Category: Cup

Pataska Triumphs at the Clash, Launching the 2025 Majors Garage Cup Series

Garth Griswold

The highly anticipated 2025 Crown Jewel Racing Season commenced on a thrilling note Wednesday night in Lakeland, Florida, at the USA International Speedway. Despite the unavailability of Bowman Gray Stadium on the iRacing Service, CJR officials made a strategic decision to maintain the short track, bumper-to-bumper, and at times, chaotic competition at a similar track. The USA International Speedway certainly lived up to its reputation, delivering an electrifying start to the season.

Opening night can always have its issues, and CJR Officials had to adjust on the fly when four heats were scheduled, but iRacing said they would only do three. Three heats would race, with the top five advancing to the show. Then, those unlucky drivers would get one more chance to make the show in the last-chance qualifier, with the top seven keeping their hopes alive to win the clash.

Qualifying

The qualifying round saw a standout performance from newcomer Dallas Pataska, who secured the pole position in the #17 Majors Garage Esports Chevrolet with an impressive time of 20.886. His speed was nearly two-tenths faster than the reigning Season Champion Thomas Wolfe, who qualified second with a time of 21.081. Hollywood Motorsports also made a strong showing, with three out of their four drivers, Garth Griswold, Nathaniel Campbell, and newcomer Cameron Albertson, qualifying in the Top 10, promising an exciting main event.

HEAT ONE

The first heat of the night would be the cleanest race of the night. Dallas Pataska would lead the field to the green flag, but Saunders would get the lead-to-lead Lap 1 before the only caution of the heat would come out on the backstretch when Cory Mott and Garth Griswold would make contact and spin down the backstretch. Pataska would win the first heat, Saunders would finish 2nd, Diego Rodriguez 3rd, Haden Higginbotham 4th, and Logan Giesbrecht would hold off Griswold for 5th place.

HEAT TWO


The 2024 Season Champion, Thomas Wolfe, would lead the field to the green flag to kick off Heat #2. The second heat wasn’t as clean as the first heat and would have four cautions throughout the heat. WRL co-team owner and driver Cody Leach had his hands while trying to keep his car off of others throughout the heat, but Wolfe, Pete Morales, Stewart Walker, Stephen Menke, and Campbell would advance on to the main. Leach would finish sixth after being involved in 3 of the four cautions during the heat race and get another chance in the LCQ.

HEAT THREE


The final heat will start with familiar driver Cody Porter leading the field to the green flag. Porter, who signed with Moonshine Motorclub, hopes to run his first season in CJR. Heat #3 would clean the racing up with only two cautions occurring. The starting five would remain in the Top 5 when the checkered flag waved, with Porter taking 1st Place and Steven Carlile in his normal second-place position. Newcomer Cameron Albertson would finish 3rd, and Tyler Belanger would move up one spot to finish fourth. Nic Vasquez would secure the final transfer spot, moving back one spot from where he started to finish 5th.

LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER


The last-chance qualifier was a nail-biting affair. Griswold would be in unfamiliar territory at the front of the field to lead the flag to green for 40 laps around a 3/4-mile track. Completing this race would take more than 40 laps, with the caution laps not counting. You could tell it was the LCQ as the green flag runs came few and far between, with 11 cautions throughout the race.

Griswold would control the restarts and be able to check out from the carnage behind him multiple times. Griswold and his teammate Allen Phillips were in control of their destiny with two laps to go, and that was when their chance at the show started to slip through their grasp. Phillips would get loose off of two and would go around. He would catch a few licks from cars as they went by, and just like that, Griswold’s security blanket was gone.


