Jonathan Toney and Jason Trinchere have been named crew chiefs for Haas Factory Team’s NASCAR Xfinity Series two-car program in 2025.
Toney, the 2023 Xfinity championship-winning crew chief from Newton, North Carolina, will remain with the No. 00 Ford Mustang team and be paired with the organization’s newest competitor, Sheldon Creed. Jason Trinchere, a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, will join the team and be paired with driver Sam Mayer, the latter of whom is also new to the Haas organization as he will be piloting the No. 41 Ford Mustang entry.
The news of Haas Factory Team’s crew chief lineup for the 2025 Xfinity season was made on December 10 on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio by Joe Custer, president of the organization that has been restructured from Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). This past season, SHR notched four Xfinity victories, including the 2024 finale at Phoenix Raceway, between its former competitors Cole Custer and Riley Herbst, both of whom have been elevated to the Cup Series for Haas Factory Team and 23XI Racing, respectively, for the 2025 season.
During the crew chief reveal, Custer also announced that the organization has retained a majority of its employees since being restructured and that Adam Gravitt has been elevated from engineering manager to competition director for the Xfinity program. In addition, the Haas Factory Team will maintain a technical alliance with AM Racing and RSS Racing. The retention of the organization’s staff and alliances comes as Custer anticipates extending the on-track momentum from the 2024 season towards the upcoming 2025 season under a new Haas identity.
“[The Haas Factory Team] whole program is looking very similar, and we believe we’ll be starting where we left off [from 2024],” Custer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We finished half the deal at Phoenix [Raceway in November] with winning the race and the championship slipped through our fingers, which was disappointing, but we were there. We led a lot of laps, we had a lot of speed. We’re optimistic about next year at Phoenix, putting our two drivers into that final race.”
Toney, who first joined the Haas organization before the 2004 season and was a former Cup Series lead engineer for three-time champion and former Haas co-owner Tony Stewart, made his crew chief debut in 2023 when he was paired with Cole Custer. By then, Custer had returned to the Xfinity division on a full-time basis following a three-year campaign in the Cup division.
In their first season together, Toney and Custer notched three victories, six poles, with 19 top-10 results and transferred to the Championship 4 round, where they won the championship after Custer prevailed in an overtime shootout to also win the finale at Phoenix. The 2023 championship would also be the first ever for the Haas organization in the Xfinity circuit. This past season, Toney and Custer notched two victories and the 2024 Xfinity Series regular-season title. Despite returning to the Championship 4 round, the duo ended up in second place in the final standings.
Through 64 appearances as an Xfinity crew chief, Toney has achieved five victories, nine poles, 27 top-five results and 42 top-10 results, all of which occurred with Custer, as he prepares to embark on his first campaign with Sheldon Creed, the latter of whom has notched 13 runner-up results through 103 Xfinity starts.
Meanwhile, Trinchere’s transition to Haas Factory Team occurs as the Pennsylvania native spent the 2024 season as a Craftsman Truck Series crew chief for Spire Motorsports and Chase Purdy, the latter of whom notched a pole at Kansas Speedway, six top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the final driver’s standings. Previously, Trinchere spent three seasons as an Xfinity crew chief at Kaulig Racing, where he notched five victories and made the Championship 4 round with driver AJ Allmendinger in 2021.
Through 99 appearances as an Xfinity crew chief, Trinchere has recorded five victories, one pole, 27 top-five results and 51 top-10 results while working with seven different competitors. The 2025 season will mark Trinchere’s first with Sam Mayer, the latter of whom has notched seven Xfinity victories and spent the previous four seasons at JR Motorsports.
In addition to the Xfinity Series, the Haas Factory Team will also field a single full-time entry in the Cup Series for Cole Custer, the latter of whom was announced to be driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry on July 20. Nearly a month later, Aaron Kramer, a former lead engineer at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, was revealed as Custer’s Cup crew chief for the 2025 season.
The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season for the Haas Factory Team is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
Jeb Burton and Blaine Perkins will both be driving for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport (JAR-BA) as full-time competitors for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Burton, who returns to JAR-BA for a third consecutive season, will retain driving responsibilities of the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro entry while Perkins, who is new to the organization, will be inheriting the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro entry as he replaces the departing Parker Retzlaff.
The news comes as JAR-BA is coming off its fourth consecutive season competing in the Xfinity Series and second in a row in fielding two full-time entries (Nos. 27 and 31 entries). Throughout the 33-race Xfinity schedule in 2024, JAR-BA entries tallied a combined two poles, four top-five results, 12 top-10 results and 65 laps led. At the conclusion of the season, Burton finished in 19th place in the final standings while Retzlaff, who recorded the organization’s first two poles and highest-finishing result of the season in third place at Daytona International Speedway in February, finished in 21st place.
In addition, JAR-BA fielded a third entry (No. 32 Chevrolet) for a total of 15 events as team owner Jordan Anderson, Austin Green, Sage Karam and Ryan Vargas took turns piloting the entry. The entry, which recorded two top-five results and five top-10 results in 2024, is scheduled to return in 2025 as an “all-star” entry with its driver lineup to be determined.
“We’re excited to continue building this program with Jeb and Blaine as we lay the groundwork for the future entering our fifth season in the Xfinity Series.” Anderson said in a released statement. “The journey from a single-car operation to where we are now speaks to our team’s perseverance and growth mindset. Having Jeb return as the veteran to our program will continue to add depth and the experience needed to take us to the next level. I’m grateful to Parker Retzlaff’s efforts these last two seasons in the No. 31 and the opportunity to assist in his growth as a driver as he continues to move up the ranks. We have the same vision with Blaine next season, and plan to give him all the tools, and opportunities, to continue developing as a driver on and off the track. This is a fantastic opportunity to keep expanding our program with focused drivers, dedicated team members, and committed partners who believe in our shared vision for the organization.”
“Teamwork truly makes the dream work, and it’s a ‘never give up’ mentality that drives everything we do,” John Bommarito, co-owner of JAR-BA, added. “We’re eager to see what Jeb and Blaine can accomplish together. Both of these drivers embody the integrity and tenacity we aim to bring to the track, and with the entire JAR-BA family behind them, we know we’re set for another season of great achievements.”
Amid the announcement, Burton expressed his excitement in returning to JAR-BA, the organization that the Halifax, Virgnia, native recorded is first NASCAR victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2023. Burton’s victory also enabled both him and the organization to make the Xfinity Series Playoffs, where he settled in 12th place in the final driver’s standings. Currently, Burton has made 175 career starts in the Xfinity Series and has tallied two victories (both at Talladega), 14 top-five results, 40 top-10 results, 170 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.5 as he strives to return to the Playoffs and contend for more victories in 2025.
“Coming back for a third season with Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport means a lot to me,” Burton said. “We’re building something special here, and I’m ready to carry the momentum forward into 2025. It’s a privilege to work with this team, and I’m grateful to Jordan, John, [crew chief] Shane [Whitbeck], and all our great partners involved for their belief in what we’re doing. I’m looking forward to putting this Chevrolet back up-front next season and giving our fans something to cheer for.”
Like his new teammate Burton, Perkins expressed his excitement in joining JAR-BA and striving to be competitive after spending this past season driving for RSS Racing. Perkins, a three-time ARCA Menards Series West race winner from Bakersfield, California, has recorded a single top-10 result and an average-finishing result of 26.8 through 75 current Xfinity starts.
“Joining Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport is an exciting step in my career development,” Perkins said. “To be part of such a dedicated Chevrolet organization with a team that shares a passion for growth and success is a fantastic opportunity. I’m looking forward to representing the team and all our partners with everything I have and making the most of the 2025 season.”
The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport is scheduled to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) revealed its realigned driver-crew chief lineup for the organization’s No. 54 teams between the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series divisions for the 2025 season.
Tyler Allen, who was initially set to crew chief Taylor Gray and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra team in the Xfinity Series, has now been named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Camry XSE team in the Cup Series. As a result, veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff will return atop the pit box to crew chief Gray for the latter’s first full-time Xfinity campaign in 2025.
The news comes 10 days after JGR announced that Chris Gayle, who was paired with Ty Gibbs over the previous two Cup seasons, would be paired with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team while Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s former crew chief, would be promoted to work as the organization’s competition director.
“We take a lot of pride in our Xfinity Series program and the depth of talent that we have been able to maintain,” Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Tyler Allen was successful at the Cup level with us while working under Adam Stevens and was impressive last season in the Xfinity Series leading that 20 team to eight wins while working with a number of different drivers. We have an exciting young and talented team on the 54 car.”
