By Aaron Bearden
After each NASCAR race weekend, Motorsports Beat will share a piece breaking down the stories and takeaways from the weekend. This is a report on NASCAR’s return to Auto Club Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Wise Power 400
Track: Auto Club Speedway
Who Won?
Kyle Larson. After lurking near the front for most of the race, Larson rallied to the lead in the final stage and survived a late restart battle with Daniel Suarez for the win.
Top Stories
Next Gen success
Did you see all of those cautions over the weekend?
You know, the natural ones? For single-car spins?
It felt good to see them, didn’t it?
NASCAR’s Next Gen era began with an attrition-filled war in Auto Club Speedway. Champions of the sport like Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott lost control of their cars and spun all by themselves at points in the weekend.
There were 12 cautions in Sunday’s race – easily the most the event has seen in the 400-mile era. But beyond that were 32 lead changes, multiple three-and-four-wide battles and a race that produced a top-10 with nine different teams represented.
Those are the sort of parity and statistical successes that NASCAR hoped for with the new car. The machines performed so well that even Larson was pleasantly surprised.
“Honestly I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to,” Larson said after the race. “I thought dirty air was going to be really bad behind people, and it didn’t seem way worse or different than normal. So that was encouraging. I thought the runs were equally as big if not bigger down the front stretch. Restarts were still crazy.
“Yeah, I thought it was way different, which was good for me anyways, and probably for us drivers. And then you have the part where, yeah, it’s on edge where if you get a little too stepped out, you spin.
“You have to be aware of that and your aggressiveness on the restarts and try to work on your balance a lot. We did that throughout the day quite a bit. We had runs early on where we’d be tight and then the next run we’d be loose and then we were able to kind of narrow that window down there it seemed like around halfway, and that’s when I felt like we were going to have a decent shot to win.”
At the risk of sounding like an old record, Fontana may not be entirely representative of the schedule as a whole. The track’s old asphalt elicits tire wear, while the wide-open oval allows for drivers to run multiple lanes while utilizing the draft and passing.
The only other two-mile oval on the schedule is Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR had only ran at the quarter-mile Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and draft-focused Daytona International Speedway prior to Fontana.
Next week’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be more indicative of what to expect at a good portion of the schedule. But through three significantly-different tests thus far, NASCAR’s next car has risen to the occasion and put on entertaining events.
What’s old is new again
New car. New era. New hope.
Same Kyle Larson.
Despite the many changes that came to NASCAR entering the 2022 season, it took Larson and the defending champions on the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team just two points races to find their way back to victory lane.
The path to the front wasn’t clean and simple – Larson started at the tail and had some controversial contact (more on that in a moment) along the way. But the end result was the same old story, with the Californian claiming another win.
Larson was the star of the 2021 campaign, scoring 10 points wins and an All-Star Race victory in his first season for Hendrick Motorsports.
With an early win in his home state, the crossover dirt star has made it clear he that he intends to pick up where he left off – even if he’s had to race a different group of contenders thus far.
“It definitely feels good to get a win early on in the year because going to a new car you don’t know if you’re going to win or not,” Larson said afterward. “But I mean, you have confidence in your race team. It was neat today to see some guys who don’t typically run up front run up front and contend for the win.”
Teammate trouble
Before he could hold off Suarez and Austin Dillon to secure Sunday’s win, Larson had to deal with an upset teammate in Chase Elliott.
Larson was battling with Joey Logano for the lead after a late restart when Elliott used a strong run to reel the leaders in. Seeing his opportunity, Elliott attempted to jump to Larson’s outside and take the duo three-wide as Larson side-drafted Logano.
But the move quickly went awry when Larson swerved up the track. The pair made contact and Elliott was pinched into the outside wall.
LARSON PUTS CHASE IN THE WALL! pic.twitter.com/aXUfQUCtCc
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 28, 2022
It was a frustrating result for Elliott, who had spent most of the afternoon overcoming damage from an early slide into the outside wall from the lead. He radioed his frustrations to his crew, saying “what the (expletive) is he doing, man? It wasn’t even close.”
Elliott was forced to pit with the damage. He asked his crew to confirm what had happened and later swerved down in Larson’s direction as he was being lapped.
