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Chase Elliott remains the only driver to win a Superstar Racing Experience season finale. After taking the final race of the inaugural 2021 season at the Nashville Fairgrounds, he backed it up on Saturday on the dirt of Sharon Speedway by winning Heat #2 and the Feature. Meanwhile, Marco Andretti finished a paltry ninth but it was enough to secure the championship by two points over Ryan Newman.

Race day proved to be more tumultuous than SRX had hoped, with a massive wreck occuring in Heat #1 that took out Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney, a situation exacerbated by a lack of backup cars available. Further cautions and a lengthy cleanup process ensued before Newman eventually won on a late restart. Such delays eventually caused the Feature to be reduced in length from 100 to 70 laps due to time constraints from broadcaster CBS.

Elliott took the lead from Tony Stewart—the only driver to win the series’ dirt races until Sharon—on the final restart with ten laps remaining and drove off to the win. Coupled with his NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono the following day, Elliott enjoyed a rather unorthodox “weekend sweep”. Conversely, Blaney’s SRX/Cup double saw him and father Dave get caught up in wrecks, with the younger driver also crashing in the Cup event.

Andretti, who was racing with a broken wrist, took the title by two points. There was some controversy over the championship as fans noticed Andretti had received more points for his Heat #2 finish in the season opener at Five Flags than he should have, though USAC eventually rectified the matter by clarifying he had been unfairly ordered to the pits in said race which cost him points that the series subequently (and quietly in the public eye) added.

Race results

Heat #1

Heat #2

Wins in the NASCAR Cup Series can come in many ways. Doing so after finishing third, while exceptionally rare for obvious reasons, also counts.

Chase Elliott did not lead a single lap and finished a distant third to the Joe Gibbs Racing cars of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, the former of whom broke a tie with Elliott’s predecessor and current boss Jeff Gordon for the most wins at Pocono with seven while the latter scored a runner-up in the M&M’s car at the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 to celebrate the candy maker’s final year in NASCAR. Both JGR drivers’ stories were thrown out the window about an hour later when their cars failed post-race inspection, resulting in their relegations to thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth.

“There was some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle,” explained Cup Series managing director Brad Moran. “The part was the front fascia. There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ. It is a penalty, both for the #11 of Denny Hamlin and the #18 of Kyle Busch have been DQed. Their vehicles are being loaded in the NASCAR hauler. They’re going to go back to the R&D Center. The final results have been changed to show that the two DQs were there, and they have the opportunity to appeal it, and it’ll be all sorted out by next week.”

Hamlin is the first Cup race winner to lose his victory since NASCAR implemented its disqualification policy in 2019; the same fate previously struck Ross Chastain when he was a Truck Series driver at Iowa 2019, and Busch in the 2020 Texas Xfinity event. The last disqualified Cup winner was Emanuel Zervakis at Wilson Speedway in 1960 for an oversized fuel cell, while the 1955 Palm Beach Speedway event saw first- and second-placed Joe Weatherly and Jim Reed get knocked off due to an illegal camshaft and valves, respectively.

“We don’t want to be here talking about this,” continued Moran. “We just saw a great race. Last thing you want to do is meet here afterwards and talk about this problem. But the teams and the owners and everybody is well aware that this new car was going to be kept with some pretty tight tolerances, and there’s some areas that all the teams are well aware that we cannot be going down the path that we had in the past with the other cars.

Pato O’Ward took advantage of heartbreak for Josef Newgarden to win the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300, capping off an exciting doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway.

After dominating Saturday’s race and majority of this race, something broke on Newgarden’s car on the exit of turn four, sending him hard into the outside wall. This set up a 50-lap shootout to the finish between O’Ward and Will Power that wasn’t even close, leading by over four seconds at the drop checkered flag.

Post-race, O’Ward was quick to credit his pit crew for putting him in position to win, successfully undercutting Power on the second to last stop that allowed him to take advantage of Newgarden’s accident.

“The No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP guys in the pits were awesome,” O’Ward said. “…Obviously I did the job in the car to keep her safe and just to maintain there. We knew we had the pace, but it’s just tough when you’re going through the traffic.”

“…the guys did a great job calling when we had to pit, and it was very very enjoyable.”

On his three-hundredth Grand Prix start, Lewis Hamilton secured a brilliantly unexpected second-place finish at the French Grand Prix, in what was the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team‘s best result of the season.