Allen, who enters the 2025 season for his first year as a full-time crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series, spent seven seasons (2017-23) working as a race engineer under crew chief Adam Stevens. During the seven-year span, he was a part of the 2019 Cup Series championship with Adams and Kyle Busch. In addition, Allen served as an interim crew chief for a single Cup race for Christopher Bell and the No. 20 JGR Toyota team at Martinsville Speedway in October 2021, where Bell finished 17th.
This past season, Allen served as a first-year crew chief in the Xfinity Series, where he worked atop the pit box of JGR’s No. 20 Toyota team for 29 races and JGR’s No. 19 Toyota team for four races. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Allen notched eight victories between four competitors (Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex) and led the No. 20 team to a runner-up result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings, all of which Allen strives to utilize the momentum and success from the Xfinity division over to the Cup Series that would enable both him and Ty Gibbs to contend for victories while also returning the No. 54 team back into the Playoffs.
“It’s an honor to be named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the 54 Team as we head into the 2025 season,” Allen said. “This opportunity has been a dream of mine since starting here at JGR 10 years ago, and I’m thankful for the support and guidance I’ve received from my mentors, teammates, and everyone along the way. Ty has shown a lot of speed and potential the last two years, and I look forward to building on that experience to get the 54 car in victory lane.”
For JGR’s No. 54 team in the Xfinity Series, Ratcliff makes his return atop the pit box as a crew chief following a one-year absence. He initially retired from being a crew chief at the conclusion of the 2023 season and spent this past season working as a driver and team coordinator for JGR’s Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series operations. Since making his crew chief debut in the Xfinity Series in 2000, Ratcliff has notched 57 victories between seven competitors and the 2009 championship with Kyle Busch. He has also recorded 15 victories as a Cup Series crew chief, 14 of which occurred with Matt Kenseth and one with Joey Logano.
Overall, Gray, who was announced to drive for JGR for the 2025 Xfinity season on October 16, is set to become the 26th competitor to work at least one race with Ratcliff, the latter of whom intends to make Gray competitive for his first Xfinity campaign after he spent the previous two seasons competing in the Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage.
“I’m thrilled to join Taylor and the 54 team for the 2025 season,” Ratcliff said. “After a year away from the track, I’m eager to return to the pit box every weekend. Taylor has the talent and determination to excel in NASCAR, and it’s our mission to help him achieve that success.”
“It is also exciting to have Jason Ratcliff back on the pit box in the Xfinity Series to work with Taylor Gray next season,” Gibbs added. “He has contributed so much to our organization over his career.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
Anthony Alfredo has been fined $25,000 and docked 25 driver points for violating Sections 4.4.B pertaining to the Member Code of Conduct section from the NASCAR Rule Book.
The fine and dock in points comes three days after the 25-year-old Alfredo from Ridgefield, Connecticut, was penalized for his on-track behavioral actions during the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
On Lap 62 of 200 during the finale, Alfredo, who was battling Stefan Parsons for 20th place, was squeezed into the outside wall entering the frontstretch. Alfredo quickly retaliated by veering his No. 5 Dead On Tools/Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the left, where he turned and sent Parsons’ No. 45 Prime Bites Mini Muffins/Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet Camaro sideways across the track and slapping the outside wall on the right side hard. In the process, Greg Van Alst steered to the left and spun to avoid the carnage.
Ultimately, Parsons would retire in 38th place, dead last, while Van Alst would also retire in 37th place due to a suspension issue. Meanwhile, Alfredo was held two laps in his pit stall for reckless driving. After serving his two-lap penalty, Alfredo continued until his event concluded on Lap 154, where he blew a flat right-front tire and wreck against the Turn 1 outside wall. The incident capped off his event in 36th place in the final running order.
Despite being docked 25 driver points, Alfredo concluded the 2024 Xfinity Series season in 15th place in the final standings, which ties his career-best result in the standings to the 2022 season. The 15th-place result in this year’s final standings comes on the strengh of two top-five results, a career-high seven top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 18.5, his best as a full-time Xfinity competitor.
Amid a strong campaign to his third full-time season in the Xfinity Series, Alfredo’s plans for the 2025 NASCAR remains to be determined.
There were no additional penalties levied to any competitor and organizations following this weekend’s triple-header finales across the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series divisions.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 15, 2025, for a new season of competition.
As Riley Herbst sent Stewart-Haas Racing off on a winning note in the organization’s final NASCAR Xfinity Series event by winning the 2024 season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 9, Justin Allgaier emerged as the biggest winner of the night by rallying from starting at the rear of the field in a backup car, being nabbed with a pair of midrace penalties that pinned him a lap down and muscling his way back to the front through two overtime attempts to capture his first elusive NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
The 40-year-old Allgaier from Riverton, Illinois, commenced the finale weekend on a sour note after he was one of several competitors who slid and wrecked against the Turn 1 outside wall during Friday’s practice session after he slipped up into Brennan Poole’s spilled oil, the latter of which suffered a mechanical issue. Despite taking the green flag in 37th place of the 38-car field, Allgaier methodically carved his way up through the leaderboard and emerge in sixth place when the first stage period concluded on Lap 45. Amid two caution periods and ensuing restarts throughout the second stage period, Allgaier, who made multiple on-track contacts with Riley Herbst in the closing laps of the stage period that resulted with the Illinois veteran potentially having a left-rear tire going flat, managed to cap off the stage in 10th place.
Then during the start of the final stage period with 100 laps remaining, Allgaier, who restarted in the top-14 mark, was assessed a restart violation penalty for steering his No. 7 BRANDT/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro below the frontstretch’s apron and pulling out of line from the field prior to reaching the start/finish line. As Allgaier served a pass-through penalty through pit lane, things went from bad to worse when he was penalized a second time, this time for speeding on pit road. Losing a lap to the leaders, Allgaier would spend a majority of the final stage period trying to emerge as the first competitor scored a lap down and place himself in the free pass position.
As a late cycle of green flag pit stops commenced with 55 laps remaining, Allgaier, who opted to remain on the track with a different pit strategy from the leaders and cycled back on the lead lap, thrusted himself back into the championship battle after Anthony Alfredo wrecked with 46 laps remaining. Pitting during the caution period, Allgaier, who restarted within the top-12 mark, used the following restart period and fresh tires with 38 laps remaining to march his way to the front. Thirty-two laps later, Allgaier overtook title contender Cole Custer to assume the lead in the championship battle.
Despite being overtaken by Custer on pit road and dropping to fifth place on the track amid a late-race caution with three laps remaining and sent the finale into overtime, Allgaier reassumed the top spot in the championship battle back from Custer, who was being blocked by title contender Austin Hill, before another late-race incident sent the finale into a second overtime attempt. During the latest attempt, Allgaier rubbed fenders with rookie Jesse Love to assume the lead in the race as he also retained the lead in the championship standings. Despite being overtaken by Herbst on the final lap for the race win, Allgaier managed to nurse his car to a runner-up result, which was enough to claim his long-awaited first championship in his 14th season competing in the Xfinity Series division.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Sawalich claimed his first Xfinity career pole position in his third series start after he posted a pole-winning lap at 134.168 mph in 26.832 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Sheldon Creed, who posted his best qualifying lap at 133.432 seconds. The four Championship 4 contenders that include Austin Hill, Cole Custer, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier are set to start fifth, seventh, ninth and 37th, respectively.
Prior to the event, the following names that include Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Aric Almirola and Parker Kligerman dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars after all wrecked their primary cars during Friday’s practice session. Sammy Smith also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Allmendinger, the latter of which due to unapproved adjustments.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as teammates William Sawalich and Sheldon Creed dueled for the lead entering the first two turns. As Championship 4 contender Austin Hill was trying to battle Chandler Smith for fourth place while also trying to fend off teammate Jesse Love, Sam Mayer and title rival Cole Custer through the backstretch, Creed muscled his No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra ahead to lead the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Creed stretched his early advantage to as high as nearly half a second as Riley Herbst made his way into the runner-up spot. Behind, Chandler Smith moved up to third place in front of Sawalich and Hill while Mayer, Love, Custer, Daniel Dye and Connor Zilisch were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Championship 4 contenders AJ Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier were up to 19th and 25th, respectively, as both continued their early march from the rear of the field.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Herbst, who overtook Creed for the lead a lap earlier, was leading in his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang by three-tenths of a second over a side-by-side battle between teammates Creed and Chandler smith while Sawalich and Hill were in the top five ahead of Love, Mayer, Custer, Zilisch and Dye. Behind, Allgaier and Allmendinger were in 18th and 19th, respectively, while Parker Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo, Matt DiBenedetto, Jeffrey Earnhardt and rookie Shane van Gisbergen were racing in the top 15.
