Frontstretch Newsletter: Sept. 26, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CLXVI |
- NASCAR teams will get back to their shops today after Sunday's race in Texas. Entry lists for this weekend's races in Talladega should be released
today. We'll have those and anything else that breaks for you at Frontstretch. |
Around the World in Motorsports: Sept. 23-25 |
- In TC America, part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Colin Garrett claimed a weekend sweep at Sebring. In
Race No. 1, Garrett beat Lucas Catania by 4.768 seconds. Jacob Ruud was third, then Garrett Adams and Stephen Cugliari. In Race No. 2, Garrett won by 2.42 seconds over Cugliari with Catania third, then Adams and Olivia Askew. Ruud cut a tire on the first lap and finished seventh, preventing him from clinching the TCX title Kevin Boehm dominated Race No. 1 in TC, winning by 22.315 seconds over Matthew Ibrahim. Clay Williams was
third, then Kris Valdez and Jeff Ricca. On Sunday, Boehm finished off the weekend sweep by winning by 7.339 seconds over Williams. Ricca was third, followed by Ibrahim and Valdez. In TCA, Gresham Wagner drove up from the rear of the field to take the lead in under 10 minutes. He then held
on to win Race No. 1 by 3.392 seconds over Branyon Tiner. Devin Anderson was third, then Cristian Perocarpi aand Carter Fartuch. In Race No. 2, Wagner had a far easier time, winning this time by 4.517 seconds over Tiner. Anderson was third, then Fartuch and Shaoyi Che.
- At Eldora Speedway Friday night, Rico Abreu took the lead on lap 7 and held on to win the World of Outlaws NOS
Energy Drink Sprint Car Series BeFour The Crowns Showdown. It is his first World of Outlaws win since 2018.
James McFadden was second, followed by Donny Schatz. Brad Sweet was fourth, then Carson
Macedo. - Saturday night saw the series move to Sharon Speedway. There, Sweet led flag-to-flag to take a dominant
victory. Schatz was second, then Sheldon Haudenschild, David Gravel and McFadden.
With only nine races to go, Sweet's points lead is up to 96 points over Gravel. Macedo is third, then
Haudenschild and Schatz. |
These are just an example of the videos that we have on our own YouTube channel from last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Subscribe for more content! |
| | Tyler Reddick Victorious in Grueling, Embarrassing Texas
500-MilerRichard Childress Racing's Tyler Reddick won Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, a race marred by a series of tire
failures. Joey Logano was second, then Justin Haley, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe. |
| | Cody Ware Treated, Released From Infield Care Center After Hard Texas
CrashThe scariest crash in Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 saw Cody Ware lose control and clout the wall hard in turn 4, then drive out of control down pit
road and hit the pit wall. Luckily, he was able to be released from the infield care center under his own power. |
| | Jimmie Johnson Retiring From Full-Time IndyCar
RacingJimmie Johnson announced Monday morning that he will no longer race full-time in the NTT IndyCar Series. He will race an irregular schedule going forward in
various series. |
| | Noah Gragson Takes Texas for 4th Straight Xfinity Series
WinNoah Gragson led a race-high 85 laps Saturday and held on a charge from Austin Hill to win the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 for his fourth straight NASCAR Xfinity
Series victory. Ty GIbbs was third, followed by AJ Allmendinger and Riley Herbst. |
| | AJ Allmendinger Recovers to 4th-Place Finish After Mid-Race Crash at
Texas Motor SpeedwayOn lap 110, things looked bad for AJ Allmendinger when he crashed on the backstretch with Landon Cassill and Brandon Brown. However, he was able to recover
to finish a strong fourth and leave Texas second in points. |
| | Andrea Caldarelli, Michele Beretta Dominate Sebring GT World
Challenge America Race No. 1K-PAX Racing's Andrea Caldarelli and Michele Beretta dominated Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Race No. 1 Saturday at Sebring International
Raceway, winning by 25.630 seconds. Racers Edge Motorsports' Mario Farnbacher and Ashton Harrison won in Pro-Am. |
| | Andrea Caldarelli, Michele Beretta Claim Sebring GT World Challenge
