Category: Crown Jewel

ATLANTA: WOLFE WINS, LOCKING HIM INTO THE ROUND OF 12

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Wednesday night to open the first Round of the Playoffs. The Jr. Superspeedway track brought excitement in the first Round, with wild moments lasting all 163 laps; the final lap would come down to a photo finish at the line.

Quick Race Stats

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • Weather: 77 Degrees, Mostly Cloudy Skies, Wind SW @ 2 mph
  • Race Length: 250 Miles, Stages: 40-80-163
  • Race Time: 1hr 39mins
  • Cautions: 6-16 Laps
  • Lead Changes: 16
    • Thomas Wolfe: 74 Laps
    • Ben Lawson: 52 Laps
    • Zack Saunders: 10 Laps
    • Caleb Tipton: 10 Laps
    • Stephen Menke: 6 Laps
    • Zach Johnson: 4 Laps
    • Steven Carlile: 3 Laps
    • Cody Leach: 3 Laps
    • Nic Vasquez: 1 Lap

The #3 Ben Lawson claimed the pole position in a fiercely competitive qualifying round, narrowly edging out Uber Motorsports driver the #96 Vince Mitchell. The closeness of the qualifying times, with the pole position to the fifteenth position staying within a tenth of a second of each other, set the Stage for a race where every second would count.

Lawson led the field to a green flag, but the race took an unexpected turn when Mitchell, in his eagerness, jumped the gun and beat the green flag. This premature start led to a series of unfortunate events for Mitchell, including a drive-through penalty and a speeding violation, turning his hopeful start into a challenging race.

Lawson would lead all 40 laps, and the Stage would run green the entire Stage even though a controversial accident occurred on Lap 25 with playoff points leader Cory Mott getting turned after Joe Wright would get loose coming out of Turn 2. Mott wasn’t the only one heated about the incident; fans were booing CJR Officials for not throwing the caution for the incident.

“By the time we noticed the incident had occurred, Mott was already off the racing surface, and the damage he had sustained was race-ending. It’s an unfortunate incident so early in the race, but we stand by our decision to let the drivers keep racing.” Said an anonymous CJR Official who did not have the authority to speak on the matter.

STAGE 1 Results

STAGE 2


Cody Leach would take the lead off pit road and lead the field back to green for Stage 2. Stage 2 would also run green from start to finish, with multiple lead changes occurring down the stretch as fans were thrilled to see some green flag racing in the first Round of the playoffs. Thomas Wolfe would start to show that he was a contender to lock himself into the Round of 12 by leading the most laps in Stage 2, working with his teammate Zack Saunders. Saunders would lead the final lap of the Stage to capture the stage win at Lap 80.


STAGE 2 Results

Racing Heats Up in Final Stage


The final Stage would show that the drivers were done being patient and didn’t want the packs to split again like they had in the previous stages. Steven Carlile would have the lead to start Stage 3 and would lead three laps before Thomas Wolfe would recapture the lead on Lap 86. The race’s first caution would come out on Lap 90 when the outside line would get checked up. That check-up would be felt back to the midpack, where the #00 Garth Griswold would clip the outside wall, enter the trioval, and get bumped from behind by the #66 Ray Gill. Griswold would spin to the infield grass, and the rest of the field avoided the disaster. Griswold and Gill would get an EOL and moved to the back for the incident.

The following incident occurred on Lap 101 when Cody Leach and Nishil Condoor battled through the tri-oval. Leach made contact with Condoor, causing Leach to get loose and make contact with Stephen Menke. Menke and Leach went sliding through the infield grass. Neither sustained any severe damage, but the caution flag flew, and Leach and Menke were sent to the back for the incident.

The 5th caution of the night would come out on Lap 118. This time, the inside row had an extensive check-up, and the midpack would again pay the price for it. Tommy Carroll Jr. would get the short end of the stick when he would get sandwiched between Nic Vasquez’s rear bumper and Mason Hoeffner’s front end. Carroll Jr. would go into the outside wall and collect the #16 Nathaniel Campbell and Griswold when coming off the wall.

Wolfe would take the lead on Lap 123 and would retain that lead until the final caution would come out on Lap 148 when the #86 Ryan Taft would hit the outside wall out of the tri-oval, and the wall wins that battle 100% of the time as Taft would bounce off of it and collect Leach sending him spinning into the wall. Leach would head to the garage, and that playoff drivers night was over.