Griswold would have to fend off Caleb Tipton on the outside with “Wreck-it Ralph” Leach of WRL pushing him from behind on the green-white-checkered finish. Griswold would lead the field to green and lead the first lap to take the white flag, but he would leave the inside door cracked open in 1 and 2. Tipton was able to get below the yellow line and get his nose in, but the door wasn’t open enough to get through without bumping into Griswold’s quarter panel and sending him spinning up the track. Tipton, Leach, Nishill Condoor, Zach Johnson, Mott, Vince Mitchell, Joe Wright, and Ray Gill would be the luckiest recipient, claiming that final transfer spot after the controversial move sent Griswold home after leading 38 out of 40 green flag laps.

“I’m not happy about it, but it’s racing. And that style of racing will be returned in due time.”

Garth Griswold #00 Hollywood Motorsports

The Show

The feature began with a bang. As the green flag waved, Pataska and Wolfe made contact down the front stretch, causing chaos and destruction that Floridians haven’t seen since it snowed three inches there two weeks ago. The front stretch became a disaster zone. It would take several laps to clean up and straighten the mess out, and the race would finally go back green on Lap 11.

Porter would take over as the front runner and hold that lead throughout the race’s first half. Saunders and Pataska would battle their way back to the front to secure the second and third-place positions before the competition caution came out on Lap 50. Cory Mott wouldn’t head to the pits and would stay out to take over the lead. Nathaniel Campbell and Vince Mitchell followed the same strategy and lined up second and third to start the race’s second half on Lap 55. Mott would lead the race for 34 laps until Pataska could return from the early destruction. Pataska would take the lead and hold onto that lead through the final 14 laps to claim victory at The Clash.

“USA is one of my favorite tracks and somewhere I have a lot of experience running Super-Late Modifieds. The carnage was tough, but I was lucky enough to make it back to the front and made some clean passes for the win.”

Dallas Pataska #17, Majors Garage Esports

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: THE CLASH

The Cup series returns in 2025 as the Majors Garage Cup Series! Tonight, the green flag flies on WTTV at 8pm est.

NEW LOOK ON THE OLD DOGS

After the preseason race at Autoclub last Wednesday. It didn’t take much time to notice that the top 10 were the usual suspects in the lineup. Thomas Wolfe taking the checkered flag seems like a fever dream some nights. One thing you can’t say is that he didn’t earn that victory. Starting in 28th and running all the way up to 1st is no small feat. Actually, looking deeper into the finish order, 5 of top 10 finishers didn’t even qualify in the top 20 (Saunders, Phillips, Cory Mott, Leach). No matter how they got up there by bullying or by diplomacy, we won’t find out about the repercussions till tonight at USA International Speedway.

ROOKIES TO WATCH

  • Cody Porter– Cody ran a limited schedule last year but now he is making his full-time appearance into the cup series. Many are saying he has the ability from what he showed last year to fight for the title at phoenix in November.
  • Noah Hamilton– Noah showed us last week that he has the speed to be in the cup series by placing 4th in qualifying. The question now is can he put a whole race together and make a run for the playoffs that no one would see coming.

FAVORITES GOING INTO THE SEASON

Thomas Wolfe goes into this season as the top favorite out of the 3 selected by Vegas Sportsbook. Coming off a championship win and turning around after the offseason with a preseason win, Vegas has him sitting at +425 to win back-to-back championships. Honestly, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone after the beat down he handed out last season, securing 8 wins on his way to that Cup Series Championship.
Zander Short is a seasoned veteran at the Crown Jewel Racing league. Outside of last season, Zander has been seen as the favorite and a no brainer pick to take home a Cup Series trophy. This year Vegas has him sitting in the 3rd spot at +1340 to win the Majors Garage Cup Series Championship. The big question is can he stay out of his own way on and off the track? If you are a betting man and have been reading reports coming out of the Factory Motorsport’s camp, you will have heard that Zander is “100% locked in on finally bringing home a trophy.”
Cody Porter has shown us last season in the few races completed by him that he knows how to win. Winning both at Pocono and in Nashville, Cody showed the fans that if you give him a full season to show his true potential, a Majors Garage Cup Series championship isn’t something he’s hoping for, it’s something that is truly possible to obtain. Vegas currently has him sitting just behind Thomas Wolfe with +844 odds to take home the trophy in Phoenix.