The Georgian finally spun with nine laps remaining, forcing the day’s final caution and forcing Larson to endure a late restart to win. Elliott ultimately finished 26th.
Larson later called the moment an “honest mistake,” claiming that he had no idea Elliott was there.
“(Joey and I) were side-drafting each other, and I’m not even looking in my mirror at that point because all I’m worried about is Joey and I’m looking out of my A-post window,” Larson said.
I had a run, so I went to peel off, and as soon as I peeled off, my spotter (Tyler Monn) is yelling, ‘Outside! Outside! Outside!’ And I had no clue (Elliott) was even coming.”
Larson’s spotter later took full responsibility for the accident.
Today I made a mistake. I will take full responsibility for what happen on track today. I was worried more about the 22 and not the 9. It was a late call on me it had nothing to do with Kyle.
— Tyler Monn (@TylerMonn) February 28, 2022
The move may have just been a racing accident, but it might make for an interesting team meeting in the Hendrick Motorsports camp later this week.
“I talked to Chase after the race, and I think we’ve got to understand what those guys have been through all day long and where they had come back to, and obviously to be in contention there for the win late in the race is just a true testament to the great job that Alan and that entire team did to get that car back and have it competitive,” Hendrick Motorsports general manager Jeff Andrews said.
“I think certainly nothing intentional there by Kyle, and I think we’ll go back — I know we’ll go back and talk about it in our meetings tomorrow and Tuesday, and we’ll look at all the facts and we’ll look at what happened and we’ll talk about it as a company, and at the end of the day we’re going to — as we always do, we’ll do the right things for the company and get ready to go to Las Vegas in a good spot for really everybody.
Tough luck for Tyler
If NASCAR had cut half the distances off of its two early California races, there’s a strong chance that Tyler Reddick would have all the momentum in the world right now.
Reddick was the dominant driver on the day in Fontana, taking the lead early and pacing a career-high 90 laps while he won each of the opening stages. It mirrored the Californian’s earlier February success in the Busch Light Clash, where mechanical woes ruined his day after a dominant drive in the opening half of the race.
Nearly everything was going to plan for Reddick in Fontana. Only a strange bout of numbness in his left leg kept the third-year Cup driver from a flawless opening half of the race. He thought afterward that increased muscle in the leg may be causing complications with his seat.
But the final stage brought heartbreak for Reddick once again. The 26-year-old was leading ahead of Erik Jones when he suffered a flat left-rear tire, forcing him to slow down the front straightaway.
Reddick limped his machine through the opening two turns in the high lane, but as he was exiting the corner William Byron got loose underneath him and clattered into his No. 8 Chevrolet, sending it into the outside wall.
Byron was knocked out of the race in the accident. Reddick continued on, but fell off of the lead lap and was hampered by damage.
He saw some of the fruits of his labor pay off as teammate Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team rallied to finish second. But Reddick himself was relegated to 24th, the first driver one lap down at race’s end.
“Absolutely gutted by how our race unfolded but I couldn’t be prouder of this whole team and what we were able to do a majority of this race today,” Reddick told NASCAR.com of the run. “We will learn from this; we will become stronger from this and be hungrier than ever before.”
Close call for Suarez, Trackhouse Racing
He was so close.
Trackhouse Racing saw both of its drivers competing in the top-10 during the final 50 laps. But after Ross Chastain spun out of contention, Daniel Suarez was left to lead the way for the team in the race’s final stanza.
He nearly brought the second-year organization to victory lane.
Benefitting from a fast late stop from his No. 99 crew, Suarez chose the inside lane of the front row for the final restart and briefly passed Larson with the help of a push from Erik Jones.
Suarez carried the lead into the inside lane with three to go, but Larson took the outside and carried momentum onto the straightaway. He was too quick to be blocked, shooting past Suarez for a lead he wouldn’t relinquish with two to go.
With his momentum lost, Suarez faded to fourth before stabilizing. The end result was a strong top-five, but it left Suarez and his team hungry for more.
“We’re going to win a few races very soon here,” Suarez said afterward. “I just can’t thank everyone enough in my team. We had a fast car, but we went through a lot of adversity.