Wolfe decided to stay out and hold onto the lead during the caution and would lead the field back to green with 12 laps to go. Vasquez would be battling Wolfe for the lead but would lose the battle when he had to yield to Taft coming back onto the racing surface as he would stick to the low line, causing Vasquez to break his line up by moving to the middle line to miss him. Tipton, who was pushing Wolfe, would drift high, allowing Wolfe’s teammate Zack Saunders to slide underneath for position. Saunders would glue his front bumper to Wolfe to keep him out front.

The Race to the Line


The inside line, led by Nic Vasquez, tried their best to get to the front but was unable to get it working. Coming to the line with two to go, it disintegrated, causing the midpack to pay the price once again as Tipton would get sent into the wall in the tri-oval.


Saunders and Wolfe stayed together as the #5 Allen Phillips took his chance coming to the white flag and tried to complete the run off the bottom, but he didn’t have enough help to get around the BBR boys. Phillips was left out to dry and fell back to 7th before the #3 Lawson turned down into Phillips, causing the big wreck on the final lap.

As the rest of the field dealt with the mayhem behind them, Joe Wright would have the run heading into Turn 3 and get outside of Saunders. Wolfe would slide up in front of Wright, but Wright’s run was too good to be slowed down with that as Wright would move to the inside. They would go almost door to door entering the tri-oval, but Wright’s run would lose the pace as Steven Carlile would make contact with Wright’s left quarter panel, making Wright get a bit squirrely at the line. Wolfe’s nose would inch across first with a margin of 0.015.

“I had 70-lap old tires, and I wouldn’t have been able to win that if it wasn’t for Saunders pushing me at the end.”

#94 Thomas Wolfe, BBR, Chevrolet

“This was a statement finish for WRL, giving us more knowledge that we’re on the path to success. A few more results like that will set us up for a great off-season and carry that momentum into 2025.”

#37 Joe Wright, Co-Owner WRL, Ford

Playoff Update


With the win, Wolfe automatically locks himself into the Round of 12 in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series Playoffs. Zack Saunders would follow behind in the point standings in 2nd place. Steven Carlile is in 3rd in front of almost the entire Factory Motorsports Team, with Team Owner Stephen Menke sitting in 4th, Vasquez 5th, and Lawson in 6th. The other member of their team, Zander Short, did not make it to the race and sits below the cutline with two races to go.

“I am not sure what’s going on with Zander. We lost communication with his hauler after Daytona and haven’t heard from him. The only silver lining is that he had accumulated a decent amount of playoff points, and with that, he could still make it above the cutline if he makes the next two races.”

#6 Stephen Menke, Owner of Factory Motorsports, Ford

Ben Lawson was the week’s biggest mover, moving from 15th place to 6th with his stage win and 7th-placed finish. Regular Season Champion Cory Mott would fall back to 8th place with his early race departure after his wreck on Lap 25.

With two races left in the Round of 16, Vince Mitchell, Griswold, Carroll Jr., and Short sit below the cutline. The TCSP Cup Series will go bowling at The Glen on Wednesday night. Please tune in to see who can leave their mark on the road course and bowl the perfect race for a win on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

Garth Griswold

NASHVILLE: AVILA CONTINUES STREAK AND WINS THE BRING IT BACK! 200

Johnny Avila would continue his domination of the VRS Truck Series on Monday Night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Avila won five out of the six races he had competed in, and he finished second to Cody Porter the first time he didn’t win.

RACE RECAP

Early in the race, there were some glimmers of hope that someone was finally going to knock the king off the throne, but the carnage left by multiple incidents early in the race would take its toll. Drivers like Cory Mott and Tyler Belanger were taken out of contention from the damage endured. Zack Saunders, who would go on to win the first stage, would resign from the race after the 12th caution of the night after Stage 2.


Matthew Owens, who had been running up front most of the night and finished 4th in Stage 1 and 3rd in Stage 2, would try his best to catch up to Avila in the final stage. After suffering through 12 cautions in the first two stages, the field could finally run green with only one caution coming out in the final hundred laps of the race. Owens would try his best but could not keep pace with Avila, who would run off in the moonlight for his 5th race win.


The playoff field is officially set, with no changes from last week. Factory Motorsports Driver Stephen Menke decided on Tuesday that he would relinquish his playoff position to Thomas Villano. Villano, who has been suspended for the last 30 days, will return after the week off next week to make a run in the playoffs.


The VRS Truck Series will return on September 23rd at Bristol Motor Speedway to tackle the high-banked short track in the first round of the playoffs. Short-track racing hasn’t been the best this year in the VRS Truck Series, but that should only make the first round of the playoffs more thrilling.