Just past the Lap 20 mark, Herbst stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Chandler Smith while third-place Creed trailed by more than four seconds. Herbst would proceed to stabilize his lead to more than a second by the Lap 30 mark as both Smith and Creed retained second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, Hill continued to race as the highest-running Championship 4 contender on the track in fourth place while his closest-title rival Custer was mired in seventh place behind Sawalich and Mayer. By then, Allgaier cracked the top 10 as he was up to ninth place while Allmendinger was mired in 18th place.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Herbst claimed his third Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Chandler Smith, Creed, Hill and Sam Mayer were scored in the top five while Allgaier, Custer, Sawalich, Aric Almirola and Jesse Love followed suit in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was still mired in 18th place and as the lowest Championship 4 contender on the track.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Herbst pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Herbst retained the lead after he exited pit road first as he was followed by Hill, Custer, Creed, Chandler Smith, Love, Mayer, Almirola, Sawalich and Allgaier. Amid the pit stops, Shane van Gisbergen was penalized for speeding while entering pit road.
The second stage period started on Lap 54 as Herbst and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as both Herbst and Hill dueled for the lead in front of a three-wide battle for third place between Custer, Creed and Chandler Smith entering the first two turns. Then as Hill tried to make a move beneath Herbst for the lead through the turns, Custer used the outside lane to overtake both entering the backstretch. Custer would proceed to navigate his No. 00 Haas/Andy’s Frozen Custard Ford Mustang back to the frontstretch and lead the following lap as he was followed by teammate Herbst, Hill, Mayer, Chandler Smith and Allgaier. With Allmendinger making his way into the top 12, Custer led the next lap and teammate Herbst retained second while Hill was trying to fend off Mayer, Allgaier and Chandler Smith for third place.
At the Lap 60 mark, Herbst, who overtook teammate Custer for the lead a lap earlier, was leading by three-tenths of a second while Mayer, Hill and Allgaier followed suit in the top five. The caution would then return two laps later after Anthony Alfredo, who was battling Stefan Parsons for 20th place, got squeezed into the frontstretch’s outside wall by Parsons, which resulted with Alfredo turning left, clipping and sending Parsons into the outside wall as the latter wrecked while Greg Van Alst spun behind Parsons’ carnage. Following the incident, Alfredo was assessed a two-lap penalty for reckless driving.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 74 featured the leaders and the field fanning out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Herbst barely fended off teammate Custer to retain the lead through the first two turns. With Mayer making his way into the runner-up spot behind Herbst entering the backstretch, Allgaier muscled through into third place while Custer was trying to fend off Hill for fourth place. As Herbst led the following lap, Hill was overtaken by Almirola, Creed and Chandler Smith through the frontstretch while Custer battled and overtook Allgaier for third place on the track and the lead in the championship battle. The caution then returned on Lap 76 when Chandler Smith, who was racing in seventh place, made contact and got loose underneath teammate Creed in Turn 1 as he spun his No. 81 QuickTie Toyota Supra from the top to the bottom of the track.
During the caution period, some including Creed, Love, Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Dylan Lupton, Daniel Dye, Matt DiBenedetto, Brandon Jones, Brennan Poole and van Gisbergen remained on the track while the rest led by Herbst pitted.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 82, Creed and Love dueled for the lead in front of the field through the frontstretch. Creed and Love remained dead even for the lead in front of Allmendinger and Jeb Burton through the backstretch while the rest of the field behind fanned out to four and five lanes as a bevy of competitors who either pitted or did not pit during the previous caution period scrambled for positions. As Creed led the following lap, Allmendinger remained as the highest-running Championship 4 contender in third place while Allgaier and Custer, both of whom were racing on fresh tires, carved their way up to sixth and seventh, respectively. Meanwhile, Hill was trapped outside the top-10 mark and trying to navigate his way back to the front.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Herbst, who made multiple on-track contacts with Allgaier five laps earlier, overtook Creed a lap prior to claim his fourth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second in the finale. Creed settled in second ahead of Almirola, Love and Custer while Zilisch, Allmendinger, Mayer, Sawalich and Allgaier, the latter of whom nursed his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro to the finish with a potentially flat left-rear tire, settled in the top 10. By then, Custer emerged as the highest-running Championship contender while Hill was the lowest Championship 4 contender on the track in 14th place.
During the stage break, some including Creed, Love, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Jeb Burton, DiBenedetto, Dye, Dylan Lupton, Brandon Jones, van Gisbergen and Poole pitted while the rest led by Herbst and including Custer and Hill remained on the track.
With 100 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Herbst and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, Herbst rocketed his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang away from Almirola and teammate Custer through the frontstretch’s dogleg. As the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes through the first two turns and the backstretch, Herbst proceeded to lead the following lap while Mayer made his way up to third place behind Custer. By then, Hill and Allmendinger were in the top 10 and Allgaier was in 12th place.
Shortly after, however, Allgaier was penalized for diving his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro below the frontstretch’s apron prior to reaching the start/finish line to start the final stage period. As Allgaier served his drive-through penalty, Herbst retained the lead over teammate Custer with 95 laps remaining. Not long after serving his drive-through penalty to serve his restart violation penalty, Allgaier was assessed a second drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road while serving his first. Compared to the first penalty, the second one caused Allgaier to drop out of the lead lap category as Herbst retained the race lead with less than 90 laps remaining. By then, Custer, who was in second place, was leading the championship battle as he was five spots ahead of Allmendinger and 13 spots ahead of Hill.
With 80 laps remaining, Herbst was leading by nearly three seconds over teammate Custer while Mayer, Creed and Zilisch were in the top five ahead of Love, Allmendinger, Almirola, Chandler Smith and Sawalich. As Hill was mired in 16th place, Allgaier was scored the second competitor a lap down in 29th place as he was trying to catch Jeremy Clements to be the first competitor scored a lap down.
Fifteen laps later, Herbst continued to lead the race by more than four seconds over teammate Custer, the latter of whom continued to lead the championship battle, while Creed, Mayer and Love were scored in the top five on the track. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, Custer’s closest championship rival, was scored in seventh place on the track and trailing the championship lead by less than six seconds while Zilisch, Chandler Smith, van Gisbergen and Almirola were in the top 10. Behind, Hill was scored in 15th place while Allgaier was scored the second competitor a lap down behind Ryan Sieg and in 27th place.
Another 10 laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as the leader Herbst pitted. Love, Chandler Smith and Brandon Jones would also pit before Sawalich, Hill, Allmendinger, Zilisch, Mayer, Almirola, Josh Williams, Custer and van Gisbergen pitted over the next four laps. As more names including Creed pitted with 50 laps remaining, Dye was leading ahead of Parker Kligerman. By then, both along with Allgaier, the latter of whom cycled back on the lead lap, have yet to pit while Herbst carved his way up to third place.
With 46 laps remaining, however, the caution flew when Alfredo blew a right-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 1 hard. Alfredo’s incident served as a pivotal moment for Allgaier, who was scored on the lead lap despite not having yet pitted while Kligerman, who had pitted shortly before Alfredo wrecked, lost a lap in the process. During the caution period, select names including Allgaier, Hill, Mayer and Brandon Jones pitted while the rest led by Herbst remained on the track.
Down to the final 38 laps of the event, Herbst rocketed away from Love to retain the lead through the frontstretch and the first two turns as the field behind fanned out. As Custer battled Zilisch for third place, his title rivals Allmendinger, Hill and Allgaier were battling within the top 10. A few laps later, Allmendinger, Allgaier and Hill were racing eighth to 10th, respectively, while Custer retained third place on the track and the lead in the championship battle. Meanwhile, teammate Herbst continued to lead the race by seven-tenths of a second over Love with 35 laps remaining.
With 25 laps remaining, Herbst continued to lead the race by more than two seconds over Love as third-place Custer, who retained the lead in the championship battle, started to close in on Love for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Allgaier carved his way up to sixth place as he trailed Custer for three spots and Hill was mired in eighth place on the track behind Creed while Allmendinger was racing in 11th place behind Almirola and Brandon Jones.
