| Type: | CUST |
| Most Laps: | 25 |
| Radio: | Performance Racing Network |
| Course Km: | 3.669 |
| Official Name: | 50th Annual Drive for the Cure 250 |
| Description: | Race 29 of 33 of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series |
| Pole Driver: | A. J. Allmendinger |
| Network: | NBC |
| Date: | October 8 |
| Pole Team: | Kaulig Racing |
| Pole Time: | 1:21.694 |
| Most Team: | Kaulig Racing |
| Most Driver: | A. J. Allmendinger |
| Location: | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina |
| First Team: | Kaulig Racing |
| First Driver: | A. J. Allmendinger |
| Car: | 16 |
| Avg: | 70.771mph |
| Scheduled Km: | 245.843 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 67 |
| Course Mi: | 2.280 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 152.760 |
| Race Name: | Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Announcers: | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte |
| Distance Mi: | 167.04 |
| Distance Laps: | 72 |
| Distance Km: | 268.824 |
The 2022 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina was the 29th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the final race of the Round of 12, and the 50th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, October 8, 2022, in Concord, North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, a 2.28miles permanent road course. The race was increased from 67 laps to 72 laps, due to several NASCAR overtime finishes. A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, held off Ty Gibbs in the final few laps to earn his 15th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his fifth of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Noah Gragson, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 3rd, respectively. Allmendinger and Gibbs would mostly dominate, leading 25 and 24 laps.
Eight drivers would advance into the next round of the playoffs: Noah Gragson, A. J. Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, and Sam Mayer. Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst, and Jeremy Clements would fail to advance.[2] [3]
This was the debut race for the former F1 driver, Daniil Kvyat,[4] and the current IndyCar driver, Marco Andretti.[5]
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track.
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.
If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, they must skip the front-stretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit, before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the front-stretch chicane, must also stop before the exit.
The only 20-minute practice session was held on Saturday, October 8, at 10:00 AM EST.[6] A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:23.147, and an average speed of 100.449mph.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:23.147 | 100.449 | |
| 2 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:23.210 | 100.373 | |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:23.330 | 100.228 | |
| Full practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Saturday, October 8, at 10:30 AM EST. Since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is a road course, the qualifying system used is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have a lap to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in the round will win the pole.[7] A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:21.694, and an average speed of 102.235mph in the second round.[8]
Stage 1 Laps: 20
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 | |
| 3 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 | |
| 4 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | |
| 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 | |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 18 | James Davison | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 | |
| 8 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | |
| 9 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 | |
| 10 | 02 | Sage Karam | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 | |
| 2 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 | |
| 3 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 | |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | |
| 5 | 18 | James Davison | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 | |
| 6 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 | |
| 8 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 | |
| 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | |
| 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Fin. | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 25 | Running | 50 | |
| 2 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 72 | 24 | Running | 45 | |
| 3 | 37 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 1 | Running | 34 | |
| 4 | 16 | 18 | James Davison | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 72 | 0 | Running | 43 | |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 44 | |
| 6 | 12 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 31 | |
| 7 | 15 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 72 | 3 | Running | 40 | |
| 8 | 14 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 35 | |
| 9 | 17 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 72 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 10 | 7 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 30 | |
| 11 | 6 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 42 | |
| 12 | 18 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 13 | 31 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 24 | |
| 14 | 10 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 23 | |
| 15 | 24 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 72 | 0 | Running | 22 | |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 18 | Running | 23 | |
| 17 | 3 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 25 | |
| 18 | 23 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 19 | |
| 19 | 25 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 72 | 0 | Running | 18 | |
| 20 | 33 | 78 | Brandon Brown | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 17 | |
| 21 | 19 | 91 | Preston Pardus | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 16 | |
| 22 | 26 | 5 | Scott Heckert | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 15 | |
| 23 | 27 | 35 | Brad Perez (i) | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 72 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 24 | 36 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 13 | |
| 25 | 13 | 45 | Stefan Parsons (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 26 | 32 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Running | 11 | |
| 27 | 35 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 72 | 0 | Running | 10 | |
| 28 | 34 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 72 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 29 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | Running | 15 | |
| 30 | 9 | 02 | Sage Karam | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | Running | 8 | |
| 31 | 29 | 08 | Andy Lally | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 69 | 0 | Running | 6 | |
| 32 | 11 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 67 | 1 | Accident | 20 | |
| 33 | 28 | 38 | Patrick Gallagher | RSS Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | Engine | 4 | |
| 34 | 20 | 44 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrlet | 66 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 35 | 21 | 34 | Kaz Grala (i) | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 59 | 0 | Accident | 0 | |
| 36 | 30 | 48 | Marco Andretti (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Accident | 1 | |
| 37 | 22 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 35 | 0 | Track Bar | 1 | |
| 38 | 38 | 68 | Kris Wright | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | Accident | 1 | |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Noah Gragson | 3,056 | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | A. J. Allmendinger | 3,044 (-12) | ||||||
| 3 | Ty Gibbs | 3,038 (-18) | |||||||
| 2 | 4 | Justin Allgaier | 3,033 (-23) | ||||||
| 5 | Josh Berry | 3,022 (-34) | |||||||
| 2 | 6 | Austin Hill | 3,018 (-38) | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | Brandon Jones | 3,011 (-45) | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | Sam Mayer | 3,005 (-51) | ||||||
| 1 | 9 | Ryan Sieg | 2,098 (-958) | ||||||
| 1 | 10 | Daniel Hemric | 2,089 (-967) | ||||||
| 1 | 11 | Riley Herbst | 2,080 (-976) | ||||||
| 12 | Jeremy Clements | 2,046 (-1,010) | |||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||