Ty Gibbs Dominates at Phoenix; Wins 2022 Xfinity Series Championship: One week after igniting a maelstrom of controversy with his brutish tactics at Martinsville Speedway, Ty Gibbs held off charging Noah Gragson to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race and the series title that goes with it.(Read more)(11-5-2022)
Leading a race-high 125 laps, #54-Ty Gibbs won the 2022 Xfinity Series championship virtue of his win at Phoenix. It’s his seventh win of the season, and he ends the year with consecutive victories.
#9-Noah Gragson finished second, less than four-tenths of a second behind Gibbs. #7-Justin Allgaier placed third, with #10-Landon Cassill and #16-AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
#2-Sheldon Creed ended the race in sixth, with #98-Riley Herbst, #11-Daniel Hemric, #21-Austin Hill and #18-Sammy Smith completed the top 10.
#54-Gibbs won both stage, giving him 10 on the season.
There were 15 lead changes among five drivers and eight cautions for 49 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 91.174 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Phoenix:
Ty Gibbs (P) won the 24th Annual NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race, his 11th victory in 51
NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his seventh victory and 23rd top-10 finish in 2022.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in three races at Phoenix Raceway.
Noah Gragson (P) (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Phoenix Raceway. It is his
26th top-10 finish in 2022.
Justin Allgaier (P) (third) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 25 races at Phoenix Raceway.
Sheldon Creed (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ty Gibbs (P) has won the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.
Chevrolet has won the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Manufacturers Championship.
Championship Fast Facts – Phoenix
Driver Champion: Ty Gibbs
Team: No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra
Ty Gibbs has won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship (2022), his previous best finish in the series final championship standings was 13th last season.
Gibbs is the 32nd different driver to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
Gibbs won the season finale at Phoenix Raceway to claim the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series title.
Gibbs made 33 series starts this season, posting seven wins, 16 top fives and 23 top 10s.
In the Playoffs this season, Gibbs has posted two wins, six top fives and seven top 10s.
Gibbs, from Charlotte, has become the eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from the state of North Carolina; joining Daniel Hemric (2021 champion, Kannapolis, N.C.), William Byron (2017 champion, Charlotte, N.C.), Austin Dillon (2013, Welcome, N.C.), Brian Vickers (2003, Thomasville, N.C.), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998, 1999, Kannapolis, N.C.), Jack Ingram (1985, 1982, Asheville, N.C.) and Sam Ard (1983, 1984, Asheboro, N.C.).
Driver Owner Champion: Joe Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
This is Joe Gibbs Racing’s fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series driver championship (Kyle Busch, 2009, Daniel Suárez, 2019, Daniel Hemric, 2021 and Ty Gibbs, 2022) – third-most all-time in the series.
This is Joe Gibbs Racing sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series owner championship (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2022), which ties Team Penske (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021) for the series-most owner titles all-time in the Xfinity Series at six each.
Joe Gibbs Racing is one of 19 different organizations to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver championship, and one of 18 different organizations to win the owner championship. Joe Gibbs Racing has posted 193 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins among 20 different drivers – Aric Almirola, Bobby Labonte, Brandon Jones, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler, Erik Jones, Harrison Burton, Joey Logano, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Mike Bliss, Mike McLaughlin, Ryan Preece, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Stewart, Ty Gibbs and Daniel Hemric.
Joe Gibbs Racing began its NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 1997 at Rockingham Speedway with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte.
Crew Chief Champion: Chris Gayle
This is Chris Gayle’s first career NASCAR Xfinity Series championship (2022). Gayle’s previous best finish in the Xfinity Series championship standings was third with Elliott Sadler in 2014.
Gayle is the 30th different crew chief to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
Gayle has won 37 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with eight different drivers: Elliott Sadler, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Sam Hornish Jr., Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek.
Final Xfinity Series Standings after Phoenix (Race 33 of 33):
1)#54-Ty Gibbs 4,040
2)#9-Noah Gragson 4,035, -5
3)#7-Justin Allgaier 4,034, -6
4)#8-Josh Berry 4,24, -16
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.
Cars to the rear: #07-Joe Graf Jr. (backup car), #44-Rajah Caruth (missed driver intros).
Pit Stall Selections
At a speed of 134.298 mph, #54-Ty Gibbs won the pole for the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix. It’s his fifth pole of the season and first at Phoenix.
#18-Sammy Smith will start second (134.058 mph), with #48-Nick Sanchez (133.442 mph) Championship 4 driver #9-Noah Gragson (133.407 mph) and #19-Brandon Jones (133.398 mph) rounding out the top five.
#10-Landon Cassill, #39-Ryan Sieg, #2-Sheldon Creed, #8-Josh Berry and #11-Daniel Hemric make up the top 10. The lone Championship 4 driver outside the top 10 is #7-Justin Allgiaer in 11th.
Did Not Qualify: #5-Matt Mills
See the complete Phoenix Starting Lineup.
Qualifying Results
Qualifying Fast Facts – Phoenix
Ty Gibbs (P) won the Pole Award for the 24th Annual NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race with
a lap of 26.806 seconds, 134.298 mph.
This is his eighth pole in 51 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his seventh pole and 28th top-10 start in 2022.
This is his first pole in three races at Phoenix Raceway.
Sammy Smith (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2022 and his first in one race at Phoenix
Raceway.
Nicholas Sanchez (third) posted his first top-10 start at Phoenix Raceway. It is his first in eight races this season.
Sheldon Creed (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
The Championship 4 drivers qualified in the following positions – Ty Gibbs (1st), Noah Gragson (4th),
Josh Berry (9th), Justin Allgaier (11th).
Practice for the Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway is complete. After 50 schedule minutes, the top five, slowest, news and notes:
#18-Sammy Smith 131.128 mph
#19-Brandon Jones 130.581 mph
#54-Ty Gibbs 130.519 mph
#11-Daniel Hemric 130.104 mph
#98-Riley Herbst 129.556 mph
Other Championship 4 drivers: #7-Justin Allgaier (12th), #9-Noah Gragson (13th) and #8-Josh Berry (14th).
Slowest: #5-Matt Mills 122.295 mph.
Most laps run: #21-Austin Hill, 50
Notes: Nine minutes into the session, #5-Matt Mills spun in Turn 2. With only a few minutes left in the session, #07-Joe Graf Jr. got into the wall to bring out the red flag.
See full Phoenix Practice Results.
Qualifying Order
Crew Rosters
Goodyear Tire Notes
There are 39 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. One car will fail to make the show.
Notables: #02-Parker Retzlaff, #6-Brennan Poole, #08-Brandon Brown, #13-Timmy Hill, #18-Sammy Smith, #26-Kaz Grala, #34-Kyle Weatherman, #35-Joey Gase, #36-Josh Williams, #38-Kyle Sieg, #44-Rajah Caruth, #45-Stefan Parsons, #48-Nick Sanchez, #77-Dillon Bassett, #78-BJ McLeod, #92-Alex Labbe.
See the full entry list on the Phoenix Entry List.
TandemDraft Stats: Xfinity Series Edition – Phoenix