Two laps later, Custer engaged in a side-by-side battle with Love for the runner-up spot on the track in an effort to generate a gap between himself and Allgaier for the championship battle. Love, however, would not yield the spot to Custer, which allowed Zilisch and Mayer, Allgaier’s teammates at JR Motorsports, to join the battle while Allgaier was slowly narrowing the deficit to Custer. Love would continue to retain second place over Custer as both Zilisch and Mayer would begin to challenge Custer for third place while Allgaier was trying to gain ground on teammate Mayer with 20 laps remaining.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Herbst stabilized his race lead to more than three seconds over Love while Custer retained third place ahead of Zilisch and Mayer. Meanwhile, Allgaier, who retained sixth place, trailed Custer by nearly a second while Hill was up to seventh place and trailing Allgaier by a second. By then, Allmendinger was strapped in 11th place.
Two laps later, Allgaier overtook teammate Mayer for fifth place on the track. By then, he still trailed Custer on the track for the championship battle by a second as Custer continued to fend off Zilisch for third place. Hill then started to close in on Mayer for sixth place on the track and he also had Allgaier within his sights while Herbst grew his lead to four seconds with 10 laps remaining.
Then with eight laps remaining, the battle for the championship brewed as Zilisch overtook Custer for third place on the track. As Custer fought back through the backstretch, Zilisch then got loose underneath Custer and made slight contact with the latter, which caused both to briefly fall off the pace entering Turns 3 and 4 as Allgaier zipped by teammate Zilisch for fourth place on the track with seven laps remaining. Allgaier then proceeded to drive up to Custer’s rear bumper through the first two turns and the backstretch before he made his move beneath Custer and overtook him through Turns 3 and 4. By then, Allgaier assumed the lead in the championship standings over Custer with six laps remaining.
Over the next three laps, Allgaier started to generate a reasonable gap between himself and Custer as he also started to battle Love for the runner-up spot on the track while Herbst maintained a healthy advantage on the track.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime due to an incident involving Leland Honeyman in Turn 4. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Herbst pitted. Following the pit stops, Hill, who pitted for only two scuff tires for his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro, exited first as he was followed by Love, Herbst, Custer, Allgaier, Almirola, Chandler Smith, Mayer, Zilisch and Creed. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier endured a slow pit service, which allowed Custer to overtake him on pit road.
The start of the first overtime attempt did not last long as Parker Retzlaff spun and wrecked in Turn 2. Prior to Retzlaff’s incident, Love had assumed the race lead and Allgaier, who restarted in fifth place, bolted his way up to second place on the track and first in the championship battle while Hill, who created a roadblock for Custer while trying to launch on his two scuff tires, had dropped to sixth place. By then, Custer had dropped to seventh place while Allmendinger was mired in 10th place. With Retzlaff’s incident, the event was sent into a second overtime attempt.
The start of the second overtime attempt featured Allgaier and Love dueling for the lead through the frontstretch’s dogleg before Allgaier went up the track and made contact against Love’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro, which resulted with both rubbing against one another in smoke and Herbst getting squeezed towards the outside wall entering the first turn. Amid the contact, Allgaier muscled ahead and barely fended off Herbst, Almirola and Hill through the first two turns to muscle ahead entering the backstretch while Love was trying to regain ground. By then, Hill, who got loose after making contact with Almirola, had dropped to seventh place on the track as he was losing ground of Allgaier for the championship battle. Both Custer and Allmendinger were also losing ground of Allgaier on the track.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained in the lead in both the race and the championship battle while runner-up Herbst closed in on him despite developing a left-rear tire rub. Amid the tire smoke, Herbst would then gain a run beneath Allgaier, who had all the markings on his left-rear tire rubbed off, through the backstretch and overtake him for the race lead. As Herbst proceeded to claim the checkered flag to win the finale, Allgaier would have enough muscle to finish in second place and claim the championship over Custer, Allmendinger and Hill.
With the title, Allgaier, a 25-time race winner in the Xfinity Series who is in his 14th season as a full-time Xfinity competitor and who quietly clinched a Championship 4 round berth by points a week ago at Martinsville Speedway, became the 34th competitor overall to win a championship in the Xfinity Series and the first Illinois native to accomplish the feat. He also delivered the fourth driver’s championship and the first owner’s championship in the Xfinity division for JR Motorsports, the latter of which achieved its first Xfinity title since the 2018 season with Tyler Reddick. The 2024 Xfinity championship was also a first for crew chief Jim Pohlman.
Overall, the 2024 season marks the eighth time in nine seasons where the current Playoff-elimination format featured a first-time champion in the Xfinity Series as Allgaier, who made his seventh Championship 4 appearance as a title contender, previously finished a career-best runner up in the final standings during the 2020 and 2023 seasons.
As he celebrated with his pit crew, team owners, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., and family on the frontstretch, Allgaier was asked if he had counted himself out of the championship battle amid his pair of on-track obstacles that pinned him a lap down and way behind his title rivals.
“Yeah, [I counted myself out] like 10 times,” Allgaier, who fought tears of emotions, said on the CW Network. “You fans are awesome. I don’t think I have a voice left because I was yelling. I’ve been doing this a long time and these people that are standing around me. There’s no words. It’s understated what [Hendrick engine shop and Chevrolet] what they’ve done. [My family] have given up so much for me to come do this job and God’s good, man. I said it all weekend, I don’t know what the plan is. I don’t know what that looks like, but He’s got a reason for everything and tonight is truly that. It’s mind-blowing.”
“This team never gave up,” Allgaier, who will return to JR Motorsports and attempt to defend his series title in 2025, added. “[Crew chief] Jim Pohlman, his leadership skills are second and none. He told me all weekend that we were going to have a chance. Man, we tried to give it away every which way we could. I was as fast as Xfinity Internet, but on pit road, not on the racetrack where I needed to be. I just wanted to make it exciting for all you fans, all you fans at home. All the men and women, all five of our race teams [at JR Motorsports], just the effort that we’ve put in. I’m at a loss for words and we’re going to celebrate this one, for sure. It’s unbelievable. I just cannot say thank you enough to everybody that’s ever helped me in my career to get to this point. Seven times in the Championship 4 and we finally got it done.”
As Allgaier proceeded to celebrate his first championship on the championship stage, Cole Custer, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, could only manage a smile on pit road as he settled in eighth place in the final running order of the finale and in the runner-up spot in the final standings. Despite coming up one spot short of defending his series title, Custer is set to move back up to the Cup Series and drive for the newly formed Haas Factory Team in 2025.
“I think any driver can do something a little bit different,” Custer said. “I tried to go high, tried to go to the middle, tried to go everywhere I could. But [Hill] made his car pretty wide, which is his right. We’re all going for a championship. It just sucks that it ended up screwing us over worse than it did [Allgaier] and he was able to slip by. Man, I can’t say congratulations enough to Justin and all those guys. He’s definitely a deserving champion. They were fast all night. I hate it came down to tire strategies and stuff like that, but man, I can’t say enough about our group. Everything they’ve done over the last two years, [crew chief Jonathan Toney], everybody in [the Stewart-Haas Racing] shop works so hard. I wish we could have ended up with a championship for [Stewart-Haas Racing], but it just wasn’t meant to be on those restarts.”
Meanwhile, AJ Allmendinger, who clinched a Championship 4 berth by winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway three weeks ago, managed a ninth-place result in the finale and settled in third place in the final standings. Austin Hill, who made his first Championship 4 appearance as a title contender, fell back to 10th place in the final running order as he was relegated to fourth place in the final standings. While Hill is set to return to Richard Childress Racing for another full-time Xfinity campaign in 2025, Allmendinger is set to move back up to the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing next season.
“We just struggled all night,” Allmendinger said. “First off, congrats to Justin [Allgaier], Dale [Earnhardt Jr.] and the No. 7 crew. Justin’s been working at it for a long time. Really cool that he got [the title]. [I] Wished that we could’ve been, at least, in the fight for [the title]. We were off from the start, loose the whole time. I didn’t know what else to do to try to make [the car] faster. Just disappointing that we never really were in the fight. I thought strategy-wise, we could, kind of, steal it, maybe, or the team championship. Disappointing, but proud to be here at least.”
“We had to try something [strategy-wise],” Hill added. “Lot of hard racing out there. I want to say congrats to the No. 7 team. Justin Allgaier’s being doing this a really long time. To see him finally get it done, I’m very happy for him. He’s a great guy to be around. Hats off to JR Motorsports for getting it done.”
Amid the championship battle, Riley Herbst, who led a race-high 167 of the 213 over-scheduled laps, celebrated a race victory as he notched his third career win in the Xfinity Series, second of the 2024 season and his first since winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. The victory was also the last for the Stewart-Haas Racing organization as the team will be rebranded to Haas Factory Team in 2025. It also comes as Herbst’s 2025 racing plans remain to be determined.
