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NASCAR XFINITY Series News

Harrison Burton storms to an upset win at Homestead

In a thrilling two-lap shootout, Harrison Burton overtook Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric with a three-wide pass to win the Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career and the second this season. With his second win coming in his 18th series start, Burton became the third Xfinity competitor to notch multiple victories this season as Joe Gibbs Racing claimed its fourth series win of the 2020 season. In addition, Burton became the 20th different driver to win an Xfinity event at Homestead in Miami, a list that includes his father, Jeff.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Burton drew the pole position for the second time in the last three Xfinity races and was joined on the front row by Gragson.

During the pace laps, a piece of ballast fell off of Chase Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford Mustang and NASCAR called Briscoe to pit road, where his crew went to work to complete the repairs needed for the fallen part along with changing a right-rear tire. Briscoe was unable to return to the track in time to take the green flag with the field. By the time he returned to the track, he was in 36th, six laps behind the leaders. To make matters worse, he was also assessed a pass-through penalty for having too many crew members over the pit wall.

When the green flag dropped, Gragson, who started on the inside lane, jumped to the lead followed by Ross Chastain as Burton was shuffled back to third. For the opening 10 laps, Gragson maintained a half-second advantage over Chastain, but on Lap 14, Chastain was able to cut the deficit to nearly a tenth of a second. Though he was able to draw himself to the rear bumper of Gragson through the corners, he was unable to navigate his way around for the lead entering the straightaways.

The competition caution flew on Lap 20 as Gragson maintained the lead by nearly two seconds over Chastain. At the time of caution, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley, who started ninth and 10th, were in third and fourth while Burton was back to fifth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in seventh after starting 12th, Jeremy Clements was in 10th after starting 23rd and Anthony Alfredo was in 13th after starting 21st. Under caution, the majority of the front runners remained on track while Ryan Sieg led a bevy of competitors to pit road for early adjustments. Following the pit stops, Timmy Hill was assessed a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation.

When the race returned to green on Lap 25, Chastain received a bump from Cindric on the bottom lane to take the lead past the start/finish line while Cindric and Gragson battled for the runner-up position. Four laps later, Sieg, who restarted 20th on fresh tires, rocketed his way to the lead and was able to cruise away from Chastain, Cindric and Gragson. Two laps after taking the lead, Sieg was ahead by more than two seconds over Chastain. During this time, Quebec’s Alex Labbe, who pitted with Sieg under the competition caution, worked his way up to fifth and was battling Cindric for more spots while Earnhardt Jr. was in sixth. As the run to the first stage’s conclusion progressed, Kyle Weatherman and Colin Garrett, both of whom also pitted with Sieg under the competition caution, were in eighth and 10th.

The second caution of the race flew on Lap 38 when smoke billowed out of the No. 52 Chevrolet of Kody Vanderwal entering Turn 1. The caution led to the conclusion of the first stage on Lap 40, where Sieg won the stage. Chastain, Gragson, Cindric and Labbe finished in the top five followed by Weatherman, Earnhardt Jr., Haley, Jones and Joe Graf Jr.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field pitted and Gragson exited pit road first followed by Chastain, Cindric, Earnhardt Jr. and Haley while Sieg dropped to sixth. Following the stops, Hill was penalized for another uncontrolled tire violation. During the caution, Briscoe took the wave around and gained some of his fallen laps back, leaving him three laps behind the leaders.

At the start of the second stage on Lap 45, Gragson and Chastain battled against one another through Turn 2 before Chastain slid in front of Gragson to take the lead in Turn 3. A lap later, Cindric took the lead entering Turn 1 while Chastain was locked in a heated battle with Gragson for the runner-up spot. Behind the top three, Earnhardt Jr. and Sieg battled for fourth.

The third caution flew on Lap 57 when Vinnie Miller turned right across the front nose of Brett Moffitt, sending both cars to slap the outside wall in Turn 3. At the time of caution, Cindric was ahead by less than two seconds over Earnhardt Jr., who had passed teammate Gragson and Chastain for position. Under caution, nearly the entire field remained on track, but Justin Allgaier, who was running 10th, was one of four competitors who elected to pit.