America Weekend SweepK-PAX Racing inherited the lead Sunday during the mid-race pit stops, then pulled away to score the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS weekend sweep
in Sebring. Wright Motorsports' Jan Heylen and Charlie Luck won in Pro-Am. |
| | Conquest Racing Scores Surprise Victory in Sebring Pirelli GT4
America SprintX Race No. 1Conquest Racing's Gavin Sanders and Michai Stephens scored a surprise victory in Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 1 Saturday at Sebring after Rennsport One's
Stevan McAleer suffered a fuel pump issue in the final turn. |
| | Stevan McAleer, Eric Filguerias Destroy Field in Sebring Pirelli GT4
America SprintX Race No. 2Rennsport One's Eric Filguerias and Stevan McAleer annihilated the field on Sunday, winning Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 2 in Sebring by 23.469
seconds for their ninth win of the year. |
| | George Kurtz Wins Sebring GT America Race No. 1; Wraps Up
ChampionshipGeorge Kurtz clinched the SRO3 class championship Saturday at Sebring International Raceway by winning GT America Race No. 1, his seventh victory of the
year. Accelerating Performance's Moisey Uretsky led flag-to-flag to win in GT4. |
| | George Kurtz Scores Sebring GT America
SweepCrowdstrike Racing with Riley Motorsports' George Kurtz took the lead from Zelus Motorsports' Jason Harward with nine minutes and held on to score the GT America
weekend sweep at Sebring Sunday. Flying Lizard Motorsports' Elias Sabo won in GT4. |
Photos are courtesy of Brian Cleary, Joe Skibinski of INDYCAR Media, Fabian Lagunas and Regis Lefebure of SRO Motorsports Group and our own Phil Allaway and Rick Lunkenheimer. Have news for
Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or
tip. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Championship: Joey Logano Grabs Lead After Attrition-Filled Day In Texas
by Phil Allaway
Chase Elliott was very strong on Sunday, leading 44 laps. Then, he crashed out of the lead in turn 4. The 32nd-place finish dropped him down
the order. Joey Logano dealt with vibrations during the race, but otherwise kept out of trouble and finished second. That was enough to move him up a spot into the points lead. His advantage is 12 points over Ross Chastain, who finished 13th, but scored a race-high 15 stage points. William Byron is up two places to third after finishing seventh, but may need to watch his back. Kyle Larson stays in
fourth. Ryan Blaney is up to fifth after finishing a strong fourth. Denny Hamlin has sole possession of sixth after finishing 10th.
After his crash, Elliott dropped from the lead to a tie for seventh with Daniel Suarez. Suarez moved up three places after finishing 12th. Elliott and Suarez currently have the last two spots in the Round of 8. They have a four-point lead on Chase Briscoe, who finished fifth and is in the
exact same predicament that he was before the race. Austin Cindric avoided disaster late and moved up two places to 10th. Christopher Bell crashed out after the second tire issue for him. The 34th-place finish dropped him five places to 11th, 29 points behind Elliott and Suarez. Alex Bowman crashed early, but managed to finish 29th. He dropped to 12th as a result. Of those eliminated from the playoffs, Tyler Reddick's victory gave him sole possession of 13th in points. He is 24 points ahead of teammate
Austin Dillon, who finished 17th. Kyle Busch crashed out early and finished 36th, dropping him to 15th. Kevin Harvick crashed out of the lead, but recovered to finish 19th. He is still in 16th. Among the drivers that did not qualify for the playoffs, Martin
Truex Jr. was leading when he crashed in turn 4 and retired from the race. The 31st-place finish dropped his margin over Erik Jones to 180 points, three full races. Jones finished sixth. Bubba Wallace had a number of issues and finished 25th. He remains in 19th, while Aric Almirola is 20th. Round of 12 Point Standings: 1) Joey Logano 3071, 2) Ross Chastain -12, 3) William Byron -13, 4) Kyle Larson -14, 5) Ryan Blaney -15, 6) Denny Hamlin -22, t-7) Daniel Suarez -26, t-7) Chase Elliott -26, 9) Chase Briscoe
-30, 10) Austin Cindric -37, 11) Christopher Bell -55, 12) Alex Bowman -56.
Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have locked into the Round of 12. Note No. 2: Drivers in italics have been eliminated from the playoffs, or never qualified for
the playoffs. Eliminated Playoff Driver Standings: 13) Tyler Reddick 2107, 14) Austin Dillon -24, 15) Kyle Busch -39, 16) Kevin Harvick -44. Non-Playoff Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 1024, 2) Joey Logano -94, 3) Kyle Larson -99, 4) Ryan Blaney -100, 5) Ross Chastain -124, 6) Christopher Bell -138, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -155, 8) William Byron
-190, 9) Kyle Busch -243, 10) Kevin Harvick -263, 11) Denny Hamlin -265, 12) Tyler Reddick -288, 13) Alex Bowman -289, 14) Daniel Suarez -292, 15) Austin Cindric -319, 16) Erik Jones -335. Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 17)
Chase Briscoe -343. Playoff Points: 1) Chase Elliott 40, 2) Joey Logano -15, t-3) Ross Chastain -20, t-3) Kyle Larson -20, 5) William Byron -25, 6) Ryan Blaney -26, 7) Denny Hamlin -27, t-6) Christopher Bell -27, 9) Chase Briscoe -31, t-10) Daniel Suarez -33, t-10) Alex Bowman -33, 12) Austin Cindric -34.
Best of the Rest (17-26): 17) Martin Truex Jr. 869, 18) Erik Jones -180, 19) Bubba Wallace -212, 20) Aric
Almirola -229, 21) Chris Buescher -263, 22) Justin Haley -285, 23) Michael McDowell -321, 24) Brad Keselowski -341, 25) Cole Custer -348, 26) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -383. Stage Points: 1) Chase Elliott 253, t-2) Joey Logano -27, t-2) Ryan Blaney -27, 4) Kyle Larson -40, 5) William Byron -45, 6) Martin Truex Jr. -47, 7) Ross Chastain -50, 8) Kyle Busch -55, 9) Christopher Bell
-58, 10) Denny Hamlin -97, 11) Chase Briscoe -126, t-12) Tyler Reddick -145, t-12) Erik Jones -145, 14) Daniel Suarez -148, 15) Alex Bowman -157, 16) Bubba Wallace -161. Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 22) Austin Cindric -193. Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 908, 2) Kyle Larson -62, 3) Ryan Blaney -66, 4) Joey Logano -75, 5) Ross Chastain -80, 6) Christopher Bell
-86, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -99, 8) Kevin Harvick -109, 9) Austin Cindric -140, 10) William Byron -147, 11) Tyler Reddick -148, 12) Daniel Suarez -152, 13) Alex Bowman -153, 14) Denny Hamlin -170, 15) Austin Dillon
-181, 16) Kyle Busch -189. Outside of the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 19) Chase Briscoe -216. Note: These standings are based on the old point system that was used before stages were created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Chase Elliott 4080, 2) Kyle Larson
-195, 3) Joey Logano -207, 4) Ryan Blaney -212, 5) Ross Chastain -243, 6) Christopher Bell -278, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -383, 8) Kevin Harvick -393, 9) Tyler Reddick -454, 10) William Byron -504, 11) Austin Cindric -507, 12) Daniel Suarez -530, 13) Denny Hamlin -550, 14) Alex Bowman -553, 15) Kyle Busch -604, 16) Austin Dillon -639. Outside of the Top 16, but still in the
Playoffs: 19) Chase Briscoe -747. 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, Watkins Glen), Alex Bowman (Las Vegas), Chase Briscoe (Phoenix), William Byron (Atlanta-1, Martinsville), Ross Chastain (Circuit of the Americas, Talladega), Denny Hamlin (Richmond-1, Charlotte), Kyle Busch (Bristol-1), Chase Elliott (Dover, Nashville, Atlanta-2, Pocono), Joey Logano (Darlington-1, Gateway), Kurt Busch (Kansas-1), Daniel Suarez (Sonoma),
Tyler Reddick (Road America, Indianapolis), Christopher Bell (Loudon), Kevin Harvick (Michigan, Richmond-2), Austin Dillon (Daytona-2), Erik Jones (Darlington-2), Bubba Wallace (Kansas-2), Chris Buescher (Bristol-2)
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.
