Twelve time Grandview Speedway T.P.Trailers Modified champion Craig Von Dohren has been named the 2021 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Northeast Region champion earning the veteran Oley, PA driver $15,000. This goes along with the $3,500 that that popular racer earned from NASCAR as track champion and $10,000 that he received from the Rogers family for winning their Grandview Speedway track title.

A trio of drivers battled for the Northeast Region crown with Von Dohren taking the top honors. The winner of more than 110 features at Grandview during his career he finished third in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national standings.

 Peyton Sellers, representing Dominion Raceway, South Boston Speedway and Langley Speedway, was named Southeast Region champion and topped off his outstanding season being named NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion. Jacob Goede, representing Elko, Minnesota Speedway, finished second in the national standings with Von Dohren third. Todd Patnode finished fourth while Grandview Speedway regular Brett Kressley finished fifth in the final national standings and second in the Grandview point battle.

“Advance is thrilled to recognize Craig Von Dohren, Jacob Goede and Eric Rheade as our regional Weekly Series champions, said Jason McDonell, Advance’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and E-commerce. “Becoming a champion requires sustained excellence, commitment and passion for the sport and we congratulate these drivers and team members for their title winning seasons.”

The season finale for Saturday racing is fast approaching for the thirty-second season of the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series at the Grandview Speedway.   The October 16th event will showcase the Pioneer Pole Buildings Triple Roaring 20’s for Big Block/358 Modifieds plus a full program of Sportsman all getting underway at 6 PM.

On Sunday, October 17^th, the season finale for Outlaw Series Enduro and Vintage Racing takes place at 1 p.m.

And on Sunday, November 7^th, the annual Racer’s Flea Market gets started at 7 a.m.

Information on Grandview Speedway can be found at www.grandviewspeedway, Facebook, or telephone 610.754.7688.

Grandview Speedway PR

Mike Mahaney couldn’t help but dance while atop his Big Block Modified. The adrenaline, the joy and the relief moved through him in a way he’d never experienced before. 

After 115 starts with the Super DIRTcar Series, the King Ferry, NY driver finally celebrated his first career Series win Saturday night. And he got to do so at his hometrack of Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Mahaney, in the #35 Adirondack Auto Big Block Modified, held off two of the most prominent Big Block Modified drivers in the world for the $13,000 Massive Malta payday. Stewart Friesen finished second after charging up 19 positions and Matt Sheppard continued to build his bid for an eighth Super DIRTcar Series championship with his third-place finish.

With a handful of laps remaining, Mahaney and Friesen lined up side-by-side for a restart. Both cars fired nearly simultaneously out of Turn Four. Friesen sent his #44 sideways with a hard, clean slider. As Friesen balanced the car on the lip of the cushion on top of Turn Two, Mahaney turned down the track and was able to pass him back in Turns Three & Four. 

Friesen used every inch of the track and every horsepower in his Big Block to steal the win but Mahaney hung on. 

After crossing the finish line, weighing the car, and making his way to Victory Lane, Mahaney took his time standing on the roof of the #35 looking out over the thunderous crowd and the quiet track. 

“I really wanted to let it sink in,” Mahaney said. “I’ve won races before and afterward, it felt like it happened so fast. This is a big one. It’s the most money I’ve earned in a race: $13,000. With it being my first Super DIRTcar Series win, it was just something I really wanted to take in up there.”

Mahaney stood on the podium many times with the Super DIRTcar Series but this time he’s in the middle. 

“I am so glad it was those two on the podium with me,” he said with a grin. “I don’t know how many times I’ve stood next to them on the side. They are the very best in dirt modifieds. Right now in this era, they are the best. They are winning all the races. To finally get it and have them there means something super special for me. They didn’t drop out. We raced them.”

Mahaney is a second-generation driver. When Super DIRTcar Series announcer Shane Andrews called his first race, Jim Mahaney, Mike’s father, took the win. Winning with family and friends there to see and share it was a dream come true for the 32-year-old driver. 