On a Lap 62 restart, Chastain muscled his way from the inside lane to reassume the lead, but Cindric pulled a crossover move to remain dead even with Chastain. Behind, Gragson battled Earnhardt Jr. for third. Three laps later, a three-car battle for the lead brewed as Chastain, Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. were separated by less than three-tenths of a second. Two laps later, the three-car battle for the lead became a four-car battle as Gragson caught the front runners and moved into second before settling behind Chastain. On Lap 72, Gragson returned to the lead as he was able to stabilize his advantage above half a second while Earnhardt Jr. was locked in a heated battled with Chastain and Cindric for second. Behind the top four, Jones and Haley started to close within the leaders.

For the final three laps of the second stage, Chastain, Earnhardt Jr. and Cindric used every lane and every groove of the track from the corners and the straightaways to battle one another for second. Their intense battle was all Gragson needed as the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet drove away to win the second stage on Lap 80. Cindric held off Chastain and Earnhardt Jr. to finish second while Jones and Haley finished fifth and sixth. Burton, Alfredo, Sieg and Allgaier finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field pitted and Earnhardt Jr. exited first followed by Chastain and Cindric while Gragson, who had issues exiting his pit stall, fell back to fourth. Following the stops, Riley Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to his crew members jumping over the pit wall too early along with Sieg, who was speeding on pit road. During this time, Briscoe was able to gain another lap from the leaders, which left him one lap behind for the final stage.

When the final stage started with 80 laps remaining, Chastain jumped to the lead on the inside lane and Earnhardt Jr. was quickly overtaken by Jones and Cindric in Turn 1. By Turn 2, he settled in fourth while engaged in a battle with Burton for position. Gragson, who spun his tires at the restart and was nearly turned, was in sixth.

With 73 laps remaining, as the laps continued to dwindle, an intense battle for the lead started brewing once again between Chastain and Cindric. Cindric made a move to lead a lap, but was overtaken by Chastain. Four laps later, Earnhardt Jr. threw himself back into the picture and made it a three-car battle between the trio again.

With 67 to go, Cindric reassumed the lead and was followed by Earnhardt Jr. while Chastain fell to third. Six laps later, Gragson made his way back to second. With 59 to go, Gragson stormed back into the lead followed by Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. while Chastain slipped to fifth behind Burton and in front of Jones. Nine laps later, Gragson extended his advantage to above three seconds over Cindric and nearly six seconds over Earnhardt Jr.

While the battle for the lead settled into a stable lead for Gragson, his teammate, Allgaier, who pitted earlier after making contact with the wall, took his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the garage due to mechanical issues with 48 to go. Two laps later, green-flag pit stops commenced with the leaders making their final planned stop of the day. During the stops, teammates Chastain and Haley served pass-through penalties on pit road due to uncontrolled tire violations, which cost both Kaulig Racing teammates one lap. When the field cycled through the green-flag stops, Sieg was the leader. Because Sieg was initially a lap behind prior to the green-flag pit stops, he needed to pit soon, but he was wanting a caution to cycle back on the lead lap with the field. Gragson was in second followed by Briscoe, who was also on the same strategy play as Sieg. Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. followed in pursuit.

By the time the race was 31 laps away from the finish, Gragson made his way back to the lead after passing Sieg, who would surrender his track position to pit three laps later. Sieg’s moved allowed Earnhardt Jr. to move into second as he was behind Gragson by more than two seconds. Briscoe was still running in sixth.

With 20 to go, Gragson extended his advantage to five seconds over Earnhardt Jr, 10 seconds over Cindric and 11 seconds over Burton. Three laps later, Briscoe surrendered his track position to pit.

With 10 to go, Gragson, who was rim-riding toward the outside wall despite sustaining minimal damage to the right side of his car after making contact with the wall, was ahead by 11 seconds over Earnhardt Jr. Cindric has fallen to fifth and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Burton and Jones move into third and fourth. Three laps later, Gragson’s lead of nearly 13 seconds all but evaporated along with a 75-lap run under green when Sieg spun in Turn 1.

