Motorsports
Top Automotive Stories Of 2024
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com. Each year, I look back on the previous 12 months and recall the biggest stories in the world of automobiles. As a whole, 2024 was fairly calm compared to the prior few where we dealt with the changes from Covid-19, followed up by a severe microchip shortage that resulted in empty dealer […]

The CDK disaster: I knew a lot of dealerships used CDK to operate all the departments in the dealership. In mid-June the company was hacked and many CarPro dealers were effectively shut down for weeks. The estimated losses, mostly from parts and service sales, is estimated at over a billion dollars. There have been a number of lawsuits filed, and you can bet there will be many more.
Motorsports
Subaru Motorsports Rudely Teases Us With Street-Legal WRX Rally Car Mockup
These days, there is no shortage of talented artists dreaming up cars that don’t exist, but should, and sharing them online. That’s to say nothing of the folks who will punch fake vehicle names into AI image generators for predictably horrible results. But these renders of a Subaru WRX rally car in street clothes hit […]

These days, there is no shortage of talented artists dreaming up cars that don’t exist, but should, and sharing them online. That’s to say nothing of the folks who will punch fake vehicle names into AI image generators for predictably horrible results. But these renders of a Subaru WRX rally car in street clothes hit differently, because they came from Subaru Motorsports itself.
Earlier in the week, Subaru’s U.S. rally team, which is operated by the fine folks at Vermont SportsCar, shared images of its WRX ARA25 rally car in stark white and blue with no liveries and gold rims and the caption “What if the Subaru WRX ARA25 was sold as road car?” The resulting comments were predictable, from some people offering to donate their kidneys for the cause, to others predictably begging for a new STI. But this thought exercise is so much more extreme than just about any Impreza or WRX the company’s ever sold, including the vaunted 22B.
The era of homologation specials—race cars that had to be sold as road cars, to be eligible for competition—has long since passed. Three or four decades ago, we might’ve gotten something like these images. The 22B STI, though it shared many visual similarities to Subaru’s WRC car of the late ’90s, was really a Type R chassis with flared fenders and many mechanical changes. Subaru built it because it chose to, to celebrate its rallying success—not because it had to.
Similarly, anything like this pie-in-the-sky ARA25 road car would have to come about because Subaru wanted to build it. Like everyone else, we wish it did. The VB WRX’s design has warmed up on me since its initial unveiling, but I still don’t love it. There’s just too much cladding, and the rear end design is very narrow and cinched in an unflattering way. But flare those fenders, tuck in the body just behind the front wheels, bolt on a big-ass wing, and swap all that black plastic out for genuine carbon fiber and, suddenly, you’ve systematically dismantled every possible criticism I though I had with the current-gen sport sedan. Race cars just have a knack for doing that.
As much as I avoid getting caught up in daydreaming like this, it’s a different story when it’s the OEM itself (or, its racing team) inviting us to do it. The STI may have gone on a hiatus, but it’s clear that there is still an appetite for a true giant-killing WRX to battle the likes of the Civic Type R, GR Corolla, and Golf R. Commercially, Subaru is killing it these days thanks to its SUVs, and the optimist in me is hopeful that increases the chances the automaker simply decides to blow a whole lot of money on a flagship performance car again. That’s the glass-half-full take, anyway; the pessimist in me is wondering why the Subaru rally team chose violence with such a cruel tease.
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Motorsports
Nick Sanchez Scores Big at EchoPark Speedway
Despite Mother Nature and some big wrecks playing a factor, the Xfinity Series race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The Focused Health 250 had plenty of highlight-worthy moments, including a first-time winner. Rookie Nick Sanchez Scores First Xfinity Series Win Nick Sanchez has had plenty of moments in his first season in the NASCAR […]

Despite Mother Nature and some big wrecks playing a factor, the Xfinity Series race at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The Focused Health 250 had plenty of highlight-worthy moments, including a first-time winner.
