The Morning Warmup: SRX Wraps Up Second Season
Two familiar names stood tall in the final night of the Camping World SRX Series' sophomore season.
The Morning Warmup
July 24, 2022
Today’s Top Stories
1) Chase Elliott wins SRX finale, Marco Andretti crowned champion (SRX)
Saturday was a good day for historic racing names in the Camping World SRX Series, as Chase Elliott won the race while Marco Andretti took home the series championship.
Elliott marched past Tony Stewart for the lead in the closing laps to bring home his second SRX win in as many starts at Sharon Speedway. The Georgian also ran in last season’s finale at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he similarly brought home a win.
"To sit there and race on dirt with one of my heroes there in Tony Stewart and throw a couple sliders with him (means the most)," Elliott said. "Obviously this a little different than the open-wheel stuff -- but just knowing how good he is at this stuff and being able to dice it up and race with him ... I actually thought he was better than me that run before, and then I was able to watch him on the top and finally get a couple things going there."
Stewart settled for second, falling one spot short of sweeping the dirt races. Matt Kenseth, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby Labonte wrapped up the top-five.
Behind the battle for the led was a convoluted war for the series crown. Andretti and Ryan Newman each entered Saturday with a strong chance at the title. But on a Lap 32 restart with Newman at the front of the field, a three-wide attempt from Andretti went awry and kicked off a crash that damaged both himself and Newman’s machines.
The third-generation driver suffered both vehicle damage and personal injury in the accident, though he continued on. Newman and Andretti finished eighth and ninth at race’s end, with Andretti ultimately taking home the championship despite not winning a race.
"I broke my wrist in that last little thing. I got my thumb caught in the wheel. So that was a painful last couple of laps," Andretti told CBS Sports. "But I just wanted to cover and finish right where I needed to finish, and we were able to do that. This thing was pretty robust tonight."
Greg Biffle and Ryan Blaney slotted ahead of the duo in sixth and seventh. Paul Tracy completed the top-10 behind them, while Tony Kanaan, Dave Blaney and Michael Waltrip made up the rest of the field.
With Saturday’s race complete, the six-race slate of SRX’s second season is done. The majority of the field from the finale will move back to retirement or part-time ventures, while Elliott and Ryan Blaney will be in the Cup Series field today at Pocono Raceway.
(Source(s): Steven Taranto / CBS Sports)
2) Josef Newgarden scores Iowa win to close championship gap (IndyCar)
Josef Newgarden’s reign of Iowa Speedway dominance continued in triumphant fashion on Saturday.
Newgarden rallied to his fourth victory of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season in the first leg of the Iowa doubleheader. It was a key result for the Tennessean, helping him close to within 15 points of championship leader Marcus Ericsson after he’d entered the day 44 points out in fourth.
“I’m glad I wore this cool shirt,” Newgarden said at the end of a hot race. “It was actually pretty nice and easy in there, to be honest with you. The car was good. I was surprised at how hard these guys were pushing on the restarts. This is a long-game day.
“I was disappointed after qualifying. I just hate losing, and I felt like we had enough to get the job done, and we didn’t. It motivated me. I knew we had a car here today to win this race in front of this great crowd. It’s one of my favorite tracks.”
Pato O’Ward followed Newgarden in second, with pole-sitter Will Power following in third. Wrapping up the top-five were Rinus Veekay and Scott Dixon. Power’s pole drew him to within one front starting spot of Mario Andretti’s record 67.
One of the highlights of the day was Jimmie Johnson, who again showed his pace on ovals with a rally from an early spin to contend for a top-five. He ran within sight of the frontrunners until the closing laps, where the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion faded to 11th.
Alex Palou, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard completed the top-10.
There were four cautions on the day, with three of them coming for accidents. Only Ed Carpenter and Felix Rosenqvist crashed out of the race.
The IndyCar field will be back for another race at Iowa on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.
(Source(s): Paul Kelly / IndyCar.com, Nate Ryan / NBC Sports)
3) Noah Gragson, Chandler Smith win at Pocono (NASCAR)
A busy day for NASCAR at Pocono Raceway saw a pair of rising stars make their way to victory lane on Saturday afternoon.
First up was the second win of the 2022 Camping World Truck Series season for Chandler Smith. The young Kyle Busch Motorsports prospect was dominant in the outing, leading 49 of 60 laps and holding off a late charge from Ryan Preece to win by .262s.
“We’ve been going through a little bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we needed to shine and we started shining,” Smith said of the run.
Saturday’s Truck race was the regular season finale for the series, meaning the playoff field was set upon its conclusion. Despite a 13th-place struggle with early throttle issues, Zane Smith held on to the regular season championship. Matt Crafton finished a quiet 15th in the race to lock in the final playoff position in 10th. Other playoff contenders include Ben Rhodes, John Hunter Nemechek, Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger.
A classic finish followed in the Xfinity Series race, as title contenders Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs dueled for the win in an intense, clean fight to the finish.
Gibbs threw multiple attempts at a pass toward Gragson, but in the end the JR Motorsports driver fended off Joe Gibbs Racing’s young prospect to take the win by .281s. Gragson celebrated in his traditionally bombastic style, climbing the fence and shotgunning a beer among other activities.
“That was probably the best I’ve ever driven there,” Gragson said. “I’m worn out. Working my ass off out there to keep the 54 back. He’s pretty fast.”