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Gragson retained the lead while Burton moved into second over Earnhardt Jr. Jones exited fourth, but was tabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field.

The green flag returned with two laps remaining and while Gragson received a decent restart to maintain the lead, Burton and Cindric went three-wide with Gragson for the lead in Turn 2. In Turn 3, Cindric slipped beneath Gragson while trying to clear him for the lead, which allowed Burton to race back to the bottom as he, Cindric and Gragson went three wide in Turn 4 for the start of the final lap. Burton then managed to clear Cindric for the lead on the bottom lane through Turns 1 and 2 and hold off Cindric through two final corners to win.

With the win, the 19-year-old rookie from Huntersville, North Carolina, remains the only Xfinity competitor to finish in the top 10 through the series’ first nine races of the 2020 season. He has also finished in the top 10 in his last 11 starts in the series.

“I’m so excited!” Burton exclaimed. “That’s so awesome! I gave away the lead on the first restart in the same position. I didn’t really want to do that again. I knew [Gragson] was gonna drive it real deep and slide up. [I] felt good about that. I’m proud of my guys. We worked on this thing so hard…every run and made it better and better. What a day to get this Dex Imaging Supra in victory lane. What a race. This track is so much fun. [It] Really puts it in the driver’s hands, especially in the end there. I’m just ready to go again tomorrow. I want to get two [wins].”

Cindric finished second for the second time this season followed by Gragson, who led a race-high 83 of the event’s 167-scheduled laps and fell short of another win this season.

“[Today] was tough,” Gragson said. “The PUBG Mobile Camaro was really, really good. Our No. 9 guys at JR Motorsports had really good pit stops all day. Restarts were just the biggest struggle. I was really proud of my restarts last year and just couldn’t get’em going. I thought we were be able to come home with the win today, running the top [lane]. That was so much fun. Just, overall, so thankful to be running here in the Xfinity Series.”

Alfredo notched a career-best finish in fourth and Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in his lone Xfinity Series start of this season. Annett, Briscoe, Jones, Chastain and Herbst finished in the top 10 as 14 competitors finished on the lead lap.

There were 18 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 25 laps.

With his third-place result, Gragson leads the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by 18 points over Briscoe and 36 over Burton.

Results.

1. Harrison Burton, two laps led

2. Austin Cindric, 24 laps led

3. Noah Gragson, 83 laps led, Stage 2 winner

4. Anthony Alfredo

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., four laps led

6. Michael Annett

7. Chase Briscoe

8. Brandon Jones, one lap led

9. Ross Chastain, 26 laps led

10. Riley Herbst

11. J.J. Yeley

12. Jeremy Clements

13. Justin Haley

14. Brandon Brown

15. Myatt Snider, one lap down

16. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

17. Colby Howard, one lap down

18. Jesse Little, one lap down

19. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

20. Josh Williams, one lap down

21. Colin Garrett, one lap down

22. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

24. Bayley Currey, two laps down

25. Alex Labbe, two laps down

26. B.J. McLeod, two laps down

27. Matt Mills, two laps down

28. Ryan Sieg, two laps down, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

29. Caesar Bacarella, four laps down

30. Chad Finchum – OUT, Power steering

31. Tommy Joe Martins, 19 laps down

32. Justin Allgaier, 21 laps down

33. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Transmission

34. Vinnie Miller – OUT, DVP

35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Crash

36. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Handling

37. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Engine

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return for its second race of a doubleheader weekend at Homestead the following day, June 14. The race will air at noon ET on FS1.

June 13, 2020
Snider to compete rest of 2020 Xfinity Series season full-time

Eight races into the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Myatt Snider will compete on a full-time basis in the series for the rest of this season while splitting driving responsibilities between the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing and the No. 93 Chevrolet Camaro for RSS Racing.