“I just want to absorb it because it’s taken so long,” Mahaney said. “It’s been my whole career, 17 years or something, but with this team, we’ve been competitive enough to the point where we should be winning. People have been asking me when it’s going to happen. It’s been something that everyone has been waiting for. All my fans, the team, and my family.

The electrified crowd roared when Mahaney took to the roof. 

“It was cool to put on a great show for the fans,” he added. “I loved hearing them. It was nuts. It was so loud. It was so cool. I can’t even explain it.”

From start to finish, the track provided exceptional racing throughout the 100-lap event. There was a lane high and low, allowing for tight racing every corner and the occasional slide job.

“He [Lyle DeVore] gave us a track that had a lot of bite so it would last until the end,” Mahaney said. “It wasn’t like we ran 50 laps and then settled in. It was great racing for 100 laps. You can’t beat that. We have so many fans that follow us here. It was overwhelming to hear that response and to feel loved by so many. I truly appreciate it. I am going to enjoy this.”  

Points leader Matt Sheppard finished third after racing his way up from the ninth starting position. The #9S stayed steady in the top 10 throughout the race until late in the race when he began picking off positions until finally reaching the podium. 

“This place hasn’t been great to us the last few times we’ve been here,” Sheppard noted. “To come away with a podium is great since we’ve been on a roll. Our qualifying effort was great and we got a podium. We’ll certainly take it.”

Sheppard is working towards his eighth Super DIRTcar Series championship. At the mid-point of the race, Sheppard was locked in battle with Billy Decker who currently sits second in points. Sheppard managed to shake the Gypsum Racing #91 in the pack and build on his points lead going into NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIX and the NGK NTK World Finals with a third-place finish. 

Stewart Friesen, from Sprakers, NY, had just returned from Las Vegas where he competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoff race. The Halmar #44 was uncharacteristically off the top times in Hot Laps and Time Trials. 

Friesen started the night out behind the eight-ball by failing to qualify through his Heat Race. He finished one position out of a transfer so he lined up next to Erick Rudolph on the front row of the Last Chance Showdown. 

“The Halmar guys worked really hard all night,” Friesen said. “I was in Ronnie Johnson’s trailer grabbing springs and worked it out.”

With the ability to pass at every corner of the track for all 100 thrilling laps, Friesen worked his way from 21st to second to also claim the Hard Charger Award winner.

While waiting for Mike Makaheny’s celebration to subside, Friesen said, “That was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a Modified. That was a helluva lot of fun. How about Mike Mahaney?”

While Mahaney started on the front row, he had to contend with Tim Sears Jr. for the early lead. Once the #35 was out in clean air, he began to stretch his lead. But soon, 2021 Albany-Saratoga Speedway track champion Anthony Perrego made some decisive moves to take the lead early in the race 

Unfortunately for Perrego, after the halfway point something went amiss on the #44 and Perrego pulled his car into the infield with a rear-end failure. Mahaney inherited the lead from Perrego and never looked back.

Since 1972, 185 drivers have won Super DIRTcar Series Features out of thousands entered. On Saturday, Sept. 25, Mahaney became the 186th.

Around the corner: The greatest week of all of dirt racing is about to begin. Racing’s Biggest Party, NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIX (October 5-10), is set to kick off on Tuesday, October 5 at Brewerton Speedway for the $10,000-to-win Demon 100. 

Feature (100 Laps) 

1. 35M-Mike Mahaney [2][]; 2. 44F-Stewart Friesen [21][]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard [9][]; 4. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson [3][]; 5. 21A-Peter Britten [13][]; 6. 88W-Mat Williamson [11][]; 7. 111D-Demetrios Drellos [14][]; 8. 99L-Larry Wight [10][]; 9. 91D-Billy Decker [5][]; 10. 5H-Chris Hile [8][]; 11. 2L-Jack Lehner [20][]; 12. 83X-Tim Sears [1][]; 13. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [16][]; 14. 32CC-Max McLaughlin [12][]; 15. 215p-Adam Pierson [6][]; 16. M1-Dave Marcuccilli [4][]; 17. 25R-Erick Rudolph [25][]; 18. 42P-Pat Ward [15][]; 19. 28M-Jordan McCreadie [19][]; 20. 19M-Jessey Mueller [17][]; 21. 7D-Donald Ronca [22][]; 22. 44P-Anthony Perrego [7][]; 23. 34R-Kevin Root [26][]; 24. 97B-Bobby Hackel [23][]; 25. 9X-Tyler Trump [24][]; 26. 32CM-James Meehan [18][]