TEAM SPOTLIGHT

Tipton-Harding Motorsports: After Combining forces last season, Caleb “THE UBERMAN” Tipton and Stewart Harding-Walker have created a team that wants to become a powerhouse in the Majors Garage Cup Series. Stewart was asked How does he feel about the team as a whole going into the season? Do they expect all cars to get into the playoffs this season or have they set more realistic plans for the future?
Stewart: “Hard to say. we have a solid team for 2025 and are much more organized and prepared for this season, I put a lot of time into reorganizing our team to work out the issues from last season that held us back. I think there’s a good chance we have multiple playoff entries like last season but with such an unknown and strong field it’s honestly anyone’s guess as to who makes the cut.”

THANK YOU!

Lasty, we here at Crown Jewel Racing League want to say thank you to all of our fans, broadcaster, sponsors, drivers, and team owners for continuing to support this amazing community. Through the laughter, the beefs, the wins and the loses, you all continue to help us grow and create a community of diverse race fans! Good luck to all the drivers in the 2025 Majors Garage Cup Series!

PHOENIX: BBR RETURNS TO GREATNESS, WOLFE WINS TCSP CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

The Champions have been Crowned for the 2024 Crown Jewel Racing Season, and what a year it has been. Two hundred sixty-seven days ago, the battle for the Championship began at the beaches of Daytona, and last night, the victor claimed their throne in the desert of Phoenix.

Championship night meant Crown Jewel Racing of 312 Laps around the mile-long Phoenix RACEWAY. Stephen Menke, Thomas Wolfe, Nic Vasquez, and Cory Mott were all racing to be crowned the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Champion.

Menke would set the tone in qualifying by capturing the pole by three-thousandths of a second over Thomas Wolfe. Nic Vasquez would qualify 9th, and Cory Mott would have to battle from the back starting in 23rd after making contact with the wall.

Menke led the field to the green flag, but Wolfe also also had a great jump off the start. Wolfe beat Menke back to the line and led the first lap. Most drivers were surprised to find a clean start since the Spring race had 24 cautions and raced 200 laps. But the racing would stay under the green flag until an incident involving Jim Mott and Garth Griswold would bring out the yellow flag on Lap 30. There would be four more cautions throughout the Stage, with the final one on Lap 59 with Thomas Wolfe getting the stage win and momentum heading into Stage 2.

Stage 2

Allen Phillips led the pack back to the green flag and led the race until Zack Saunders captured the lead on Lap 66. The first caution of Stage 2 came out on Lap 84 when Ben Lawson got loose through the dogleg on the front stretch. The field would get stacked back up. Zack Saunders was still leading, but all four playoff drivers who were hunting for the Championship were lined up behind him.

Wolfe would recapture the lead on Lap 96 from Saunders before a Championship Implication incident occurred on Lap 114. Menke would get loose going into one, slide up the track, and collide with Griswold and Stewart Harding Walker, who would make contact with Menke’s teammate and playoff driver Nic Vasquez. This incident would end Walker’s night, but the playoff drivers escaped without severe damage.

Cautions would breed more caution throughout Stage 2, with the significant incident occurring on Lap 169 when Vasquez would give a tap to Saunders’s back bumper, which caused him to snap into the outside wall. Vasquez’s teammate and team owner Stephen Menke couldn’t avoid Saunders, and they would collide just past the start-finish line. Menke’s guardian angel was with him last night as he again avoided serious damage.

Another significant incident on Lap 177 would take out a few non-playoff drivers on the front stretch, but the Stage would end on lap 184, and Nathaniel Campbell would lead the field to his first Stage win of the year.