Rookie Nick Sanchez Scores First Xfinity Series Win
Nick Sanchez has had plenty of moments in his first season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, from leading laps to scoring Top 10 finishes. He even scored a career-best finish of third at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. That career best was topped on Friday night. The 24-year-old rose to the challenge in a race that saw plenty of the favorites and best drivers on drafting tracks, including Austin Hill, who was knocked out of contention early. Heck, even Sanchez had a moment early in the race as he spun out, but kept his No. 48 Chevy from hitting anything.

Nick held off challenges from the likes of Connor Zilisch, Carson Kvapil, and Jesse Love to score his first Xfinity Series win, and just the second ever win for his team, Big Machine Racing.
Nick Sanchez gets his first career #XfinitySeries win! pic.twitter.com/0R15dhgUwx
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 28, 2025
Massive Wreck Takes Out Top Xfinity Stars
After an hour-plus-long weather delay, the race was able to resume, with just under 40 laps complete. The moment the racing got going again, things changed for some of the top stars of the series. A massive crash on the backstretch saw plenty of drivers who have already won this season taken out. The melee saw defending series champion Justin Allgaier caught up in the crash. As was Sammy Smith, polesitter Sheldon Creed, and multi-time Atlanta winner Austin Hill.
Despite Hill being caught up in the incident, he ended up back in the race, but multiple laps down. That wreck was certainly one way to clear out Hill, who has been the driver to beat in the draft.
Spin and Rally
Even when you think you’re out of the running at a drafting track in NASCAR, you’re not. That’s exactly what this race played out to be, with so many cars out of the race. Nick Sanchez certainly had to rally from his spin on lap 68. The spin occurred on the frontstretch grass, which could have easily destroyed the front of his car. By chance, it didn’t, and he eventually climbed his way back into the picture. As did Jesse Love, who was involved in the lap 40 pileup. Love, despite a heavily damaged nose on his car, was able to put his No. 2 Chevy in the front. Aric Almirola was also a factor in the closing laps of the race, but Love and Sanchez didn’t care about the former Cup driver.
Love and Sanchez put on a show during the final restart, which came on lap 157. Despite Love having plenty of pushers behind him, he had nothing to say to stop Sanchez’s No. 48 from holding off all challengers. That included a late run from both Zilisch and Kvapil. It was certainly an exciting duel for the race win, especially with so many drivers in the picture that hadn’t won before. So for Sanchez to rally from his spin and win, that was simply some great driving by the rookie.
A Very Notable Pit Road Incident
Following the race, Hill appeared to share words with Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Dye. Hill was multiple laps down and not in contention for the win, but still found himself racing near the front. In Dye’s case, he was in the battle for a very strong finish. The pair appeared to share words about something that happened during the race or the closing laps.
The pair were caught on video by Frontstretch.com discussing something, and it appears Hill threatened Dye about flipping him off.
.@_AustinHill and @danieldye43 had a tense discussion after the race that ended with Hill telling Dye “flip me off again motherfucker”#NASCAR
Presenting Partner: @MyPlaceHotels pic.twitter.com/WiaDRBQnhT— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 28, 2025
Whatever that was about was certainly eye-catching. Sure seems like Hill needs to chill, given he seems to only go after the younger guys, when he’s done some questionable things in racing himself.
Read Next: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview
Main Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images
Recording Date: 6/27/2025
Motorsports
Joey Logano earns NASCAR Cup pole as Ford dominates Atlanta qualifying
Ford drivers managed to qualify first through eighth as Team Penske’s Joey Logano claimed pole position for the NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta, narrowly beating Josh Berry in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Along with the technically-aligned No. 21 machine, cars prepared by Penske ended up locking out the first two rows on the […]

Ford drivers managed to qualify first through eighth as Team Penske’s Joey Logano claimed pole position for the NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta, narrowly beating Josh Berry in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Along with the technically-aligned No. 21 machine, cars prepared by Penske ended up locking out the first two rows on the grid.