“We had a few issues. We hit the wall once. We had an issue with a diffuser. My pit crew, those guys are legends; it’s unbelievable. It’s the pit crew I’ve ever had, and it’s a lot of fun to race like that.”
Keeping up with That Jones Boy
When Erik Jones qualified second for Sunday’s race, it looked like a potential feel-good moment for a building Petty GMS Motorsports squad. But the qualifying performance was actually just a small signal of the run to follow.
Jones was a force in Sunday’s race, leading six time for 18 laps and never fading far from the front. It was the most laps the No. 43 had led since Aric Almirola paced 69 circuits at Kansas Speedway in 2012.
The Michigander was hopeful that he might contend for the win. But while he ultimately fell just a bit short, Jones still finished a strong third after coming home second in both opening stages.
There are still questions to answer for the Petty GMS squad. Ty Dillon was comparatively quiet in 17th. Jones struggled to fire off as well as the sport’s traditional powers on late restarts.
But though two races Jones is sitting a strong sixth in the standings, with everything left to race for. Sunday’s result might just be a memorable run for Petty GMS Motorsports, but there’s a chance it could be the start of a special year.
Comeback City
There were a striking number of similarities between the top-10 and the list of cars involved in accidents during Sunday’s race.
Drivers throughout the field endured adversity and struggles at some point in the race weekend. Nine drivers started at the back of the field for either a backup car or unapproved adjustments, including Larson and Logano.
Kevin Harvick didn’t complete a single lap before backing into the outside wall in his No. 4 Ford on Saturday. He rallied from a slow start to finish seventh in the race.
Aric Almirola suffered not one, but two separate half-spins off of Turn 4 over the weekend. Yet there he was when the dust settled, salvaging a sixth-place result. He’s the only driver in the Cup field with two top-10s to open 2022, leaving him just three short of his 2021 total.
“We sure had our hands full,” Almirola quipped. “It was a crazy day, wow. These cars are certainly a handful and we worked on it all day and made it to where it was driving better. Then we got some damage and the guys worked on it and got it fixed.”
Kurt Busch had to start Sunday’s race from the tail and serve a pass-through penalty after three inspection failures on Friday. He marched his way into the top-10, only to be sent back to the tail for a speeding penalty on pit road.
But the veteran and his No. 45 23XI Racing team rallied to score their first top-10 together. “I can’t describe what we went through today with all the adversity, all of the problems – the self-inflicted things, the odd ball scenarios,” Busch said. “Wow. What a top-10. That is a statement piece for us at 23XI, to get our top-10 like this with everything we have been through.
“I’ve got to thank all of my guys for staying focused. They showed me the way, and I showed them on what we’ve got to do this year to keep chiseling away.
Even Kurt Busch’s strong rebound wasn’t the biggest of the day, though. That honor went to the duo of Daniel Hemric and Kyle Busch.
The defending Xfinity Series champ was once as many as seven laps down in his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, seemingly out of contention after suffering shifter issues. But the caution-filled race allowed Hemric to utilize a mix of wave-arounds and free passes to rise back up to the lead lap.
Hemric would up taking advantage of the opportunity to compete, earning his best Cup result at a track two miles or shorter with a ninth-place result.
The younger Busch brother was trapped four laps down with his own mix of misfortune, suffering a spin and flat tire early in the race. But his No. 18 team kept working and rallied.
The final caution allowed Busch to rejoin the lead lap for overtime. He marched forward as far as he could, somehow sneaking out of Auto Club Speedway with a 14th-place result.
Tire troubles
You can’t acknowledge the Next Gen car’s many successes without also addressing the multiple-lap-down elephant in the room.
Tire troubles were again a significant story of the race weekend. Any crash that led to a flat tire resulted in a slow, lengthy trip to pit road for the driver involved.
On Saturday, that meant lengthy delays and a qualifying program that stretched beyond the TV window. Come race day, drivers with the misfortune of flat tires typically found themselves trapped multiple laps down and at risk of further damage.
One such victim of circumstance was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who dropped four laps with flat tires before ultimately falling out of the race in 36th with motor problems.