The seven-time World Champion drove superbly, in what was in the end a relatively simple drive to the second step on the podium at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Hamilton made an excellent start from fourth, and was past Sergio Pérez on the rundown to Turn One on the opening lap.

From then on Hamilton managed the gap to the Mexican driver behind, whilst inheriting second-place due to Charles Leclerc retiring from the lead. Second-place was the best result of the year for Mercedes, which was made even sweeter with team-mate George Russell securing third-place, in what was the German team’s first double podium of the season.

Hamilton was extremely proud of his team after the race, where he “wasn’t expecting” to be fighting for the podium places.

“What a great result, considering we have been so far off all weekend and that I missed FP1. I wasn’t expecting to fight for second place or a podium, so this is a wonderful result for us. Our team has been amazing when it comes to reliability and it shows that with dedication and focus, we can slowly make our way up. We don’t have the same pace yet as the two teams at the front but today we were able to keep one of them at bay so a great result for us, everyone has worked really hard.

Max Verstappen extended his World Championship lead to sixty-three points, after claiming back-to-back victories at the French Grand Prix. The Dutchman replicated his 2021 victory at the Circuit Paul Ricard, with a dominant display once title-rival Charles Leclerc crashed out.

Verstappen ran behind Leclerc in the opening phase of the Grand Prix, resulting in the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver attempting an undercut on his Scuderia Ferrari rival. However, shortly after pitting, Leclerc made an error and span into the wall on the exit of Turn Eleven. This led to the Monegasque driver’s retirement, giving Verstappen a simple cruise to yet another 2022 win.

The reigning World Champion was very happy with his win, but was disappointed not to have had the chance to battle with his rival.

“We had really good pace from the start, although following around here, the tyres overheated a lot so I couldn’t really go for a move but I stayed calm and stayed close. It was really unlucky for Charles and I’m glad he’s okay, it could have been a really fun race because both cars were so quick! From there I just concentrated on my own race and looked after the tyres.

“The pit lane is so long here so that prevented us from having another pit stop. Today was a great day but there are plenty more races ahead of us and I just always aim for the most points possible, the fight is nowhere near over.”

Max Verstappen has extended his championship lead with Oracle Red Bull Racing, after taking victory at a challenging French Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. The Dutchman lined-up in second-place on the grid, alongside pole-sitter – Charles Leclerc – and would spend a good portion of the first stint hunting down the Scuderia Ferrari driver.

Verstappen eventually backed-off in order to preserve his tyres, before pitting on lap seventeen to attempt the undercut. A lap later, a costly mistake from Leclerc would see the number sixteen spin and hit the wall in the second sector, marking his third retirement of the year. Verstappen would cruise to victory after this, while team-mate – Sergio Pérez – would cross the line in fourth-place after a late race battle with George Russell.

The rest of the podium

For the first time in the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team have scored a double-podium finish. Lewis Hamilton was able to jump Pérez at the race start and fend off the Mexican during the first stint. After making a pit-stop under the Safety Car caused by Leclerc’s retirement, Hamilton continued to hold his ground to the Red Bull driver, and would eventually pull away into the distance as Russell started to close the gap.

Russell was initially passed by a charging Carlos Sainz Jr (before he stopped), but found himself squabbling with Pérez with a handful of laps to go for the final podium place. There was a slight controversy when Russell attempted a move down the inside of Turn Eight, forcing Pérez off the track when the gap eventually closed. A late-race Virtual Safety Car was also called, and Russell was able to catch Pérez napping to take third-place and eventually the double Mercedes podium.

Questionable strategy from Ferrari

Following Leclerc’s retirement, all eyes were on Sainz, who had already started the race from the back of the grid due to replacing some limited components on his car ahead of the weekend. A charge through the field was made more difficult when an unsafe release would prompt a five-second penalty for the Spaniard, who was in the mix for a podium spot with ten laps to go.

Following a wreck in qualifying, Kurt Busch has not been medically cleared to run today’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway. In his place, Ty Gibbs will make his Cup debut by piloting the #45 23XI Racing Toyota.

During his flying lap in Saturday’s qualifying session, Busch got loose exiting turn three and his rear drifted into the outside wall. The angle at which his car hit the barrier caused the vehicle to ricochet and its right-front bumper to bounce into it as well before coming to a rest. Although Busch exited the car without issue, medical evaluations on Sunday ruled he was not fit to compete.

