Hailie Deegan qualified 27th for the 250-mile race at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 1 finished the opening stage in 26th and came down pit road with the intentions of taking fuel only, but made a late decision to do left side tires as well. A late caution in Stage 2 allowed many teams to short pit and Deegan guided her truck down pit road for tires and fuel and finished the second stage in 24th. Riding in the midpack for the beginning of Stage 3, Jerry Baxter instructed the pit crew to be ready to pit on lap 64 for two tires and fuel. On pit entry, Deegan made contact with her tire carrier sending a tire into the grass and bringing out the caution flag. The young driver rejoined at the tail end of the field and set her sights forward with under 30 to go. The Monster Energy pilot ultimately crossed the line sideways in eighth position for her second top-10 of the 2022 season.
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Factory Canopies Ford F-150
Start: 11th
Stage 1: 6th
Stage 2: 11th
Finish: 31st
Tanner Gray qualified 11th for this season’s lone appearance at Talladega. With his eyes set on biding his time early, the Ford driver stayed in the bottom lane and finished sixth in Stage 1. After pitting for fuel only, Gray would re-fire in 14th for Stage 2 and gain three positions to finish 11th. The team opted to pit for four tires and fuel during the second break and would restart the final stage from 23rd. The decision was made to ride in the second pack to avoid damage and Gray maintained in 23rd before pitting under green on lap 64 for fuel only. While on pit road, the caution flag waved and would cycle the No. 15 to 11th for the restart. The green flag waved with 18 laps remaining and a multi-truck pileup right in front of Gray left him nowhere to go ending his day prematurely. He was credited with 31st.
Ryan Preece, No. 17 RaceChoice.com Ford F-150
Start: 10th
Stage 1: 17th
Stage 2: 16th
Finish: 4th
Ryan Preece qualified 10th for Saturday’s event at Talladega Superspeedway and finished 17th in the opening stage of the race. After a pit stop for fuel and a trackbar adjustment, the veteran fired off from 13th for the second stage. The team short pitted the stage under caution for tires and fuel and Preece would finish 16th in Stage 2. Hanging tough inside the top-10 for the first half of the final stage, Seth Smith would call his driver down pit road on lap 64 for fuel only. The caution flag was displayed while the team was servicing the truck and Preece was scored seventh for the restart. The RaceChoice.com F-150 was in sixth for the lone attempt at a green-white-checkered and Preece brought it home in fourth as he spun across the finish line.
Next event:Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Superspeedway in Homestead, Florida on October 22 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