His wife, Morgan, aired the frustration that many were feeling on social media afterward.
Do better NASCAR.. this is absolutely ridiculous.. we all knew this was a problem for almost a year now! How is this still not fixed.. https://t.co/wE4fnk8SU7
— Morgan Bell (@mrs_morgan_bell) February 27, 2022
NASCAR knew it would have a few quirks to work out with the Next Gen car. But none are more obvious than the damage risk and lack of drivability when flat tires arise.
This will remain a significant talking point in the garage area until the sanctioning body figures out a solution.
Notes
- Kurt Busch’s top-10 came with a pass or 133. No, seriously. That’s how many green-flag passes he had en route to a hard-fought finish.
- And good thing, too. Because Toyota had a tough day otherwise. Joe Gibbs Racing’s cars suffered overheating issues, while the rest of the manufacturer’s fleet struggled for various reasons. The elder Busch brother was the only Toyota finisher in the top-12.
- Austin Dillon’s narrow defeat may have been disappointing, but it was a major step in the right direction. Dillon hadn’t scored a top-five sine the 2021 Daytona 500 before Sunday.
- Garrett Smithley had a quiet day in California, but it was a successful one. Smithley scored a career-best result with his 21st-place run for Rick Ware Racing.
- Right behind Smithley in 22nd was BJ McLeod, whose result tied his best to date outside of superspeedway races.
- Sunday offered a brief return of two-mile Kyle. Before Larson became synonymous with victory everywhere in NASCAR, he stood out for his prowess on the pair of two-mile ovals, where he’s now earned five of his 17 wins.
- Chase Briscoe didn’t get the end result he was after in 16th. But beforehand the Hoosier led 20 laps, topping the entire total from his rookie campaign in 2021 (18).
Wise Power 400 Results
- Kyle Larson
- Austin Dillon
- Erik Jones
- Daniel Suarez
- Joey Logano
- Aric Almirola
- Kevin Harvick
- Kurt Busch
- Daniel hemric
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Cole Custer
- Austin Cindric
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Briscoe
- Ty Dillon
- Ryan Blaney
- Bubba Wallace
- Todd Gilliland
- Garrett Smithley
- BJ McLeod
- Justin Haley
- Tyler Reddick
- Alex Bowman
- Chase Elliott
- Brad Keselowski
- Corey LaJoie
- Ross Chastain
- Josh Bilicki
- Michael McDowell
- Cody Ware
- Harrison Burton
- William Byron
- Chris Buescher
- Christopher Bell
Stage 1
- Tyler Reddick
- Erik Jones
- William Byron
- Chase Briscoe
- Kyle Larson
- Alex Bowman
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Austin Cindric
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stage 2
- Tyler Reddick
- Erik Jones
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Kyle Larson
- Cole Custer
- Austin Cindric
- Aric Almirola
- William Byron
- Denny Hamlin
Next Up: The first intermediate oval race of the Next Gen era at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 on March 6.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race: Production Alliance 300
Track: Auto Club Speedway
Who Won?
Cole Custer. The returning star proved the best of a trio of strong cars, surviving multiple late restarts to bring home his first series win since 2019.
Top Stories
What’s good for the Custer is good for the Dotter
So proud of this man @SSGLR0708 I take a lot of pride in this win even though I’m at home watching..I know without Bobby Dotter I couldn’t have had the joy I had in 2019.I’ve known him since I was 7 years old and if there’s 1 guy that deserves this it’s him! Congrats @ColeCuster pic.twitter.com/9shLyHlHnF
— Gray Gaulding (@graygaulding) February 27, 2022
Congrats 07 team!!! So much cool stuff for this win. @SSGLR0708 win, @FordPerformance @roushyates win, @ColeCuster win, awesome job guys! 👏🏻👏🏻 #Xfinity https://t.co/PsjIZZSJS1
— Garrett Smithley (@GarrettSmithley) February 27, 2022
Pumped for Bobby Dotter and @SSGLR0708 💪
— Spencer Boyd (@SpencerBoyd) February 27, 2022
Brandon gets Beached
Saturday’s Xfinity Series race mimicked both the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity races from Daytona International Speedway in the race’s closing stages, providing a wreck that was both vicious and buzzer-beating, coming just before Cole Custer could take the white flag to ensure the event’s conclusion.
The Fox Sports team covering the race was focusing on that chase to the white flag when they cut suddenly to the entrance of pit road.
All that could be seen was flying sand.
Playing the role of late victim of circumstance this week was Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Brandon Jones. His neon-yellow No. 19 Toyota was sent for a spin off of Turn 4 when brothers-in-law Stefan Parsons and Sheldon Creed came together and stacked up ahead of him.
Jones was an innocent bystander, but bore the brunt of the crash. His machine spin through the infield grass before slamming into the sand barrels at the entrance of pit road.
This caution flew just seconds before the leader took the white flag.
We'll set them up one more time. pic.twitter.com/7yJ45iKcMm
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) February 27, 2022
The Georgian suffered a hard hit, but emerged unhurt from the incident. He admitted afterward to seeing the hit coming, but was pleasantly shocked by the lack of physical danger from the hit itself.
“I think that was the worst part of all of this – when you go spinning, you look to see what’s coming up,” Jones said. “I got halfway caught on the grass and halfway on the pavement and the rear tires were in the grass so I could not get anything to grip up for me to get out of that grass. I saw it coming.
“I never have hit the sand before. A ton of impact there, and I really didn’t feel much of anything, which is surprising, so good job by those guys.”
A lengthy red flag followed the incident, pushing the broadcast long beyond its planned TV window. The sand was cleaned up, destroyed barrels were discarded and new ones were brought in to allow for a final two-lap dash nearly a half-hour later.
The end result was ultimately unchanged up front. Custer still prevailed. But a few local fans did score a souvenir out of the incident.
They dumped the broken sand barrels in the infield and fans have surrounded them to grab pieces. pic.twitter.com/aw4pDZJ6M5
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) February 27, 2022
A promising return for Trevor Bayne
The last time Trevor Bayne graced an Xfinity Series field in 2016, there were no stages or playoff points. The playoffs themselves were a new concept in NASCAR’s second series, eventually won by Joe Gibbs Racing prospect Daniel Suarez, who would go on to replace Carl Edwards in the organization’s Cup program the next year after his shocking retirement. Bayne himself was a full-time Roush Fenway Racing driver, battling with teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 21st in points for the faltering program in a quiet year.
Six years later, everything has changed. The Xfinity Series contests stages and has the usual mix of playoff points and chaos in the postseason. Suarez drives for Trackhouse Racing in a Chevrolet, while Edwards is nowhere to be seen. Stenhouse has shifted to JTG Daugherty Racing. Roush Fenway racing has a new name — RFK Racing — to kick off a new era with 2012 Cup champ Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher.
Bayne hasn’t been seen in Cup since 2018. Prior to Saturday, he hadn’t ran at all since a brief eight-race Truck effort for Niece Motorsports in 2020. But the Tennessean scored a seven-race Xfinity program with JGR heading into 2022, giving himself a brief opportunity to show his worth and chase trophies in NASCAR’s second series.
If Saturday’s run is any indication, the tenure could yield success.
Bayne started fourth and quickly rose to the front, claiming the opening stage in the No. 18 Devotion Nutrition Toyota. He lost ground on the ensuing round of pit stops and took time to march back to the front, but in the end Bayne slotted a solid third to lead Toyota on the day.
“This is so much fun,” Bayne said afterward. “We won that first stage and I was kind of shook – this is crazy to be back driving this No. 18 having a good run, but then we had a bad pit stop. It got us back in traffic and that’s when it got real. These guys are really racy – all of these young kids – they race hard.”
Bayne will be off next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he’ll return for the ensuing March 12 trip to Phoenix Raceway. The 30-year-old veteran is also set to compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 28), Nashville Superspeedway (June 25), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 16), Las Vegas (Oct. 15), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 22).
Anthony Alfredo makes some noise
Anthony Alfredo and the No. 23 Our Motorsports team are making a habit out of late surprises early in the Xfinity Series season.