“This morning, Kurt Busch met with doctors in the infield care center for further evaluation following his accident during yesterday’s qualifying session,” NASCAR announced. “Following the evaluation, Kurt Busch has not been cleared to race in today’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.”

Busch released his own statement: “NASCAR has done a great job of putting the drivers’ health before competition and I respect the decision they have made. I’m still having concussion-like symptoms from yesterday’s impact in qualifying,” read a statement from Busch. “The tests demonstrate I am still recovering. I will continue to follow the medical team’s recommendations, and appreciate everyone’s support. Thanks to 23XI and their efforts, let’s get back on track in Indy!”

He will receive a waiver to maintain playoff eligibility. Currently fourteenth in points, he had already clinched a playoff spot with a win at Kansas in May.

Josef Newgarden might not love milk as much as he (or whomever was in the bathtub) did in the infamous 2014 Indianapolis 500 intro, but he certainly enjoys corn. He won Saturday’s Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 to break a tie with Ryan Hunter-Reay for the most NTT IndyCar Series wins at Iowa Speedway with four, having previously won the series’ last trip in 2020, as well as 2019 and 2016.

Newgarden annihilated the competition by leading 208 of 250 laps and putting everyone but the top five a lap down. The five lead-lap finishers were the fewest at Iowa since the same amount in 2018 and 2016, though the 2009 race tops the list with just four. Those spared of being lapped included Pato O’Ward, Newgarden’s Penske team-mate and pole-sitter Will Power, Rinus VeeKay, and Scott Dixon.

With his win and points leader Marcus Ericsson‘s eighth (and getting lapped), Newgarden leapfrogs Powet and Álex Palou for second in the standings, trailing by just fifteen points. A weekend sweep would give him the top spot provided Ericsson finishes no better than third.

Newgarden also ties his career best for wins in a season with four, equalling his amount in 2017, 2019, and 2020. Perhaps making his 2022 campaign more impressive is that there are still six races remaining, one of which (Gateway) has seen him win thrice including the two most recent events. The four victories also lead all drivers by a wide margin, with Penske colleague Scott McLaughlin being the only other multi-time winner at two. 

“I get so annoyed these days when I miss it,” said Newgarden. “It’s not that I want to be a sore loser, but I just am so competitive that it is frustrating to me when we don’t execute perfectly. That’s the way my mind works, so I was very motivated to get the race win.”

Roberto Faria recovered from a difficult couple of rounds in the GB3 Championship with a third-place finish in Race 3 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.

The Checkered Flag caught up with Carlin‘s Brazilian driver after the race.

“We’ve been struggling a lot with straight-line speed the whole weekend. We don’t have the pace at all here, we’ve tried to think through the data and videos and try to improve for the next round but it’s a good way to finish the weekend on the podium.”

The reverse-grid Race 3 starting order is determined by reversing the Qualifying results, so Faria and race-winner Callum Voisin being at the sharp end will have been bittersweet for both drivers and the team.

“I expect to be fighting for podiums in the main races instead of the reverse-grid races, because three weeks ago I was one tenth from pole and now I was so far off. So yeah, a harsh week for us.

Callum Voisin won a stop-start reverse-grid Race 3 as the GB3 Championship‘s annual visit to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps came to an end on Sunday.

He started behind Zak Taylor, Tommy Smith, Roberto Faria and Mikkel Grundtvig.

Everyone kept it clean through the first sector, but John Bennett was forced onto the grass down the Kemmel Straight.

Voisin had a go at Taylor into Les Combes, things got congested and Smith was able to take advantage and take the lead, with Taylor down to third.

Bennett got into another tangle at La Source on Lap 2, trying to move down the inside but spinning and falling to the back.

Noah Gragson had to stave off a charging Ty Gibbs, but the help of fresher tyres gave him the edge in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series battle at Pocono Raceway. Gragson’s three wins tie his season best from 2021.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever driven there,” commented Gragson, who celebrated by scaling the catchfence with his team and vomiting, the latter a gross but unusually continuing trend for him after race wins. “I’m worn out (from) working my ass off out there to keep the #54 back. He’s pretty fast.”

Gragson won Stage #2 after spending the first segment following JR Motorsports team-mate Justin Allgaier. Another JRM driver Josh Berry was strong for the third stage until Gragson took the lead on lap 69 and never surrendered it. Following a caution with thirty-four laps remaining for Sammy Smith‘s spin, Gragson elected to change four tyres on his pit stop while Gibbs did not, and this strategy ultimately paid off.