PENALTY REPORT: NASHVILLE AND ATLANTA

CJR officials announced penalties and updated incident points following the weeks events at Nashville Fairgrounds and Atlanta.

VRS Truck Series

Corey Schramm driver of the No. 84 Truck has an unserved EOL he will need to serve at the next race participated. Drivers Nishil Condoor and Zach Johnson, drivers of the Nos. 61 and 2 respectively, are to serve an EOL at the beginning of their next races as well stemming from a racing incident on lap 7. Below are the incident report and point totals.

Truck Incidents

LapTruckPenalty/Cause
24747
72, 61Racin’ (Unserved)
1395, 3495
1961, 84Racin’
308484 (Unserved)
424747
482525
548686
672828
792121
874747
9395, 195
1312929

Truck Incident Points Total

NumberNameTotal
21Mack Fabiny3
25Jim Mott3
28Jonathan Leger3
29Tyler Belanger3
47Sam Bennett9
84Corey Schramm3
86Ryan Taft3
95Pete Morales6

TCSP Cup Series

The No. 37 of Joe Wright and No. 3 of Ben Lawson will both serve EOLs at the beginning of their next participated race leading from race incidents that did not bring out cautions.

Cup Incidents

LapCars InvolvedResult/Penalty
251, 3737
8500, 66Racin’
10261, 15, 615
11837, 22, 56, 30Racin’
14886, 1586
1633, 53

Cup Incident Point Totals

NumberNameTotal
3Ben Lawson3
5Allen Phillips2
7Steven Carlile2
15Cody Leach2
37Joe T Wright6
54Jacob Abreu3
55Cameron Romano2
63Johnny Avila3
66Ray Gill2
86Ryan Taft3
91Zack Saunders5

As always, protesting is an option via the League Discord help desk

OFFICIAL: 2025 Schedule Announcement

Crown Jewel staff release the official schedule for the 2025 season.

As the end of the 2024 season approaches, we are excited to announce a majority of the 2025 schedule. The 2025 season will see the addition of the franchise system, introducing the Crown Jewel Xfinity Series and adding a “career-mode” feeling to the Crown Jewel Racing League. Team owners will take control of their franchises and drivers will earn their way to the premier Crown Jewel Cup Series while navigating negotiations with team owners, manufacturer alliances, and more – bringing an authentic experience to all members of the league.

2024-2025 Offseason Schedule (Mon. & Wed.)

The 2024-2025 offseason will consist of two separate series – the Crown Jewel Offseason and the 2024 Trans-Am Offseason. The Crown Jewel Offseason will consist of classic oval Crown Jewel events from history. The races will be run at full distance with the same rules package from the era in which it was run. This series will test drivers in all forms of oval racing, while preparing drivers for the 2025 season with longer races. The 2024 Trans-Am Offseason will consist of the full 2024 Trans-Am schedule (available on iRacing) and run the Late Model Stock and Ford Mustang FR500S on road courses in short, 100-mile races. This series will test your H-pattern road racing skills across multiple tracks in a unique multi-class setting. Both of these series will be fixed setup (excluding the Snowball Derby, which will be open setup).

2025 Special Events Schedule

In 2025, we will be taking a smaller and more digestible route in the inclusion of road racing in the Crown Jewel Community. While not a focal point in our community, road racing is an important part of racing’s DNA and should be included in some capacity. In 2025, we will be introducing six special events to the calendar – five road, and one returning oval event. The second annual Frank Pauley Memorial 500 returns by popular demand and will be the third straight year the CJRL runs the Indianapolis 500. In addition to the FPM 500, five major road course events have been added as well. All events will have an entry fee that contributes to a prize pool and broadcasting. Prize pool will be based on participation and announced prior to the race. We hope to see you out on the track and turning left and right in 2025!

2025 Crown Jewel Cup Series Schedule

With NASCAR releasing the 2025 Cup Series Schedule, we are now able to fill in the blank as to what is the 2025 Crown Jewel Cup Series season. With The Clash moving venues and the addition of Mexico City, there are still two question marks on the schedule from an iRacing sense. These will continue to be monitored as those events approach. All decisions will be made with Cup Series team owner and driver input and will be decided no later than 2-weeks before the event. The 2025 schedule has a large mix-up that will surely change the dynamic of the season – and we are excited to be a part of it with the CJCS! All 38 events will be live on the Fireball Talks NASCAR Broadcasting Network – don’t miss a broadcast in 2025!

