2022 Sparks 300
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 33 of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | October 1, 2022 | ||
| Official name | 3rd Annual Sparks 300 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 113 laps, 300.58 mi (483.74 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 113 laps, 300.58 mi (483.74 km) | ||
| Average speed | 158.827 mph (255.607 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | 52.605 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 60 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA Network | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 2022 Sparks 300 was the 28th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second race of the Round of 12, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 113 laps to complete,as the race was rather clean. In a close finish, A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, would hold off Sam Mayer on the final lap to earn his 14th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, along with his fourth of the season. Allmendinger would beat Mayer by 0.015 of a second.[1] He would also earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs. Austin Hill dominated the majority of the race, leading 60 laps and winning both stages. To fill out the podium, Landon Cassill, driving for Kaulig Racing, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
Background
[edit]Talladega Superspeedway is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. As of 2021[update], the track hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, with a length of 2.66 miles (4.281 km), compared to the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The total peak capacity of Talladega is around 175,000 spectators,[2][3][4] with the main grandstand capacity being about 80,000.[5]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was held on Friday, September 30, at 4:30 PM CST.[6] Since Talladega Superspeedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 wins the pole.[7] Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 52.605, and an average speed of 182.036 mph (292.959 km/h) in the second round.[8]
Race results
[edit]Stage 1 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 63
| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 3 | Running | 53 |
| 2 | 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 3 | Running | 41 |
| 3 | 18 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 113 | 11 | Running | 35 |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 6 | 9 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 7 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 8 | 12 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 9 | 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 1 | Running | 38 |
| 10 | 6 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 1 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 23 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 2 | Running | 34 |
| 13 | 11 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 13 | Running | 37 |
| 14 | 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 60 | Running | 43 |
| 15 | 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 6 | Running | 35 |
| 16 | 20 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 18 | 35 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 25 | 5 | Joey Gase | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 19 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 26 | 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 113 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 24 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 12 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 33 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 36 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 1 | Running | 0 |
| 28 | 22 | 34 | Jesse Iwuji | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 28 | 38 | C. J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 10 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 31 | 45 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 44 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 17 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 34 | 38 | 47 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 21 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 15 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (i) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 37 | 27 | 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 109 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 38 | 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ Cain, Holly (October 1, 2022). "AJ Allmendinger wins Xfinity playoff race at Talladega in photo finish". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ "Talladega is known for speed, but slow down and take in what the Alabama city offers". April 19, 2019.
- ^ "Talladega Superspeedway". December 31, 2017. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ "Track Facts". Talladega Superspeedway. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
- ^ Utter, Jim (November 27, 2013). "Talladega Superspeedway to reduce seating to 80,000". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- ^ "2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Talladega Fall Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR announces practice, qualifying return in 2022". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Long, Dustin (September 30, 2022). "Talladega Xfinity starting lineup: Austin Hill wins pole". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved September 30, 2022.