Hard Charger Award: 44F-Stewart Friesen[+19]

Super DIRTcar Series PR

Landon Pembelton, a sixteen-year-old Amelia, Va. native, used cunning pit strategy and a fast race car to hold off veteran Mike Looney to win the nation’s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race, ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Pembelton, making his debut at Martinsville Speedway, was recently named the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Southeast Region Rookie of the Year.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” said Pembelton, who earned more than $32,000 for the victory as well as the coveted Martinsville grandfather clock. “I never thought I’d win a clock until I got a lot of experience under my belt. It’s pretty amazing.”

The move that likely won Pembelton the race came during the first scheduled break in the action at lap 75, when Pembelton’s crew bolted on his allotment of two new Hoosier tires. He made his way back up to third by the time of the second break at lap 150, but unlike most of the field, he decided to stay out and inherited the lead as a result.

“We were talking about it on the grid getting ready to go, strapping in, and my crew chief said let’s try something different,” Pembelton said. “It actually played out a lot better than I thought it would. I really didn’t know what I thought about it at that point, but it actually came out pretty good.”

Behind him, Mike Looney followed the same strategy and stayed out, meaning the rookie Pembelton would restart alongside the veteran Looney for the final dash to the checkered flag.

Pembelton got a great restart and held off Looney, but an immediate caution flag for a spin by Stacy Puryear set up another restart with Pembelton and Looney on the front row. This time around Pembelton got another great restart while Looney spun his tires, allowing Jacob Borst to sneak into second.

The top-three stayed that way until another caution on lap 171 when Corey Heim came to a stop on the track. Utilizing the choose rule, Borst opted to restart behind Pembelton on the bottom while Looney took the top to restart on the front row.

This time around it was Looney who got the better restart, with the 2016 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner leading by a fender at the start-finish line the next time around.

Pembelton hung to Looney’s inside and in turns one and two gave Looney a shove up the track, forcing Looney out of the way and allowing Pembelton to clear him to regain the race lead.

Looney fell to third behind Borst after the shove by Pembelton and Looney spent several laps trying to get back around him. The two made contact at one point down the frontstretch that nearly sent both cars sideways, but they both recovered, and Looney eventually got the position back.

By then it was too little, too late for Looney as Pembelton had stretched his lead to more than 2.5 seconds. He crossed the finish line well ahead of Looney to become the 26th different winner in the history of the event.

“We wanted to run this race, we wanted to just try and make it,” Pembelton said. “It’s pretty unbelievable. It was kinda cool out front.”

Now all that remains for Pembelton is to decide where his new Martinsville grandfather clock will live.

“I want to put it in my room, but I don’t have any room,” Pembelton said with a smile. “We can make it work.”

Despite finishing second, Looney was one of the first people to congratulate Pembelton in victory lane after the race. If anyone was going to beat Looney, he said he was thrilled that it was Pembelton.

“The Pembelton family have been racing for a long, long time. They’re good people,” Looney said. “Once he got that gap on me we were too equally matched. I couldn’t run him down. On one hand I would have liked to have a green-white-checkered, but I’m pretty pleased to bring Billy Martin’s car back home in one piece.”

Layne Riggs, who was the leader at the end of the second scheduled break at lap 150, finished third. Recently crowned ARCA Menards Series East champion Sammy Smith was fourth, with Jared Fryar completing the top-five finishers.

Bobby McCarty, who started second and was the race leader at the time of the first 75-lap break, finished sixth and was crowned the 2021 Virginia Triple Crown champion. He earned $7,000 for capturing the three-race championship that also included the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway and the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway.

The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will return in 2022 at a date to be announced in the future.

Martinsville Speedway PR

Six division champions were officially named Saturday night in the BRANDT Championship Night of the 2021 Macon Speedway racing season. Five of those divisions had champions already mathematically decided while one division had a feature race to determine the point champion.

The Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman division had Jim Farley III from Springfield leading into the night with a 26-point edge over former champion Scott Landers. When the feature began and Landers wasn't able to make it out on the track, Farley wrapped up his first track championship. However, the feature race was more exciting as former Sportsman champions Dennis Vandermeersch and Wes Odell battled for the checkered flag. Odell took the lead from Vandermeersch on the last lap with some contact coming to the white flag and the contact loosened up Vandermeersch and he lost the lead to Odell. That gave Odell the momentum to continue to lead on to the checkered flag.

Guy Taylor came into the final night with a wrapped-up points championship in the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds but he went out in a blaze of glory. Starting the race from the sixth starting position, Taylor cut up the top side of the track and made moves to pass Rob Timmons, and Danny Smith to make him in the running with leader Alan Crowder. Crowder looked like he was on his way to his second feature win of 2021. Taylor just kept flying and got around Crowder for the lead. With the final laps coming in and Taylor was in a three-way battle for the lead as Crowder and Smith kept close, caution flag laps slowed the action until the final green-white-checkered and saw Taylor victorious.

Taylor also came into the evening already knowing his fate as champion in the Archer's Alley Street Stocks class. He kept the car on the track and managed a top five finish. Terry Reed, a former champion got the feature win. After many close calls and top five finishes, Reed kept moving forward through lapped traffic and stayed ahead of Darrell Dick for the checkered flag.

Kyle Helmick has continued to improve through his racing career and started to win features. His 2021 was nothing short of terrific as the Smithton racer came into the night already knowing he was the Pro Modified track champion but he put the icing on the cake as he won the feature, as well. Billy Knebel, the 2020 track champion, was looking strong through the first half of the race but a yellow flag slowed the action. On the restart, Knebel was bumper-to-bumper with Helmick and within a few laps, Helmick moved for the pass and took on the lead and the victory.

In the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model division, Colby Sheppard clinched the championship two weeks ago but has continued to show up and race and keep building his points lead. With better than 150 points between him and the second place points holder Donny Koehler, Sheppard came out to race and try to win another feature but Dakota Ewing kept him from doing that. The former Pro Late Model champion took the 20-lap win and Sheppard fell victim to a broken racecar in the final lap. His car would be towed off the track after the race ended but still got to celebrate with the enlarged championship checkered flag at the night's end.

The division championships finished with Allan Harris in the Hornets. Although not winning the final race of the season, Harris was pleased with his top five finish. The checkered flag in the Hornets went to a former Hornets track champion in Brady Reed who was racing for one of the first few times of the Macon Speedway year. Chasing down Billy Mason, Reed used his fast 4-cylinder to speed away from Mason and get the win.

The night would be completed with some fun extra racing with the Mechanics races and Powder Puff race. A combination of BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds and Pro Modifieds were put together on the track and the 10 laps were raced and won by Bobby Fowler. Fowler, a former Modified racer, was racing in the D98 of Danny Smith. Fowler got past Nick Stillwell who was racing in the Cody Stillwell 00S.In the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman and Archer's Alley Street Stock combo Mechanics race, Sam Parrish ran the Darrell Dick 22 Street Stock to the checkered flag as he held off Justin Curry who was racing in the Sportsman Rick Roedel 11. The night and the season was capped off with Megan Blair taking the first place prize in the Hornets Powder Puff race. Blair was racing in Allan Harris' 3H car. Brittany Stovall put in a close battle for second while running in the 324 Brady Reed/Shelby Beiler car.

The 76th consecutive season of racing at Macon Speedway is complete. Along with Daryn Stark in the Micro Sprints Presented by Bailey Chassis, the 2021 Macon Speedway division champions have been crowned. With more racing coming at Lincoln Speedway next weekend in the DIRTcar Fall Nationals, the spring of 2022 will look to give more hope to drivers and racers for the upcoming summer.