“I’ve been telling people since Daytona that if we got to Phoenix, we’d be the champion,” Herbst, who finished seventh in the final standings, said in Victory Lane. “Everybody looked at me like I was crazy. That’s gone now. We didn’t make [the Championship 4 round], but I’m just so proud of all these guys, everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. It was a really, really tough week last week. We had a lot of emotional people at the shop. [Stewart-Haas Racing] was home for me for four years. It’s built me to what I am now and that’s a winning racecar driver in the Xfinity Series. So proud of [crew chief] Davin [Restivo] and all the guys on the No. 98 team. It’s been a hell of a run the last four years. Thank you so much to every man and woman at Stewart-Haas Racing. I love you guys all so much. We’ll see what next year holds.”
Aric Almirola, who was contending for the owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing’s NO. 20 Toyota team, settled in third place on the track as he fell one spot short to Allgaier in the category. Connor Zilisch and Chandler Smith finished in the top five while Rookie-of-the-Year recipient Jesse Love, Sheldon Creed, Cole Custer, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill completed the top 10.
There were 21 lead changes for eight different leaders. The finale featured seven cautions for 53 laps. In addition, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Riley Herbst, 167 laps led
2. Justin Allgaier, four laps led
3. Aric Almirola
4. Connor Zilisch
5. Chandler Smith
6. Jesse Love, six laps led
7. Sheldon Creed, 20 laps led
8. Cole Custer, seven laps led
9. AJ Allmendinger
10. Austin Hill, five laps led
11. Sam Mayer
12. Shane van Gisbergen
13. William Sawalich
14. Parker Kligerman, two laps led
15. Sammy Smith
16. Jeb Burton
17. Daniel Dye, two laps led
18. Brandon Jones
19. Dylan Lupton
20. Jeremy Clements
21. Josh Bilicki
22. Blaine Perkins
23. Ryan Sieg
24. Brennan Poole
25. Ryan Ellis
26. Matt DiBenedetto
27. Joey Gase
28. Patrick Emerling, one lap down
29. Kyle Sieg, one lap down
30. Garrett Smithley, one lap down
31. Leland Honeyman, three laps down
32. Dawson Cram, four laps down
33. Josh Williams, five laps down
34. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident
35. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Engine
36. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident
37. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Suspension
38. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates championship finalists
Final standings
1. Justin Allgaier
2. Cole Custer
3. AJ Allmendinger
4. Austin Hill
5. Chandler Smith
6. Sheldon Creed
7. Riley Herbst
8. Jesse Love
9. Sam Mayer
10. Parker Kligerman
11. Sammy Smith
12. Shane van Gisbergen
The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 15, 2025, for a new season of competition.
Jesse Love has officially been named the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
Love, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion from Menlo Park, California, was announced to replace Sheldon Creed as the driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro entry for the 2024 Xfinity Series season in late October 2023. Paired with two-time NASCAR championship-winning crew chief Danny Stockman Jr., Love commenced his inaugural campaign in the Xfinity circuit by winning the pole position for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. After winning the first stage period, he rallied from being involved in an early muti-car wreck to finish 20th.
The following weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Love made history as he notched his second consecutive pole of the season and of his career, thus becoming the first competitor to win two poles in first two starts. The Californian would proceed to lead a race-high 157 laps and sweep both stages. During an overtime shootout, however, Love lost the lead as he fell off the pace due to stumbling on his low tank of fuel as he was relegated back to 12th place in the final running order.
Then after finishing in the top 10 in five of his next six starts while also notching a runner-up result behind Chandler Smith at Phoenix Raceway in March, Love triumphed for the first time in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway in late April after he led 28 laps, dodged a pair of late-race multi-car wrecks and withstood through two overtime shootouts. With his accomplishment, Love became the seventh competitor to record a first Xfinity career victory at Talladega and he became the 177th competitor overall to win in the Xfinity Series as he automatically locked up a guaranteed spot into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. Love’s Talladega victory was also the first for RCR’s No. 2 Chevrolet team since Myatt Snider won at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February 2021.
Following the Talladega victory, Love proceeded to finish in the top five twice and rack up a total of seven top-10 throughout the remaining 17 regular-season events on the 2024 Xfinity schedule before the Xfinity Series Playoffs commenced. With respective finishes of ninth, sixth and 19th throughout the Round of 12, Love managed to claim the final transfer berth into the Round of 8 by a mere two points. His title hopes, however, came to an end despite finishing sixth, fourth and 12th, respectively, throughout the Round of 8. Nonetheless, Love would proceed to finish in sixth place during the 2024 Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, which was enough to settle in eighth place in the final driver’s standings.
With the 2024 Xfinity rookie title wrapped up, Love became the first California-raised competitor to achieve the title since Tyler Reddick made the previous accomplishment in 2018, the same season where he won his first championship, and the first competitor to claim the honors both as a Chevrolet competitor and while driving for Richard Childress Racing since teammate Austin Hill achieved his rookie title in 2022.
Love’s closest rival for this year’s Xfinity rookie title was Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, who achieved his first three career victories in the Xfinity circuit, all of which his victories occurred on road-course events, and ended up in 12th place in the final standings after his Playoff hopes came to an end at the Round of 8’s conclusion. Love’s other rivals for the title included Leland Honeyman, Hailie Deegan and Dawson Cram. Honeyman settled in 22nd place in the final driver’s standings and Deegan lost her full-time ride at AM Racing halfway into the season while Cram transitioned between Mike Harmon Racing and DGM Racing halfway into the season after he lost his ride at JD Motorsports.
With the rookie title achieved, Love is set to return for a second full-time Xfinity campaign with Richard Childress Racing and the organization’s No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro entry in 2025.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2025, for a new season of competition.
William Sawalich notched his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career pole position for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 9.
The two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, posted his best qualifying lap at 134.168 mph in 26.832 seconds, which was enough to claim the top-starting spot over teammate Sheldon Creed, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 133.432 mph in 26.980 seconds.
With the pole position, Sawalich, who is set to make his third career start in the Xfinity circuit and in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 “all-star” Toyota Supra entry, will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday’s 2024 finale at Phoenix. He is set to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing on a full-time Xfinity basis in 2025, where he will be piloting the No. 18 Toyota Supra entry.
Speaking of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota entry, Sheldon Creed, who is making his final start with the Gibbs organization before he transitions to the Haas Factory Team in 2025, will share the front row with teammate Sawalich. The 2024 Xfinity finale is set to mark Creed’s fifth time starting on the front row this season as he aims to capture his first elusive victory in the series.
Riley Herbst and Chandler Smith will start third and fourth, respectively, while Austin Hill will be the highest-starting Championship- 4 contenders in fifth place as he strives to win his first Xfinity Series championship.
Rounding out the top-10 starting spots are rookie Jesse Love, Championship 4 finalist Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Championship 4 finalist AJ Allmendinger and Parker Retzlaff.
Notably, Justin Allgaier, the fourth Championship 4 finalist, will start in 37th place of the 38-car field and in a backup car. This is a result of Allgaier wrecking his primary car during Friday’s practice session after he ran over spilled fluid from Brennan Poole’s entry, slid and pounded the outside wall hard against Turns 1 and 2. Aric Almirola, who is contending for the 2024 Xfinity owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota team, was also involved in the practice carnage as he will start in 38th place, dead last, in a backup car.