|
|
|
Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship: Noah Gragson's 4th Straight Win Sees Him Open Up His Advantage
by Phil Allaway
Noah Gragson kept up his excellent recent form Saturday with his fourth straight victory. That allowed
him to double his lead from 13 to 26 points in addition to locking himself into the Round of 8. Gragson's 26-point lead is over AJ Allmendinger, who gained two places after finishing fourth despite a spin and an unwinding tire in the closing laps. Ty Gibbs is down one place to third despite a third-place finish due to Allmendinger having 16 stage points to Gibbs' eight. Austin Hill moved up two places to fourth after finishing
second. Josh Berry remains in fifth after finishing sixth. Justin Allgaier was eliminated in the Big One on the backstretch and dropped three places to sixth. Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg are tied for seventh. Mayer finished eighth and got the tiebreaker over Sieg, who finished ninth. Mayer and Sieg currently have the last two spots in the Round of 8. They are one point ahead of Riley
Herbst, who finished fifth. Daniel Hemric crashed out in the Big One, but remains in 10th. Brandon Jones was eliminated in the same crash, but dropped from seventh to 11th. Jeremy Clements dropped to 12th after retiring with ignition issues. Outside of the playoffs, Landon Cassill was eliminated shortly before the Big One and finished 33rd. He is
nine points ahead of Sheldon Creed, who finished seventh. Anthony Alfredo is 15th, then Brandon Brown. Round of 12 Point Standings: 1) Noah Gragson 2107, 2) AJ
Allmendinger -26, 3) Ty Gibbs -27, 4) Austin Hill -43, 5) Josh Berry -49, 6) Justin Allgaier -53, t-7) Sam Mayer -72, t-7) Ryan Sieg -72, 9) Riley Herbst -73, 10) Daniel Hemric -80, 11) Brandon Jones -85, 12) Jeremy Clements
-101.
Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have locked into the Round of 8. Note No. 2: Drivers in italics have failed to qualify, or were otherwise ineligible for the
playoffs. Non-Playoff Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 1097, 2) Noah Gragson -53, 3) Ty Gibbs -79, 4) Justin Allgaier -81, 5) Josh Berry -160, 6) Austin Hill -241, 7) Brandon Jones -287, 8) Sam Mayer -347, 9) Riley Herbst
-354, 10) Daniel Hemric -435, 11) Ryan Sieg -457, 12) Landon Cassill -492, 13) Sheldon Creed -501, 14) Anthony Alfredo -578, 15) Brandon Brown -605, 16) Jeremy Clements -640. Best of the Rest: 13) Landon Cassill 605, 14) Sheldon Creed
-9, 15) Anthony Alfredo -86, 16) Brandon Brown -113, 17) Myatt Snider -172, 18) Jeb Burton -178, 19) Brett Moffitt -189, 20) Alex Labbe -218, 21) Bayley Currey -248, 22) Kyle Weatherman -308. Playoff Points: 1) Noah Gragson 56, 2) Ty Gibbs
-18, t-3) Justin Allgaier -23, t-3) AJ Allmendinger -23, 5) Josh Berry -34, 6) Austin Hill -40, 7) Brandon Jones -46, t-8) Jeremy Clements -51, t-8) Sam Mayer -51, 10) Daniel Hemric -52, 11) Riley Herbst -54, 12) Ryan Sieg
-55. Stage Points: 1) Justin Allgaier 294, 2) Noah Gragson -5, 3) Ty Gibbs -10, 4) AJ Allmendinger -46, 5) Josh Berry -66, 6) Brandon Jones -120, 7) Sam Mayer -154, 8) Austin Hill -158, 9) Daniel Hemric
-170, 10) Riley Herbst -203, 11) Sheldon Creed -214, 12) Trevor Bayne -227, 13) Ryan Sieg -228, 14) Landon Cassill -235, 15) Brandon Brown -248, 16) Anthony Alfredo -252. Outside of the Top 16, but Still in the Playoffs: 23) Jeremy Clements -276. Note:
If he was eligible, John Hunter Nemechek would be 12th in stage points. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 965, 2) Noah Gragson
-88, 3) Ty Gibbs -100, 4) Austin Hill -125, 5) Justin Allgaier -132, 6) Josh Berry -134, 7) Riley Herbst -205, 8) Brandon Jones -212, 9) Sam Mayer -244, 10) Ryan Sieg -278, 11) Daniel Hemric -313, 12) Landon Cassill
-314, 13) Sheldon Creed -335, 14) Anthony Alfredo -378, 15) Brandon Brown -408, 16) Jeremy Clements -419. WC Points (1-16): 1) AJ Allmendinger 4179, 2) Noah Gragson -272, 3) Ty Gibbs -326, 4) Justin Allgaier -427, 5) Austin Hill -431, 6) Josh Berry -458, 7) Riley Herbst -717, 8) Brandon Jones -750, 9) Sam Mayer
-825, 10) Ryan Sieg -1008, 11) Daniel Hemric -1089, 12) Landon Cassill -1102, 13) Sheldon Creed -1139, 14) Anthony Alfredo -1314, 15) Brandon Brown -1394, 16) Jeremy Clements -1439.
Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona-1, Atlanta-2), Cole Custer (Fontana), Ty Gibbs (Las Vegas,
Atlanta-1, Richmond, Road America, Michigan), Noah Gragson (Phoenix, Talladega, Pocono, Darlington-2, Kansas, Bristol, Texas-2), AJ Allmendinger (Circuit of the Americas, Portland, Indianapolis), Brandon Jones (Martinsville), Josh Berry (Dover, Charlotte), Justin Allgaier (Darlington-1, Nashville, Loudon), Tyler Reddick (Texas-1), Kyle Larson (Watkins Glen), Jeremy Clements (Daytona-2) Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
|
|
|
Seeking the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship: Off-Week Points Update No. 12
by Phil
Allaway
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was off last weekend. They are scheduled to be back in action Saturday
afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.
When they get there for the second race of the Round of 8, Chandler Smith will have a three-point
lead in the standings over Zane Smith. Stewart Friesen will have the final spot in the Championship 4 in third. Ty Majeski already clinched his spot in the Championship 4 after winning at Kansas.
John Hunter Nemechek is fifth, nine points behind Friesen. Christian Eckes is
sixth, then Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes. Outside of the playoffs, Derek Kraus is 22 points ahead of Tyler Ankrum.
Matt DiBenedetto is nearly a full race behind Ankrum, then Tanner Gray, Corey Heim and Chase Purdy.
Round of 8 Point Standings: 1) Chandler Smith 3076, 2) Zane Smith
-3, 3) Stewart Friesen -15, 4) Ty Majeski -23, 5) John Hunter Nemechek -24, 6) Christian Eckes -28, 7) Grant Enfinger -30, 8) Ben Rhodes -33.
Eliminated Playoff Driver Point Standings: 9) Matt Crafton 2125, 10) Carson Hocevar -8.
Best of the Rest (11-20): 11) Derek Kraus 523, 12) Tyler Ankrum -22, 13) Matt DiBenedetto -75, 14) Tanner Gray -89, 15) Corey Heim -115, 16) Chase Purdy -142, 17) Parker Kligerman -181, 18) Colby Howard
-184, 19) Ryan Preece -188, 20) Timmy Hill -204.
Non-Playoff Point Standings (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 772, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -23, 3) Chandler Smith -25, 4) Ty Majeski
-52, 5) Stewart Friesen -81, 6) Christian Eckes -97, 7) Ben Rhodes -123, t-8) Grant Enfinger -152, t-8) Carson Hocevar -152, 10) Matt Crafton -218, 11) Derek Kraus -249, 12) Tyler Ankrum -271, 13) Matt DiBenedetto -324, 14) Tanner Gray -338, 15) Corey Heim -364, 16) Chase Purdy -391.
Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 37, 2) Chandler Smith -7, 3) John Hunter Nemechek -13, 4) Ben Rhodes -20, t-5) Stewart Friesen -24, t-5) Ty Majeski -24, t-7) Grant
Enfinger -30, t-7) Christian Eckes -30. Stage Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 209, 2) Zane Smith
-32, 3) Chandler Smith -40, 4) Ty Majeski -45, 5) Ben Rhodes -46, 6) Stewart Friesen -63, 7) Christian Eckes -66, 8) Carson Hocevar -88, t-9) Grant Enfinger -103, t-9) Corey Heim -103, 11) Derek Kraus
-106, 12) Matt Crafton -134, 13) Ryan Preece -136,
t-14) Parker Kligerman -149, t-14) Tyler Ankrum -149, 16) Tanner Gray -166. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 528, 2) Chandler Smith -20, 3) Ty Majeski -34, 4) John Hunter Nemechek -52, 5) Stewart Friesen -58, 6) Christian Eckes
-64, 7) Grant Enfinger -88, 8) Carson Hocevar -94, 9) Ben Rhodes -112, 10) Matt Crafton -125, 11) Tyler Ankrum -166, 12) Derek Kraus -180, 13) Matt DiBenedetto -196, 14) Tanner Gray -214, 15) Chase Purdy
-245, 16) Colby Howard -272. WC Points (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 3006, 2) Chandler Smith -92, 3) Ty Majeski -150, 4) John Hunter Nemechek -168, 5) Stewart Friesen -236, 6) Christian Eckes -238, 7) Grant Enfinger -316, 8) Carson Hocevar
-326, 9) Ben Rhodes -389, 10) Matt Crafton -480, 11) Tyler Ankrum -621, 12) Derek Kraus -632, 13) Matt DiBenedetto -722, 14) Tanner Gray -763, 15) Chase Purdy -947, 16) Colby Howard -962. Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Circuit of the Americas, Kansas-2), Chandler Smith (Las Vegas, Pocono, Richmond), Corey Heim (Atlanta, Gateway), William Byron (Martinsville), Ben Rhodes (Bristol-1), John Hunter Nemechek (Darlington, Kansas-2), Stewart Friesen (Texas), Ross Chastain (Charlotte), Kyle Busch
(Sonoma), Todd Gilliland (Knoxville), Ryan Preece (Nashville), Parker Kligerman (Mid-Ohio), Grant Enfinger (Lucas Oil IRP), Ty Majeski (Bristol-2)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
|
|
|
Letter of the Race: Sunday's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 was brought to you by the letter T for Tires. A series of right rear tire failures
completely corrupted the race to a level that hasn't been seen since Indianapolis in 2008. It was a real black eye for the NextGen car. - Phil Allaway |
Quotes to Remember: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500
complied by Phil Allaway
"I was extremely worried; I’m not going to lie. Unfortunately, just about every time we’ve had fast cars, we’ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there. "I was just trying to maximize and use the gap that I built over Joey (Logano) just in case. I mean, every time we’ve had a strong car, we’ve been bit by something, man.
"Just really proud to be able to get this Lenovo Chevy to Victory Lane. They were at Auto Club earlier this year.
They deserve to go to get to Victory Lane. We got them there." - Tyler Reddick, race winner
"The tires, if they aren’t blowing out then they are square. They were shaking like crazy. That is what happened there the last run. The last couple of runs really, just shaking the car. We got tight a couple runs and last
time I got one that was off in the rear and we got loose. I think [Tyler] Reddick was fighting the same thing from what I heard there. You get that close to the win and you just know that if you just had that it might have been good enough to win the race. At the same time we should be happy that we scored a bunch of points today. It is bittersweet I guess.