2025 Crown Jewel Xfinity Series Schedule

Xfinity Series action returns to the Crown Jewel Racing League in 2025! With the introduction of the franchise system, drivers will be fighting for their careers as they try to work their way into the Crown Jewel Cup Series. This steppingstone series will be sure to put on a show week in and week out as drivers battle for a Xfinity Series Championship! The schedule will feature four Dash 4 Cash races, where no Cup drivers will be allowed to enter, and drivers will battle for a cash prize each race. The Xfinity Series Mexico City race will be a mirror of the decision made by the Cup Series – where Xfinity will continue to be the support series for that week. Make your name known in the Crown Jewel Xfinity Series in 2025! All races will be broadcasted by the Cup Series Driver’s Only Broadcast – live on the Crown Jewel Racing Network every week in 2025!

2025 VRS Truck Series Schedule

VRS is set to return in their second season as the title sponsor for the VRS Truck Series. Cut in size to just twenty-five races, the VRS Truck Series just might become the entry-level for the career mode system in 2025. Based on the number of charters being requested by teams, a contingency plan is in place to include the Truck Series in the franchise system to ensure all drivers have the ability to experience the career-mode structure. Decisions regarding its inclusion will be made prior to franchise bidding, and all teams will have the ability to prepare and draft franchises if necessary. The 2025 VRS Truck Series action can be found on High Velocity TV for the entirety of the 2025 season!

2025 Crown Jewel ARCA Schedule

The 2025 ARCA Menards Series schedules have yet to be released. However, community members can expect the Sunday Night ARCA series to continue. The current plan is to combine the East, West, and National schedules into a single schedule and run it in its entirety. When the 2025 ARCA Menards schedules are released, we will announce the series in full via another post – so stay tuned!

DARLINGTON: Avila’s Long Run Strategy Pays Off, Winning the Southern 500

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series headed to Darlington, South Carolina, on Wednesday night for the longest and final race of the regular season. Three hundred sixty-seven laps were on the menu for the drivers to try and lay their claim to one of the final playoff spots left for the taking. For the first time since the Olympic Break, the field could lay down some green flag runs with multiple strategies coming into play at the end of the track, which is known to be “Too Tough to Tame.”

Qualifying

The warm track temperatures during the late afternoon sun made qualifying difficult with times slightly. Four different drivers set qualifying laps in the 29-second territory, with Johnny Avila taking the pole with a time of 29.915. Thomas Wolfe would start second outside Avila with a time of 29.933, followed by Cody Porter, who would begin behind his teammate Avila on the second row inside with 29.937. Stephen Menke would start behind Wolfe with 29.939 in fourth place. The field of 34 drivers was ready for the regular season finale showdown.

STAGE 1

As the race kicked off, Avila led the pack into Turn 1, marking the start of Stage 1. The stage, spanning 115 laps, saw six incident cautions. Avila’s teammate, Cody Porter, dominated the stage by leading the most laps, 65. However, Thomas Wolfe of Backroad Bandit Racing proved his mettle and clinched the stage win on Lap 115, signaling fierce competition ahead.

STAGE 1 RESULTS

Despite the challenges, the drivers displayed remarkable resilience, pushing through the incidents and cautions that peppered the first 115 laps. The 500-mile race is a true test of endurance, and the drivers’ commitment to taking care of their cars and avoiding contact was genuinely challenging. Here are some photos and video clips of the incidents that tested their resilience during Stage 1.

STAGE 2

The race returned green on Lap 120, with Thomas Wolfe leading the field. Avila took back the lead on Lap 122 before the first caution came out on Lap 128. There would be four more cautions during the stage before Avila would take the stage win on Lap 230. Avila would lead 57 laps during the stage and was beginning to set the tone for the final stage. Stewart Harding Walker would lead the second most laps, with 50 laps led during Stage 2. The biggest story during Stage 2 was on Lap 185 when playoff bubble driver Joe Wright would head to the pits for new shoes on the car, but he would get disconnected. His disconnect would end his chances of beating out Tommy Carroll Jr. for the final playoff spot.

Here are some incident clips from Stage 2.

STRATEGY COMES INTO PLAY

Avila led the field back to green on Lap 235, but Pete Morales jumped the restart, and CJR Officials gave him the black flag for a drive-through penalty, causing him to go a lap down. The pit stop strategy would come into play here as Avila, Wolfe, Nishill Condoor, Tyler Belanger, and Jacob Abreu would run their first stint much longer than most other cars on the lead lap. The rest of the field took tires somewhere between the 40-55 lap stint length; Avila, Wolfe, Condoor, and Belanger would push their tires to the 65-75 stint length before coming to pit road.

