Category: RC XFINITY

Race Central NASCAR XFINITY Series news and information

Weekend Schedule for Talladega

After a week off for the Easter break, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series go back to the track as Talladega Superspeedway is the home for this weekend’s races. Here is how you can watch all of the action from Talladega.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, April 26th:
12:35-1:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
1:35-2:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
2:35-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NASCAR.com/Live
4:35-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series final practice, FS1

Saturday, April 27th:
10:10 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (SINGLE-VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS), FS1
1:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series MoneyLion 300 (STAGES 25/50/113 LAPS = 300.58 MILES),
TV: FS1 – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
4:40 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (SINGLE-VEHICLE/ TWO ROUNDS), FOX

Sunday, April 28th:
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 (Stages 55/110/188 LAPS = 500.08 Miles)
TV: FOX – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

April 25, 2019
Cole Custer claims Dash 4 Cash prize, wins the ToyotaCare 250

Cole Custer set a dominating pace by leading the most laps and earning his second win of the 2019 season in Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Custer briefly lost the lead to Austin Cindric on a restart with 26 laps remaining, but would not be denied. He reclaimed the lead just seven laps later to win his first career short track race in the Xfinity Series, and also claim the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize.

“We had a great car,” Custer said. “Mike Shiplett made great adjustments as it went. This one means a lot. We hadn’t had a short-track win yet. We’ve struggled a lot at short tracks, but this helps.

“A lot of my friends give me crap for being bad at this place, but I finally won, so I’ve got a little bit of bragging rights there. I’m just so happy. Two wins—that’s pretty awesome.”

Cindric was playing the weather game as rain threatened the finish of the race, but wasn’t able to have mother nature on his side. With his runner-up finish, he qualifies himself for the next Dash 4 Cash race at Talladega Superspeedway. His primary sponsor, MoneyLion, will also be sponsoring that race.

“Congrats to Cole and those guys,” Cindric said. “I tried my best on that restart to hold him off, but they were obviously the class of the field, him and the 7 (Allgaier). We had some fun and got some points and now we will move on to Talladega for the MoneyLion 300.

“That will be a big one for me. I would love to win that race and the Dash for Cash at Talladega.”

Justin Allgaier finished third in his JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet. He led 86 laps throughout the night and won the first stage. Similar to Cindric, Allgaier was trying to have pit strategy fall in his favor, but by the time he charged to the front, he ran out of both car and time.

“The pit call we made at the end of the (second) stage there, it worked out, obviously, in our favor,” said Allgaier. “But I pushed really hard to get back up to the front, and I just didn’t quite have enough there at the end to really do anything.

“I made a mistake on that restart. It really burns me up that I made the mistake, but all in all, a great day. I hope we got the monkey off our back.”

Allgaier’s former teammate Tyler Reddick came home fourth with Ryan Sieg rounding out the top five. Zane Smith running in the No. 8 JR Motorsports car is running a limited schedule in the Xfinity Series, but continues to impress many with another strong sixth place finish at Richmond. John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, pole sitter Riley Herbst and Justin Haley completed the top 10.

Elliott Sadler finished in the 12th position at his home track after making the first of his two planned starts for the 2019 season.

All cars passed post-race tech, so Custer was declared the official winner. Reddick’s car was caught with one lug nut unsecure, so potential fines will be announced next week by the sanctioning body.

April 12, 2019
Weekend schedule for Richmond

From one short track to another, the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series and Xfinity Series take to the 3/4-mile track, Richmond Raceway, in Richmond, Virginia. Here is how you can watch all of the action, below.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, April 12:
8:05-9:55 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
11:05-11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
1:05-1:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NASCAR.com/Live
3:40 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (MULTI-VEHICLE / THREE ROUNDS), FS1
5:40 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (MULTI-VEHICLE / THREE ROUNDS), FS1
7 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 (STAGES 75/150/250 LAPS = 187.5 miles)
TV: FS1 – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Saturday, April 13:
7:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 (Stages 100/200/400 LAPS = 300 Miles)
TV: FOX – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

April 11, 2019

Bell scores first Bristol win plus big payday

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 was held Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway with not only bragging rights on the line. For four drivers there was also a whole lot of cash dangling like a carrot in front of them.