All 38 competitors entered for Saturday’s finale at Phoenix earned a starting spot.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
William Sawalich, 134.168 mph, 26.832 seconds
Sheldon Creed, 133.432 mph, 26.980 seconds
Riley Herbst, 132.989 mph, 27.070 seconds
Chandler Smith, 132.915 mph, 27.085 seconds
Austin Hill, 132.523 mph, 27.165 seconds
Jesse Love, 132.343 mph, 27.202 seconds
Cole Custer, 132.270 mph, 27.217 seconds
Sam Mayer, 132.178 mph, 27.236 seconds
AJ Allmendinger, 132.139 mph, 27.244 seconds
Parker Retzlaff, 132.042 mph, 27.264 seconds
Matt DiBenedetto, 131.868 mph, 27.300 seconds
Anthony Alfredo, 131.690 mph, 27.337 seconds
Daniel Dye, 131.651 mph, 27.345 seconds
Stefan Parsons, 131.454 mph, 27.386 seconds
Sammy Smith, 131.372 mph, 27.403 seconds
Jeb Burton, 131.324 mph, 27.413 seconds
Shane van Gisbergen, 131.081 mph, 27.464 seconds
Jeffrey Earnhardt, 130.976 mph, 27.486 seconds
Josh Williams, 130.957 mph, 27.490 seconds
Ryan Ellis, 130.785 mph, 27.526 seconds
Connor Zilisch, 130.766 mph, 27.530 seconds
Jeremy Clements, 130.657 mph, 27.553 seconds
Ryan Sieg, 130.577 mph, 27.570 seconds
Dylan Lupton, 130.572 mph, 27.571 seconds
Blaine Perkins, 130.482 mph, 27.590 seconds
Leland Honeyman, 130.359 mph, 27.616 seconds
Dawson Cram, 130.086 mph, 27.674 seconds
Brennan Poole, 129.767 mph, 27.742 seconds
Kyle Sieg, 129.534 mph, 27.792 seconds
Patrick Emerling, 129.450 mph, 27.810 seconds
Parker Kligerman, 129.231 mph, 27.857 seconds
Josh Bilicki, 128.834 mph, 27.943 seconds
Brandon Jones, 128.599 mph, 27.994 seconds
Joey Gase, Owner Points
Greg Van Alst, Owner Points
Garrett Smithley, Owner Points
Justin Allgaier, Owner Points
Aric Almirola, Owner Points
The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway is set to occur on Saturday, November 9, and air at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the highly anticipated 2024 season finale. Four drivers in each division will compete for the coveted championship title, with the highest-finishing eligible driver in each series claiming victory.
Reigning Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney is prepared for a tough battle heading into the weekend.
“Everyone’s going to be strong. I don’t think there’s like any favorites, to be honest with you,” Blaney said during media availability Tuesday afternoon. “And I never look at favorites when it gets to the Champ 4 because everyone’s there for a reason. They’re all teams that are really fast and they’re gonna be fast no matter what, any given weekend, at any given track.”
All times are Eastern.
Cup Series Championship Contenders
Ryan Blaney William Byron Joey Logano Tyler Reddick
Xfinity Series Championship Contenders
Justin Allgaier AJ Allmendinger Cole Custer Austin Hill
Truck Series Championship Contenders
Christian Eckes Grant Enfinger Corey Heim Ty Majeski
Weekend Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 7
7 p.m.: Truck Series Practice
8 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Practice
9:20: ARCA Menards Series West Qualifying
Friday, Nov. 8
1:30 p.m.: ARCA West Valley 100 – FloRacing
4:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS2
5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – USA/NBC Sports App
6:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
NASCAR levied major penalties to three Cup Series teams for violating the sport’s Member Conduct sections within the Rule Book following this past weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway that occurred on Sunday, November 3.
The teams that were affected under the penalty report were Trackhouse Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet team piloted by Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet team piloted by Austin Dillon and 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota team piloted by Bubba Wallace.
In the closing laps of last Sunday’s event at Martinsville, both Chastain and Dillon were performing a side-by-side roadblock for oncoming competitors while remaining behind Chevrolet teammate William Byron, who was racing in sixth place at the time of the actions made between Chastin and Dillon. By then, the handling of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet entry was fading as Byron was trying to retain his sixth-place spot that would enable him to claim the fourth and final berth to the Championship 4 round by a single point over Christopher Bell, who was racing a lap down in 19th place.
Then prior to the final lap, Bubba Wallace, a Toyota teammate to Bell who was racing in 18th place and had been lapped earlier by the leaders, began to fall off the pace as he radioed a potential tire going down on his No. 23 Toyota entry. With Byron, Dillon, Chastain and a host of competitors overtaking Wallace’s slow entry through the frontstretch on the final lap, Bell then caught up to Wallace through the backstretch. Just as Bell overtook Wallace entering Turn 3 for 18th place, he got loose and hit the outside wall. Bell then proceeded to accelerate and scrape his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry through Turns 3 and 4 before he crossed the finish line. As a result, Bell initially overtook Byron in the Playoff standings to claim the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round.
Following an extensive review of the finish, however, Bell was levied a safety violation for maneuvering his way to the finish line while scraping the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 since the move had been banned for future use, particularly since the start of the 2023 season amid Ross Chastain’s use of it in November 2022. As a result, Bell was demoted to 22nd place in the final running order, which kept him four points out of making his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance. In the process, Byron was awarded the final transfer berth as he is set to square off against reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick for the 2024 Cup Series championship this upcoming weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Despite the Championship 4 field being determined, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, then said during the post-race conference at Martinsville that officials would also examine the actions and radio dialogue made by Chastain, Dillon and Wallace over their on-track actions while racing both Bell and Byron over any forms of manipulation and to provide an advantage for one Playoff competitor over the other.
With the official determination and penalty report levied to Chastain, Dillon and Wallace on Tuesday, November 5, the trio and their respective teams have been fined $100,000 apiece and docked 50 driver/owner points. The points penalty dropped Wallace from 17th to 18th and Dillon from 28th to 34th in the driver’s standings, respectively, while Chastain retained 19th.
In addition, each of their crew chiefs and spotters has been suspended from this upcoming weekend’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The suspensions include Chastain’s crew chief Phil Surgen and spotter Brandon McReynolds, Dillon’s crew chief Justin Alexander and spotter Brandon Benesch, and Wallace’s crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft. Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers, all of whom serve as team executives for Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing and 23XI Racing, respectively, have also been suspended for participating in the finale.
Following the announcement of the penalties, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing declared plans to appeal the penalties.
The penalties to Chastain, Dillon, Wallace and their respective teams were not the only penalties levied from this past weekend’s triple-header events at Martinsville. In addition to Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet team, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet team piloted by Kyle Busch was assessed a safety violation due to a loose left-front wheel that detached off of Busch’s entry entering Turn 3 and prior to a restart with 94 laps remaining. As a result, front-tire changer Michael Russell and jackman Josh Sobecki were levied a two-race suspension, including the 2024 Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Following the incident, Busch would proceed to finish 28th place, three laps down.
In the Xfinity Series, Chandler Smith, who finished in third place during last Saturday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $10,000 for being involved in a post-race altercation with Cole Custer, where the former swung a punch to the latter to express his displeasure over being bumped by Custer, who retaliated from being bumped by Smith earlier, during a late-race restart that knocked Smith out of contention to making the Championship 4 round. Meanwhile, Custer, who finished fourth at Martinsville, was able to claim a Championship 4 berth as he will square off against Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill to defend his series’ title at Phoenix.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Ty Majeski, who finished in 11th place during last Friday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville, was fined $12,500 for not performing a media obligation. The fine did not affect Majeski’s outcome of making the Championship 4 field as he is set to square off against Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Corey Heim for the series’ title at Phoenix.
Next on the schedule is the 2024 season-finale events for NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion in each series will be crowned. The Craftsman Truck Series finale at Phoenix is scheduled to occur this Friday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Xfinity Series finale will follow suit this Saturday, November 9, at 7 p.m. ET on the CW Network. The Cup Series finale will cap off the weekend on Sunday, November 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
With two vacant spots to this year’s Championship 4 round on the line amongst eight NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff contenders, Aric Almirola motored his way to a dominant victory for his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team in the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, November 2.
The 40-year-old Almirola from Tampa, Florida, led five times for a race-high 150 of 250-scheduled laps in an event where he started in ninth place and muscled through four early caution periods to claim the first stage victory in a photo finish over Playoff contender Cole Custer. Then after racing his way to win the second stage period, Almirola survived a bevy of caution periods and ensuing restart periods, including the final one with 16 laps remaining where he was leading, to fend off Playoff contenders Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith to capture his third Xfinity victory of the 2024 season and clinch a spot to this year’s Xfinity owner’s championship battle for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team for next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, November 1, Parker Retzlaff notched his second Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season and his career with a pole-winning lap at 95.151 mph in 19.901 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Anthony Alfredo, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 95.094 mph in 19.913 seconds.
Prior to the event, the following names that include Parker Kligerman, William Sawalich and Kyle Sieg dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Parker Retzlaff and Anthony Alfredo briefly dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Retzlaff muscled his No. 31 The Visual Pak Companies Chevrolet Camaro ahead with both lanes under his control through the backstretch. As the field slowly began to fan out to three lanes, Retzlaff led the first lap as Playoff contender Chandler Smith overtook Alfredo for the runner-up spot. Behind, Aric Almirola made a bold three-wide move beneath Playoff contenders Sammy Smith and Austin Hill as he made his way up to sixth place.