The 25-year-old native from Charlotte, North Carolina, was originally slated to compete in seven Xfinity races with RCR and multiple races with RSS Racing, totaling 20 races. With the announcement of his full-time campaign, Snider will return for this weekend’s doubleheader feature at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 13-14. He will compete in all but three Xfinity races for RSS Racing for the remainder of this season as he will drive for RCR at Pocono Raceway on June 28 and the final two series races of the season at Martinsville Speedway on October 31 and at Phoenix Raceway on November 7.

Snider’s announcement will make him eligible for the post-season championship battle in the series since he has started in every scheduled race through June 6.

Snider has spent the last four years working his way through the ranks of NASCAR from the ARCA Menards Series to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. He scored his first ARCA career win at Toledo Speedway while driving for Cunningham Motorsports in 2016 before competing on a part-time basis with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2017 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series season. In 2018, he competed on a full-time basis in the Truck Series for ThorSport Racing, where he earned eight top-10 finishes, finished ninth in the final standings and claimed the Rookie of the Year title. Last season, he embarked to Europe to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – ELITE 2 Division for Engineering Racing. In 13 races, Snider finished in the top 10 in all but two races, including two runner-up results, and settled in sixth in the final standings before returning to the United States of America.

In his first eight Xfinity Series races this season, Snider has recorded one career pole, coming from the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway in February, and has finished in the top 10 twice, (10th at Charlotte and a career-best fifth at Bristol while driving for RCR). His best result with RSS Racing has been an 11th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in February.

The first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will air on June 13 at 3:30 p.m. on FOX while the second will air the following day, June 14, at noon ET on FS1.

June 12, 2020
Joe Graf Jr. and Bucked Up Energy agree to multi-year deal

MOORESVILLE, N.C.: Bucked Up Energy and Joe Graf Jr. (@joegrafjr) jointly announced today a new multi-year, multi-race campaign in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition beginning with Saturday afternoon’s Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

“We are super excited to join forces with Joe Graf and also excited about getting our foot in the door with NASCAR,” said Bucked Up Energy CEO Ryan Gardner. “The sport and the fans are incredible and can’t wait to see what happens next. #GETBUCKEDUP!”

Graf will make his Homestead-Miami Speedway debut this weekend on the heels of a career-best NASCAR Xfinity Series finish with SS GreenLight Racing at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway earlier this month.

“I’m super pumped to bring Bucked Up Energy as new sponsor to NASCAR. I have been using their workout supplements for a long time and they are awesome.

“When I learned they were launching an energy drink, I pitched them on NASCAR being the perfect platform for their products,” said Graf.

“It’s a new product with a lot of potential and a drink that I feel resonates with the NASCAR fanbase.

“I’m looking forward to debuting our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet Camaro on the track and look forward to a great relationship with Ryan and the rest of the Bucked Up team.”

Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all, delivers long-lasting energy.

Without the CRASH.

The “other guys” still think energy is all about short bursts of production — hence why they market to extreme athletes. We’re not them, though. Like you, we need more than something that spikes our energy for a single event before sending us crashing.

Bucked Up Energy boasts 300mg of caffeine as well as two added stimulants. This trifecta works synergistically to keep you going all day.

On top of that, we added Beta-Alanine; this powerhouse ingredient delivers a faint tingle, signaling that it’s time to work — and earn success.

Bucked Up will be featured on Graf’s No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet Camaro throughout the remainder of the 2020 Xfinity Series season, including this weekend’s Homestead double-header.

Graf Jr., 21, graduated to the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2020 after spending the last two seasons in the ARCA Menards Series for Chad Bryant Racing. In 39 races, Graf earned seven top-five and 21 top-10 finishes including his first career series victory at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway.
He finished a career-high fifth in the championship standings in 2019.

Additionally, last season, Graf made three Xfinity Series starts for Richard Childress Racing as well as serving as marketing and communications intern through New York University, a role that he will continue in 2020.

For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com., like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).

For more on Bucked Up Energy visit BuckedUp.com/Energy.
About Bucked Up Energy:

Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all, delivers long-lasting energy.

