He is one point ahead
of Tyler Reddick, who dropped out with engine problems. Austin Cindric is down to 16th after early damage rendered him compromised in the draft.
Erik Jones was in the lead at the white flag, but got a little too far ahead. He ended up sixth, boosting him up to 17th in points. Kurt Busch is up two places to 18th despite a last-lap crash. Daniel Suarez was eliminated in the lap 90 crash and dropped to 19th as a
result. Chris Buescher crashed out with Briscoe and dropped to 20th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 368, 2) Ryan Blaney -21, 3) William Byron -34, 4) Kyle Busch -56, 5) Alex Bowman
-59, 6) Joey Logano -60, 7) Kyle Larson -69, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -70, 9) Ross Chastain -76, 10) Aric Almirola -103, 11) Kevin Harvick -116, 12) Chase Briscoe -122, 13) Austin Dillon
-123, 14) Christopher Bell -125, 15) Tyler Reddick -126, 16) Austin Cindric -130.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 24) Denny Hamlin -190.
Playoff Points: 1) William Byron 13, 2) Ross Chastain -2, t-3) Alex Bowman -7, t-3) Denny Hamlin -7, t-3) Kyle Larson -7, t-2) Chase Briscoe -7, t-7) Austin Cindric -8, t-7) Kyle Busch -8, t-9) Martin Truex Jr. -10, t-9) Ryan Blaney -10, t-11) Chase Elliott -11, t-11) Tyler Reddick -11, t-13) Daniel Suarez
-11, t-13) Darrell Wallace Jr. -11.
Stage Points: 1) Chase Elliott 103, 2) William Byron
-4, 3) Ryan Blaney -14, 4) Kyle Larson -18, 5) Joey Logano -23, 6) Martin Truex Jr. -39, 7) Christopher Bell -43, 8) Chase Briscoe -44, 9) Kyle Busch -53, 10) Ross Chastain
-58, 11) Tyler Reddick -61, t-12) Alex Bowman -65, t-12) Erik Jones -65, 14) Brad Keselowski -68, 15) Daniel Suarez -72, 16) Aric Almirola -73.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: t-17) Denny Hamlin -74, t-17) Kevin Harvick -74, 19) Austin Cindric -75, 22) Austin Dillon -78.
Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.
Old Point Standings (1-16): t-1) Chase Elliott 309, t-1) Ryan Blaney 309, 3) Kyle Busch -2, 4) Alex Bowman -6, 5) Ross Chastain
-22, 6) William Byron -27, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -31, 8) Aric Almirola -33, 9) Joey Logano -34, 10) Kevin Harvick -44, 11) Austin Dillon -47, 12) Kyle Larson -49, 13) Austin Cindric -58, 14) Kurt
Busch -65, 15) Tyler Reddick -66, 16) Chase Briscoe -70.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 19) Christopher Bell -82, 25) Denny Hamlin
-117.
Note: These standings are based on the old point system that was used
before stages were created.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Ryan Blaney 1392, 2) Kyle Busch
-18, 3) Chase Elliott -32, 4) Alex Bowman -51, 5) Ross Chastain -63, 6) William Byron -94, 7) Joey Logano -117, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -124, 9) Aric Almirola -142, 10) Kyle Larson
-154, 11) Austin Dillon -163, 12) Kevin Harvick -170, 13) Tyler Reddick -216, 14) Austin Cindric -226, 15) Kurt Busch -228, 16) Chase Briscoe -246.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 19) Christopher Bell -282, 25) Denny Hamlin
-400.
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), Kyle Busch
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.
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Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: AJ Allmendinger Avoids Trouble In Talladega, Doubles Points Lead
by Phil Allaway
Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger was right there in the hunt late Saturday. His third-place finish allowed him to expand his advantage up to 40 points over race winner Noah Gragson. Ty Gibbs crashed out of the race on lap 77 and finished 35th. That dropped Gibbs to third. Josh Berry is back up to fourth after
winning stage one and finishing 11th.