Feature Results (Top 10’s)

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models

1. 25-Dakota Ewing[Warrensburg, IL]; 2. 122-Timmy Dick[Monticello, IL]; 3. 14J-Braden Johnson[Taylorville, IL]; 4. 134-Chuck Mitchell[Jacksonville, IL]; 5. 27-Colby Sheppard[Williamsville, IL]; 6. 11-Ryan Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 7. 14-Derek Smith[Decatur, IL]; 8. 64-Donny Koehler[Macon, IL]; 9. F15-Bob Sidener[Springfield, IL]; 10. (DNF) 55-Rockett Bennett[Argenta, IL]

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds

1. 77-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 2. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 3. 98-Danny Smith[Argenta, IL]; 4. 5T-Rob Timmons[Centralia, IL]; 5. 27X-Kyle Helmick[Smithton, IL]; 6. 10R-Curt Rhodes[Taylorville, IL]; 7. 00S-Cody Stilwell[Godfrey, IL]; 8. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 9. 88-Robert Lee[Sorento, IL]; 10. 4G-John Goveia[Riverton, IL]

DIRTcar Pro Mods

1. 27X-Kyle Helmick[Smithton, IL]; 2. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 3. 67-Austin Seets[Brighton, IL]; 4. 15C-Kevin Crowder[Argenta, IL]; 5. 10-Adam Rhoades[Clinton, IL]; 6. 24-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 7. 7S-Jeremy Sebens[White Heath, IL]; 8. 81-Garett Schumacher[Pocahontas, IL]; 9. 116-Kevin Rench[Hillsboro, IL]; 10. 14E-Evan Lynch[Hillsboro, IL]

Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman

1. 87-Wes O'Dell[Springfield, IL]; 2. 25-Dennis Vander Meersch[Springfield, IL]; 3. 11-Rick Roedel[Shelbyville, IL]; 4. 71-Joel Ortberg[Fenton, MO]; 5. 84L-Jim Farley III[Springfield, IL]; 6. 4-Matt Reed[Decatur, IL]; 7. 44-John Lewis[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 8. 5S-Ronald Bacon[Decatur, IL]; 9. (DNF) V8-James Farley[Springfield, IL]; 10. (DNF) 7S-Ethan Schnapp[Springfield, IL]

Archers Alley Street Stocks

1. 11-Terry Reed[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 2. 22-Darrell Dick[Monticello, IL]; 3. X7-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 4. 08-Brian Dasenbrock[Decatur, IL]; 5. Z24-Zach Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 6. 3J-Jonathon Hall[Harristown, IL]; 7. 16-Nick Macklin[Argenta, IL]; 8. 78B-Brad Peters[Stonington, IL]; 9. J98-Jordan Smith[Argenta, IL]; 10. 21R-Dustin Reed[Decatur, IL]

DIRTcar Hornets

1. 324-Brady Reed[Decatur, IL]; 2. 357-Billy Mason[Brownstown, IL]; 3. J13-Justin Coffey[Stonington, IL]; 4. 3H-Allan Harris[Chatham, IL]; 5. 1-Cook Crawford[Lincoln, IL]; 6. 26A-Michael McKay[Springfield, IL]; 7. 20-Casey Eskew[Springfield, IL]; 8. 98-Ken Reed[Decatur, IL]; 9. 313-Anthony Rusher[Stonington, IL]; 10. XX-Nick Lowe[Springfield, IL]

Mod/Pro Mod Mechanics Race

1. 98 Bobby Fowler, 2. 00 Nick Stilwell, 3. 27x Randy Brown 4. 24 Tim Schomidie, 5. 52 Cole Knebel, 6. 78 Tom Graham 7. 10 Donnie Rhodes, 8. 4 Codey Fernandez

Sportsman/Street Stocks Mechanics Race

1. 22 Sam Parrish, 2. 21 Tony Reed, 3. Anthony Crist, 4. 98 Brandon Young, 5. 11 Justin Curry, 6. 7 Brad Dart, 7. 5s Jason Abbott, 8. x7 Blake Lowe 9. 24 Everett Crowell

Hornet Powder Puff

1. 3h Megan Blair, 2. 324 Brittany Stovall, 3. 26a Cindy Dick

Macon Speedway PR

15th

12th

9th

TSC PR

Josh Berry seized opportunity and drove away from the competition Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tabbed to substitute for injured JR Motorsports driver Michael Annett, the Tennessee late model champion Berry earned his second win of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season claiming an impressive 4.396-second victory in the Playoff opener.