Without the CRASH.

The “other guys” still think energy is all about short bursts of production — hence why they market to extreme athletes. We’re not them, though. Like you, we need more than something that spikes our energy for a single event before sending us crashing. That’s fine for someone who only needs maximum output up for a couple hours…

That’s a cute fantasy and all, but this is the 21st century. We work 12-hour days, run side businesses, and binge new series. We can’t afford to invest in an energy drink that only fuels (max) five hours of production. We need more.

Since the other energy drinks weren’t up to the job, we did what any self-respecting capitalist company would do; we found the need and filled it. We did it for you, but we also did it for ourselves. Because if there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that success requires production, and to produce requires hard work, focus, and often long hours.

Bucked Up Energy boasts 300mg of caffeine as well as two added stimulants. This trifecta works synergistically to keep you going all day.

On top of that, we added Beta-Alanine; this powerhouse ingredient delivers a faint tingle, signaling that it’s time to work — and earn success.

We want that success. Don’t you?

Get Bucked Up.

June 12, 2020
AJ Allmendinger earns first career NASCAR oval victory in EchoPark 250
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. (June 6, 2020) — NASCAR veteran AJ Allmendinger bested a field of the sport’s best young talents leading the final 37 laps of Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Making the run more impressive, Allmendinger rallied from a 30th place starting position.

Noah Gragson, last week’s Bristol race winner, finished runner-up by 1.858-seconds but it was still good enough to earn the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 money bonus given by series sponsor Xfinity. Next week Allmendinger, Gragson, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric – the second through fourth place finishers – will be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash prize money.

“Oh my God, I won on an oval baby,’’ a grinning Allmendinger exclaimed after climbing out of his winning No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet – referring to his previous three NASCAR wins on road courses.

Yes the 38-year old Allmendinger won, and he did so convincingly; pulling away from the field in the last laps, competition that included Harrison Burton, a highly-motivated Justin Allgaier, another of Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammates Ross Chastain, Brandon Jones, Chase Briscoe and Anthony Alfredo who rounded out the Top-10.

The Top-10 work was some solace to Allgaier and Briscoe who were two of the strongest cars all afternoon. Briscoe led 40 laps and Allgaier ran consistently in the Top-5 – but were both penalized for speeding on pit road on a final stop with 39 laps remaining. They came out of the pits first (Briscoe) and second (Allgaier) before getting news of the penalty which dropped them to 25th and 27th – – respectively, for that restart.

Allmendinger had come out of the pits third, so he inherited the lead and never looked back.

“I just felt like we needed track position the whole time so once we go that lead it was about getting a good re-start,’’ he said adding, “Had to kind of pace myself and the last 15 laps beg for no yellows.’’

A former IndyCar Series champion contender Allmendinger was highly regarded for his road course skills when he came to NASCAR. He earned his only NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2014 on the Watkins Glen road course and had three previous Xfinity Series wins – on road courses at Road America, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Charlotte ROVAL.

“I just wanted to win on an oval,’’ Allmendinger said. “There were definitely several opportunities in the Cup car to win on an oval but it never worked out. I wanted to win on an oval that we really had to drive and get after it. ‘’

Austin Cindric was also penalized for speeding on pit road in that final series of stops. The driver of the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford led a race high 68 laps and looked like the car to beat early – winning both the 1st and 2nd stages – his first of the year. His car was so dominant in the early laps that he won the first stage by nearly 9-seconds over Chastain. He finished 16th.

Briscoe beat Cindric out of the pits during the 2nd Stage break and the two Ford drivers kept one another honest with Chastain right there followed by the JR Motorsports cars driven by Hemric and Allgaier. Hemric’s fourth place finish was his fifth Top-10 in seven races he’s competed in this year for the JR Motorsports team.

It was also a strong consistent day for Allmendinger’s teammates, Haley and Chastain. Haley rebounded for a pit road penalty early in the race to rally to his third-place finishing position. Chastain ran among the Top-10 for most of the day. He finished sixth in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race earlier Saturday afternoon.