PIT ROAD WOES

Green flag pit stops were where the issues would arise. Wolfe would pit first but get black-flagged for speeding on the pit road. Avila would pit one lap later. He would get squirrely coming down to the apron and touch the pit cone barrier, coming to a stop before any significant damage occurred. Avila would get backed up and through pit road with new shoes and a new tank of fuel. He was hoping this race stayed green through the rest of the race.

Avila understood that most of the field would have to make another pit stop before the end of the race, but he could make it to the end without another stop. A caution before the field made their second stop would be the only wrench that could foil Avila’s plan. The final stage would have the longest green flag runs of the race and probably of the season, going 114 Laps before the only caution would come out on Lap 349 for Jacob Abreu spinning down the front stretch.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Avila and Condoor were the only two drivers on the lead lap and were able to get new tires with 17 laps to go. The rest of the field was at least one lap down, and they had to decide whether to stay out to get their lap back or get new tires, stay a lap down, and get back behind the leaders. Third through 10th place decided to stay out and return to the lead lap.

Steven Carlile would do his best to stay with Avila and Condoor, but their fresh tires would allow them to pull away. With five laps to go, Avila had an almost half-second lead on Condoor and a 1.20-second lead on Carlile. Condoor would do his best to catch Avila but couldn’t get there as Avila would take the checkered flag to win the Southern 500.

REULAR SEASON CHAMPION

Cory Mott, who finished in 7th place, would be crowned the Regular Season Champion on Wednesday night. Mott would finish 1st place with a 78-point lead over Steven Carlile, and Carlile would finish 3rd at Darlington. Mott finished the season with a win at Iowa back in June and had 5 Top 5 finishes, 14 Top 10 finishes, and 3 stage wins on the year.

Carlile would be the runner-up, but there is nothing to let his head droop about on the season he has run. He has finished 2nd place a handful of times but never could grab that win in the regular season. Look for Carlile to make a long run into the playoffs.

IT’S PLAYOFF TIME

The playoff field is set with three races in the Round of 16. The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will travel to Atlanta next week, Watkins Glen in week 2, and Bristol Motor Speedway to wrap up the final Round under the lights. The racing will get scrappy in this first Round as six drivers will begin the playoffs with 3 points or less to try and get through to the Round of 12.

Playoff racing will begin next Wednesday at 8:15 EST for 250 miles around Atlanta Motor Speedway. Catch all the action on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

FURTHER PENALTIES AT DARLINGTON

CJR Officials announced further penalties for Pete Morales following further review of the final race restart at Darlington.

After reviewing race replay and in-game voice chat it became clear Pete Morales of the #34 Ford Mustang made an intentional decision to ignore the black box at one to go on the final restart. Deciding to pass 2 lead lap cars in front of him to gain a lap back and get back to lead lap. Per CJR Official Sporting code sections 4.5.3.6 and NASCAR STYLE RACE PROCEDURES 1.6.2 this is not allowed.

For violating these sections so clearly Pete Morales’ Cup License has been revoked for the remainder of the season. He will be eligible to participate in off-season and 2025 Cup Series events.

As a reminder there will be zero tolerance for any intentional breaking of the rules, especially in the playoffs.

WATKINS GLEN: AVILA REAPPEARS TO WIN AT THE GLEN

Cody Porter has won the last three races coming into Monday night to take on The Glen at the Watkins Glen International road course. His sidekick, Johnny Avila, has missed the previous two races of the VRS Truck Series, but his hauler showed up and unloaded a fast truck for 45 laps around the road course.

Zack Saunders got off to a quick start in the race and won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 before the iRacing Gods ended his night by ending his connection to the racing Server. It was disappointing as Saunders had the speed and would have made Avila, who was charging from the back, have a good fight at the end.

Avila would take the reins from race leader Nathaniel Campbell on Lap 28 and lead the final 15 Laps to win his 5th race of the season. Porter would take second, and Oskar Jensen would take 3rd to round out the podium. Notable driver of the night went to Joe Wright, who struggled to get through a race with a decent finish. Wright started in the 14th position and reached a Top 10 finish at 9th place.

