The 2022 Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen was the 22nd stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 20, 2022, in Watkins Glen, New York at Watkins Glen International, a 2.454 miles (3.949 km) permanent road course. The race took the scheduled 82 laps to complete. After Ty Gibbs and William Byron spun for the lead with 5 laps to go, Kyle Larson, driving for JR Motorsports, took over the lead and held off A. J. Allmendinger for his 13th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season.[1] Byron and Gibbs had dominated the race, leading 35 and 25 laps. To fill out the podium, Sammy Smith, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 3rd, respectively.
This was the debut race for Brad Perez.[2] Austin Wayne Self was also scheduled to make his debut in this race, but had failed to qualify.[3]
Background
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980). In addition, the site has also been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The only 30-minute practice session was held on Saturday, August 20, at 10:00 AM EST.[4] A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, was the fastest in the session, with a lap of 1:11.885, and an average speed of 122.696 mph (197.460 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:11.885 | 122.696 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:12.119 | 122.298 |
| 3 | 17 | William Byron (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:12.125 | 122.288 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, August 20, at 10:30 AM EST.[4] Since Watkins Glen International is a road course, the qualifying system used is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. Drivers will also have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest driver to set a time in the round will win the pole.[5] William Byron, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:10.548, and an average speed of 125.021 mph (201.202 km/h). With that lap, Byron also broke the track record.[6]
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 48 | Kaz Grala (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 45 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | 17 | William Byron (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 08 | Andy Lally | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | William Byron (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Kaz Grala (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 92 | Ross Chastain (i) | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 26 | Connor Mosack (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 42
| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 88 | Kyle Larson (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 7 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 3 | Running | 52 |
| 3 | 19 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 6 | Running | 44 |
| 4 | 16 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 14 | 48 | Kaz Grala (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 6 | 7 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 6 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 82 | 4 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 11 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 9 | 17 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 10 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 2 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 5 | 07 | Cole Custer (i) | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 12 | 23 | 44 | Stefan Parsons (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 13 | 34 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 82 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 35 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 15 | 13 | 26 | Connor Mosack (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 16 | 20 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 21 | 45 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 18 | 26 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 33 | 08 | Andy Lally | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 82 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 20 | 27 | 35 | Brad Perez (i) | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 21 | 31 | 91 | Preston Pardus | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 25 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 23 | 32 | 78 | Scott Heckert | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 12 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 1 | 17 | William Byron (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 35 | Running | 0 |
| 26 | 37 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 25 | Running | 19 |
| 28 | 15 | 92 | Ross Chastain (i) | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 29 | 38 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (i) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 80 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 30 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 73 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 58 | 0 | Accident | 6 |
| 32 | 30 | 5 | Brandon Brown | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51 | 0 | Axle | 5 |
| 33 | 29 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 50 | 0 | Accident | 4 |
| 34 | 36 | 68 | Kris Wright (i) | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30 | 0 | Driveshaft | 0 |
| 35 | 18 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 26 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 24 | 38 | Patrick Gallagher | RSS Racing | Ford | 14 | 0 | Rear Gear | 1 |
| 37 | 28 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- ^ Cain, Holly (2022-08-20). "Kyle Larson sidesteps Byron-Gibbs collision for Xfinity Series win at Watkins Glen". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Wire Service. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ "Brad Perez Attempting Xfinity Series Debut at Watkins Glen". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ "Austin Wayne Self Attempting to Make Xfinity Series Debut at Watkins Glen". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ a b "2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Watkins Glen Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ "NASCAR announces practice, qualifying return in 2022". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ Estrada, Chris (2022-08-20). "Watkins Glen Xfinity starting lineup: William Byron wins pole". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-08-20.