One week after battling back from multiple laps down at Daytona, Alfredo’s team saved a set of tires for the final laps and caught a timely caution to put them on. The Connecticut native had endured a quiet day and sat 26th after stops, but quickly jumped to 13th after a restart with six laps left in the scheduled distance.
That crash pushed the field to NASCAR overtime, priming Alfredo for a great run. He rose inside of the top-10 on the ensuing restart, then climbed into the top-four heading into double OT. But Jones’ heavy crash brought out a lengthy red flag that allowed the rest of the field to cool their tires.
Alfredo still had a slim tired advantage for the final restart and was able to take the restart from the inside lane of the front row. He tried to dive deep into the turn and slide up into the lead, but couldn’t clear Custer. The Cup regular surged by Alfredo and left him trapped on the bottom off of Turn 2.
That killed Alfredo’s momentum, dropping him to fifth heading into Turn 3. He stayed there until the checkered flag.
“Unfortunately the red flag came out when we were in third,” Alfredo said afterward. “That just allowed everybody else’s tires to cool down, because we were on fresh tires. Great call by my crew chief, Pat Tryson, to save a set (of tires) and hope for a caution, which we got by the grace of God.
“We were in contention to win. That’s honestly all you could ask for, because our Dude Wipes Chevrolet Camaro wasn’t as fast as we needed it (to be). So a little bit of fine tuning and we’ll find ourselves up front more often competing for wins.
“A top-five’s a better day than we expected, but it’s disappointing when you’re that close to (having) a shot at the win.”
Notes
- Alfredo’s late surge to fifth gave Our Motorsports its first top-five since last July’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A sign of things to come?
- Cole Custer’s win was his 10th in Xfinity Series competition. He’s the 43rd driver to reach 10 wins in the tour.
- While Custer won, SS Green Light Racing’s other driver, Joe Graf Jr., suffered a DNQ in the No. 08. Graf was able to enter the race in the No. 38, originally meant for Timmy Hill. He rallied from the difficult day to score a respectable 15th-place finish.
- Ryan Sieg has kicked off 2022 with back-to-back top-10s, lifting him up to fifth in the early championship standings. Could another playoff run lie in Sieg’s future?
- He wasn’t the only Sieg with a strong run on Saturday, either. Kyle Sieg finished a respectable 18th in his fourth series start. The younger Sieg has finished better in each start he’s made thus far (34th-27th-21st-18th).
- Josh Berry scored a top-five for JR Motorsports with his fourth-place effort, but also accidentally turned Daytona winner Austin Hill into the outside wall early in the race. Berry was apologetic when the pair interacted after the race.
- Landon Cassill’s day came to an early end when his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet caught fire while roaring down the front stretch after just six laps. There’s a crypto joke in here somewhere…
Production Alliance 300 Results
- Cole Custer
- Noah Gragson
- Trevor Bayne
- Josh Berry
- Anthony Alfredo
- Sam Mayer
- AJ Allmendinger
- Justin Allgaier
- Riley Herbst
- Ryan Sieg
- Brandon Brown
- Daniel Hemric
- Ty Gibbs
- Jeb Burton
- Joe Graf Jr.
- Kyle Weatherman
- Jeremy Clements
- Kyle Sieg
- Brett Moffitt
- Joey Gase
- Josh Williams
- JJ Yeley
- Matt Mills
- Alex Labbe
- Kaz Grala
- Myatt Snider
- Austin Hill
- Mason Massey
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Stefan Parsons
- Tommy Joe Martins
- Sheldon Creed
- Brandon Jones
- Bayley Currey
- Ryan Vargas
- Jesse Iwuji
- Jade Buford
- Landon Cassill
Stage 1
- Trevor Bayne
- Cole Custer
- Justin Allgaier
- Noah Gragson
- Ty Gibbs
- AJ Allmendinger
- Josh Berry
- Ryan Sieg
- Daniel Hemric
- Sam Mayer
Stage 2
- Cole Custer
- Brandon Jones
- Justin Allgaier
- Noah Gragson
- Ty Gibbs
- Daniel Hemric
- AJ Allmendinger
- Sam Mayer
- Josh Berry
- Riley Herbst
Next Up: A voyage to Sin City for the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5.
