This MNR Review is presented by Monday Night Racing.
On Monday, Jan. 2, the Interstate Batteries Monday Night Racing Pro Series returned from its holiday break for the running of the Rebilas Photo 225 in NASCAR Next Gen cars at Talladega Superspeedway, the regular season finale of season six. Needing a victory to make the playoffs, Leighton Sibille got just that, piloting his No. 25 Tufco Flooring Chevrolet to victory lane and a spot in the MNR playoffs.
Michael Fisher was right behind him in second, and Bailey Turner finished third. Mark Rebilas fittingly finished fourth in a race that bore his last name while Corey Heim completed the top five.
Check out the race recap from Frontstretch’s Joy Tomlinson here. Also, you can view the full race broadcast, along with the Frontstretch post-race show featuring Brandon Hauff and Michael Massie, on the Frontstretch YouTube Channel. Here are five main points from an exciting race:
🤯GLORY THROUGH CHAOS🏆
Leighton Sibille survives three wild GWCs at @TALLADEGA to punch his ticket into the Round of 12.@interstatebatts | @nextlvlracing | @rebilasphoto pic.twitter.com/PaHyYlWdQy
— Monday Night Racing (@MonNightRacing) January 3, 2023
1) Sibille Snags Playoff Spot at Last Second
Going into the regular season finale, Sibille knew he had a tough hill to climb, needing a win at arguably the most chaotic track on the MNR circuit to make the playoffs.
“We’ve had a junk season,” Sibille told Podium eSports’ Blake McCandless and Jacob Hitz. “It’s just been awful every week. We came to Talladega with only one goal in mind, and that was to win the race.”
Sibille’s season-long adversity carried over into the regular season finale. While his night got off to a good start with a ninth-place qualifying, Sibille found himself in trouble when he got caught up in a lap 34 crash that brought out the second of seven caution flags in the 100-lap event.
The driver who works for Petty GMS public relations as his full-time gig also had issues on pit road as he was caught speeding on a green-flag pit stop. However, he was able to maintain on spot on the lead lap when the caution came back out. All of these problems had Sibille seemingly out of contention at the start of overtime.
“I was in 36th place on that first green-white-checkered attempt,” Sibille remarked. “Holes were opening up, and I was making holes to the front.”
For the third and final overtime, Sibille restarted 18th, sneaking…
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