Over the next four laps, Retzlaff would proceed to stabilize his early advantage to four-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith as Playoff contender Justin Allgaier, Alfredo and Playoff rookie Jesse Love followed suit in the top five. Behind, Almirola retained sixth place ahead of Playoff contender Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed while Playoff contenders AJ Allmendinger and Sammy Smith pursued in the top 10.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps and amid a series of early jostling for spots within the field, Retzlaff retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith while Allgaier and Alfredo followed suit. Behind, Almirola made his way into fifth place over Love and Hill while Creed, Allmendinger and Playoff contender Cole Custer were in the top 10. As both Custer and Allmendinger bumped one another while battling for 10th place, Riley Herbst, Playoff contender Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Bubba Pollard were in the top 15.
On Lap 12, the event’s first caution flew after Allmendinger, who had fiercely bumped and rubbed with Custer for a top-10 spot over the last few laps, blew a right-front tire amid another round of contact with Custer entering the backstretch and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 3. The incident was enough to end Allmendinger’s event early, but it did not affect his secured spot to this year’s Championship 4 round after he had won the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks earlier.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 18, Chandler Smith dueled with Retzlaff for the lead through the first two turns before he muscled ahead and cleared Retzlaff through the backstretch. Smith would proceed to lead the following lap as Allgaier followed suit in third place. Behind, Almirola muscled his way up to fourth place while Alfredo was pinned in a tight three-wide battle for a top-10 spot that involved Herbst and Creed as both Custer and Sammy Smith joined the battle. With Love and Hill moving up to fifth and sixth on the track, Chandler Smith retained the lead just past the Lap 20 mark.
At the Lap 25 mark, Chandler Smith was leading by six-tenths of a second over Retzlaff while Allgaier, Almirola and Love followed suit in the top five ahead of Hill, Herbst, Custer, Alfredo, and Creed. Over the next five laps, Allgaier and Almirola dueled fiercely for third place while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Herbst and Custer battled for seventh place in front of Sam Mayer. In the process, Almirola stabilized his lead to nearly eight-tenths of a second.
On Lap 36, the event’s second caution flew after Myatt Snider, who was racing in 18th place, was bumped and sent for a spin by Ryan Sieg entering Turns 3 and 4. During the caution period, some led by Chandler Smith and including Allgaier, Hill, Love and Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by Retzlaff and including Custer and Sam Mayer remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Ryan Ellis was penalized for vehicle interference while Hill endured a slow pit service after he had to reverse to avoid hitting Dawson Cram while exiting his pit stall.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 43, Retzlaff and Custer dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Custer used the outside lane to assume the lead through the backstretch. Behind, Retzlaff fended off rookie Shane van Gisbergen through Turns 3 and 4 to retain second place before the latter crossed over and reignited his challenge for the spot. Behind, a series of jostles for spots between competitors with fresh tires versus those with worn tires ensued as Custer continued to lead. The caution, however, would return on Lap 47 after Leland Honeyman spun in Turn 2 from the top 20 after getting hit by Blaine Perkins.
The start of the next restart period on Lap 53 did not last long as Retzlaff, who restarted on the front row with Custer, was shoved dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 1 by Mayer as Retzlaff emerged with significant front-end damage to his pole-winning car. The incident was enough to knock Retzlaff out of contention while Mayer continued.
With the event restarting under green with a single lap remaining to the first stage period, Custer and Almirola dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. They continued to battle dead even against one another through Turns 3 and 4 as they crossed the start/finish line in a photo finish to complete the first stage. At the line, Almirola emerged with the stage victory by a nose for the fifth time in the 2024 Xfinity Series season. Custer settled in second followed by Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Love, Herbst, Josh Williams, Sammy Smith, Creed and Jeb Burton. By then, five of seven remaining Playoff contenders on the track recorded the event’s first round of stage points as the list did not include Mayer or Hill.
Under the stage break, some led by Custer and including Williams, Jeremy Clements, Patrick Emerling, Mason Maggio and Logan Bearden pitted while the rest led by Almirola remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 70 as teammates Almirola and Chandler Smith started on the front row. At the start, Almirola gained the advantage from the inside lane as he muscled away with the lead entering the backstretch. Almirola proceeded to lead the following lap while Chandler Smith fended off Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Allgaier would then be challenged by Love and Herbst for third place as Smith started to close in on Almirola for the lead.
Towards the Lap 80 mark, Almirola retained a steady advantage over teammate Chandler Smith, with the latter bumping and intimidating his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota teammate through every corner and straightaway. Smith would then make his way beneath Almirola’s No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota Supra through the first two turns and muscle his No. 81 QuickTie Toyota Supra into the lead through the backstretch on Lap 81. With Smith leading, Allgaier trailed in third place by six-tenths of a second while Love, Sammy Smith and Herbst trailed by more than two seconds.
On Lap 85, Herbst bumped and nearly turned Love’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro in a fierce battle for fifth place in Turn 3. The contact dropped Love to ninth place as Herbst proceeded to fend off Sheldon Creed for fifth place. In the process, Chandler Smith continued to lead by within a tenth of a second over teammate Almirola. Almirola, however, would gain a run beneath Smith through the first two turns and reassume the lead on Lap 94.
At the Lap 100 mark, Almirola stretched his advantage to a second over teammate Chandler Smith as Sammy Smith would proceed to overtake Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot during the following lap. Behind, Allgaier trailed in fourth place by two seconds while Herbst, Creed, Sawalich, Ryan Sieg, Alfredo and Jeb Burton followed suit in the top 10.
Following a caution period on Lap 102 as Mason Maggio spun in Turn 1 just in front of the leaders, some led by Ryan Sieg and including Myatt Snider, Brennan Poole and Garrett Smithley remained on the track while the rest led by Almirola pitted. Amid the pit stops, Chandler Smtih endured a slow pit service.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 110, Ryan Sieg and Poole dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field as Sieg proceeded to muscle ahead through the backstretch. By the following lap, Almirola, who was racing on fresh tires, had carved his way up to third place. Almirola would proceed to duel and overtake Poole for the runner-up spot during the next lap as teammate Sheldon Creed was also muscling his way towards the top five.
Then with three laps remaining in the second stage period, Almirola caught and made his move beneath Ryan Sieg for the lead entering the first two turns. Almirola and Sieg would then duel for the lead through the backstretch as Sieg refused to surrender the spot. With both continuing to battle dead even for the lead during the following lap, Almirola would muscle ahead of Sieg through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 118.
During the final lap of the second stage period, Ryan Sieg tried to execute a crossover move beneath Almirola through the frontstretch, but Almirola muscled away with his fresh tires and teammate Creed began to challenge Sieg for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles within the field, Almirola proceeded to capture his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second of the day. Sieg fended off Creed for the runner-up spot while Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Custer, Herbst, Sawalich and Poole were scored in the top 10. With four of seven Playoff contenders on the track racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders including Mayer and Hill did not achieve points.
During the stage break, Logan Bearden was the only competitor who pitted as the rest led by Almirola remained on the track.
With 120 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Almirola and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola rocketed away with the lead through the first two turns and he would retain the lead for the following lap. Behind, a series of on-track battles ensued as Allgaier made his way to fourth place behind Ryan Sieg while Custer fended off Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith for fifth place. The caution would return with 117 laps remaining as William Sawalich spun and slapped into the outside wall in Turn 1 amid contact with Alfredo.
During the start of the next restart period with 110 laps remaining, Almirola dueled with teammate Creed for the lead for a full lap as Creed managed to lead the first lap by a hair from the outside lane. Creed would then clear Almirola to have both lanes under his control entering the first two turns while Allgaier was trying to fend off Custer and Ryan Sieg for third place. Shortly after, Custer moved his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang into third place over Allgaier and Chandler Smith followed in close pursuit in fifth place.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Creed continued to lead by a tenth of a second over teammate Almirola, who spent the last several laps dueling and challenging Creed for the top spot through every corner. Almirola would then prevail in the heated battle with teammate Creed with 96 laps remaining as he bumped and muscled ahead of the latter with the top spot. Meanwhile, third-place Custer trailed by a second. Creed then went wide entering Turn 1 during the following lap, which allowed Custer to battle him for the runner-up spot as Almirola stretched his advantage to more than a second.