PLAYOFF MOVEMENT

With Mike Burnett dropping out of playoff contention, his Split 1 seat has now been opened to allow a 4th wildcard spot a seat in the playoffs. Jim Mott now holds onto that 4th spot. With one last race at Nashville Fairgrounds next week, the playoff spots fall into the hands of that last Split 3 Driver, Matthew Owens. If Owens can hold onto that spot next week, then the playoff field won’t change, but if Tyler Krawcyzk, who is -18 points back from Owens, can jump in front, that would shift all the wildcard drivers down one spot with Owens getting in with the first wildcard spot.

It will be an exciting race next Monday night at Nashville Fairgrounds. Tune in on the Crown Jewel Racing Network to catch all the thrilling action to conclude the 2024 VRS Truck Series Regular Season.

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PENALTY REPORT: WATKINS AND DARLINGTON


Thursday evening brought news of a rare early penalty report from CJR officials.

VRS Truck Series

CJR officials announced no penalties in the VRS Truck Series.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

The TCSP saw it’s cleanest race since the Olympic Break, but still had a handful of cautions. Under the new penalty system, 10 drivers saw penalties for 11 incidents. See the tables below for the breakdown.

Incidents

LapCars InvolvedFault/Result
369191
447, 307
6466, 3166
7063, 24, 15, 5463
8515, 9615
9191, 0491
1245555
14504, 55
1996, 66Racing Incident
21454, 6354

Rolling Total

Car NumberDriver NamePoints
91Zack Saunders6
66Ray Gill3
5Allen Phillips3
7Steven Carlile3
15Cody Leach3
54Jacob Abreu3
63Johnny Avila3
55Cameron Romano3

CJR officials also announced that Pete Morales, substitute driver of the #34 Ford Mustang, will be penalized post-race for illegally passing the pace car in the final caution sequence. For such infractions the penalty is being scored the last car a lap down. Long time fans will remember when Archie Williams, driver for the now defunct Circuit Motorsport Club, was penalized the same following a similar incident at COTA.

A reminder, any of the penalties can be appealed via the ticket function in the League Discord.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: DARLINGTON

The TCSP will be live from Darlington for the Buccee’s Southern 500. Green Flag flies at 8:00pm EST. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Justin Bell-Uber MS-FORD- On the outside looking in but not from lack of trying. Justin has been wheeling that Ford the last few weeks, and it seems the rookie has broken out of his shell. No playoffs this year, but with his last 5 races finishing in the top 25, Seems as if next year he could maybe figure things out to find himself in the top 16.
  • Tyler Belanger-WRL-FORD- A late addition to the TCSP Cup Series, but not a bad one. With him qualifying into each race on speed and secured a 2nd place finish in his first ever race in the Cup Series, Tyler seems to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2025 season.
  • William “Ben” Lawson-FMS-FORD- Just a couple of weeks ago we thought this driver had no shot of getting into the playoffs, but now his spot is all but buttoned up. Ben has finished in the top 15 in the last 4 races and a 5th place finish at the Chicago Street Course seem to be what may have brought this driver out of the darkness into the light. This playoff spot may not have only given this driver something to race for in the coming weeks but a potential lifeline for him to secure his Cup seat from Factory MS for the 2025 season.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Ryan Taft-INDY MS-CHEVY- Ryan has had a long season in the TCSP. Refusing to take questions from the media on if he will have a seat next year in the series or if he will drop down the Crown Jewel ladder to figure things out. Taft has struggled only able to land 4 top 20 finishes in all of his 22 Cup Series starts. We are hoping this veteran driver can string something together here at the closing stages of the season to turn the spirits of the 86 team around.
  • Cameron Romano-WRL-FORD- Cameron has had a long season and has repeatedly spoke to the media about this year being over and having a reset. Alot of his troubles have been no fault of his own but when things have been smooth sailing, he has only been able to string together six top 20s in his 23 starts. All of us would love a shock and awe moment of a new winner tonight getting themselves into the playoffs but can Cameron overcome this season’s downfalls and cap off this season on a positive note.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Cory Mott has a chance to secure the regular season title tonight. Currently 79 ahead of Steven Carlile.
  • Mike Burnett playoff spot has officially been revoked due to absence and lack of communication with Crown Jewel racing officials. This has awoken the playoff picture for tonight’s regular season finale at Darlington.
  • The new penalty system and damage policy will be in effect tonight.
  • BBR has been through the ringer this week, but news has broken that Thomas Wolfe will take over all operations for the team to finish the 2024 season and into the future. Learn more here
  • Thomas Villano will return from his suspension after Darlington race. Sources who conduct the Crown Jewel Sensitivity training reported that he was engaged during classes and believe he has changed for the better.
  • Tonight’s playoff will be a head-to-head matchup against Tommy Carroll who is the last man in and Joe Wright who is currently the first man out. Only 26 points separate the two drivers. Tonight is a must win situation for driver: Jim Mott, Justin Bell, Jonathan Leger, Ray Gill, Cameron Romano, and Ryan Taft.

