# 2022 Sparks 300

The 2022 Sparks 300 was the 28th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second race of the Round of 12, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 113 laps to complete,as the race was rather clean. In a close finish, A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, would hold off Sam Mayer on the final lap to earn his 14th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, along with his fourth of the season. Allmendinger would beat Mayer by 0.015 of a second. He would also earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs. Austin Hill dominated the majority of the race, leading 60 laps and winning both stages. To fill out the podium, Landon Cassill, driving for Kaulig Racing, would finish in 3rd, respectively.

## Background

Talladega Superspeedway is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. As of 2021, the track hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, with a length of 2.66 miles (4.281 km), compared to the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The total peak capacity of Talladega is around 175,000 spectators, with the main grandstand capacity being about 80,000.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | AcceleratePros.com |
| 02 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | AutoParkIt |
| 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Whelen |
| 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | Alka-Seltzer |
| 5 | Joey Gase | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | Absaroka Tuff |
| 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | Reddit, r/NASCAR |
| 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | G Coin |
| 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Brandt Professional Agriculture |
| 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | Five Network |
| 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Jarrett Industries |
| 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops, Black Rifle Coffee Company |
| 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Voyager: Crypto for All |
| 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | First Bank of Alabama |
| 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | Buffalo Wild Wings, Coble Enterprises |
| 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Action Industries |
| 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Dollar Concrete |
| 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Little Hug, Menards |
| 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Bennett Transportation |
| 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | Dude Wipes |
| 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | Hudson Speedway, Toyota Racing Development |
| 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | Solid Rock Carriers |
| 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer |
| 34 | Jesse Iwuji | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | Equity Prime Mortgage |
| 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | Absaroka Tuff |
| 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | StarTron, Alloy Employment Services |
| 38 | C. J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | Sci Aps |
| 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | A-GAME |
| 44 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | Travis Mills Foundation |
| 45 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | Clear Cryptos |
| 47 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | Alabama Racing Pioneers |
| 48 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Coolers |
| 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | One Stop, ASE |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Sport Clips Haircuts |
| 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | AMG Sport |
| 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | Zero FG Energy |
| 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | B. J. McLeod Motorsports |
| 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | Anderson Power Services |
| 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Monster Energy |
| Official entry list |||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, September 30, at 4:30 PM CST. Since Talladega Superspeedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 wins the pole. Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 52.605, and an average speed of 182.036 mph (292.959 km/h) in the second round.
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) |
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52.757 | 181.511 | 52.605 | 182.036 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 52.684 | 181.763 | 52.621 | 181.981 |
| 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52.743 | 181.560 | 52.653 | 181.870 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.962 | 180.809 | 52.752 | 181.529 |
| 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 52.848 | 181.199 | 52.817 | 181.305 |
| 6 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.976 | 180.761 | 52.867 | 181.134 |
| 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.015 | 180.628 | 52.891 | 181.052 |
| 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 52.949 | 180.853 | 52.926 | 180.932 |
| 9 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 52.966 | 180.795 | 52.970 | 180.782 |
| 10 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.984 | 180.734 | 53.007 | 180.655 |
| Eliminated from Round 1 |||||||||
| 11 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.060 | 180.475 | - | - |
| 12 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 53.089 | 180.376 | - | - |
| 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.104 | 180.325 | - | - |
| 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 53.156 | 180.149 | - | - |
| 15 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (i) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.176 | 180.081 | - | - |
| 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.180 | 180.068 | - | - |
| 17 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.215 | 179.949 | - | - |
| 18 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 53.223 | 179.922 | - | - |
| 19 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 53.225 | 179.915 | - | - |
| 20 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.234 | 179.885 | - | - |
| 21 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 53.277 | 179.740 | - | - |
| 22 | 34 | Jesse Iwuji | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.282 | 179.723 | - | - |
| 23 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 53.312 | 179.622 | - | - |
| 24 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.329 | 179.565 | - | - |
| 25 | 5 | Joey Gase | B. J. McLeod Motorsports/Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 53.400 | 179.326 | - | - |
| 26 | 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 53.446 | 179.172 | - | - |
| 27 | 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 53.490 | 179.024 | - | - |
| 28 | 38 | C. J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 53.504 | 178.977 | - | - |
| 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 53.506 | 178.971 | - | - |
| 30 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 53.608 | 178.630 | - | - |
| 31 | 45 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 53.645 | 178.507 | - | - |
| 32 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.658 | 178.464 | - | - |
| 33 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 53.659 | 178.460 | - | - |
| Qualified by owner's points |||||||||
| 34 | 44 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 53.766 | 178.105 | - | - |
| 35 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.804 | 177.979 | - | - |
| 36 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.819 | 177.930 | - | - |
| 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 54.101 | 177.002 | - | - |
| 38 | 47 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | - | - | - | - |
| Official qualifying results |||||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||||

## Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 25
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 63
| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| 1 | 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 3 | Running | 53 |
| 2 | 13 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 3 | Running | 41 |
| 3 | 18 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 113 | 11 | Running | 35 |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 6 | 9 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 7 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 8 | 12 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 9 | 5 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 1 | Running | 38 |
| 10 | 6 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 1 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 23 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 3 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 2 | Running | 34 |
| 13 | 11 | 18 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 113 | 13 | Running | 37 |
| 14 | 1 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 60 | Running | 43 |
| 15 | 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 6 | Running | 35 |
| 16 | 20 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 18 | 35 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 25 | 5 | Joey Gase | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 19 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 113 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 26 | 26 | Derek Griffith | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 113 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 24 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 12 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 33 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 36 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 1 | Running | 0 |
| 28 | 22 | 34 | Jesse Iwuji | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 28 | 38 | C. J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 10 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 31 | 45 | Caesar Bacarella | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 44 | Howie DiSavino III | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 17 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 34 | 38 | 47 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 21 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 15 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (i) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 37 | 27 | 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 109 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 38 | 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | A. J. Allmendinger | 2,134 |
| 1 | 2 | Noah Gragson | 2,134 |
| | 3 | Ty Gibbs | 2,113 (-21) |
| | 4 | Austin Hill | 2,107 (-27) |
| | 5 | Josh Berry | 2,091 (-43) |
| | 6 | Justin Allgaier | 2,089 (-55) |
| | 7 | Sam Mayer | 2,076 (-58) |
| | 8 | Ryan Sieg | 2,070 (-64) |
| 1 | 9 | Daniel Hemric | 2,064 (-70) |
| 1 | 10 | Riley Herbst | 2,060 (-74) |
| | 11 | Brandon Jones | 2,060 (-74) |
| | 12 | Jeremy Clements | 2,023 (-111) |
| Official driver's standings ||||