“It definitely hurt us being on a tyre disadvantage,” said Gibbs who settled for second. “I was so surprised to hang with the #9 when he was on rights. I had a great car, just didn’t put it together. I want to say I felt like on my part I just made some mistakes, but we’ll come back at it next weekend.

Further helping matters for Gragson was a moment in the Tunnel Turn where Gibbs got loose in a side draft with the leader. The runner-up continued, “We both went in there side-by-side and I just lost my side force and got loose under him, but that’s racing. I put myself in that position, but I feel like I definitely have to look back and see what other options I had. I just want to say thank you to my team and everybody who is a part of this deal. I had a great time.”

Chandler Smith will have plenty of momentum entering the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs after dominating Saturday’s regular season finale at Pocono Raceway, leading forty-nine of sixty laps to secure his second win of the season.

Smith took the lead from pole-sitter Zane Smith and led every lap in Stage #1 and much of the second, but elected to pit before the latter’s conclusion which cycled the segment lead and victory to fellow Toyota driver Christian Eckes. A late caution set up a fourteen-lap duel to the finish between Smith and Ryan Preece, one that the former won.

“[Holding off Preece] was really hard because I was losing fuel pressure down the straightaway and it would sputter and he would get a huge run and I would have to block bottom, top, bottom, top every two seconds and every minute,” said Smith. “I had my work cut out for me today to say the least.”

While Chandler celebrated, Zane finished a distant fourteenth due to throttle issues but only needed to score at least two points to clinch the regular season title. The latter occurred after just one lap when Todd Bodine, making his 800th career NASCAR start, was caught in an opening-lap wreck with Jack Wood and Hailie Deegan.

As the regular season champion, Smith receives fifteen bonus points entering the seven-race playoffs.

Kevin Magnussen admitted there was no real point going out in Q2 during Saturday’s Qualifying session at the Circuit Paul Ricard, but it was fun to turn a lap good enough to make it into Q3.

The Haas F1 Team driver knew going into Qualifying that he would be starting at the back of the field after unscheduled engine component changes outside of his annual allocation, so he was only really going out on track to aid team-mate Mick Schumacher.

When Schumacher was eliminated in Q1, it made little sense for Magnussen to go back out, but he did do and set a time good enough for eighth place, although he did not reappear in Q3 as he saved a set of tyres for race day.

“The pace was really good in the car,” said Magnussen.  “The plan was to go out and help Mick with the tow but then he didn’t get through to Q2.

“We had already planned to go out, so we went out even though there was no point, it was just kind of fun anyway with a fast car.”

Lando Norris was ‘very happy’ with the result of Qualifying for the French Grand Prix on Saturday, with the Briton splitting the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team drivers in fifth place.

The McLaren F1 Team introduced a new aero package for this weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard, and on low fuel runs, Norris felt the car has been working extremely well, so much so he was able to put his car onto the third row of the grid.

There are a few unknowns for Norris and McLaren going into the race, but he says they are in a good position to get a good result on Sunday afternoon.

“I’m very happy. P5 is a great result for us today,” said Norris.  “The car has been working very well, especially in the low fuel conditions. I feel like we did a very good job, extracted everything we could out of the car and I’m very happy with that. 

“Thank you to the team both at track and the factory for their work to bring the upgrade package to the car and making sure everything was there for us to put together a great final lap.

Liam Lawson has clinched his second win of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 season with a brilliant display at Circuit Paul Ricard which saw him overtake Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala en route at the Mistral chicane.

Daruvala led for the majority of the race after starting on reverse grid pole position but a mid race Safety Car bunched the field back up and caused a nine car battle on the French tarmac.

Championship leader Felipe Drugovich was bumped up to the final podium position after local hero Théo Pourchaire was handed a five-second post-race penalty for forcing Armstrong off the track while overtaking him at turn 11.

It was a clean start when the five lights went out with Daruvala getting a good start while the rest of the grid battled behind him. Cem Bölükbasi was the biggest gainer, jumping from twenty-first on the grid to thirteenth by the time the first lap was completed.

After bogging down the order with some wheel-spin at the start, Lawson kept close to his fellow countryman Armstrong and sent it around the outside at turn eight on lap four.