The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race was the 33rd and final stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Championship 4 race, and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, November 5, 2022, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix Raceway, a 1 mile (1.6 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Ty Gibbs, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, put on a dominating performance, leading 125 laps, and held off Noah Gragson in the final few laps for his eleventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his seventh of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 33 of 33 of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
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| Date | November 5, 2022 | ||
| Official name | 25th Annual NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race | ||
| Location | Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 200 mi (320 km) | ||
| Average speed | 91.174 mph (146.730 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 26.806 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 125 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
In addition to winning the race, Gibbs would also claim the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. This was Gibbs' first championship in the Xfinity Series, and the second championship in a row for Joe Gibbs Racing.[1]
Background
editPhoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. It first joined the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 1988 as a late season event, and in 2005 the track was given a spring date. The now-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was added in 1995 and the now-NASCAR Xfinity Series began running there in 1999.[2]
NASCAR announced that its championship weekend events would be run at Phoenix for 2020, marking the first time since NASCAR inaugurated the weekend that Homestead-Miami Speedway would not be the host track. The track will also hold the championship for the 2021 NASCAR Cup season.
Championship drivers
edit- Noah Gragson advanced by winning at Homestead-Miami.
- Ty Gibbs advanced by winning at Martinsville.
- Josh Berry advanced by winning at Las Vegas.
- Justin Allgaier advanced by virtue of points.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editThe only 50-minute practice session was held on Friday, November 4, at 4:05 PM MST.[3] Sammy Smith, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.454, and an average speed of 131.128 mph (211.030 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.454 | 131.128 |
| 2 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.569 | 130.581 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.582 | 130.520 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, November 5, at 11:30 AM MST.[3] Since Phoenix Raceway is a tri-oval track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in the round wins the pole.[5] Ty Gibbs, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 26.806, and an average speed of 134.298 mph (216.132 km/h).[6]
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 110
| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 125 | Running | 40 |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 35 | Running | 35 |
| 3 | 11 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 26 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 6 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 5 | 16 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 36 |
| 6 | 8 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 19 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 10 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 9 | 14 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 2 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 10 | Running | 37 |
| 11 | 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 12 | 3 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 4 | Running | 29 |
| 13 | 9 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 35 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 30 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 37 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 18 | 33 | 92 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 20 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 7 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 17 | 02 | Parker Retzlaff | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 22 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 18 | 26 | Kaz Grala (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 24 | 25 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 36 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 31 | 68 | Kris Wright | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 28 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 15 | 45 | Stefan Parsons (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 29 | 26 | 6 | Brennan Poole (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 30 | 29 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 197 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 32 | 13 | Dawson Cram | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 196 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 24 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 34 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 23 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 194 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 38 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 193 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 37 | 27 | 08 | Brandon Brown | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 154 | 0 | Suspension | 1 |
| 38 | 12 | 77 | Dillon Bassett | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | 0 | Engine | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ a b Spencer, Reid (November 5, 2022). "Ty Gibbs holds off Gragson to win Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "The best seat in NASCAR isn't really a seat at all". Nascar.com. August 12, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ a b "2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Phoenix Fall Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (November 4, 2022). "Sammy Smith Leads Joe Gibbs Racing-Dominated Practice from Phoenix Raceway". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR announces practice, qualifying return in 2022". Official Site Of NASCAR. November 11, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Hembree, Mike (November 5, 2022). "Phoenix Xfinity starting lineup: Ty Gibbs wins pole". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2022.