To Pit or Not to Pit

Pit Strategy would become the key in the final phase of the race as green flag racing would resume one Lap 219 with 93 Laps to go. Wolfe would maintain the lead, but the strategy was coming into play behind him. Finishing the race on the last fuel stop would be a stretch as Wolfe, Griswold, Menke, and Tipton would do their best to stretch the run out as long as possible and try to make it to the end. Mott and Vasquez would pit, and the race was on to see if Mott and Vasquez could get back on the lead lap and catch Wolfe again before the checkered flag flew.

Mott needed to get around Oskar Jensen on Lap 277 behind Wolfe to get back on the lead lap. Mott would be on the outside of Jensen when Jensen would snap loose, and he and Mott would go wrecking into the wall. Mott’s Championship hunt was over just like that.

With Wolfe leading, Menke was behind Caleb Tipton and Griswold sitting in 4th, and Vasquez hunting the Wolfe in 5th with 31 laps to go. Wolfe would lead the field to the green for the final time; when the green flag waved, Wolfe would throw up the deuces, and he was gone. Wolfe would drive to the checkered flag with a four-second lead to win the 2024 Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Championship.

“I like to think I have a little talent, but really the secret to the sauce, is late night test runs, racing as much as I could, and just work that I have put in over the season that earned me this Championship.”

Thomas Wolfe, #94 Backroad Bandit Racing, Chevy

BBR Dominates

The Backroad Bandit Racing team would end the season on a high note, winning every race of the Championship Weekend, with Zack Saunders winning the VRS Truck Series Championship on Monday. Zack Saunders would also win the Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series race on Tuesday, but Stewart Harding Walker would win the Season Championship.

To conclude Championship night, Thomas Wolfe would bring the BBR Race Team back from the ashes the organization found themselves in at the halfway point of the season to find themselves on top of the Crown Jewel Racing League.

From the Admin Team: Thank you to the entire CJR Community, the team owners, the drivers, the broadcasters, all of our wonderful sponsors, for which we are so grateful, and lastly, to the fans. We hope you enjoyed this season as much as we did, and we can’t wait to run it back in 2025.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

OFFICIAL: Crown Jewel Racing Finalizes Media Deal

Crown Jewel Racing Media Team announced today that they have finalized Media Deals for the 2025 Season after a change in the Cup Series Broadcasting deal couldn’t be completed.

It was announced earlier this year that FTN would be the broadcaster for the 2025 Cup Season, but after personnel changes occurred at FTN, a deal could not be reached, as concerns over securing a contract for the 2025 season began to rise for the CJR Front Office.

“We were looking forward to working with FTN, and we still look forward to working with them in the future. We understand the difficulty of securing personnel and having them available weekly for our race season, and we wish them the best and hope to work with them again in the future.”

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Director

CJR Media Team announced the signing of Wind Tunnel TV (WTTV) to broadcast all 39 Crown Jewel Cup Series Races in 2025. WTTV, owned by Mr. Dean Doucet, has over 9 years of experience in the Sim-Broadcasting Market and bleeds racing through and through. WTTV primarily streams to YouTube and Facebook and focuses on providing quality content at an affordable rate.

“We are thrilled to have WTTV on board for the 2025 Season. Mr. Doucet and WTTV will be able to provide a high-quality broadcast week in and week out that showcases the talents of the Crown Jewel Cup Series that our fans will love to watch.”

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Director

The CJR Media Team also reported that they have finalized a deal with High-Velocity TV to broadcast all 23 VRS Truck Series Races in 2025. High-Velocity TV has proven its worth numerous times by filling in for the CJR Media Team and providing high-quality content to our fans in 2024. We are extremely happy to bring them on board full-time for 2025.

For the 2025 Team Conti Sim Performance Dash Xfinity Series, spectators can expect a twist for the broadcast – welcome to the Crown Jewel Cup Series Drivers Only broadcast! Headed by current broadcasters Nathaniel Campbell and Cory Mott, fans will be treated to a rotating cast of Cup Series talents telling the stories throughout the 33-race schedule. Nobody knows the league storylines quite like the veterans and giving them the opportunity to shine on the TCSP Dash Xfinity broadcast will bring nothing but good times and great commentary for the fans of the Xfinity drivers.