“Well you know we all have the same thing and obviously, Team Penske does a great job at building the same cars it seems like — all of us in the top four there,” said Logano, who has two wins at the Georgia track. “Proud of everyone at the shop. Proud of Roush-Yates engines. This is always a test of how much speed you can put in them. They’re fast for qualifying but let’s see what we got in the race.”
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Logano and Berry will be followed by Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Preece in the top five. Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer, Zane Smith, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe filled out the remainder of the top ten. Showcasing just how dominant they were, Bowman in ninth was the top-qualifying non-Ford driver.
While it was blue skies at the track, lightning within eight miles of the 1.5-mile speedway forced NASCAR to put things on hold early in the qualifying. At the time, 14 cars had qualified, but in the name of safety, NASCAR waited 30 minutes before resuming the session.
At the time of the lightning hold, Custer had the fast time in the No. 41 Haas Factory Ford. It was a solid lap, but not good enough as his fellow Ford drivers began to knock him down the order.
There were no incidents, but Michael McDowell did touch the outside wall as he began his flying lap. Chase Elliott also had a sketchy moment in Turns 3/4, getting loose.
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Several big names find themselves buried deep in the field as the entirety of Trackhouse Racing qualified outside the top 30. Denny Hamlin, who would have started on pole (per the metric) if the lightning had persisted, ended up 33rd in the final order. Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar, who finished 1-2 in the last Cup race at Atlanta, qualified 28th and 30th, respectively.
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Motorsports
Corey Heim sweeps in inaugural Lime Rock race
Credit: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images Heim time? Nah, Corey Heim is in another zipcode! After starting on pole and sweeping both stages with gaps upwards of five seconds, Heim takes his fifth win of the year at Lime Rock. Heim started on the pole ahead of Jordan Taylor. Heim gets a great start and […]
Credit: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images
Heim time? Nah, Corey Heim is in another zipcode! After starting on pole and sweeping both stages with gaps upwards of five seconds, Heim takes his fifth win of the year at Lime Rock.
Heim started on the pole ahead of Jordan Taylor. Heim gets a great start and immediately flies ahead of Taylor. Layne Riggs moves up to second.
Brent Crews closed in on Taylor for third by lap 5.
Crews went a little off-road on lap 7 and fell back from Taylor. Kaden Honeycutt, who ran in fifth, was still about three seconds behind.
On lap 11, Wesley Slimp went off track at turn 1 from 34th but was able to keep going.
Heim also went a little wide, dipping a tyre into the dirt, but lost no time.
On lap 15, Spencer Boyd spun while running 34th and got stuck momentarily before getting going with a flat front tyre.
Towards the end of the stage, Heim started reaching the backmarkers.
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No. 11 – Corey Heim (TRICON Garage)
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No. 34 – Layne Riggs (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 7 – Jordan Taylor (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 1 – Brent Crews (TRICON Garage)
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No. 81 – Connor Mosack (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 45 – Kaden Honeycutt (Niece Motorsports)
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No. 38 – Chandler Smith (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 71 – Rajah Caruth (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 98 – Ty Majeski (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 07 – Thomas Annunziata (Spire Motorsports)
At the end of the stage, the race was red-flagged for modified, non-competitive stops.
Heim and Riggs lead the way on lap 40. The two went side by side at the start, but Heim eventually got ahead by the end of the lap.
Dale Quarterley spun off the exit of turn 1 on lap 42 but was able to keep going.
By lap 55, Heim had a gap of about four seconds to Riggs in second when Heim ran into backmarkers again. He passed Frankie Muniz, putting him two laps down, on lap 57 before opening the gap back up to five seconds by lap 60.
Not many change-ups happened in this stage as Heim takes the second stage win with a lead of seven seconds. This is also Heim’s fifth stage sweep of the year, and his fifth consecutive Stage 2 win.
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No. 11 – Corey Heim (TRICON Garage)
-
No. 34 – Layne Riggs (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 7 – Jordan Taylor (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 81 – Connor Mosack (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 38 – Chandler Smith (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 45 – Kaden Honeycutt (Niece Motorsports)
-
No. 98 – Ty Majeski (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 07 – Thomas Annunziata (Spire Motorsports)
-
No. 71 – Rajah Caruth (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 9 – Grant Enfinger (CR7 Motorsports)
Another red flag is called for all of the drivers to pit non-competitively.