The Dash 4 Cash victory for last week’s Bristol winner Gragson was a feel-good ending for the 21-year old who said he ultimately learned a lot racing Allmendinger. The driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet started on pole position and also ran among the Top-10 consistently having to rally from an earlier race penalty as well.

“It’s an incredible opportunity what Xfinity is doing with the Dash 4 Cash program,’’ Gragson said. “It’s quite the privilege and the honor to be able to compete for $100,000.

“We had a good run today. Man, I ate AJ’s bait there at the end. He started saving his tires and thought he had burnt his tires up. Just got beat by his experience. He’s a phenomenal driver.’’

The Xfinity Series championship standings remain unchanged for positions one through six. Briscoe retained his led by four points over Gragson. The rookie Burton is third, 32 points back followed by Allgaier, Chastain and Cindric.

The series next moves to South Florida where the Xfinity Series will have a doubleheader – two 250-mile races at Homestead-Miami Speedway; one on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET) and one on Sunday (noon ET).

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 29th Annual EchoPark 250
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Georgia
Saturday, June 6, 2020
```
               1. (30)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 163.
               2. (1)  Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 163.
               3. (4)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 163.
               4. (2)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 163.
               5. (5)  Harrison Burton #, Toyota, 163.
               6. (3)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 163.
               7. (11)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 163.
               8. (12)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 163.
               9. (9)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 163.
               10. (24)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 163.
               11. (21)  Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 163.
               12. (10)  Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 163.
               13. (20)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 163.
               14. (13)  Brett Moffitt(i), Chevrolet, 163.
               15. (34)  Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 163.
               16. (8)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 163.
               17. (6)  Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 163.
               18. (31)  Bayley Currey(i), Chevrolet, 163.
               19. (32)  Ronnie Bassett Jr, Chevrolet, 162.
               20. (14)  Jesse Little #, Chevrolet, 162.
               21. (16)  Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 162.
               22. (33)  Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 162.
               23. (25)  Mason Massey, Toyota, 162.
               24. (22)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 162.
               25. (17)  BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 162.
               26. (27)  Joe Graf Jr. #, Chevrolet, 162.
               27. (15)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 162.
               28. (23)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 162.
               29. (35)  Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 161.
               30. (26)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 161.
               31. (19)  Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 156.
               32. (28)  Joe Nemechek(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 129.
               33. (29)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Alternator, 87.
               34. (18)  Chad Finchum, Toyota, Suspension, 50.
               35. (7)  Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, Engine, 47.
               36. (37)  Stephen Leicht, Toyota, Clutch, 8.
               37. (36)  Kody Vanderwal #, Chevrolet, Engine, 3.
```
Average Speed of Race Winner: 122.832 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 2 Mins, 37 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.858 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 28 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: N. Gragson 1-5;A. Cindric 6-17;J. Haley 18-25;A. Cindric 26-42;J. Allgaier 43;A. Cindric 44-82;C. Briscoe 83-98;M. Annett 99-101;C. Briscoe 102-125;N. Gragson 126;A. Allmendinger 127-163.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Austin Cindric 3 times for 68 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 40 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 37 laps; Justin Haley 1 time for 8 laps; Noah Gragson 2 times for 6 laps; Michael Annett 1 time for 3 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,10,11,7,8,9,18,98,16,20
Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,98,10,8,16,9,11,7,1,20
June 7, 2020
Allmendinger capitalizes late to win at Atlanta

A.J. Allmendinger seized the opportunity following a late-race pit stop and held off Noah Gragson in the final 34 laps to win the EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in his 18th series start, first of the season and his first on an oval-shaped track. Ironically, Allmendinger’s first Xfinity win at Atlanta came in his first series start at the track.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw and three competitors from JR Motorsports drew the first three starting positions. Noah Gragson, coming off his thrilling win at Bristol Motor Speedway, started on pole position followed by teammates Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier. Following the pre-race inspection, the following teams with drivers Hemric, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements, Tommy Joe Martins and Stephen Leicht lost their pit stall selection for next week’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway for failing the inspection station twice. Martins started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments along with Timmy Hill, who pitted under the pace laps.