Make sure to check out WTTV and HVTV Channels and give them a follow!

It will be a year to remember in 2025 at Crown Jewel Racing.

WHAT TO WATCH: PHOENIX

The TCSP Cup Series Championship race is live tonight from Phoenix. Green Flag flies at 8pm EST.
WATCH HERE

CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR

  • Stephen Menke-FMS-FORD- Stephen secured his second win of the season with perfect timing. With a near perfect performance at Miami, in what could be called the race of the year for the TCSP. Stephen locked himself into the final four and has given himself an extra week to prepare for Phoenix. With an average running position of 10.3 all season and an 8.9 ARP on short tracks, Stephen has shown he has the ability to put up a fight to bring the championship trophy back to the FMS workshop.
  • Cory Mott-Palmetto-CHEVY- Our Regular season champion has withstood the beating of the playoffs and has scratched and clawed his way to this final four. The question is, is he and the 1 team burnt out after all this fighting or will they receive their second win and bring Palmetto and Chevy a championship before the team makes their manufacturer switch to Toyota TRD. Cory has an ARP of 7.3 on short tracks (highest out of championship 4), which could lead some of the analyst to believe He has a real shot tonight.
  • Nic Vasquez-FMS-FORD- Factory Motorsports has 2 chances in to bring the trophy home. Nic Vasquez has shown he knows how to win with 3 wins this season and making the playoffs after a very controversial ruling last week. If Nic and the 22 team have stayed focused amidst the media circus surrounding the decision and this championship race, there’s no reason he doesn’t have a shot in lifting the grand prize of a TCSP championship trophy. An ARP of 11.7 on short tracks (lowest out of the championship 4) doesn’t shine too much light on his chances tonight but after talking with representatives from the team, their focus and determination seems to be enough.
  • Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- Thomas seemed to be our favorite coming into the championship four but without a win in the round of 8, has he lost his winning ways. Okay, let’s stop rage baiting here. Thomas is a force to be reckoned with. With an ARP of 8.6 on short tracks and 7 wins in the bag, it’s hard not to have Thomas and the 94 team as your favorite for tonight. Can he continue his quest for dominance and secure the final prize of the TCSP Cup Series championship or will we see another favorite fall in a David vs Goliath showdown.

THANK YOU!

To all viewers, sponsors, racers, broadcasters, team owners, and employees, we want to thank you for all of your support through this long season! We have had our highs and lows, controversial moments, and Cinderella stories. We can’t wait to have you all and more back next season!

Team Conit Sim Performance moves sponsorship to Xfinity Series

We want to thank Team Conti Sim Performance for continuing their support of the Crown Jewel Racing league and their sponsorship with us. They will be moving to the Xfinity Series as the TCSP Dash Series. We highly recommend taking advantage of their extensive knowledge in sim racing and to help you with the cost use CROWNJEWEL10 to receive 10% your order. https://teamconti.gg/

OFFICIAL RULING: Zack Saunders win eligibility revoked from Martinsville

An independent panel of peers has determined that Zack Saunders is guilty of violating iRacing Sporting Code 7.5.4.1 Yellow Flag Procedures – Oval.

Based on previous caution procedure violations in Crown Jewel Racing and NASCAR, it was determined that positions have never been returned to cars that do not maintain pacing speed regardless of the cause.

The independent panel of peers determined the fairest penalty for this situation is to revoke the automatic win eligibility for advancing to the Championship 4. With the automatic win eligibility revoked, Zack Saunders is -5 from making the Championship 4 and thus, eliminated.

Evidence presented by the protestor, Nic Vasquez.

