2022 Food City 300

Race details
Race 26 of 33 of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	September 16, 2022
Official name	41st Annual Food City 300
Location	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance	300 laps, 159.9 mi (257.3 km)
Scheduled Distance	300 laps, 159.9 mi (257.3 km)
Average speed	80.996 mph (130.350 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	15.653
Most laps led
Driver	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports
Laps	148
Winner
No. 9	Noah Gragson	JR Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	USA Network
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte
Radio in the United States
Radio	Performance Racing Network

The 2022 Food City 300 was the 26th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the final race of the regular season, and the 41st iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, September 16, 2022, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. Noah Gragson, driving for JR Motorsports, took advantage of the lead with 25 laps to go, and held off Brandon Jones for his eleventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, along with his sixth of the season, and his third win in a row.^[1] Gragson's teammate, Justin Allgaier, dominated most of the race, leading 148 laps and winning a stage. To fill out the podium, Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would finish 3rd, respectively.

12 drivers would qualify for the playoffs: Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, A. J. Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst, and Ryan Sieg.^[2] Allmendinger would also clinch the Regular Season Championship following the race.^[3]

This was the official debut race for CARS Pro Late Model Tour driver, Bobby McCarty. He was originally scheduled to make his debut at the New Hampshire race earlier in the year, but had failed to qualify.

Background

Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all-concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Half-Mile", even though that designation technically belongs to the Volusia Speedway Park dirt track.

Practice

For practice, drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and B. Both sessions will be 15 minutes long, and was held on Friday, September 16, at 2:35 PM EST.^[4] Ty Gibbs, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the fastest driver in total, with a lap of 16.045, and an average speed of 119.589 mph (192.460 km/h).

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, September 16, at 3:10 PM EST.^[4] Since Bristol Motor Speedway is a short track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in the round wins the pole.^[5] Ty Gibbs, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 15.653, and an average speed of 122.584 mph (197.280 km/h).^[6]

Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 85

Stage 2 Laps: 85

Stage 3 Laps: 130

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 3 1 Noah Gragson 2,051 2 Ty Gibbs 2,038 (-13) 3 Justin Allgaier 2,033 (-18) 3 4 A. J. Allmendinger 2,032 (-19) 5 Josh Berry 2,022 (-29) 6 Austin Hill 2,016 (-35) 7 Brandon Jones 2,010 (-41) 8 8 Jeremy Clements 2,005 (-46) 1 9 Sam Mayer 2,005 (-46) 10 Daniel Hemric 2,003 (-48) 2 11 Riley Herbst 2,002 (-49) 12 Ryan Sieg 2,001 (-50) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References