The race was the first in the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program which offers an extra $100,000 bonus for the top four finishers. Along with Bell, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Michael Annett qualified for the Dash 4 Cash last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the opening round of the program.

Christopher Bell driving his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota earned his first victory at Bristol along with the giant check that came with the win. This was his 10th Xfinity Series career win. Four of Bell’s wins have come on short tracks.

“It’s pretty cool to get my first win here with the Dash 4 Cash bonus,” Bell commented. “Thank you, Xfinity for doing that.” He added, “ I’m just thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing and driving for such a wonderful team, my guys on pit road have just been outstanding.”

Tyler Reddick in his No.2 Richard Childress Racing Chevy had a special paint scheme honoring Dolly Parton. Reddick wore a big blonde wig before the race in her honor. He pushed his car about as hard as he could but Bell was too fast for him.

“I just needed a little more to get past Christopher,” Reddick stated, “ When I’m behind him it’s hard to make a pass. It was great to have Dolly Parton on our car today. It was a good day but it’s a shame we thought Stage 1 ended a lap too soon, we should have gotten that stage point,” Reddick chuckled.

Stage 1 started with Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick on the front row. The first caution came out when the car of Jeff Green got loose and took Ross Chastain with him, and with both cars receiving heavy damage, they were both done for the day. Reddick had a miscue with his spotter, thinking the stage was over, and backed off, giving Justin Allgaier the Stage 1 win.

Stage 2 started with Allgaier and Reddick on the front row. Allgaier kept the lead at the restart and led every lap in the stage. The only caution was for the spinning car of Jeremy Clements. The stage would end under caution giving the Stage 2 win to Allgaier.

The final stage of the race started with Allgaier once again in the lead. Out of the blue, the No. 7 of Allgaier had problems and he took his car to the garage. Bell took the lead when Allgaier slowed on the track. The only caution of the stage was for Harrison Burton who slid sideways and slowed after cutting a tire down.

Brandon Jones took a risk and stayed out when everyone else came to pit road, inheriting the lead. Several cars were fighting loose conditions and bounced off the wall including the No. 00 of Cole Custer in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Bell grabbed the lead when Jones fell back on older tires and never looked back winning the race along with the Dash 4 Cash money.

Custer, in spite of fighting loose conditions, kept his car in the top five all day and came home in third place. Although he had a good finish Custer wasn’t very happy with his performance.

“I wasn’t happy. It’s so frustrating,” Bell said, “ I think we were the best car at the end it’s just we didn’t have the fire off speed on the restarts to get the track position. We’ll all get better, I’m just so frustrated. I wish we’d had a shot to really go for the win there.”

Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek would round out the top five. Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, and Harrison Burton finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

The lap leaders for today’s race were Allgaier who led 138 laps, Reddick who led 61 laps, Custer leading 26 laps, Jones led 19 laps, and Bell led 57 laps.

Reddick leads the Xfinity Series Standings with 321 points, Bell is second with 308 points, Custer is third with 275 points, Cindric is fourth with 251 points and Annett rounds out the top five with 238 points.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Richmond International Raceway on Friday, April 12 where the top four finishers at Bristol – Bell, Reddick, Custer and Briscoe – will be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash.

Xfinity Series Race Number 7
Race Results for the 37th Annual Alsco 300 – Saturday, April 6, 2019
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN – 0.533 – Mile Concrete
Total Race Length – 300 Laps – 159.9 Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	Pts	Status
1	8	20	Christopher Bell	Rheem Toyota	300	7	3	52	Running
2	2	2	Tyler Reddick	Dolly Parton Chevrolet	300	2	2	53	Running
3	1	0	Cole Custer	Haas Automation Ford	300	3	4	49	Running
4	3	98	Chase Briscoe #	Nutri Chomps Ford	300	6	7	42	Running
5	10	23	John Hunter Nemechek #	Allegiant Chevrolet	300	9	5	40	Running
6	4	22	Austin Cindric	MoneyLion Ford	300	5	6	42	Running
7	11	11	Justin Haley #	LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet	300	8	10	34	Running
8	9	1	Michael Annett	Pilot Flying J Chevrolet	300	0	0	29	Running
9	7	9	Noah Gragson #	Switch Chevrolet	300	0	0	28	Running
10	5	18	Harrison Burton(i)	Dex Imaging Toyota	300	4	8	0	Running
11	16	8	Zane Smith	The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Chevrolet	300	0	0	26	Running
12	14	39	Ryan Sieg	Shop Boss Chevrolet	299	0	0	25	Running
13	15	51	Jeremy Clements	All South Electric Chevrolet	299	0	0	24	Running
14	13	19	Brandon Jones	Menards/Jeld-Wen Toyota	298	10	9	26	Running
15	19	8	Gray Gaulding	PANINI Chevrolet	297	0	0	22	Running
16	21	7	Ray Black II	ISOKERNFrplcs&Chmnys/ScubaLife Chev	296	0	0	21	Running
17	20	66	Timmy Hill	CrashClaimsR.US Toyota	294	0	0	20	Running
18	23	15	BJ McLeod	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	294	0	0	19	Running
19	25	36	Josh Williams	Peg Leg Porker/Venture Wipes Chevrolet	293	0	0	18	Running
20	18	42	Chad Finchum	Amana Toyota	292	0	0	17	Running
21	31	5	Matt Mills	J.F. Electric Chevrolet	292	0	0	16	Running
22	26	0	Garrett Smithley	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	292	0	0	15	Running
23	22	86	Brandon Brown #	Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet	291	0	0	14	Running
24	30	78	Vinnie Miller	Koolbox Chevrolet	291	0	0	13	Running
25	32	52	David Starr	CHASCO/Shoun Trucking Chevrolet	289	0	0	12	Running
26	28	99	Tommy Joe Martins	Diamond Gusset Jeans/AAN Adjusters Toyota	288	0	0	11	Running
27	27	35	Joey Gase	Toyota	286	0	0	10	Running
28	24	17	Kyle Weatherman(i)	East Carolina University Chevrolet	284	0	0	0	Running
29	34	74	Mike Harmon	Woobies Shoes Chevrolet	272	0	0	8	Running
30	6	7	Justin Allgaier	ARMOUR Vienna Sausage Chevrolet	227	1	1	27	Accident
31	17	90	Alex Labbe	Auto Credit Nation/Auto-National.com Chevrolet	193	0	0	6	Rear Gear
32	36	1	Stephen Leicht	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	190	0	0	5	Radiator
33	12	4	Ross Chastain	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	41	0	0	4	Accident
34	37	38	Jeff Green	RSS Racing Chevrolet	40	0	0	3	Accident
35	33	89	Morgan Shepherd	Visone RV Chevrolet	13	0	0	2	Water Pump
36	29	93	Josh Bilicki	RSS Racing Chevrolet	12	0	0	1	Ignition
37	35	13	John Jackson	Street Toys/CrashClaimsR.US Toyota	9	0	0	1	Suspension

April 6, 2019

Weekend Schedule for Bristol

After heading back to a mile and half race track in Texas Motor Speedway, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFinity Series are back at a short track as Bristol Motor Speedway will host this weekend’s Alsco 300 and Food City 500. Here is how you can watch all of the action, below.

Friday, April 5th:
1:35-2:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1
5:05-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1
6:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, FS1

Friday, April 5th:
1:35-2:35 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NASCAR.com/Live
3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1
5:05-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1
6:10 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, FS1/PRN

Saturday, April 6th
8:30-9:25 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series second practice, FS1
9:40 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1
11:05-11:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1
1 pm.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 (300 laps, 159.9 miles), FS1/PRN

Sunday, April 7th
2:00 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 (500 laps, 266.5 miles), FS1/PRN

April 4, 2019

Kyle Busch scores 95th Xfinity Series win at Texas

Kyle Busch continues to stretch his record with the most Xfinity Series wins as he raced to victory in the My Bariatrics Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. The win was his 95th in the series and 203rd national event win overall. Busch also won the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Vankor 350 the night before.

“Not taking any tires certainly [helped us],” said Busch, from Victory Lane. “We jumped the field there and I was worried about the restart because I didn’t think there was gonna be enough room.

“This car certainly had the grip…it was really fast in the long run, just couldn’t get people away from me on the front side of the run to settle into my rhythm and go, and every time I got up to the outside people would drive by me on the bottom.”

Tyler Reddick took second-place ahead of Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell, who dominated the event, winning the pole and leading 128 laps.

“He (Busch) wasn’t better than us anywhere,” said Bell. “He just had track position there. We were starting to struggle and when they said we were going to put two tires on I was all for it, but I didn’t get any better and those guys didn’t slow down.

“We’re in the Dash 4 Cash and that’s pretty cool, our goal was to make sure we were in the top four Xfinity guys. It’s extremely frustrating to lose one like that, but I’m proud of this team and this Supra was pretty fast and the class of the field.”

Chase Briscoe was the highest finishing Ford in fourth, while Jeb Burton finished fifth in his first XFINITY start of the season. Michael Annett finished sixth, and Justin Haley, Jeffrey Earnhardt, John Hunter Nemechek, and Stage 2 winner Ryan Sieg rounded out the top-10.

The next race will be April 6, 2019 at Bristol Motor Speedway as the Alsco 300 will be the first Dash 4 Cash event of 2019.

Xfinity Series Race Number 6
Race Results for the 23rd Annual My Bariatric Solutions 300 – Saturday, March 30, 2019
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX – 1.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 300. Miles

Fin	Str	No	Driver	Team	Laps	S1Pos	S2Pos	Pts	Status
1	5	18	Kyle Busch(i)	iK9 Toyota	200	2	4	0	Running
2	3	2	Tyler Reddick	Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevrolet	200	6	3	48	Running
3	1	20	Christopher Bell	Ruud Toyota	200	1	5	50	Running
4	15	98	Chase Briscoe #	Nutri Chomps Ford	200	0	0	33	Running
5	6	8	Jeb Burton	State Water Heaters Chevrolet	200	0	7	36	Running
6	13	1	Michael Annett	Pilot Flying J Chevrolet	200	0	0	31	Running
7	11	11	Justin Haley #	LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet	200	0	9	32	Running
8	14	81	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Xtreme Racing Toyota	200	0	0	29	Running
9	8	23	John Hunter Nemechek #	Romco Equipment Co. Chevrolet	200	9	0	30	Running
10	19	39	Ryan Sieg	CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet	200	0	1	37	Running
11	9	22	Austin Cindric #	MoneyLion Ford	200	7	0	30	Running
12	4	7	Justin Allgaier	Cessna Chevrolet	200	3	0	33	Running
13	16	9	Noah Gragson #	Switch Chevrolet	200	10	6	30	Running
14	22	36	Josh Williams	Simcraft Chevrolet	200	0	0	23	Running
15	23	90	Ronnie Bassett Jr	Bassett Gutters and More Chevrolet	199	0	0	22	Running
16	18	4	Ross Chastain	Swan/Perpetua Advisors Chevrolet	199	0	2	30	Running
17	21	86	Brandon Brown #	Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet	199	0	0	20	Running
18	12	21	Kaz Grala	HotScream Chevrolet	198	0	0	19	Running
19	24	99	Tommy Joe Martins	Diamond Gusset Jeans Toyota	198	0	0	18	Running
20	31	52	David Starr	Whataburger Chevrolet	198	0	0	17	Running
21	20	8	Gray Gaulding(i)	GGPure.com/Flywheel Chevrolet	198	0	0	16	Running
22	30	1	Stephen Leicht	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	198	0	0	15	Running
23	35	42	Chad Finchum	Amana Toyota	197	0	0	14	Running
24	37	35	Joey Gase	Donate Life Louisiana Toyota	196	0	0	13	Running
25	34	78	Vinnie Miller	Koolbox Chevrolet	196	0	0	12	Running
26	17	51	Jeremy Clements	RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet	196	0	0	11	Running
27	29	5	Matt Mills	J.F. Electric Chevrolet	194	0	0	10	Running
28	33	66	Tyler Hill(i)	Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit Toyota	191	0	0	0	Running
29	36	74	Mike Harmon	Woobies Shoes Chevrolet	189	0	0	8	Running
30	26	93	Josh Bilicki	The BOSS/Woodshed Chevrolet	184	0	0	7	Running
31	38	0	Garrett Smithley	Trophy Tractor Chevrolet	160	0	0	6	Engine
32	28	15	BJ McLeod	teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet	138	0	0	5	Running
33	2	19	Brandon Jones	jdgibbslegacy.com Toyota	133	5	10	11	Accident
34	7	0	Cole Custer	Jacob Companies Ford	132	4	8	13	Accident
35	25	7	Ray Black II	ISOKERN Scuba Life Chevrolet	79	0	0	2	Accident
36	10	12	Brad Keselowski(i)	Pirtek Ford	68	8	0	0	Accident
37	32	13	Timmy Hill	Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit Toyota	20	0	0	1	Brakes
38	27	38	Jeff Green	RSS Racing Chevrolet	16	0	0	1	Brakes