Brandon Jones was involved in multiple incidents Saturday and dropped out late. The 26th-place finish dropped him to fifth. Justin Allgaier earned 15 stage points Saturday, which allowed him to move up to sixth despite dropping out late with fuel pressure issues. Ryan Sieg is up to seventh after finishing fourth. Sam Mayer is down to eighth after
crashing out late.
Austin Hill was eliminated in the same crash with Mayer after leading a race-high 67 laps. He still moved up to ninth as a result. Riley Herbst is up one place to 10th after finishing seventh. Landon Cassill moves up to 11th after his second straight top five finish, while Daniel Hemric crashed out and dropped from a tie for eighth to
12th.
Hemric is the last driver in the playoffs on points. He is 10 points ahead of Anthony Alfredo, who finished sixth. Sheldon Creed and Brandon Brown are tied for 14th despite both drivers crashing out of the race. Jeb Burton is still in 16th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 384, 2) Noah Gragson -40, 3) Ty Gibbs -45, 4) Josh Berry -100, 5) Brandon Jones -113, 6) Justin Allgaier -121, 7) Ryan Sieg -124, 8) Sam Mayer -129, 9) Austin Hill
-134, 10) Riley Herbst -142, 11) Landon Cassill -144, 12) Daniel Hemric -154, 13) Anthony Alfredo -164, t-14) Sheldon Creed -199, t-14) Brandon Brown -199, 16) Jeb Burton -204.
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 17, 2) Noah Gragson -4, 3) AJ Allmendinger -10, 4) Brandon Jones -11, 5) Austin Hill -12, t-6) Daniel Hemric -15, t-6) Trevor Bayne -15, t-6) Josh Berry -15, t-9) Sam Mayer -16,
t-9) Justin Allgaier -16.
Note: If they were eligible, Cole Custer would be tied for fourth and John Hunter Nemechek tied for ninth in playoff points.
Stage Points: 1) AJ Allmendinger 86, 2) Ty Gibbs -1, 3) Noah Gragson -3, 4) Josh Berry -11, 5) Justin Allgaier -12, 6) Sam Mayer -19, t-7) Brandon Jones -25, t-7) Daniel Hemric
-25, 9) Austin Hill -44, 10) Ryan Sieg -51, 11) Trevor Bayne -53, 12) Landon Cassill -56, 13) Brandon Brown -61, 14) Jade Buford -65, 15) Riley Herbst -68, 16) Ryan Truex -70.
Note: If they were eligible, John Hunter Nemechek would be tied for 10th and Cole Custer 16th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 341, 2) Noah Gragson -38, 3) Ty Gibbs -45, 4) Ryan Sieg -78, 5) Riley Herbst -84, 6) Brandon Jones -91, 7) Josh Berry -92, 8) Austin Hill -93, 9) Landon
Cassill -97, 10) Anthony Alfredo -98, 11) Sam Mayer -114, 12) Sheldon Creed -122, 13) Justin Allgaier -125, 14) Jeb Burton -132, 15) Daniel Hemric -133, 16) Brett Moffitt -141.
WC Points (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 1470, 2) Noah Gragson -127, 3) Ty Gibbs -178, 4) Ryan Sieg -299, 5) Riley Herbst -301, 6) Austin Hill -315, 7) Josh Berry
-322, 8) Brandon Jones -326, 9) Landon Cassill -344, 10) Anthony Alfredo -363, 11) Sam Mayer -393, 12) Justin Allgaier -430, 13) Sheldon Creed -433, 14) Daniel Hemric -461, 15) Jeb Burton -483, 16) Brett
Moffitt -502.
Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona), Cole Custer (Fontana), Ty Gibbs (Las Vegas, Atlanta, Richmond), Noah Gragson (Phoenix, Talladega), AJ Allmendinger (Circuit of the Americas), Brandon Jones (Martinsville)
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: Off-Week Update No. 4
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off last weekend. They will return to action May 6 at Darlington Raceway.
