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Category: XFINITY Series News

NASCAR XFINITY Series News

  • Chandler Smith scores third Xfinity Series career pole at New Hampshire

    Chandler Smith scores third Xfinity Series career pole at New Hampshire

    Chandler Smith earned the NASCAR Xfinity Series pole Friday afternoon for the Ambetter Health 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in his Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet with a 126.291 mph lap. It was his second consecutive pole, mirroring his effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week and his third Xfinity Series career pole.

    No one was more surprised than Smith who said, “I knew Kaulig Racing brought me a really fast Quick Tie Products Camaro but I thought I did a horrible job on my part.”

    John Hunter Nemechek will start beside Smith on the front row after posting a 126.123 mph lap in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. JR Motorsports had a strong showing with drivers Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones completing the top five starting positions. Cole Custer, Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, Austin Dillon and Sam Mayer rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session.

    During practice on Friday Ryan Sieg lost the brakes in his No. 39 RSS Racing Ford Mustang and crashed into the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota driven by Kaz Grala. As a result, both drivers will go to backup cars and start at the rear of the field.

    “Man, that’s frustrating,“ Grala said after the incident. “That was probably the fastest we’ve unloaded all year.”

    The Xfinity Series Ambetter Health 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is set for 3 p.m. ET Saturday on USA with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup for Xfinity Series Ambetter Health 200

  • NASCAR Xfinity and Truck qualifying rained out at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    NASCAR Xfinity and Truck qualifying rained out at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series qualifying sessions originally scheduled for Friday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway were canceled due to rain.

    The starting lineups were set by performance metrics outlined in the NASCAR Rule Book. It is comprised of 25% driver finish at previous race, 25% owner finish at previous race, 35% owner points and 15% fastest lap ranking in the previous race.

    Craftsman Truck Series points leader Zane Smith will start on the pole for the Fr8 208 in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith, who won his first race at Phoenix Raceway last week, will lead the field to green in the No. 18 Toyota for the Xfinity RAPTOR Tough 250 Saturday evening at 5 p.m. ET. It will be televised on FS1 with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineups:

    https://www.nascar.com/results/racecenter/2023/nascar-craftsman-truck-series/fr8-208/stn/lineup/

    https://www.nascar.com/results/racecenter/2023/nascar-xfinity-series/raptor-king-of-tough-250/stn/lineup/

  • Jeffrey Earnhardt Joins Alpha Prime Racing Full-Time In 2023

    Jeffrey Earnhardt Joins Alpha Prime Racing Full-Time In 2023

    MOORESVILLE, N.C

    Alpha Prime Racing is excited to announce that Jeffrey Earnhardt will be racing full-time in the number 44 Chevrolet Camaro during the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    “We’re so excited to have Jeffrey with us next season,” APR President Tommy Joe Martins said. “Jeffrey has been a competitor and a friend to me for a few years now. When Caesar and I started this team last year, we both talked about having Jeffrey at the top of our roster – so to see this all come together for 2023, he and I both feel like we finally got our guy.”

    The 4th generation Earnhardt driver has competed at all three levels of NASCAR’s top series and is ready to return to the Chevrolet family and Alpha Prime Racing full-time next season.

    “I’m really pumped this came together with Tommy and Caesar,” said Jeffrey. “We were evaluating different options and after speaking with them we knew this would be the perfect fit. They are making major moves to strengthen their program and they made me feel welcomed. I’m fortunate to have my sponsors from last season continuing their support and we’ve got some new partners onboard. I’m looking forward to putting on that bowtie and leading this team to their first victory next season.”

    A major cornerstone for Earnhardt has been his sponsor ForeverLawn. They’re returning for multiple races in 2023 and CEO Dale Karmie is enthusiastic about the future.

    “We are thrilled that Jeffrey Earnhardt will be back in the Black and Green Grass Machine in 2023” commented Karmie. “Jeffrey is a great driver, we just need to get him on the track more. We can’t wait to see what this year brings. We are blessed to have such great partners whose support continues to make this possible. We are also excited to continue bringing the message of hope from Pastor Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries. We’ll see you out on the track!”

    The value of a competitive Earnhardt was demonstrated during his Talladega race this past season. Winning the pole and missing victory lane by one position, Jeffrey Earnhardt enjoyed the most viewed NASCAR Xfinity Series race in the past 5 years. With ECR power plants and confident leadership, Jeffrey and Alpha Prime Racing are eager to get to Daytona.