The independent panel of peers that ruled on this case were Stewart Harding Walker, Ray Gill, and Justin Bell (abstained).

Season Winding Down and Playoff Battles Cranking Up In CJR

With three weeks remaining in the 2024 Crown Jewel Racing Season, the season may be winding down, but the playoff battles are heating up. Cory Mott locked himself into a chance to fight for a Championship in Phoenix in the VRS Truck Series while a non-playoff driver, Matt White, captured a win in the TCSP Cup Series. Let us dive in and recap a week of the exciting racing in the CJR League.

ARCA

Stewart Harding Walker has now won back-to-back weeks in the ARCA Series, winning at the Track Too Tough To Tame last week and winning again last night at the Milwaukee Mile. Jim Mott is still holding on to a commanding lead in the ARCA Series Season Standings and Bob Baker is trying his best to capture second place from missing ARCA Driver Thomas Villano.

VRS Truck Series

The VRS Truck Series kicked off the Round of 8 at Auto Club Speedway. Cory Mott was able to avoid the carnage right behind him on the final lap and take the checkered flag for the win. Mott is the first driver to lock himself into the Round of 4 and the opportunity to win the VRS Truck Series Championship in Phoenix. The VRS Truck Series will be back in action tonight at 8:30 EST at Homestead, and you can catch all the action on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series and the TCSP traveled to Fabulous Las Vegas last week. Zack Saunders would take first place in the season standings with his win over Brian Messer last week. Tyler Belanger, Jacob Fifield, and Stewart Harding Walker hope to shake those standings up tomorrow night at Homestead.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

Newcomer on the block Matt White took the checkered flag to stop Stephen Menke from locking himself into the Round of 4. Thomas Wolfe still maintains the top spot with +41 to the good. Menke, Cory Mott, and Nic Vasquez are still within torpedo range of the cutline drivers of Vince Mitchell, Zack Saunders, and Zach Johnson. Cody Leach, who has declared he will not be able to race in Martinsville next week due to Sponsorship obligations that could not be resolved, will almost certainly need to win on Wednesday night to keep his playoff hopes alive.

The only Incident Points assigned last week occured on Lap 163 when Nishil Condoor lost control and came up the track collecting Justin Bell, Garth Griswold, and Playoff Driver Stephen Menke.

Homestead will bring the excitement this week, so make sure everyone tunes into all the exciting action this week in the Crown Jewel Racing League.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: LAS VEGAS

The TSCP Cup Series comes to you live from Las Vegas for the South Point 302. Green flag flies at 8:15pm est. WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- Thomas is a final four lock. 3 wins in the playoffs so far. To say he’s on fire is an understatement. With potential bracket buster for the championship, Steven Carlile, eliminated at the Roval, seems like smooth sailing for Thomas to walk home with the trophy.
  • Zach Johnson-Palmetto-CHEVY-If survive and advance was a car, it would be the number 8. For the statisticians, they have seen this run coming from a mile away. With 5 start finishes in the top 7, seems as if a win is just over the horizon.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Stephen Menke-FMS-FORD- Stephen and the 6 team have been a force to be reckoned with all season long. consistently a top 5 driver in the finish order and a stage points hog. Unfortunately, the last few races haven’t been too friendly to him. With only one top 10 in his last 4 races and a 19th place finish at the Roval due to a blown engine, the 6 team is grateful for a points reset. Let’s just hope they make the most out it.