Heim and Riggs line up again for the restart, but the start was aborted. A car was leaking oil on the track. Another red flag was thrown.
They led the way to green on lap 76, and they stayed side by side into the first turn.
Matt Crafton goes through the grass just as Heim pulled into the lead. Crafton has to pit after.
Connor Mosack, after restarting in fourth, moved up to third and started closing in on Riggs.
On lap 87, Dawson Sutton slowed on the track, and smoke came from the car with a flat tyre, but he made it to pit road.
The first incident caution came on lap 90 when Matt Mills went off at turn 1 and got stuck in the grass.
Some drivers took the opportunity to pit under caution, but the top 10 stayed the same.
Still under caution on lap 92, Wesley Slimp slowed on track and came to a stop between turns 4 and 5.
Heim and Riggs line up as they had for the restart on lap 95. Drivers fanned out behind them as Riggs got a big push from behind. The push made Riggs lock his tyres and forced him off track. Riggs dropped out of the top 10. A few drivers had followed behind him and went through the grass.
Heim to the lead with Ty Majeski and Giovanni Ruggiero right behind. Ben Rhodes and Cam Waters moved up to the top 5.
Corey Heim makes it five wins for the season after sweeping all three stages for the inaugural race at Lime Rock.
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No. 11 – Corey Heim (TRICON Garage) [FL]
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No. 98 – Ty Majeski (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 17 – Giovanni Ruggiero (TRICON Garage)
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No. 99 – Ben Rhodes (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 66 – Cam Waters (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 38 – Chandler Smith (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 44 – Josh Bilicki (Niece Motorsports)
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No. 1 – Brent Crews (TRICON Garage)
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No. 19 – Daniel Hemric (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 18 – Tyler Ankrum (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 9 – Grant Enfinger (CR7 Motorsports)
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No. 45 – Kaden Honeycutt (Niece Motorsports)
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No. 34 – Layne Riggs (Front Row Motorsports)
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No. 15 – Tanner Gray (TRICON Garage)
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No. 07 – Thomas Annunziata (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 81 – Connor Mosack (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 77 – Andrés Pérez de Lara (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 02 – Ben Maier (Young’s Motorsports)
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No. 88 – Matt Crafton (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 7 – Jordan Taylor (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 71 – Rajah Caruth (Spire Motorsports)
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No. 91 – Jack Wood (McAnally Hilgemann Racing)
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No. 52 – Stewart Friesen (Halmar Friesen Racing)
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No. 13 – Jake Garcia (ThorSport Racing)
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No. 56 – Timmy Hill (Hill Motorsports) +2 laps
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No. 42 – Matt Mills (Niece Motorsports) +2 laps
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No. 2 – William Lambros (Reaume Brothers Racing) +2 laps
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No. 33 – Frankie Muniz (Reaume Brothers Racing) +2 laps
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No. 5 – Toni Breidinger (TRICON Garage) +2 laps
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No. 26 – Dawson Sutton (Rackley W.A.R.) +4 laps
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No. 76 – Spencer Boyd (Freedom Racing Enterprises) +8 laps
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No. 32 – Dale Quarterley (Reaume Brothers Racing) [DNF]
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No. 62 – Wesley Slimp (Halmar Friesen Racing) [DNF]
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No. 22 – Alex Labbe (Reaume Brothers Racing) [DNF]
The Craftsman Truck Series has a bit of a break before heading to the Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 25, at 19:00 EST (Saturday, July 26, at 00:00 BST).
Motorsports
Where to stream the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge race at Atlanta today for free
The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to EchoPark Speedway for the second time this season on Saturday night, as drivers begin to battle it out in the Quaker State 400, kicking off the first-ever In-Season Challenge. The In-Season Challenge is very simple. Over the next five weeks, 32 NCS drivers will fight it out in […]

The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to EchoPark Speedway for the second time this season on Saturday night, as drivers begin to battle it out in the Quaker State 400, kicking off the first-ever In-Season Challenge.