When the race started, Gragson paced ahead to lead the opening six laps, but Austin Cindric, who started eighth and was eliminated early in the previous race at Bristol due to a multi-car wreck, used the high lane to move all the way up to second by the second lap and settle behind Gragson. By Lap 6, Cindric, again, used the high lane to his advantage and took the lead in Turn 3 as Gragson slipped. A lap later, Justin Haley moved into second as Gragson battled early loose-handling conditions in his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. By the 10th lap, he had fallen back to fifth as teammates Hemric and Allgaier passed him. Up front, Cindric extended his advantage to over a second over Haley.

In the midst of the battle up front, Ryan Sieg, who started seventh, experienced early mechanical issues as smoke was billowing out of his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet. He would eventually take his car to the garage for repairs.

The first caution of the race flew on Lap 16 when Tommy Joe Martins spun on the backstretch. With the competition caution originally planned for Lap 20, NASCAR deemed the caution for Martins’ spin as the competition caution since the field would pass Lap 20 under yellow. At the time of caution, Chastain, who started 11th, moved up to sixth while Burton, who started fifth, fell back to 10th. Under caution, only a handful of competitors like Cindric and Chase Briscoe pitted. Haley remained on track to inherit the lead followed by Hemric, Allgaier, Gragson and Ross Chastain.

When the race restarted on Lap 21, Haley used the bottom lane to take off with the lead followed by Allgaier and Chastain. Cindric restarted 21st, but bolted his way to fourth in three laps on four fresh tires. By Lap 25, Cindric was in third behind Kaulig Racing’s Haley and Chastain. A lap later, Cindric reassumed the lead.

By Lap 30, Cindric extended his advantage to over three seconds over Chastain and four seconds over Haley. During this time, Briscoe, who pitted with Cindric under competition caution only for adjustments, had made his way only up to 11th. Allmendinger, who started 30th, was in 12th, Anthony Alfredo, who started 24th, was in 14th and Jeremy Clements, who started 20th, was in 11th. Brandon Brown, coming off back-to-back top-10 results at Charlotte and Bristol, was in ninth.

Up front, Cindric remained uncontested and was able to cruise to the Stage 1 win on Lap 40 by over nine seconds over Chastain. With his strong start to the race, Cindric claimed his first stage first victory of the year. Haley finished third followed by Allgaier and Hemric while Gragson, Riley Herbst, Briscoe, Allmendinger and Burton finished in top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Colby Howard inherited the lead after pitting without changing tires. Cindric was the first to exit with four fresh tires followed by Chastain, Briscoe, Haley and Gragson. Following the pit stops, Haley was sent to the rear of the field due to his crew members jumping over the pit wall too soon. A lap later, Howard returned to pit road, giving the lead back to Cindric.

When the second stage started on Lap 47, Cindric received a push from Briscoe to maintain the lead. Chastain retained second as Briscoe battled Gragson for third. By Lap 60, Cindric extended his advantage to three seconds over Chastain. In addition, Haley, who restarted outside the top 25 following his penalty, worked his way back to 15th.

On Lap 65, Hemric, who was running fourth, made contact with a lapped car entering Turn 4, but both cars continued without spinning or drawing out a caution. Behind him, Allmendinger and Allgaier made their way past Gragson for position.

Three laps later, the caution returned when Riley Herbst, who was running in the top 10, spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders remained on track except for Clements, Josh Williams and Jeffrey Earnhardt.

When the race restarted with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Cindric received another bump from Briscoe to retain the lead. This time, Briscoe moved to second and Chastain battled Hemric for third as the competitors behind the leaders started duking for positions and battled three wide through the turns and the straightaways.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, Cindric was the leader as he claimed the stage by half a second over Briscoe and over a second over Chastain. Hemric finished fourth over Allmendinger. Gragson, Haley, