Category: Crown Jewel

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: TALLADEGA

The TCSP Cup Series are live tonight from Talladega Superspeedway. Green Flag flies at 8:15pm est. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- Thomas seems like a freight train with no brakes at this point. If you don’t have him in your final four picks for the Championship, I want what you’re smoking.
  • Ben Lawson-FMS-FORD- If his top 10 finish was any other week than last week, Ben would be finding himself high above the cutline. Unfortunately, for the 3 team, 9 out of 10 cars finishing in the top 10 were all his playoff competition. Lucky for Ben the Fords have had the superspeedways in a chokehold all year. Look out for him to pull himself back above the cut.
  • ALL PLAYOFF DRIVERS– Last week at Kansas showed the fans why the current playoff drivers are the best of the best. All playoff drivers but one (Vince Mitchell) Finish in the top 11 with only Tyler Belanger separating the field. Talladega is always a crapshoot, but these drivers left fighting for a championship won’t be living on a hope and a prayer.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Vince Mitchell-Uber MS-FORD- If not for the amazing performance by all playoff drivers last week, Vince would have been able to pull a few points back instead of looking at the mountain which is getting into the next round that’s in front of him. With a 17th place finish last week and now sitting -11 to the line, Vince is looking for a miracle in the last 2 rounds left.
  • Stewart Harding Walker-Uber MS-FORD- A late addition but what seemed to be a good one in the TCSP Cup Series, Stewart has seemed to fall off a cliff after his wreck at Watkins Glen. Since The Glen, Stewart hasn’t been able to sneak into the top 20, but hopefully Talladega can turn the tide for him and the team to improve morale going into next season.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Sam Bennet will be our new permanent race control for the remainder of the playoffs.
  • All playoff drivers besides one (Vince Mitchell) finished in the top 11 last week.
  • Thomas Wolfe is locked into the round of 8 after his win at Kansas last week.
  • Keep an eye out tonight for manufacturers working together as a team to push to the front of the field.
  • Both superspeedway races in the spring were won by a Ford. With Oskar Jensen snagging the last win at Daytona in the summer for the Toyota Team.
  • Talladega is the world’s greatest, biggest (2.66 miles), steepest (33 degrees), and fastest track in NASCAR.
  • Nic Vasquez still holds the crown this season for most Superspeedway wins with 2. (Daytona and Talladega Spring races)

PLAYOFF PICTURE

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Nic Vasquez-FMS-FORD
It’s hard to believe that Nic hasn’t won all the TCSP Cup Series superspeedway races this year. Domination is what critics would call his performances. No matter if the races were two, three, or four wide, he seems to have control of the field at all times. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate accident at the summer Daytona race, we could very well be talking about a potential superspeedway sweep this season. Nic is currently sitting at +350 with the remainder of the favorites after him all being under the Ford Motor Company umbrella. Their teamwork has shown that if you put the racing to the side and can last until the white flag flies, one of your teammates will come away with the checkered flag. Right now, Vegas is offering up a special bet with a ford podium sweep at +900, easy money folks.

Crown Jewel Shop Now Open!

Crown Jewel officials announce the launch of the brand-new merchandise shop featuring various clothing, headwear, and more!

Supporting Crown Jewel

When purchasing items from the Crown Jewel Shop, you will directly be supporting league operations with the commission on the sale going directly into the league fund to support broadcasting fees, event prize pools, and more!

Quality Products by Squadlocker

All products are crafted with sustainability in mind. Better serving the environment however possible while creating the highest quality products for thousands of leagues, teams, and athletes. Learn more about Squadlocker’s mission and sustainability practices by clicking on the links.

Licensed Team Gear

As a part of the 2025 Franchise Agreements, teams will have the option to opt-in to have officially licensed gear listed for sale on the league shop. More information will be provided to team owners during the 2025 Winter Meeting on December 8, 2024, prior to franchise bidding.

Expanded League Prizes

The winner of each league in the 2024 season can choose one item from the new shop (up to $40 in value) as an additional prize to their trophy.

What to watch for: Kansas

The TCSP Crown Jewel Cup Series are live from Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 300. Green flag flies at 8:15pm est. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Cory Mott-Palmetto MS-CHEVY- Cory has fought off a possible first round exit with a huge 3rd place finish at Bristol last week. What looked like what could have been a win to add to his playoff point tally didn’t quite happen, but he is securely sitting in 3rd place, 18+ above the cut line.
  • Natheniel Campbell-Hollywood MS-CHEVY- He was on the outside looking in last week but a 2nd place finish for Natheniel has secured him a spot in the round of 12. Hopefully he can keep the good times rolling currently sitting in 12th, -6 to the cut line.
  • Stephen Menke-FMS-FORD- When you been having a season like Menke you can afford a 29th place finish in the last race of the round. Prior to that, in both playoff races Menke finished in the top 10. He has kept good form all season and with him getting his bad race out of the way at Bristol, Menke could turn this playoff field upside down here in the round of 12.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Vince Mitchell-Uber MS-FORD- After his win at Michigan, and the announcement of his move to Palmetto MS for the 2025 season, it seemed like Vince may start his rise to the top. Unfortunately, outside of a 6th place finish at Darlington, Vince hasn’t been able to sniff a top 10 finish. Thankfully for the 96 team they have reset in points back to 6th in the standings after almost seeing a first-round exit. Hopefully they can improve their form and hold on to continue through to the round of 8.
  • Cody Leach-WRL-FORD- One good race last round was enough to save him from a could be first round exit. Cody is currently sitting +2 to the cut line and 1 top 10 finish in the last 4 races won’t cut it for the 15 team. The rollercoaster ride they have been on all season has gone from possible round of 4 contenders, to cut line riders. Leach and the 15 team will need to have a consistent and flawless round of 12 to advance or we may be saying bye to their championship hopes.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Drivers who exited the first round of the plays: Zander Short, Tommy Carroll Jr, Garth Griswold, Allen Phillips.
  • No penalties will be served at the beginning of the race tonight at Kansas.
  • Kansas Motor Speedway was opened in 2001 during the Nascar Golden era.
  • John Connor won the VRS Truck Series race on Monday night.
  • Thomas Villano got the win in the Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series last night.
  • Both Winners from the Truck and Xfinity races will be racing tonight in the TCSP cup series.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

5 drivers find themselves less the 10 points to good on the cut line. Carlile+7, Menke+4, Mitchell+3, Leach+2, Vasquez+0. The round of 12 is shaping up to be the best battle we could see all playoffs.

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Factory Motorsports
All drivers from the FMS shop are going into this round of 12 above the cut line. Thankfully for them this round starts off at a track where almost all of these drivers have had success at. Menke recorded a top 5 finish in the spring, and Ben ran hard for an amazing 11th place finish when he was still getting comfortable in the seat of the 3 car. Nic did score a 24th place finish in the spring but the historians of CJR will remind you that in past seasons he has won, and consistently shined at the mile and a half long track in Kansas. Currently Menke is +700, Vasquez is +1300, and Lawson is +2200. If you like money, sprinkling a few bucks on each of these guys to win is a no brainer. It FMS can get linked up late and this race stays as green as we believe it can, the force field should take them all the way to the front.

PENALTY REPORT: Bristol

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CJR Officials released the weekly penalty report for last weeks events in Bristol.

VRS Truck Series

Incident Report

LapDriver(s) InvolvedResult/Penalty
92828
432525
793030
1182525
1268686
1343535
1637, 35, 1Racin’
17011
1905151

Rolling Total

NumberDriverNashvilleBristolTotal
1Cory Mott33
21Mack Fabiny33
25Jim Mott369
28Jonathan Leger336
29Tyler Belanger336
35Henry Kallhoff33
47Sam Bennett99
51Michael Deitch33
84Corey Schramm33
86Ryan Taft336
95Pete Morales6-15

As they have reached 9 incident points, Sam Bennett of the No. 47 and Jim Mott of the No. 25 are unable to qualify until they run are below 9 incident points again.

Bob Henry’s Series

Incident Report

LapDriver(s) InvolvedResult/Penalty
55454
1644
5344
6120, 99
8055, 2955
865252
1039292
1258, 5252
1459292
21088, 29Racin’/Netcode/Magic

Rolling Total

NumberDriverBristolTotal
4John Connor66
9Gordon Fraley33
52Leeroy Sellers66
54Cory Mott33
55Cameron Romano33
92Jacob Fifield66

TCSP Cup Series

Incident Report

LapDriver(s) InvolvedResult/Penalty
115454
575454
10315, 7777
11115, 29Racin’
1151, 9696
1235757
1339191
18161, 8, 88, 361, 3(1)
1895757
27077
2802929
2872929
32261, 30Racin’
33022, 3022
39522, 6969
44556, 3030
44733
48797, 797
49356, 7777
50122, 6969(1)

Rolling Total

NumberDriverDarlingtonAtlantaWatkins GlenBristolTotal
3Ben Lawson3-146
5Allen Phillips3-1-1-10
6Stephen Menke3-1-1-10
7Steven Carlile3-1-134
15Cody Leach33-1-14
22Nic Vasquez33
29Stewart Harding-Walker369
30Mason Hoeffner33
37Joe T Wright3-12
54Jacob Abreu366
55Cameron Romano3-13
57Michael Deitch66
61Nishil Condoor33
63Johnny Avila33
66Ray Gill3-1-11
69Caleb Tipton44
77James Mott66
86Ryan Taft3-1-11
91Zack Saunders6-1-137
96Vince Mitchell33
97John Connor33

The #29 Ford Mustang of Stewart Harding-Walker has accumulated 9 incident points and will be ineligible for qualifying until he gets below 9.

Two incidents of note from the TCSP Cup Series.
On lap 181 CJR officials noted Ben Lawson, in the No. 3 Ford Mustang, failing to check up and appeared to full throttle into a incident already in progress. For failure to make any attempt to avoid the incident and futher contributing to it he has been penalized with one (1) additional incident point.
At the conclusion of the race the No. 69 Ford Mustang of Caleb Tipton appears to intentionally steer into the No. 22 Ford Mustang of Nic Vasquez. Per the rule book he was also levied an additional incident point for this action.

Clips of both incidents will be posted in the “Hall of Shame” channel of the Discord later tonight.

As always any and all penalties can be appealed via the ticketing function in the League Discord.

2025 Project K-9 Hero Series Schedule Release

The 2025 ARCA season will be run to support the Project K-9 Hero charity organization – championing retired police and military K-9s.

At Project K-9 Hero, our vision is to honor the unwavering dedication of retired Police K-9s and Military Working Dogs by creating a global environment that celebrates their heroic service. We strive to reshape perceptions, ensuring these valiant animals are revered and respected for their loyalty. Through our efforts, we aim to provide these remarkable companions with the dignified post-service life they rightfully deserve, offering access to comprehensive healthcare and advocating for a quality way of life in recognition of their selfless contributions.

Three Championship Format

The 2025 Project K-9 Hero Series will feature three separate championships – National, East, and West. This format will match the ARCA Menards Series in which it is based upon, with some events counting towards the standings for multiple championships. Each race has the designated series outlined above on the schedule release graphic. At season’s end, three champions will be crowned in the Project K-9 Hero Series and will earn prizes.

Double Header Nights

The 2025 schedule features three double header nights in which two races will be run. After a successful double header night in 2024, we have expanded to three nights at the request of the participants. The first double header night will be on Sunday June 1, 2025 and will feature races at Charlotte and Langley Speedway. The second double header will feature back-to-back races at Irwindale for the West Championship. The final double header night will be Sunday August 24, 2025 and feature an asphalt race at South Boston Speedway, and a dirt race a the legendary Eldora Speedway – both for the National Championship.

We look forward to seeing you on track for the 2025 Project K-9 Hero Series in 2025. Registration will open on December 9, 2025 at 12:00 PM.

BRISTOL: THE WORLD’S FASTEST HALF-MILE BROUGHT THE ACTION WITH 3 NIGHTS OF RACING

The Crown Jewel Racing league travelled to the Last Great Colosseum for three exciting nights of high speed short track racing this week. With the First Round of the VRS Truck Series Playoffs taking place Monday night it would set the tone for the opening race of the week. The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series brought the action on Tuesday night for the second race in the series followed up by the final race of the Round of 16 in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series Playoff on Wednesday Night.

VRS TRUCK SERIES

The first Round of the VRS Truck Series Playoffs kicked off on Monday Night with the #97 John Connor dominating the race. Connor would lead 194 laps of the 200-lap race, winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2, with the #91 Zack Saunders finishing second. Connor led all 55 laps in Stage 1 and would allow the #57 Michael Deitch to lead 4 Laps in Stage 2 before leading the rest of the 51 laps. Zaunders was lurking and waited until two to make his move on the outside, take the lead in the final two laps, and take the first win in the playoffs. The #95 Pete Morales would also get around Connor with two laps to take second, and the dominant Connor would finish third. In the post-race interview, Connor had this to say about race.

“We had a great run; I just used my tires up a bit too much earlier before the caution would come out, and I didn’t have enough to hold Saunders off on the outside at the end. But a great playoff point weekend for me, and Saunders ran a great race and a good win by him.”

John Connor, #97, Chevrolet

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The second race in Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series ran on Tuesday night, and fans were excited to watch this series complete 300 laps of short-track racing. Saunders would again perform strongly, taking the pole and leading every Lap in Stage 1. The fireworks went off early in the race when #9 Gordon Fraley and #20 Jim Mott made contact, causing Mott to flip upside down and go for a wild ride. Mott and Gordon would receive care from the infield care center and be cleared.

#26 Caleb Sheets would lead the first four laps in Stage 2 before Saunders would retake the lead and lead the rest of the 84 laps, picking up back-to-back stage wins for the night. It seemed as if Saunders would win back-to-back races going into the final stage, but #1 Zach Johnson, who had finished second in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2, was ready to make his move.

Johnson made that move, captured the lead on Lap 225, and ran away. Johnson finished the night as the only car on the lead Lap. #71 Michael Deitch took second place with a strong showing, winning stage points in both stages. Sheets took third, giving the TCSP Cup Series a heads-up that he knows how to run the high banks of Bristol.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

The Final Round of the TCSP Cup Series Round of 16 got off to a wild start, with a big shake-up in the playoffs standings right from the beginning. The carnage would occur on Lap 11 when the #54 Jacob Abreu would spin going into Turn 3. Watch the carnage unfold below.

The #6 Stephen Menke and #24 Noah Hamilton’s race would end before it started. The #5 Allen Phillips night would also end in this incident, as CJR Officials shut him down in the garage due to the damaged vehicle policy. This was detrimental for Phillips, who would end up falling below the cutline from 8th to 13th, eliminating him from the playoffs. The #00 of Garth Griswold wouldn’t make contact with any cars but couldn’t keep ahold of his car and took a trip into the wall. Griswold would go 8 Laps down, and his playoff hopes faded into darkness. A tough start for Hollywood Motorsports.

The #1 Cory Mott would win Stage 1, with Nishil Condoor taking second and Caleb Tipton taking third. Tipton would take the lead into Stage 2 and would lead for 40 laps before the #7 Steven Carlile would take the lead for 84 Laps and win Stage 2. Carlile, who was already locked into the Round of 12, continues to perform at a high level in the postseason.


The #97 John Connor would finally get to the front and lead for 192 laps in the final stage. Connor picked up where he left off on Monday night in the Truck Series and hoped to change the result for the win. However, Connor couldn’t hold onto the lead until the finish, as Nathaniel Campbell would take the lead on Lap 448. Sitting -1 point back below the cutline, Campbell needed an excellent race to ensure he sees a spot in the Round of 12.


Campbell would only retain that lead for two laps before the #74 Caleb Sheets would capture the lead. Sheets would hold onto that lead and try to survive the late race cautions that would come out, leading to a green-white-checkered overtime finish. Sheets would get a good start getting pushed from behind by Cory Mott. Mott would duck low into one and two as Sheets stayed high and kept the speed out of two to hold onto the lead going down the backstretch. Mott would remain in the low line as he and Sheets would make contact on the front stretch, allowing Sheets to pull away and head into the final Lap.

Campbell would stay on Sheets bumper, get around Mott in the final turn, and edge out Mott by a nose at the line to take second place. Sheets showed his hand during the Xfinity Series and came away with his first win in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series.


The TCSP Cup Series Playoffs will move on to the Round of 12 next week at Kansas. The drivers eliminated were #38 Zander Short, #56 Tommy Carroll Jr., #00 Garth Griswold, and #5 Allen Phillips. You can now check out all the racing results and playoff standings on the CJRacing Webpage.
The CJR ARCA Series was off this week and will be in Dover on Sunday night for the General Tire 125. The rest of the Crown Jewel Series will be back in action at Kansas Speedway next week for more high-intensity playoff action.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: BRISTOL

The TCSP Cup series is live from Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bob Henry’s 500! Green flag flies at 8pm est. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Zack Saunders-BBR-Chevy- Zack has put his 4th win of the season on the board, tying his teammate Thomas Wolfe as the co-win’s leader. Zack rang off a 2nd place finish in the spring Bristol race and with the winner of that race nowhere to be found, tonight may be a walk in the park for the 91 team.
  • Nic Vasquez-FMS-Ford- Some may argue that the driver of the 22 Ducks unlimited Ford Mustang is more lukewarm than hot. We on the other hand haven’t forgot about the points penalty he faced coming into the playoffs and with two top ten finishes here in the first round of the playoffs, Nic has all but erased what could have been a detrimental mistake.
  • Steven Carlile-Ethix RT-Chevy- Week in and week out we talk about how no one is yelling from the mountain tope that Carlile is a threat and seems like a shoe in for the final four. If you haven’t gotten the message by now, you must be living under a rock. Three top 5 in his last three races and he is one of 3 that we can say are safe on points to advance to the round of 12.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Caleb “The Uberman” Tipton-Uber MS-Ford- Caleb didn’t sneak his way into the playoffs by any means but his performance in the first two playoff races would make you seem like he was a sure first round exit. We have seen what he is capable of all seasons long if he can keep the car clean, but now he really has to show us.
  • Garth Griswold-Hollywood MS-CHEVY- Garth is the Cinderella story that Ben Lawson has become. But who’s to say there can’t be two princesses at the ball. Luckily for Garth the clock hasn’t struck 12, even after 2 finishes outside of the top ten here in the playoffs. Currently sitting six points under the cut line, He knows it’s time to strap in and make something happen tonight. Hope those glass slippers are on tight.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Zach Johnson won last night’s Bob Henry’s Xfinity series race at Bristol. He and his team hope to translate what they learned last night into a solid finish.
  • Cody Porter has exited the TCSP Cup Series. A serious threat for next season’s championship has stated they will not be returning.
  • Mathematically only 3 drivers are safe for tonight’s race at Bristol depending on attendance.
    Zack Saunders (1 win), Thomas Wolfe (1 win), Steven Carlile (points).
  • Bristol was formerly known as Sapling Grove
  • Bristol is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia.
  • Bristol Motor Speedway is the third largest sports venue in America and the seventh largest in the world, housing up to 162,000 people.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

5 drivers at the cut line are separated by less than 10 points. Griswold (-6), Campbell (-1), Tipton (+1), Mitchell (+6), Johnson (+8).

DRIVER PICK OF THE WEEK

WINNER- THE FANS
Us fans tonight get 500 rock em, sock em laps at Bristol Motor Speedway under the lights to see who will survive to see another 3 races and a chance to life the trophy in Phoenix, and who will end up crushing their car into the inside wall along with their hopes of a championship. For the analytical fans here, the obvious pick is Zack Saunders. He finished 2nd in the spring race and is red hot right now (+375). For the hopeful underdog fan, you have Tommy Carrol Jr who is staring down a first-round exit (-35) but finished 4th in the spring race (+3750). Whoever you decide to pick it won’t matter because someone who we thought would make it to the next round won’t, and someone who we never thought might have a chance will. And that my friends, is the beauty of racing.

WATKINS GLEN: SAUNDERS WINS, TENSIONS RISE WITH ONE RACE TO GO IN THE ROUND OF 16

Zack Saunders avoided an early disaster in Wednesday’s Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series race at Watkins Glen to recover and overtake Thomas Wolfe in the final Stage to win and secure his spot in the Round of 12. With the final race in the Round of 16 next week, tensions have reached an all-time high going into the Last Great Colosseum at Bristol.

The #69 Caleb Tipton would drop two spots, and Zach Johnson would fall one place with the early wreck they were involved in on Lap 2. Johnson would recover and salvage a Top 10 Finish, but Tipton would go 11 laps down and finish in 17th.

Uber vs Hollywood

Vince Mitchell would climb up and off the cutline with his 12th Place finish, sitting at +6 in front of Tipton. Nathaniel Campbell and Garth Griswold of Hollywood Motorsports are the two drivers who desperately need a solid finish this week to make the Round of 12. Sitting just one point back from Tipton, Campbell had a mechanical failure at Bristol in the Spring and is looking to improve on that finish next week to get him locked into the next Round. Tipton, who was also involved in a wreck at Bristol in the Spring, is also looking to avoid disaster again and improve on his 35th-place finish.