Berry, 30, led a 1-2-3 JR Motorsports team sweep in the Alsco Uniforms 302 – besting his teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson, whose second and third place finishes were tops among the 12 Playoff eligible drivers.

It was the second consecutive night one team showed the way up front at the Vegas 1.5-miler. On Friday, the ThorSport Racing team swept the top four positions in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff race.

Berry’s win proves himself versatile and up for the challenge. He won at the Martinsville, Va. short track earlier this year in the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet that he will drive fulltime next year. He matched that standard Saturday in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. And he drove four other races this season in the No. 31 Chevrolet for team owner Jordan Anderson.

"Oh my gosh, that thing was so fast, it just took me a while to figure out," Berry said, adding, "I just had to stay disciplined and keep working on it and the guys made the right adjustments. And it was fast, man. Finally got a long run and got it all together."

As for racing his teammates, who are fighting for the championship.

"It was tough," Berry said smiling. "Me and Justin raced together a lot this year and most of them, he’s gotten the better of me. Today we were able to get one. This is cool."

Eight of the 12 Xfinity Series Playoff drivers finished among the Top-10, including championship leader, Penske Racing’s Austin Cindric in fourth and Joe Gibbs Racings drivers Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones in fifth and sixth.

Regular season champion A.J. Allmendinger, who won Stage 1 for a season best 10th stage win - was seventh. Ty Gibbs, who joined Berry as the only two non-Playoff drivers among the Top-10 finished eighth. Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Hailey was ninth and JGR’s Harrison Burton 10th. Playoff driver Myatt Snider finished 15th, the last Playoff driver running at the end of the race.

The sweep up front was indicative of the evening as the JR Motorsports teammates paced the field all night. Allgaier led a race best 90 laps and won the Stage 2.

Berry took the lead from Allgaier with 42 laps remaining, relinquishing it only during final late race pit stops. He re-took the position with 17 laps and drove away for the victory.

Gragson’s third place finish was remarkable considering the Las Vegas native was penalized twice on pit road and still drove through the field multiple times.

"I need to be better and they brought an unbelievable race car to the track and I’m happy for Josh and happy for everyone at Junior Motorsports, just wish we could have been the guy.

"We have really fast race cars at Junior Motorsports and everyone is super proud."

A handful of Playoff drivers were on the other end of fortune Saturday with Riley Herbst, Jeb Burton and Jeremy Clements all having their race cut short because of a 12-car accident on the restart following the Competition Caution period.

"I don’t really think we need to be four-wide getting into [turn] one on lap 26,’’ Burton said. “Nothing we could do there, frustrating. We needed a good run today, but we’ll go to Talladega next week and win a race.

"Won there earlier in the year and almost won Daytona a couple weeks ago so I know I can go do it. Have the best team in the garage at speedway tracks so we’ll go get it done next week and then go to the ROVAL."

With his fourth place finish at Vegas, Cindric takes a seven-point lead over Allmendinger in the Playoff standings. Allgaier is 28 points back, followed by Gragson (-29) and Hemric (-32).

Round 2 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, the Sparks 300 at Talladega, takes place next Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Jeb Burton won at Talladega this Spring. Justin Haley is the defending Playoff race winner.

Race Winner: Josh Berry of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

● Ty GibbsStarted sixth, finished fourth, earning seven bonus points.

● The Interstate Batteries driver picked up a pair of positions in the opening two laps and moved into the top-three by lap 14 despite reporting that he was fighting a tight condition from the center of the corner through the exit. He fell to fourth by the lap-25 competition caution, stayed on track and restarted in the same position when the race went back to green on lap 30.

● The first incident-related caution flag flew on the restart lap for a multicar accident behind Gibbs in turns one and two. Again, the Interstate Batteries driver stayed on track and restarted second on lap 40.