"[It] was a successful day for points scored. We got stage points in both stages and we were able to get a bunch by finishing second there. Yeah, it was a sloppy race for everyone on the track. We were just able to position ourselves really good at the end. Paul [Wolfe] did a good job calling the race and putting four tires on when we needed to and putting two tires on when we needed to cycle forward." - Joey Logano, finished
second
"This was a long, challenging race. we finished third at Darlington earlier in the season and started pretty much last there as well, so it’s pretty cool to have another really great run for this Kaulig Racing team. Our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 definitely wasn’t what I liked, but we kept working on it and actually when it
turned dark, we got some good track position and made a heck of a run out of it. I’m really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. At the end, I was just worried that the right rear is going to go down, so I was just trying to make it to the end. P3 is everything we could want right now." - Justin Haley, finished third
"It was a long night for sure. It didn’t start out very good at all. We got better and better through the night and throughout the day we were able to win a stage and claw our way back from pretty far back in the pack there that last run to get to fourth. I thought our Mustang was probably the best car at the end we just couldn’t pass anybody. Overall, not a bad night. A pretty wild night. Luckily we were able to put together a solid race." - Ryan Blaney, finished fourth
"The first 90 percent of the race we were struggling. We couldn’t get the balance of the car right. We would be too loose or too tight and could never find where we needed to be. After that red flag I think the nighttime coming in kind of helped us a bit. With 80 to go we were hoping to catch more
cautions and make it on fuel and we were able to get our track position that way and it ended up working out. We did what we needed to do for our Rush Truck Centers Ford. We were not a fifth-place car. We weren’t even a 15th-place car. To steal some points like that is huge. Going to Talladega, we are not in a massive hole and that is the most important thing. We will go there and hopefully have a little luck go our way and see what happens." - Chase Briscoe,
finished fifth "It ended up being a solid day for our FOCUSfactor Chevy team. The day started out a little rough, we were just struggling with the balance and got it better late in the race. We ended up taking tires with about 30 laps to go and were able to come back through the field for a sixth-place finish. I’m proud
of that. We struggled at Texas in the All-Star race and we got a lot better from then to today. It’s good to have a good week. We needed one after the last few weeks. Hopefully we can carry so momentum to Talladega next weekend and try to close one out there." - Erik Jones, finished sixth
"[Denny Hamlin] ran me out
of room and bent the toe link. We are lucky we finished. It was really hard contact. it wasn’t like a light contact or something like that. I obviously didn’t mean to spin him out over there, but I am obviously mad and just not going to get raced like that. We have always raced so well together and I don’t know what it was all about. [Martin Truex Jr.] took it their way and he ran out of racetrack, so he chose to run me out of racetrack completely. And again, look, it was not like it was light
contact and I thought we were going to be done. "I don’t know. I mean obviously yeah; I went to go show my displeasure and I didn’t mean to spin him out. There are a ton of guys that do this and go do something like that…see it all the time. But yeah, I am just not going to get run like that and there is really no reason. I
mean we are running second and third I think and had a shot to win, and it killed our car for sure. That was a bummer." - William Byron, finished seventh "You just shake it off and go out there the best that you can
and put together some good runs. So, we were able to overcome all the spots that we lost on pit road, and I feel like I drove from the back to the top five or six almost every run. "We had a really good car and I’m proud of the effort there at the shop and the piece that we brought here to Texas. It’s good that we are above
the cutline; but if we are plus 16, I feel like we could have been plus 34 or something at least, so bummer there. We could have potentially won the race. We had the best car and the weather delay hurt for sure. We had the best car on the track when it was hot and when it got cooler, I got loose and everybody seemed to get faster. So, it was just harder to pass. Proud of the effort back at the shop." - Kyle Larson, finished
ninth
"I think [my crew chief Chris Gabehart wanted a penalty]. I guess we can just wreck each other under caution. I tried to wreck [William Byron] back. Yeah, I don’t think we touched. I got to look. I don’t think we touched. Obviously, he sent us into the infield under caution.
"I mean, you know, I keep hearing these guys. I’ll just add it to the list of guys when I get a chance. They’re going to get it." - Denny Hamlin, finished 10th
"I blew a tire. Simple as that. I guess the same thing as everybody else has been
having. Man, I’m ready for this year to be over. Strong Bass Pro Shops Camry. Really strong car. Went to the back and passed a lot of cars today. Spun out in the first stage and I was like okay, what was that all about. Good car couldn’t do too much with it. Just kept going to the back and as soon as we got track position the unthinkable happens. It’s a shame. It’s a crazy day for sure – a lot of blown tires." - Martin Truex Jr., finished 31st (Crashed
out)
"Something came apart. I could hear it flapping in the right rear fender well. I don’t know, but if it wasn’t down, it was certainly coming apart. One of the two. "I’m not
sure that Goodyear is at fault. Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear." - Chase Elliott, finished 32nd (Crashed out)
"Yeah, just the second right rear blown [tire]
of the day – that was disappointing. I’m in a pretty bad spot now." - Christopher Bell, finished 34th (Crashed out)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is
courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
|
|
|
|
