A pair of Nascar Ford teams showed the way for a combined 30 laps at Watkins Glen on August 21st, 2022, but none of those laps led were the last one.
Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang, started in third place. His Mustang was strong throughout the weekend, and he captured the lead early, passing polesitter Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 just four laps into the race. However, a pit stop cycle put the No. 17 Mustang of Chris Buescher in the lead to capture the first stage win.
Stage 2 was the Joey Logano show, as the No. 22 Mustang slipped into the lead on Lap 28, passing Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota TRD Camry and capturing the stage win. When the green flag fell on Stage 3, McDowell’s No. 34 nosed back up to the front, passing Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro for the lead once again. However, McDowell’s No. 34 Mustang was out-braked by Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro, giving the lead back to the Chevy.
The Nascar Ford teams fell off in the latter stage of the race. On the final restart, which occurred after a caution with five laps to go, Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro and Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro made contact at the front of the field, allowing Larson to claim the lead. Larson’s No. 5 Camaro never looked back, leading the No. 16 Camaro of AJ Allmendinger across the line, while Logano’s No. 22 Mustang salvaged a third-place finish after leading 15 laps. McDowell, whose No. 34 Mustang commanded 14 laps, finished sixth.
It’s worth noting that the final regular season race occurs this coming weekend at Daytona, and Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang is in danger of being eliminated from the championship if he is outperformed by other drivers below the cut line. Blaney has yet to win a point-paying race in 2022.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 90 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 6 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Action Industries Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 20 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 90 | 15 | Ford Mustang |
| 4 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet | 90 | 29 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 9 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Princess Cruises Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 3 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 90 | 14 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 5 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | KCMG Chevrolet | 90 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 38 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 31 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 29 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Ford | 90 | 7 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 8 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Menards/Richmond Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 11 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 21 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Sugarlands/Ball Park Buns Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 28 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Allegiant Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet | 90 | 6 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 13 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 15 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Violet Defense Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 22 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 21 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 4 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 25 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Reser's Fine Foods Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 24 | 26 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wurth Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 14 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Ford Performance Racing School Ford | 90 | 7 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 16 | 45 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Toyota SmartPath Toyota | 90 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 27 | 32 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Raze Energy Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 30 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | DEX Imaging Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 35 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Go Bowling Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 33 | 77 | Mike Rockenfeller | Nations Guard Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 17 | 15 | Joey Hand | FordPro.com Ford | 90 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Snickers Toyota | 89 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 33 | 34 | 27 | * Loris Hezemans(i) | Hezeberg Systems Ford | 89 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 88 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 23 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | SiriusXM Radio Toyota | 83 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 36 | 36 | 26 | * Daniil Kvyat | Hezeberg Systems Toyota | 58 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 37 | 27 | 91 | * Kimi Raikkonen | Recogni Chevrolet | 44 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 38 | 19 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | MDStrucking.com Ford | 28 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 39 | 37 | 78 | Kyle Tilley | Brush Creek Valley Farms Ford | 15 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Who was the 3rd guy to Discover America? Nobody knows and Nobody Cares! If you not lead dog the view never changes!
nascar has it just the way they want it , race is over all the people in charge head home in their loaner vehicle from General Motors, real level , all the chevy’s are equal