● Gibbs dropped a pair of positions on the restart lap but held onto fourth place to the end of the stage. He pitted during the break.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):

● Gibbs Started eighth, finished seventh, earning four bonus points.

● The Interstate Batteries driver picked up a position by the time a two-car incident in turn two brought out the caution flag on lap 55. He stayed on track and restarted sixth on lap 59.

● The tight condition had persisted throughout the second stage with slight improvement thanks to changes made during the first break. Gibbs held his relative position and was seventh by stage’s end. He pitted during the break.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 91-201):

● Gibbs Started fourth, finished 11th.

● The Interstate Batteries driver held onto the fourth spot until a two-car incident in turn three brought out the caution flag on lap 120. Gibbs reported that his racecar was now a bit free on corner exit. He pitted for four tires and fuel and adjustments and restarted second on lap 125.

● Gibbs was holding down the fourth position when he was called to pit lane on lap 177 under green for the final scheduled fuel-and-tire stop. The crew made a track-bar adjustment to try and remedy the free condition on corner exit. Gibbs was flagged for speeding while entering pit lane and had to serve a drive-through penalty two laps later, dropping him back to 13th and off the lead lap.  

● The Interstate Batteries driver picked up a pair of positions on his way to the checkered flag.

Notes:                   

● Josh Berry won the Alsco Uniforms 302 to score his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over runner-up Justin Allgaier was 4.398 seconds.

● There were six caution periods for a total of 32 laps.

● Just 10 of the 40 drivers in the Alsco Uniforms 302 finished on the lead lap.

● Austin Cindric remains the championship leader after Las Vegas with a seven-point advantage over second-place AJ Allmendinger.

Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Interstate Batteries XFINITY Series Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“I feel like we had a really good Interstate Batteries Toyota Supra. We kind of chased the balance and got it really good at the end. Just wheel-hopped and came into pit road on my green-flag stop and totally blew it. It was 100 percent my fault. Just my fault and frustrating and I completely own it. We wouldn’t be here without everybody at Toyota and Interstate Batteries. Going to TRD helps my team out so much, just getting sim work done to prepare for these races. It really shows and I probably need to go more.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule for Gibbs is the Drive for the Cure 200 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval on Saturday, Oct. 9. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TSC PR

Race Winner: Josh Berry of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Overview:

As the intensity of the playoffs heated up in the Nevada desert, Riley Herbst’s return to his hometown was cut short after only 31 laps in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The third-generation driver and the No. 98 South Point team started 10th when the green flag waved for the 201-lap race. Despite reporting that his Ford Mustang was loose, Herbst still felt the car had the speed to run up front. He stayed in the top-10 for a majority of the opening laps. Under the lap-25 competition caution, Herbst reported that there was still no rear grip, but his racecar was fast in turns one and two. Like the leaders, the No. 98 South Point team opted to keep its driver on track during the caution. Misfortune hit on the lap-30 restart as Herbst and the field was making its way through turns one and two. The 22-year-old driver was caught up in a four-wide situation when left-rear contact turned his racecar sideways. Multiple cars were involved and the damage sustained was too much for Herbst and his playoff-contending team to continue. They ultimately had to settle for a 33rd-place finish.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 South Point Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“I think that accident occurred because of old tires and a slick track. Everybody kind of spun their tires a little bit. I know the 2 behind me got a better run than I did into turn one, so I tried to shade down and give him the room he deserved because he got to the restart box better than I did. I jumped to the outside and tried to block a little bit and then gave it back to him. Four-wide into turn one doesn't usually work out here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That’s a real bummer. We fired off pretty loose but I thought we would get the South Point Ford Mustang better and have something to contend with. Now we will have to go to Talladega and who knows what will happen.”

Notes:                 

● Josh Berry won the Alsco Uniforms 302 to score his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over runner-up Justin Allgaier was 4.398 seconds.

● There were six caution periods for a total of 32 laps.

● Just 10 of the 40 drivers in the Alsco Uniforms 302 finished on the lead lap.

● Austin Cindric remains the championship leader after Las Vegas with a seven-point advantage over second-place AJ Allmendinger.

Next Up:            

The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Race on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race starts at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  

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