PLAYOFF BUBBLE

  • FIRST THREE IN: Garth Griswold (+77), Ben Lawson (+72), Tommy Carroll Jr (+26)
  • FIRST THREE OUT: Joe T Wight (-26), Justin Bell (-64), Jim Mott (-69)

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Cory Mott-Palmetto MS-CHEVY
Cory is looking to knock off the first step in winning a Cup Series championship tonight and that is winning the regular season championship. This win not only guarantees him a better chance on making a deep run into the playoffs with the added bonus points, it gives him and his team the opportunity to taste what it feels like to be not just a race winner but a champion. That dragon is something that any man, woman, or child will chance given they have had the chance to taste it. Darlington is not only the last race of the season but Motts hometown track. Winning the championship in front of his hometown folks is something we don’t think Cory will allow slip through his fingertips. So, let’s make a bet here. Cory currently is +1780 for a win and if you are on a hot streak we think you should take it, but the free lunch program has cooked up a parlay. Cory Mott plus +760 for a top 10, and Cory Mott regular season champion at -7800, will next you a pretty penny on a pick 2 at +900. Some other bets for the gambling man include Joe T Wright to qualify for playoffs at +1920 and Tommy Carroll top 10 finish at +2300.

DAYTONA: JENSEN TRIUMPHS AT COKE ZERO SUGAR 250

For the final time this year, the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series made its way to the iconic Daytona for the Coke Zero Sugar 250. Daytona, with its 200+ MPH racing and the dramatic wrecks that always bring a new level of excitement, was a pivotal moment for the fans of the Crown Jewel Racing Community, marking the beginning of the end of an exhilarating regular season.

QUICK RACE STATS

  • Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
  • Weather: 80 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, South Wind @ 1-2 MPH
  • Race Length: 106 Laps, 1 HR 47 MINS
  • 13 Leaders – 23 Lead Changes
    • Oskar Jensen-31 Laps
    • Braedyn Carrol-19 Laps
    • Cody Leach-9 Laps
    • Cory Mott-8 Laps
    • Tommy Carroll Jr.-8Laps
    • Daniel Jursza-8 Laps
    • Nishil Condoor-6 Laps
    • Johnny Avila-5 Laps
    • Ben Lawson-4 Laps
    • Wyatt Sadler- 3 Laps
    • Russell Bratka-2 Laps
    • Zach Johnson- 2 Laps
    • Jonathan Leger-1 Lap
  • 12 Cautions – 37 Laps

Qualifying

Daytona Qualifying, a spectacle of intense competition, is always a thrill. The drivers, separated by a mere one-thousandth of a second, know that one-hundredth of a second could be the difference between the pole and starting in the 15th position. The times were so close this week that it came down to a tie for the pole position, with newcomer Brenden Koehler seizing the pole position and Stewart Harding Walker taking second, with a qualifying time of 49.532. Russell Bratka and Wyatt Sadler would qualify third and fourth with a matching time of 49.539, and Tommy Carroll Jr. would qualify fifth with a time of 49.544.

STAGE 1

The green flag would fly as the #36 Koehler would lead the field to start the race, but the #56 Carroll Jr. would take the lead on the first lap of racing. The inside line formed well at the beginning and took off from the outside line with single file racing back to almost 10th place. Eventually, the outside line figured it out and ran back to the front, with the #45 Oskar Jensen taking the lead as the field went two by two behind him.

The drivers started to get extra spicy on the final lap of the stage on Lap 20, and the ‘BIG ONE’ happened in Turns 3-4. This term refers to a significant multi-car crash often occurring in NASCAR races. Carroll Jr. was trying to push the #68 Alexander Hodge to the front, but he got underneath him and into the quarter panel, sending Hodge around. Ten drivers got black-flagged for damage from this chaos, sending them down the pit road to end the stage.

Jensen would secure the Stage 1 win by leading twelve out of the twenty-stage laps. Koehler would take second place, followed by Braedyn Carroll in third. Steven Carlile and Wyatt Sadler would follow behind with fourth—and fifth-place finishes. It was all the fans could ask for in Stage 1: green flag racing throughout the stage, building excitement for the end, and witnessing utter destruction coming to the line to end the stage.