When they get to Darlington for Throwback Weekend, Bristol winner Ben Rhodes will have a 38-point lead over Chandler Smith. Stewart Friesen is third, followed by Zane Smith and John Hunter Nemechek.
At the playoff cutoff, Matt Crafton currently has the last spot. He is nine points ahead of Grant Enfinger. Derek Kraus is 12th, then Tyler Ankrum.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 265, 2) Chandler Smith -38, 3) Stewart Friesen -51, 4) Zane Smith -54, 5) John Hunter Nemechek -62, 6) Christian Eckes -72, 7) Ty
Majeski -78, 8) Tanner Gray -85, 9) Carson Hocevar -95, 10) Matt Crafton -102, 11) Grant Enfinger -111, 12) Derek Kraus -125, 13) Tyler Ankrum -127, 14) Parker Kligerman -144, 15) Matt
DiBenedetto -155, 16) Timmy Hill -159.
Note: If he were eligible for Camping World Truck Series points, Kyle Busch would be 14th.
Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 13, 2) Ben Rhodes -3, t-3) Chandler Smith -8, t-3) Corey Heim -8, 5) John Hunter Nemechek -10, 6) Stewart Friesen -12.
Note: If he were eligible for Playoff Points, William Byron would be tied for second with the points from winning at Martinsville.
Stage Points: 1) Ben Rhodes 84, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -21, 3) Chandler Smith -27, 4) Stewart Friesen -34, 5) Ty Majeski -37, 6) Zane Smith -41, 7) Christian
Eckes -43, 8) Derek Kraus -52, 9) Matt Crafton -55, 10) Tanner Gray -56, 11) Carson Hocevar -60, 12) Grant Enfinger -62, 13) Tyler Ankrum -65, 14) Parker Kligerman -67, 15) Matt DiBenedetto
-69, t-16) Corey Heim -77, t-16) Jack Wood -77.
Note: If he were eligible, Kyle Busch would be tied for 12th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 162, 2) Chandler Smith -12, 3) Zane Smith -13, 4) Stewart Friesen -19, 5) Christian Eckes -31, 6) Tanner Gray -33, 7) Carson
Hocevar -37, 8) John Hunter Nemechek -41, 9) Ty Majeski -44, 10) Matt Crafton -51, 11) Grant Enfinger -53, 12) Tyler Ankrum -66, 13) Parker Kligerman -73, 14) Derek Kraus -77, 15) Chase Purdy -83, 16) Timmy
Hill -85.
Note: If he were eligible, Kyle Busch would be 13th in Old Points.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 930, 2) Chandler Smith -59, 3) Zane Smith -78, 4) Stewart Friesen -93, 5) Christian Eckes -124, 6) Tanner Gray -138, 7) John Hunter Nemechek
-140, 8) Carson Hocevar -147, 9) Ty Majeski -172, 10) Matt Crafton -201, 11) Grant Enfinger -210, 12) Tyler Ankrum -251, 13) Derek Kraus -287, 14) Timmy Hill -313, t-15) Matt DiBenedetto -327, t-15) Austin
Wayne Self -327.
Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Circuit of the Americas), Chandler Smith (Las Vegas), Corey Heim (Atlanta), William Byron (Martinsville), Ben Rhodes (Bristol)
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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Letter of the Race: Sunday's GEICO 500 was brought to you by the letter W for Waiting. Ross Chastain was able to take the victory Sunday...by doing nothing. If this were YouTube, there would be references here to memes involving Luigi. He simply sat and waited until Kyle Larson made the move on Erik Jones on the final lap. That opened the door for
triumph.. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: GEICO 500
complied by Phil Allaway
"Holy cow. I’m always the one going to the top too early, making the mistake. There at the end it was like eight to go, I was like, I’m not going up there again. I did that a couple times today. I was like, I’ll just ride on the bottom. If it works, I’m not going to lose the race for us, I’ll just let them." - Ross Chastain, race
winner
"I feel like I did a pretty near perfect job for me at a superspeedway until the last lap there.