Not in the Clear

But Uber and Hollywood are not the only ones battling it out next week. We have five drivers within 14 points of the cutline. Palmetto Motorsports Drivers Cory Mott and Zach Johnson are in ninth and tenth position, respectively, and Hollywood Motorsport’s third driver, Allen Phillips, is in eighth with a +14-point margin.

It’s Bristol, Baby! Carnage can happen anywhere and anytime on this fast, short track. Early carnage could be detrimental to the fourth through seventh-place drivers. Steven Carlile, who is sitting in third with a +50 point margin, is safe, but he is the only one at the top who should feel comfortable. Stephen Menke, who was involved in an accident during Stage 2 of the Spring Race, will be looking not to get involved early on Wednesday as it could spell disaster for the Factory Motorsports Owner.

Factory Motorsports

Factory Motorsports should be proud of their playoff run so far. With their drivers sitting in 4th, 5th, and 6th in the standings, it will take a nuclear disaster for them not to have at least two drivers advance into the Round of 12. They haven’t let the disappearance of Zander Short affect their performance so far.

Do You Believe in Miracles

Joining Short at the bottom of the standings is Moonshine Motorsports Driver Tommy Carroll Jr., who didn’t make the race last week at Watkins Glen. Currently sitting -35 points back from the cutline, he will need to improve on his fourth-place finish in the spring to make the giant leap above the cutline, shake up the standings, and advance to the Round of 12.

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will drive 500 laps on Wednesday night. Seeing the checkered flag fly takes the driver’s focus, effort, and grit. Who will make their name known Wednesday night and advance to the Round of 12? Tune into the Crown Jewel Racing Network to find out!

Watkins Glen: What to watch for

The TCSP Cup Series is live tonight from Watkins Glen. Green Flag flies at 8:15pm est. Watch here

HOT DRIVERS

  • Ben Lawson-FMS-FORD- From riding the cut line of the round of 16, to leading 56 laps and taking home a top ten finish at Atlanta. Ben’s late season form might be just what the doctor ordered.
  • Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- It was win and you’re in during the regular season. Things haven’t change in the post season, Thomas is now safe and has advanced to the round of 12.
  • Steven Carlile-ETHix RT-CHEVY- Steven’s form all season has been that of consistency and seems like nothing has changed in his gameplan after getting another podium finish at Atlanta last week. (3rd)

NOT DRIVERS

  • Cory Mott-Palmetto MS-CHEVY- To no fault of his own Cory found himself with a last place finish at Atlanta due to an early incident before the conclusion of the 1st stage. (27th) We do believe tonight will be a different story but with him free falling down the playoff standings, this team has no room for error.
  • Cody Leach-WRL-FORD- A similar situation to that of the #1 team, Cody leach was in a wreck to no fault of his own placing 25th when the dust settled in Atlanta. Luckily for him the #15 team was able to secure points in both stages but this trend of running well all race long and grave mistakes happening late has plagued this team for way too.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Thomas Villano has returned from his month-long suspension.
  • Still no comment from Factory motorsports on the whereabouts of zander short and the #38. Once fighting for a regular season championship, Zander sits bottom of the playoff standings.
  • Many of the Cup series playoff drivers used last night’s Bob Henrys Xfinity series race to gain more seat time for tonight’s showdown.
  • Joe Wright in the #37 Ford and Ben Lawson in the #3 Ford will both receive EOLs for incidents last week at Atlanta.
  • Watkins Glen is home to 19 waterfalls and the birthplace of American road racing.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Thomas Wolfe–BBR-FORD
What more can you ask from the guy. Locked into the round of 12, can dominate on any given night, and not afraid to put his elbows out when needed. He’s a racer’s racer. A wheelman’s wheelman. The fans have spoken, and they’ve stated that we’ve been shooting for the stars on these fan picks too much. They’ve even said that the fans don’t even pick the fan picks. Well, that’s neither here nor there, because you got what you asked for this week in Thomas Wolfe. Not the favorite but still a safe pick for tonight’s race sitting at +560 for the win. With your favorites currently being Cody Porter +350 and Zack Saunders +400 respectively. Both are good picks for tonight but if you want to squeeze another few dollars out of your favorite betting app, Thomas Wolfe is your guy. His win at the Chicago Street Course showed everyone he is not just an oval guy, he’s an anywhere guy. The choice is always yours here with the fan pick but tonight I think we’ve finally got a pick right.

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