Weekend Stat Sheet – September 30-October 2
With his 18th career victory and his second at Talladega Superspeedway (AL), Chase Elliott secured his place in the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Despite leading only 10 laps, Elliott triumphed in the second and third stages, earning him the playoff points.
READ MORE: Chase Elliott Riding Playoff Roller Coaster after Dega Win
At the Cup race in Talladega, no driver led for more than 36 laps, resulting in 57 lead changes. Notably, Chase Elliott’s victory marks the third consecutive Talladega race where the winner was not initially in the top 10.
READ MORE: 'Stage Points Are a Big Deal' at Talladega Without Attrition
After leading only three white-flag laps on the restrictor plate tracks, AJ Allmendinger finally secured a victory. This marked his fourth win of the season and his 25th top-10 finish. Together with Noah Gragson, they have finished outside the top 10 just 10 times.
READ MORE: Allmendinger Gets Elusive Superspeedway Win, Advances in Xfinity Playoffs
The thrilling Truck finish at Talladega left Matt DiBenedetto victorious, despite starting at 30th position. The race, which comprised 95 laps, witnessed 25 lead changes involving 11 different drivers. The season is nearing its end with only Homestead remaining before the Championship race in Phoenix.
READ MORE: Matt DiBenedetto Takes First Career NASCAR Win at Talladega
– If there's one constant in short track racing, it's Augie Grill performing at Montgomery Motor Speedway. Grill won the Modifieds of Mayhem event on Saturday for his 27th career win at the facility among touring series. Grill has led nearly 3,000 laps at the venue across all platforms.
On Friday, at Thunder Road Speedbowl (VT), Ryan Kuhn claimed a significant victory in PASS action. He outperformed Trevor Sanborn and Joe Pastore to secure the win. This victory marks Kuhn’s second of the 2022 season, further extending his point lead over Eddie MacDonald, who encountered problems.
On Sunday afternoon at Thunder Road Speedbowl (VT), there was one of the most closely contested Milk Bowl results in recent history. Christopher Pelkey outperformed Jimmy Hebert by one point and Derek O’Donnell by two points, who took the win in the third and last segment. Despite a 17th place finish in the second segment, Pelkey was able to support his victory in the first segment with a third-place finish in the final segment.
Following three successive second-place finishes, Gio Ruggiero finally clinches victory at Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL) in the Show Me The Money Series. The championship will culminate in the last race, the Show Me The Money Pro Late Model 100, scheduled for November 5th.
– Austin Nason picked up his second-straight National Short Track Championship victory on Sunday in the main event at Rockford Speedway (IL). Nason has six top-five runs in the race and now the first back-to-back wins since Alex Prunty in 2017 and 2018. Only Joe Shear, Steve Carlson, Eddie Hoffman and Dick Trickle have won more than twice.
Cole Butcher, who recently won the Tirecraft 200 finale for the Maritime Pro Stock Tour, doesn’t seem to have any issues with extra distance races. This year, he also emerged victorious in the Oxford 250 and a few other events, contributing to a successful season so far.