"Yeah, I should have, like, I think just kind of faked going high, then went back low. I had that run. Ross helped me with that run. It kind of baited me into going to the outside. Just a little inexperience probably there.
"Honestly, the first time I’ve had a legit shot at winning a plate race in the Cup Series. Happy about that. When you’re close, I was in the exact position I wanted to be in, I didn’t want to be leading. I felt like I did a good job with patience and stuff. Made one small mistake there and it cost me the win." - Kyle Larson, finished
fourth
"I mean, just the last lap, right? It’s typical here. Been close here so many times, in this race and the fall race. US Air Force Chevy had good speed, felt good to be up front.
"Coming there that last lap, we were single file. I felt pretty good about it. They kind of doubled up behind us. That top lane was getting some momentum. Looking back, I wish I would have stayed at the bottom and let the 1 push me. I didn’t realize they were coming with that much speed.
"Happy to run up front, lead laps. Would really love to get the 43 in Victory Lane. I thought today might be the day. All day long we were fast and had speed. Especially being up front there at the end, the last 10, I knew we had a shot, but just couldn’t quite close it out." - Erik Jones, finished
sixth
"Unfortunately it wasn’t a great day for us but we salvaged a good finish out of it. We really struggled with just handling today which you wouldn’t think at Talladega. But at the same time, we got ourselves in position there at the end when it counted. I thought with three to go that something was going to happen so I repositioned
myself and built a run and was able to weave through there on the last lap. It is just so hard to pass today. It was hard to make moves from sixth or seventh to the lead. In the front row, everybody was just kind of jammed up. It is just a different style of racing even more so here than it was at Daytona with this Next Gen car. I have a lot to study and go back and learn and figure out how to make the moves. I am proud of everyone. Coming out of here with a top 10 is a great day. I wish we
could have had a shot at it but we just weren’t there at the end." - Michael McDowell, finished eighth
"You can’t pass anybody here anymore. It is hard to pass everywhere but it is the same thing at speedways now. You can’t really make a third lane. I don’t know what the problem is with it. I thought we had a decent shot at going but we got stuck when someone jammed it in there three-wide and shuffled us out toward the end and we just
couldn’t get it back up there." - Ryan Blaney, finished 11th
"Our Camaro was fast. I was really happy with how the car was driving. I wasn’t good in traffic. I felt like we needed to make an adjustment or two. We made an adjustment and the car was much better by the end of the run. We just needed a little track position.
"I felt like we were being patient, just trying to wait for the right time to try and get aggressive and get in the right position. I don’t even know what happened. I just saw [Joey Logano] sideways, wrecking, in the top lane. Unfortunately, we were just in a bad position." - Daniel Suarez, finished 31st (Crashed
out)
"We were up there mixing it up, pushing and getting a little more aggressive. That had nothing to do with us getting crashed. We were simply riding in the bottom lane. We had been flirting on temperatures the whole run. I was able to poke my nose in and out enough to cool it down. It definitely got probably 10 to 15 degrees hotter than
it had been all race. I tried to make a valid effort there to get it halfway lower on the back straightaway to get clean air to the motor. I had a tone change in the engine. We didn’t lose power, so I assumed it was just myself getting my car in clean air. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, then I lost a cylinder and the engine blew up. I ran out of time to get my hand out. To slow down at such a rapid pace, [Austin Dillon] got into me and I was just trying to catch it from there on." -
Daniel Hemric, finished 36th (Blown engine, leading to crash)
"Just an unfortunate day for our No. 8 BetMGM team. We started 10th and were just focused on staying out of trouble and running with the pack. As a driver, you know you need to be there at the end. We started falling back and just weren’t able to come back from it. I felt like we were starting to make up some ground in the middle of
Stage 1 but then we had an engine failure. We have run thousands of miles without an issue so it’s just tough. But, we have a team that doesn’t give up. Everyone at RCR and ECR work so hard each week to bring us fast and competitive racecars, we’ll bounce back and come back stronger at Dover next week." - Tyler Reddick, finished 39th (Blown Engine)
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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