The In-Season Challenge is very simple. Over the next five weeks, 32 NCS drivers will fight it out in single-elimination racing, where drivers go in individual head-to-head battles, with the driver who has the better finish advancing to the next round.
NASCAR STREAMING OPTIONS
Streaming Options | Price/month | Free Trial? | Length | Deal |
---|---|---|---|---|
DirecTV Stream | $69.99 | Yes | 5 days | No |
Sling | $35.00 | No | N/A | $20 off first month |
MAX | $9.99 | No | N/A | No |
For example, first-seeded Denny Hamlin will go up against the No. 32 seed, Ty Dillon, on Saturday, while No. 7 Ryan Blaney will go up against Portage native Carson Hocevar, who is ranked 26th.
The winner of the event, which will be crowned in the return of the Brickyard 400 next month, will receive a $1 million prize.
Heading into the In-Season Championship, a shakeup in the regular season battle came ahead last Sunday when Chase Briscoe managed to keep enough gas in the tanke to outlast Denny Hamlin for his first win of the season, securing a spot in the playoffs. As it stands, 11 drivers have qualified for the postseason thanks to winning already this year.
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Quaker State 400
When: Saturday, June 28
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: EchoPark Speedway (Hampton, Ga.)
Channel: TNT
Check out the NASCAR schedule and results here
Motorsports
NASCAR Craftsman Truck LIUNA 150 Results
Saturday At Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Conn. Lap length: 1.53 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (1) Corey Heim, Toyota,… Saturday At Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Conn. Lap length: 1.53 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (1) Corey Heim, Toyota, 100 laps, 60 points. 2. (4) Ty Majeski, Ford, 100, 41. 3. (12) Giovanni Ruggiero, […]

Saturday At Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Conn. Lap length: 1.53 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (1) Corey Heim, Toyota,…
Saturday
At Lime Rock Park
Lakeville, Conn.
Lap length: 1.53 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Corey Heim, Toyota, 100 laps, 60 points.
2. (4) Ty Majeski, Ford, 100, 41.
3. (12) Giovanni Ruggiero, Toyota, 100, 34.
4. (19) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 100, 33.
5. (16) Cam Waters, Ford, 100, 32.
6. (9) Chandler Smith, Ford, 100, 41.
7. (18) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 100, 0.
8. (5) Brent Crews, Toyota, 100, 36.
9. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 100, 28.
10. (15) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 100, 27.
11. (14) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 100, 27.
12. (6) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 100, 35.
13. (3) Layne Riggs, Ford, 100, 42.
14. (24) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 100, 23.
15. (13) Thomas Annunziata, Chevrolet, 100, 0.
16. (8) Connor Mosack, Chevrolet, 100, 0.
17. (10) Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, 100, 20.
18. (20) Ben Maier, Chevrolet, 100, 19.
19. (23) Matt Crafton, Ford, 100, 18.
20. (2) Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet, 100, 33.
21. (7) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 100, 21.
22. (34) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 100, 15.
23. (22) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 100, 14.
24. (17) Jake Garcia, Ford, 99, 13.
25. (27) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 98, 12.
26. (21) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 98, 11.
27. (29) William Lambros, Ford, 98, 10.
28. (30) Frankie Muniz, Ford, 98, 9.
29. (28) Toni Breidinger, Toyota, 98, 8.
30. (25) Dawson Sutton, Chevrolet, 96, 7.
31. (32) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 92, 6.
32. (31) Dale Quarterley, Chevrolet, electrical, 91, 5.
33. (33) Wesley Slimp, Toyota, ignition, 90, 4.
34. (26) Alex Labbe, Ford, reargear, 34, 0.
___
Race Statistics were not immediately available.
___
NASCAR Driver Rating Formula
A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.
The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.
Copyright
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