DRIVER NEWS

  • We return to Las Vegas for the start of the round of 8 in the TCSP Cup Series playoffs. Zach Johnson is the highest finisher of the remaining playoff drivers from the spring race (7th).
  • 4 of out of the 8 remaining playoff drivers finished outside of the top 20 in the spring. Menke (21st), Leach (24th), Mott (27th), Saunders (38th).
  • Sources are saying there was a shouting match between Cody Leach and Cory Mott in the hallway on the way to drivers meeting. It is unclear on what the issue is but both parties and teammates had to be separated.
  • After an outstanding performance at the Roval, securing a stage win and a 3rd place finish on the day, Steven Carlile was eliminated from the playoffs by only 2 points.
  • Vegas is no longer the gambling capital of the world. Macau has stripped the sin city of its title.
  • There’s one slot machine for every four Las Vegas residents.
  • Las Vegas Speedway was built in 1972.
  • Zack Saunders won the Bob Henrys Xfinity Series Race last night at Las Vegas.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

THE FANS

A weekend filled with racing from Crown Jewel, and everything Vegas has to offer. Yea yea, the winner on the track comes away with a punched ticket to the championship four, but the fans are getting good fun, beautiful hotels and casinos, hot weather and racin’. So, before you head out to the track make sure you stop at your hotels sports book and just bet on your favorite driver. Stats from last race aren’t giving us much to go on. Everyone who finished in top 6 are either out of the playoffs or out of the league. Zach Johnson and Vince Mitchell are the only 2 playoff drivers who finished in the top 10 in the spring. Take a risk, take a chance and follow your heart with your bet for tonight and enjoy yourself in Viva Las Vegas.

CROWN JEWEL RACING WEEK IN REVIEW

By: Garth Griswold, CJR Media Team

Drivers in the TCSP Cup Series and VRS Truck Series Playoffs showcased their unwavering determination this week. Despite early mistakes, Cory Mott’s victory in the Truck Series and the triumphant performances of Thomas Wolfe and Jacob Fifield in the Cup and Xfinity Series proved that perseverance can overcome any odds.

VRS Truck Series

The VRS Truck Series race at the Auto Club Speedway was thrilling. The expansive two-mile track, illuminated by the stars and lights, set the stage for a fast-paced battle. The leaders, pushing hard to stay at the front, created an intense race that took several front runners out on Lap 14.

Connor Wold would get to the front and win Stages 1 and 2 before Playoff driver Cory Mott would get to the front in the final stage. Mott would survive the multiple green-white-checkered finishes to win at Auto Club Speedway and has locked himself into the Round of 4.

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The Xfinity Series traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to take on the Roval road course. Jacob Fifield’s early mistake at the start allowed Stewart Harding Walker to win Stage 1 by .347 of a gap to Fifield. Saunders would take the lead for 9 Laps during Stage 2 from Walker before Fifield would return to the front and win Stage 2. Saunders and Fifield battled early in the final stage before Fifield ran away with it to win by a 38-second margin for back-to-back wins in Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

Wednesday night at the Roval tested resilience in the TCSP Cup Series Playoffs. Despite being outside looking in, Caleb Tipton, Ben Lawson, Steven Carlile, and Cory Mott refused to give up. The race, which went green through the first stage, saw all 12 playoff drivers finishing 1-12th when the green and white checkered flag waved on Lap 20. Thomas Wolfe’s win in the first stage further intensified the competition, with Ben Lawson and Steven Carlile’s Top 5 finishes in Stage 1 adding to the drama.

After the carnage was cleaned, the field returned to green, but cars started dropping like flies. Within a span of 2 laps, six cars would get black-flagged for damage. Stephen Menke’s engine would blow on Lap 29, but lucky for him, he had accumulated a significant gap in playoff points that would remain above the cutline. This threshold determines which drivers advance to the next Round of the playoffs. Vince Mitchell and Nathaniel Campbell would get involved in an incident on lap 30, which would put them laps down, something neither of them needed as they tried to stay above the cutline.

Steven Carlile refused to give up after losing power for a moment during Hurricane Milton while racing at Talladega would put his playoff dreams on the chopping block. Carlile would start the race -18 points under the cutline, but a Stage 2 win would give him life and the chance to keep his playoff dreams alive.