  • Noah Gragson Returns to JR Motorsports for 2022

    Noah Gragson Returns to JR Motorsports for 2022

    Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber® Camo, Black Rifle Coffee Back as Partners

    MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 31, 2021) – Noah Gragson, a two-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, will contest the 2022 NXS season with JRM, the team announced today. It marks the third straight season for the driver with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s organization. Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber® Camo and Black Rifle Coffee will return to back the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for the third straight season.

    Gragson, 23, a native of Las Vegas, has made 89 starts with JRM since the 2019 season, his first full-time foray in the series. Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber® Camo and Black Rifle Coffee have supported Gragson in 44 of those starts since 2020. The first start with the driver-sponsor combination, at Daytona International Speedway in 2020’s season opener, resulted in Gragson’s first career series victory.

    “Johnny Morris believed in me enough to put Bass Pro Shops on my car to start the 2020 season, and it paid off with victory the first time out,” Gragson said. “It was special to stand in Victory Lane at Daytona with Johnny right beside me. Bass Pro Shops, Rusty Sellers at TrueTimber and Evan and Mat at Black Rifle Coffee Company have been fantastic to work with. We still have a lot to accomplish this season but I’m looking forward to battling for a series championship again in 2022.”

    During his career at JRM, Gragson won at Daytona in 2020 and again that same season at Bristol Motor Speedway. The young driver has amassed 34 top-five and 61 top-10 finishes in that span and has made the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team.

    Gragson currently sits eighth in NXS points with three races remaining in the regular season, firmly inside the playoff field. So far this season, Gragson has earned eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, with his best result a second-place finish at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April. Gragson also won three of the four Xfinity Dash 4 Cash payouts this season, pushing his career total to four after taking the $100,000 bonus at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2020. JRM has won 17 of the bonus prizes over its history.

    Additional details surrounding Gragson’s paint scheme will be announced at a later date.

    ABOUT JR MOTORSPORTS:
    JR Motorsports is the racing operation co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. Now in its 20th year of overall competition, JR Motorsports competes in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it currently fields four full-time teams and earned championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also races in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional Late Model divisions and added a prized national title in 2020. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.

  • NASCAR postpones Xfinity summer event at Daytona

    NASCAR postpones Xfinity summer event at Daytona

    The Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway has been postponed to Saturday, August 28, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN due to persistent rain that halted and prevented its completion on Friday, August 27.

    The 250-mile event at Daytona, which serves as the 23rd event of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, had completed 19 of 100 scheduled laps and was under its competition caution scheduled on Lap 15 when persistent rain made its way to the superspeedway venue. After the field was brought down to pit road, the race was red-flagged for more than an hour before NASCAR made the decision to postpone the event by a day as the rain continued to fall and persist on Friday evening.

    At the time of the race’s postponement, AJ Allmendinger, who started on pole position and who won last weekend’s Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway, was the leader followed by Christopher Bell, Myatt Snider, Austin Cindric and Brett Moffitt. Rounding out the top 10 were Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, Jeremy Clements and Caesar Bacarella.

    In addition, Brandon Jones was the only competitor to be eliminated from the event due to early engine issues.

    The Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway will return to action on Saturday, August 28, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • JR Motorsports wins appeal; Gragson’s finish and Dash 4 Cash bonus reinstated

    JR Motorsports wins appeal; Gragson’s finish and Dash 4 Cash bonus reinstated

    The penalties assessed on JR Motorsport’s No. 9 team after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway, have been rescinded.

    National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, Roger Werner, heard the appeal Wednesday, overturning the penalties and reaffirming Noah Gragson’s fourth place result. He will receive the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for scoring the highest finish among the eligible drivers at Darlington.

    The penalties were a result of the post-race inspection of the No. 9 Chevrolet where it was determined that the team had violated Rule 20.14.c in the NASCAR Rule Book. The rule states that “all suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension and/or drivetrain component beyond normal rotation or suspension and/or drivetrain travel.”

    Gragson has won all three of the previous Dash 4 Cash prizes at Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway and will now be eligible for the final Dash 4 Cash Xfinity Series race this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

    Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry and Brandon Jones will join Gragson at Dover to compete for the Dash 4 Cash prize Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Drydene 200.

  • JR Motorsports will appeal Darlington penalty on No. 9 team

    JR Motorsports will appeal Darlington penalty on No. 9 team

    JR Motorsports confirmed Monday that they will appeal the penalty assessed against Noah Gragson and the No. 9 team after Saturday’s Xfinity Series Steakhouse Elite 200 race at Darlington Raceway.

    During the post-race inspection of the No. 9 Chevrolet, it was determined that the team had violated Rule 20.14.c in the NASCAR Rule Book.

    The rule states that “all suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension and/or drivetrain component beyond normal rotation or suspension and/or drivetrain travel.”

    Gragson was originally scored in fourth at the end of the race but after the penalty, he was relegated to a 40th place finish and stripped of the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus for being the highest-finishing eligible driver.

    If the penalty is upheld, Gragson, who has already won two of the four events in the program, will not be able to compete for the prize at Dover International Speedway this weekend.

  • Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Coming off an historic debut and victory at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Ty Gibbs will return for an additional 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races throughout the 2021 season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    The 18-year-old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner, Joe Gibbs, from Charlotte, North Carolina, will make his second career start in the Xfinity circuit at Phoenix Raceway on March 13.

    He will then compete at Martinsville Speedway on April 9 followed by Darlington Raceway on May 8, Dover International Speedway on May 15, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 5, Pocono Raceway on June 27, Road America on July 3, Watkins Glen International on August 7, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 14, Michigan International Speedway on August 21 and at Richmond Raceway on September 11. During the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs, he will also compete at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on October 9 and at Kansas Speedway on October 23.

    JGR took to social media to reveal the announcement and Ty Gibbs’ schedule.

    With Gibbs’ full part-time Xfinity schedule revealed, he will also continue to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra led by crew chief Chris Gayle.

    Gibbs made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, where he led 14 laps and outlasted the field through two overtime attempts to record his first victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series. By winning at Daytona in his debut, he became the sixth competitor to win in their series debut but the first to do so without a prior Cup start. He also became the 165 different competitor to record an Xfinity Series win and the 18th to do so while driving for his grandfather’s organization.

    In addition to a part-time Xfinity schedule, Gibbs currently competes as a full-time competitor in the ARCA Menards Series for JGR and in the No. 18 Toyota Camry led by crew chief Mark McFarland.

    With Gibbs’ next event on the schedule at Phoenix in March, Ty Dillon will return for the following two NASCAR Xfinity Series races with JGR at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 27 and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6.

  • Ty Gibbs nabs his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

    Ty Gibbs nabs his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series held the Super Start Batteries 188 At Daytona Presented by O’Reilly Saturday for some road course racing. It was an extremely exciting race, and one driver got his first win in his first-ever Xfinity Series start. That driver was 18-years-old Ty Gibbs in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    “You know, can’t thank everyone right now. This is like a dream come true for me.” Gibbs said, “I can’t do burnouts, that’s one thing I cannot do at all.” An emotional Gibbs added, “This is just a dream come true to me. I really didn’t think I had it there. Kind of fought back and won.”

    Austin Cindric tangled with A.J. Allmendinger in the first stage and it looked like he wasn’t going to be a front runner. Cindric managed to fight back and bring his No. 22 Penske Racing Ford home in second place. He was hoping for a win for his team owner Roger Penske’s 84th birthday.

    Cindric stated, “Obviously I don’t want to be racing to a stage that aggressively. I’d love to see the replay on that. Congrats to Ty.”

    Coming in third was Daniel Hemric who was up in the mix of things the whole race, but couldn’t catch Gibbs and Cindric.

    Stage 1:

    Stage 1 only had one caution and that was for fluid on the track. The excitement was at the end when Allmendinger and Cindric got together coming to caution. Cindric held on to win the stage.

    Stage 2:

    Stage 2 started with Harrison Burton at the lead but six laps later Gibbs would take the top spot away. There were no cautions in this stage and Gibbs took the stage win easily.

    Stage 3:

    Stage 3 had Hemric, Gibbs and Cindric vying for the top spot. There were a couple of cautions that slowed the race some but nothing too serious. Restarts were the most interesting having cars spin off the track and back on. There were two NASCAR overtimes due to spinning cars. In the end, no one could touch Gibbs, giving him his first win in his first-ever Xfinity race. That is quite an accomplishment.

    Brandon Jones and Jeb Burton would round out the top five. Harrison Burton, Miguel Paludo, Brandon Brown, Justin Haley, and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10, respectively.

    Cindric leads the Xfinity Series standings with 105 points. Harrison Burton is in second with 81 points, Hemric is third with 75 points, fourth is Brandon Brown with 72 points and rounding out the top five is Myatt Snider with 69 points.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head next to Homestead Speedway on Feb. 27.

    Official Results:
    1. Ty Gibbs
    2. Austin Cindric
    3. Daniel Hemric
    4. Brandon Jones
    5. Jeb Burton
    6. Harrison Burton
    7. Miguel Paludo
    8. Brandon Brown
    9. Justin Haley
    10. Jeremy Clements
    11. Brett Moffitt
    12. Landon Cassill
    13. Myatt Snider
    14. Jesse Little
    15. Michael Annett
    16. Kyle Weatherman
    17. Josh Williams
    18. Kris Wright
    19. Matt Mills
    20. Joe Graf Jr.
    21. Gray Gaulding
    22. Alex Labbe
    23. Colby Howard
    24. Tommy Joe Martins
    25. Cody Ware
    26. Justin Allgaier
    27. Ryan Sieg
    28. Noah Gragson
    29. Stephen Leicht
    30. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    31. Andy Lally
    32. Bayley Currey
    33. Preston Pardus.- Transmission
    34. Timmy Hill
    35. AJ Allmendinger
    36. Jade Buford – Suspension
    37. Ryan Vargas
    38. David Starr – Transmission
    39. Riley Herbst – Accident
    40. Natalie Decker – Accident


  • Nemechek joins Sam Hunt Racing for part-time Xfinity campaign

    Nemechek joins Sam Hunt Racing for part-time Xfinity campaign

    Sam Hunt Racing announced that John Hunter Nemechek will be competing in select NASCAR Xfinity Series races for the organization this season, beginning at Dover International Speedway in May.

    The 23-year-old native from Mooresville, North Carolina, is currently competing on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He is coming off a seventh-place result in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway.

    Nemechek, the son of NASCAR veteran Joe Nemechek, will be making his first start in the Xfinity Series since 2019, where he competed as a full-time competitor for GMS Racing. Through 51 career starts in the Xfinity Series, he has recorded one victory, which occurred at Kansas Speedway in October 2018 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has also recorded a pole, 12 top-five results and 30 top-10 results. He made the Xfinity Playoffs in 2019 and went on to finish in seventh place in the final standings.

    “I’m so excited for the opportunity to be able to run some races for [team owner] Sam Hunt,” Nemechek said. “It’s awesome to see what he’s done in such a short time, being such a young team owner in the sport. I think my experience and this team can accomplish a lot and I’m excited to see what happens! I can’t thank Sam, Toyota, and all of our partners enough for this opportunity and helping us put this together.”

    Sam Hunt Racing, which started as DRIVE Technology and competed in several seasons in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, made its first appearance in the Xfinity Series in the 2019 season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Colin Garrett behind the wheel of the team’s No. 26 Toyota and Brian Keselowski serving as crew chief. Starting 15th, Garrett went on to finish 21st of the 38-car field.

    In 2020, SHR moved up to the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis, fielding the No. 26 Toyota Supra. Garrett returned and competed in five Xfinity races for the team, Brandon Gdovic competed in two and Mason Diaz campaigned in the final two races of the season. The team’s best results were 12th place with Gdovic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and 14th with Garrett at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the series’ doubleheader feature in Miami.

    This season, SHR is coming off its first top-10 career result in the Xfinity Series, which was an eighth-place result in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway accomplished by Gdovic.

    Nemechek is set to join names like Gdovic, Kris Wright and Santino Ferrucci as competitors slated to drive for SHR throughout this year’s Xfinity Series season.

    “I’m excited to have John Hunter come back to his roots and drive for our young team in 2021,” Hunt added. “He’s always been a mutual friend of mine, always been extremely friendly, and has always shown that he can maximize his equipment and represent his sponsors. Working with so many rookies this year, his experience and feedback will be invaluable to our program’s growth. I know he can help us just as much as we can help him, and I think it’s cool to see a guy like him so excited about joining our small team with intentions to improve it as a whole. The entire shop is extremely excited about it and I know he’ll be able to help us improve our cars throughout the year.”

    With Nemechek’s return to the series three months away, Sam Hunt Racing is set to compete in the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course with Kris Wright. The event will occur on Saturday, February 20, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.