STAGE 1 RESULTS

STAGE 2

At the end of the stage, #11 Russell Bratka was the only one to stay on the race track and chose not to pit with everyone else. Bratka led the field back to green flag racing to begin Stage 2. The race would stay green until Lap 24 when the #63 Johnny Avila and the #40 Wyatt Sadler made contact coming out of Turn 2. They would collect the #55 Cameron Romano on the backstretch and turn him down to the apron.

On Lap 27, Jensen took back the lead to bring the race back to green, and the drivers tried to settle back in and went two by two with almost 20 cars staying in the lead pack. On Lap 31, Braedyn Carroll would take Jensen’s lead before another caution came out. The #1 Cory Mott and the #29 Stewart Harding Walker would make contact down the backstretch as Mott was attempting to change lanes. They would spin to the inside, but neither would get any damage from the incident.

When Carroll brought the field back to green on Lap 37, we would have a four-lap shootout to end Stage 2. Jensen would get a great push off the line and take the lead but couldn’t hold on to it for long, as the #63 Johnny Avila would take the lead and the green-white-checkered to end Stage 2. Several drivers wouldn’t pit at the stage break, and #8 Zach Johnson would take the lead spot.

STAGE 2 RESULTS

STAGE 3

Johnson would bring the field to the start-finish line to begin the final stage, as his Palmetto Motorsports teammate Cory Mott would line up to his inside. Johnson would rely on his other teammate, the #77 Jim Mott, to give him a push to keep him out front. But Mott would stay with the bottom line and get the better push to leave the top line in the dust. Mott would maintain the lead through the halfway point in the race, but the #15 Cody Leach would transition to the Highline in front of Johnson to try and capture the lead. Mott would also move to the Highline to block Leach’s run before Mott would change back to the low line. Leach would keep the top line moving, taking the lead from Mott on Lap 53 in a series of strategic moves that kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

Leach would keep control until Lap 58 when the #77 Jim Mott would get a little too close on the side draft and make contact with the #61 Nishil Condoor. Jim Mott would get turned to the inside while Cory Mott would move high to miss the incident and collect the #6 Stephen Menke, who would get smacked left and right by other cars as they tried to get around. Menke would be involved in another incident on Lap 63, and he couldn’t get his luck turned around for the evening as all the incidents he was involved in were not his fault. Overall, it was a tough night for all of Factory Motorsports as they all finished outside the Top 10.

The next caution would come out on Lap 74 when the #3 Ben Lawson would push the #89 Daniel Jurza to the front to take the lead from the #40 Wyatt Sadler. Jurza and Lawson would make contact down the backstretch and would move Lawson into the top line, where Condoor would meet him as they both went into the wall. This wreck would send seven cars to the pits for repairs.

Fans could tell the race was ending as the driving would get increasingly aggressive every lap that was turned. There would be four more cautions before we would come down to the first overtime on Lap 98.

OVERTIME AT DAYTONA

Jensen would control the bottom line while Russell Bratka lined up next to him on the outside row. When the green flag dropped, Jensen would get a great push, and the bottom line would pull away, heading into Turn 1. Jensen and Braedyn Carroll would link up bumpers and check out from the field, but they couldn’t get back to the line before another big wreck would happen on the backstretch when the #88 Tyler Belanger would drift down a bit too much and connect with the #63 Avila sending him into the wall.

CJR Officials would get them reracked and restacked for Overtime #2. Jensen would get the jump on the bottom line, which Carroll would push. They would lock bumpers and get around the track to bring out the white flag. They would run away with it, but coming out of Turn 4, here comes the #36 Brenden Koehler getting a big push and run from the #91 Zack Saunders. Saunders would push Koehler to Carroll’s bumper, and Jensen would move high, breaking Koehler’s run as Saunders would go low. Jensen would have enough momentum to get to the checkered flag, and Saunders would speed past Carroll for a second-place finish. Koehler would cross the line for 3rd place, and Carroll, who pushed Jensen around for the final restart, would do enough to get Jensen the win, but Carroll would finish in 4th place. At the after-race press conference, Jensen said this about the race.

“I want to say thank you to Ray. We had an incident early in the race during the choose cone, which gave me some motivation to drive my tail off and win this thing.”

Playoff Implications

The Playoff field of 16 Drivers is set, barring any unexpected race winners, miracles, or sudden departures. The regular season finale will take place next week at Darlington Raceway. Check out the Playoff Standings, and if you want to rewatch that exciting race finish, check out our race recording on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

We will see you all next week for the Buc-ee’s Southern 500 for 367 laps at Darlington!