Carlile would lead the first few laps of the final stage before Thomas Wolfe would make his way back to the front. Wolfe would run away with it to win the race with a 28-second margin to extend his lead even further heading into the Round of 8. Carlile would finish in 3rd and get a total of 51 points for the race, but it wasn’t enough to keep the playoff hopes alive, and he would be eliminated, finishing 2 points under the cutline. Nathaniel Campbell’s playoff dreams would end by finishing 3 points back after the incident with Vince Mitchell on Lap 30.

Vince Mitchell would advance to the Round of 8, keeping his playoff dreams alive and securing the final spot. Palmetto Motorsports team owner and driver Cory Mott would take Campbell’s playoff spot to advance. Carlile, Campbell, Lawson, and Tipton’s playoff run would end at the Roval.

Next Week in the CJR

Next week in CJR League, the ARCA Series takes on the Monster Mile at Darlington Raceway on Sunday Night. The VRS Truck Series is off Monday night before resuming Round of 8 playoff action on October 28 at Homestead Speedway. The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series and Team Conti Sim Performance Series will travel to Fabulous Las Vegas to tackle the mile-and-a-half oval. Tune into the Crown Jewel Racing Network next week to see who can beat the odds and win in Sin City.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: CHARLOTTE ROVAL

The TCSP Cup Series comes to you live from the Charlotte Roval. Green Flag flies at 8:15pm est.
WATCH HERE

HOT DRIVERS

  • Zack Saunders-BBR-CHEVY- After Zacks win at Talladega, He has clinched the number 1 spot in the season standings. With 4 top five finishes, including 2 wins in his last 5 races, it seems like Zach won’t be slowing down any time soon.
  • Nic Vasquez-FMS-FORD- Nic has put his points penalty behind him in these first 2 rounds. With only 1 finish outside of the top 10 all playoffs long(11th), Nic seems to be eyeing down phoenix as a real possibility.
  • Vince Mitchell-Uber MS-FORD- Miracles do happen. Vince has had a rough go at the playoffs but squeaked into the round of 12. Now with an amazing showing at Talladega, Vince sits somewhat comfortably in +4 points to the cut line going into the Roval, with a chance to move on further than most thought was possible.

NOT DRIVERS

  • Cory Mott-Palmetto MS-CHEVY- Cory has had a great run and many may say he’s pretty hot. Unfortunately, a wreck ending his night early at Talladega has put our regular season champion under the cut line. Sources from the team have told us the number 1 team has been putting in alot of extra practice going into tonight race to minimize any potential mistakes. Now we all wait and see if this is the end of a great season or the turnaround for Cory’s championship hopes.
  • Steven Carlile-Ethix MS-CHEVY- The 7-team seemed like a for sure pick to be in the championship 4 at phoenix in a few weeks’ time barring no mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes did happen. With electrical issues plaguing him at Talladega and a 18th place finish in the Kansas race, Steven finds himself 18 under the cut line and looking for a miracle tonight. Luckily for him if anyone can pull that off, he is the one who can do it.

DRIVER NEWS

  • Zack Saunders has locked himself into the next round with a photo finish win at Talladega.
  • Joe Wright tied his best finish of the season with a 2nd place finish at Talladega.
  • Regular season champion Cory Mott sits below the cut line going into tonight’s cut off race.
  • The Bank of America ROVAL was first run in 2018 with Ryan Blaney winning the inaugural race.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Zack Saunders-BBR-FORD
When you think about road courses in the TCSP Cup Series, the first name that always comes to mind is Saunders. If you don’t have him winning, then you are delusional. Zack has won 2 out of the 4 road courses we have ran this season, with only 1 race finishing outside of the top 5(Street Course 15th). Sitting currently at +450 for a win, he has this all but sealed up before the green flag has even flown. Some other picks that seem promising are, Cody Leach +560 for a top 10, and Steven Carlile at +1200 for a win. We can make this short and sweet for future reference. If the TCSP Cup Series has a road course coming up on the schedule, Saunders will dominate.