With 85 laps remaining, Almirola retained the lead over both Custer and Creed as Logan Bearden pitted with his right-front hub on fire. Amid Bearden’s incident, the event remained under green flag conditions. The caution would then fly with 77 laps remaining due to Preston Pardus spinning in Turn 3. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Almirola pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola retained the lead after he exited pit road first as he was followed by Creed, Custer, Allgaier, Herbst, Chandler Smith, Mayer, Burton, Alfredo and Sammy Smith. Amid the pit stops, Creed was penalized for speeding on pit road.
The start of the next restart period with 68 laps remaining featured Almirola fending off Custer through the first two turns to lead the field through the backstretch. Just before Almirola could reach the start/finish line to lead the following lap, the caution returned when Dawson Cram, who was racing outside the top 20, received a bump from Love that sent him spinning and backing into the outside wall in Turn 3.
As the race restarted under green with 60 laps remaining, Almirola used the inside lane to fend off Custer through the first two turns as he retained a steady lead through the backstretch, Despite getting bumped in the rear by Custer through Turns 3 and 4, Almirola led the following lap ahead of Custer as he had Allgaier, Herbst, Chandler Smith and Jeb Burton all following in close pursuit. With the latter four bumping and dueling against one another for position, Allgaier would retain third place ahead of Chandler Smith and Burton over the next four laps while Mayer and Sammy Smith made their way past Herbst for sixth and seventh, respectively. The caution would then return with 54 laps remaining as Creed bumped Blaine Perkins into Josh Williams, all of whom were battling for a top-15 spot, which sent the latter for a spin towards the outside wall in Turn 2.
The start of the next restart period with 48 laps remaining featured Almirola muscling ahead with a slight advantage over Custer as he proceeded to motor past him through the first two turns and retain the top spot through the backstretch. With Almirola leading the following lap, Custer retained second as Allgaier and Chandler Smith dueled for third place in front of Burton. Behind, teammates Mayer and Sammy Smith dueled for sixth place in front of Herbst, Alfredo and Kligerman as Almirola proceeded to lead with 45 laps remaining.
With less than 40 laps remaining, Almirola stretched his advantage to more than a second over Custer, who had Chandler Smith and Allgaier pressuring him for the runner-up spot through every corner and straightaway. Custer would retain the runner-up spot from both Smith and Allgaier over the next five laps as Almirola’s advantage also stabilized to more than a second.
Not long after, the caution returned with 31 laps remaining when Brandon Jones slid and wrecked his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro against the Turn 1 outside wall from 13th place after he got bumped by Creed entering the turn. The incident occurred shortly after Chandler Smith had bumped Custer out of the racing groove for the runner-up spot in Turn 1.
Just as the event was restarting under green with 24 laps remaining, a stack-up ensued from the front of the field that left Mayer, who restarted in seventh place, with a dented hood and Burton attempting to fan out beneath Mayer. Then entering Turns 1 and 2, Custer returned the favor to Chandler Smith by bumping the latter into the turn as both went up the racetrack through the first two turns. Despite Smith managing to remain in front of Custer, both dropped to fifth and seventh, respectively, through the backstretch. In the process, Mayer, who had a tire rub, continued in sixth place with a dented hood while Almirola pulled away with the lead ahead of Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Herbst.
On the following lap, the caution returned as both Ryan Sieg and van Gisbergen wrecked in Turn 4. During the caution period, Mayer, who pitted to have the damage addressed, had his No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet Camaro pushed behind the wall as his event came to a late end. Mayer’s retirement also ended his hopes of returning to the Championship 4 round for a second consecutive season.
Down to the final 16 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Almirola and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola muscled away from Smith’s No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro and the field to lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Almirola led the following lap, Smith followed suit in second while Allgaier was trying to fend off Herbst, Chandler Smith, Custer and Jeb Burton for third place. During the following lap, Chandler Smith got Herbst loose entering Turn 3, which allowed Smith to draw himself alongside Allgaier for third place as Custer tried to follow suit. Custer would then grab fifth place from teammate Herbst while Almirola continued to lead over Sammy Smith with 14 laps remaining.
With 10 laps remaining, Almirola retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith trailed the lead by more than a second. By then, both of the Smith competitors were placed in “must-win” situations to maintain their Playoff hopes. Behind, Custer, who currently occupied the fourth and transfer spot to the Championship 4 round, made his way up to fourth place over Allgaier, who held the other vacant spot to the final Playoff round, while Creed was up to sixth place.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Almirola continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Sammy Smith as third-place Chandler Smith followed suit by a second. Over the next four laps, Almirola would stabilize his advantage over both Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith, with the latter two unable to close in despite charging their respective cars through every corner and straightaway.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Almirola remained in the lead by half a second over Sammy Smith and by more than a second over Chandler Smith. With the two Smiths unable to narrow the deficit for a final lap charge, Almirola coasted his No. 20 Toyota smoothly around the Martinsville circuit for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and for his third Xfinity checkered flag of the 2024 season.
With the victory, Almirola, who won at Martinsville in April, notched his seventh career win in his 117th start in the Xfinity circuit and 13th of the 2024 season. The victory was the 11th of the season for both the Toyota nameplate and Joe Gibbs Racing, with the organization’s No. 20 team winning for the ninth time overall.
As a result of the victory, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota team will contend for the 2024 Xfinity Series owner’s championship as Almirola will compete against Austin Hill, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier for the title during next weekend’s season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway.
“Wow, what an amazing race car,” Almirola said on the CW Network. “So proud of [crew chief] Tyler [Allen] and all the guys on this team. We had an amazing car here in the spring. We made a few tweaks to it because I wasn’t totally happy with it, honestly, in the spring. We showed up yesterday and we were awful. I was like, ‘Oh no. What did we do?’ [The team] went to work last night and came up with a lot of changes to make to the car. It was so hooked up today. It would just do everything I wanted it to. Man, this is such a special place, This is, by far, my favorite racetrack and I’m just so thankful to Coach [Gibbs], everybody at Toyota. There’s so much more to it than just me and this race team. I’m just so lucky and blessed to have this opportunity with so many great partners. What an amazing race car. Just so proud, so, so proud and we’re going to go race for an owner’s championship in Phoenix.”
As Almirola celebrated the Martinsville race victory, teammate Chandler Smith, who settled in third place on the track was left heated over Custer, who finished fourth, following their pair of bumps and on-track contact that took them both out of contention for the race victory as Smith also failed to make the Championship 4 field by 28 points. Once Smith parked his car on pit road at the event’s conclusion, he confronted Custer and both exchanged words before Smith attempted to throw a punch across Custer’s face before both were separated by NASCAR officials and their respective crew members.
Ironically, this marks the second run-in and post-race confrontation between Custer and Chandler Smith after the former had confronted the latter during the Playoff opener at Kansas Speedway in late September, where he criticized Smith for costing both the victory from Almirola following a late duel on the track.
“I was planning to do a lot more than [throwing a punch], to be completely frank with you,” Smith, whose racing status for 2025 remains unknown, said. “I was extremely pissed off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out and beat his bumper off and never shipped him or anything like that. Then finally, it’s like all right, the laps are winding down, I’m in a must-win [situation]. [Almirola]’s starting to drive away. He was really good all day. I can’t waste any more time with [Custer], so I finally had a good enough run and pushed him up the racetrack and went on our way, but I gave him a chance for five laps before that…He didn’t even give me a chance to make the corner when we got to Turn 1. It is what it is. He can think we’re even and all, but he’s the one that’s got more stakes than I do next weekend.”
Meanwhile, Custer, who was initially left frustrated with Smith, was also left pleased on pit road as he claimed a Championship 4 berth to next weekend’s finale at Phoenix as he will attempt to defend his title before moving back up to the Cup Series with the rebranded Haas Factory Team in 2025.
“[Chandler Smith]’s not happy, but at the end of the day, he’s put us in the wall a few times this year and his mistakes caught up with him,” Custer said. “He used the bumper on me, I used the bumper on him. What comes around goes around in this deal. I’m so proud of this team. We brought out everything we had today. [The team] Kept us in the fight, but [crew chief Jonathan Toney] and the guys did a great job all year maximizing everything we had. [I] Can’t wait to go to Phoenix now and see what we can do.”
Overall, Custer joins AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier, the latter of whom finished fifth at Martinsville, as the four Playoff contenders who will contend for the 2024 Xfinity Series championship next weekend at Phoenix. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith joins Martinsville runner-up finisher Sammy Smith, rookie Jesse Love and Sam Mayer as the bottom four Playoff contenders in the standings who did not make the Championship 4 round.
There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 13 cautions for 84 laps. In addition, 26 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway, where a champion will be crowned. The finale is set to occur next Saturday, November 9, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.