March 30, 2019

Weekend Schedule for Texas

For the first time since Las Vegas in mid-March, all three of NASCAR’s main series will be together and in action as the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, XFinity Series and the Monster Energy Cup Series will be taking to the fast 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Here is how you can watch all of the action unfold.

Note: All times are ET

Thursday, March 28th
4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series first practice (NO TV)
6:05 p.m. – 6:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series final practice (NO TV)

Friday, March 29th
3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1
4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1
5:10 p.m. Gander Outdoors Truck Series Pole Qualifying (Single Vehicle/Two Rounds), FS1
6:35 p.m. – 7:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1
7:40 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pole Qualifying, FS1
9 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Vankor 350 (Stages 35/70/147 Laps = 220.5 MILES), FS1

Saturday, March 30th
9:05 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1
10:10 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1
11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1
1 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series My Bariatric Solutions 300 (STAGES 45/90/200 laps, 300 miles), FS1, PRN

Sunday, April 8
3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 (85/170/334 laps, 501 miles), FOX, PRN

March 28, 2019
Cole Custer brings the win home at Auto Club Speedway

The NASCAR Xfinity Series raced at the Auto Club Speedway for the Production Alliance Group 300 today, where Cole Custer denied Kyle Busch his 200th win.

Custer, driving No. 00 Stewart-Haas Ford captured his third career win on his home track. Busch driving his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led the most laps, 98 of 150, finishing in the runner up spot. A Cup driver has won the last 23 races at this track.

“Just a great job overall,” Custer replied. “I’m pumped. I’ve never won this early in the season so it’s going to be a little bit more relaxed than in past years.”

Busch who had hoped to tie Richard Petty’s record of 200 wins will get another chance at the milestone tomorrow.

“We had a lack of grip there at the end, we just didn’t have the speed we needed with the No. 00,” Busch commented. “It is what it is I guess. Our Supra was fast, just not enough there at the end.”

Stage 1 started with Reddick and Busch on the front battling for the early lead. Busch grabbed the lead early on and didn’t look back. There was one incident when John Hunter Nemechek brushed the wall, but it didn’t bring out the caution. Busch won the stage handily leading 25 of the 35 laps.

Stage 2 started with Busch beating everyone out of the pits to start in the top spot. The stage went caution free even though Justin Allgaier scraped the wall. It was all about Busch though as he led every lap and won the stage. Reddick was the only driver with a shot at the lead, but he couldn’t catch Busch.

The final stage started with Busch keeping his lead position, once again beating everyone out of the pits. The first caution of the day was when John Hunter Nemechek received a tap from Ryan Sieg and hit the inside wall hard. Cole Custer took the top spot for a few laps but Busch regained the lead without contention.

The spinning car of Austin Cindric brought out the second caution. Busch had problems in his pit losing the lead to Christopher Bell for the start and getting an uncontrolled tire penalty. The third caution came when Brandon Jones spun and tapped Ryan Preece spinning him as well. Custer passed Bell quickly for the lead and didn’t look back. Busch managed to overcome his bad pit stop for second place and tried every line on the track to gain speed, but Custer had a nice cushion and took the win.

Bell, Reddick, and Chase Briscoe all had great runs today and would round out the top five. Cindric, Brandon Jones, Ryan Preece, Justin Allgaier, and Justin Haley finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

Reddick leads the Xfinity Series standings with 220 points, Custer is second with 213 points, Bell is third with 206 points, Brandon Jones is fourth with 183 points, and rounding out the top five is Cindric with 179 points.

The Xfinity Series will head next to Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 30.

March 16, 2019
Weekend schedule for Auto Club Speedway
This weekend NASCAR heads to Auto Club Speedway for the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 and the Monster Energy Cup Series Auto Club 400. The Gander Outdoors Truck Series is off.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, March 15
1:05 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice – Watch live on NASCAR.com
2:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – Watch live on NASCAR.com
4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – FS1
5:40: Cup Series Qualifying (Multi-Vehicle-3 Rounds) – FS1/MRN

Saturday, March 16
12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Second Practice – FS1/MRN
1:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Two Rounds) – FS1
3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1/MRN
5 p.m.: .: Production Alliance Group 300 (150 laps, 300 miles) – FS1/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 35), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 70), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 300)
2018 Winner: Joey Logano

Sunday, March 17
3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Auto Club 400 (400 miles, 200 Laps) – FOX/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
2018 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Press Pass – Friday, March, 15:
- 3 p.m.: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney – Watch live
- 6:30 p.m.: Post Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Watch live
Press Pass – Sunday, March 17:
- 6:30 p.m.: Post Auto Club 400 – Watch live
Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.
March 14, 2019
Ryan Truex claims second at ISM Raceway, ties Xfinity career-best finish

Ryan Truex captured second place in Saturday’s Xfinity Series iK9 Service Dog 200 at ISM Raceway, tying his series career best finish.

It was Truex’s debut in the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and his first Xfinity Series start this season. He had a strong showing this weekend, making it to the final round of qualifying to start ninth.

It was an encouraging beginning for the 26-year-old who has struggled to find a top-tier team where he could showcase his talent. In 2018, his first full season in the series, Truex made it through to the Playoffs with Kaulig Racing and finished 12th in the year end standings. But, the two-time K&N Pro Series East champion found himself out of a ride when the team replaced him with Justin Haley for the 2019 season.

Truex took a gamble this year, opting to run a part-time schedule with JR Motorsports rather than opt for a possible full time ride with a less proven team. The down side is that he will have to share driving duties in the No. 8 with Ryan Preece, Jeb Burton, Spencer Gallagher and Zane Smith. His next scheduled race will be at Kentucky Speedway on June 12.

However, it looks as though the gamble is already paying off.

As Truex said regarding his second place finish, “I guess it’s good when you lose to Kyle Busch.”

He also talked about the challenges of racing a part-time schedule.

“Felt good (to get back out there.) I kind of spent the first stage learning. It’s been a while since I’ve been in one of these cars. Well, not a while but it feels like a while. “Took a little bit to get my bearings and we were behind the 8-ball taking off and we were pretty free,” Truex explained. “I’m just proud of the team for being as young of a team as it is and Taylor (Moyer) being a first-time crew chief in these cars to make the right adjustments and we got the right restarts and in the right lanes and the car was just badass.”

But more than anything else, Truex feels like his talent has been validated.

“It’s one thing to say you can do it. It’s one thing for everybody to think you can do it. But to go out and prove it feels really good.”

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

March 9, 2019