The second leg of the NASCAR doubleheader was filled with drama, including a flipping crash for Jeb Burton after he was hit into the barrels surrounding the pit attenuator and sent upside-down. Burton was unhurt in the incident, climbing out of his machine after it was flipped over during an eight-minute red flag.
(Source(s): Holly Cain/ NASCAR.com (x2), NASCAR.com (x2))
News and Notes
NASCAR
Petty GMS Racing’s two Cup cars were assessed L1-level penalties on Saturday due to infractions tied to rocker box assemblies. (NASCAR.com)
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for today’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway. (NASCAR.com)
Kyle Busch’s future in uncertain, but he vows that the current contract issues aren’t a distraction. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Also trying not to worry is Martin Truex Jr., whose playoff appearance is far from assured given the number of winners this year. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Hamlin has admitted that he hopes to bring 23XI Racing’s pit crews in house next season. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
IndyCar
Hunter McElrea took Saturday’s Indy Lights win after a penalty for Linus Lundqvist. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
Rinus Veekay salvaged a bad day for Ed Carpenter Racing with his top-five. (David Malsher-Lopez / Motorsport)
Pato O’Ward credited the constant adjustment of his Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet for his runner-up run. (David Malsher-Lopez / Motorsport)
F1
With a healthy tow from teammate Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc rolled to a pole for the French Grand Prix. (F1.com)
Liam Lawson prevailed in the FIA Formula 2 race at Paul Ricard on Saturday. (Megan White / Motorsport)
Theo Pourchaire believed he’d joined him on the podium, but he was stripped of it due to a clash with Marcus Armstrong. (Megan White / Motorsport)
One of the contenders for a Williams F1 seat in 2023 may come from an unexpected place. (Scott Mitchell / The Race)
Home favorites Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon both failed to make Q3 on a difficult day at Paul Ricard. (F1.com)
Mercedes has again been caught out by a speed deficit to its rivals at the front of the field. (Ben Anderson & Scott Mitchell / The Race)
Supercars
Greg Murphy has proposed Hampton Downs as a replacement for the New Zealand Supercars round with Pukekohe Park Raceway soon to cease motorsport operations. (Slade Perrins / Speedcafe)
Matt Stone Racing driver Todd Hazelwood would like to go off-road racing in the future. (James McDougall / Speedcafe)
Dirt
Lance Dewease led a podium sweep for the PA Posse in the World of Outlaws race at Williams Grove Speedway. (Brian Walker / WorldofOutlaws.com)
Tyler Courtney stood tall in the All Star Circuit of Champions race at Lake Ozark Speedway. (Tyler Altmeyer / AllStarSprint.com)
Kokomo Speedway’s USAC Indiana Sprint Week date was rained out to Tuesday. (USAC Media)
Short Tracks
William Sawalich gave Donnie Wilson Motorsports another pro late model win at Five Flags Speedway on Saturday night. (Matt Weaver / Racing America)
Other
Leah Pruett and Robert Hight were among the fast qualifiers for the NHRA in Sonoma. (David Kennedy / NHRA.com)
Erica Enders is rolling into race day with a chance to rewrite history in Pro Stock. (David Kennedy / NHRA.com)
On Track Today
All Times ET
NASCAR
All at Pocono Raceway
NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400: 3:00 p.m., USA/MRN
IndyCar
All at Iowa Speedway
Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300: 3:00 p.m., NBC
F1
All at Paul Ricard
French Grand Prix: 9:00 a.m., ESPN2
Dirt
USAC Indiana Sprint Week (Lawrenceburg Speedway): 6:00 p.m., FloRacing
DIRTcar Summer Nationals (Thunderbird Raceway): 5:00 p.m., DirtVision
Super DIRTcar Series (Weedsport Speedway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision
Southern Nationals (Swainsboro Raceway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing
Local Racing (Huset’s Speedway): 8:00 p.m., DirtVision
Short Tracks
Hogg Night (Slinger Super Speedway): 7:30 p.m., Racing America
Other
NHRA Sonoma Nationals (Sonoma Raceway): 12:30 p.m., NHRA.TV
NMRA/NMCA Power Festival (US 131 Motorsports Park): 8:30 a.m., FloRacing
Fast Fact:
Chandler Smith’s Saturday win was his second of the Camping World Truck Series season, matching his full-year total from 2021. The 20-year-old already has one more top-five (seven) and two more top-10s (11) than he had in the entirety of last season, too. That helps explain the vastly-improved 8.8 average finish, which is just over half the 16.8 result Smith averaged last time year.
Special Thanks
The Morning Warmup is fueled by sponsors David Colyer, Bob and Sally Wichert, Jory Fleischauer, Spencer Pullins, Nathan K. Thomas, Karen L. Springer, Tyler Sorenson, Mathew Luxford, Mary Dzuro,Allison Bodiford, Billy Rowlee, Brian Mortensen, Buzz Baylis, Cadence Smith, Contessa Nyree, David Vrabel, Dustin Long, Hannah Landvater, Howie Molton, Janet Scott, Jeff Brown, Jeff Smith, John R. Wilson, Jr., John Wimmer, Keith Hill, Matt Call, Michael S. Lee, Mike Johnson, Mike Selby, Mitch Wright, Nathan A. Ulery, Nathan Moore, Neill K. McMillan, Paula Buck, Robert Yuki, Seth Whitesel, Sharon Eddy, Steve Luvender and Sue Parzych.
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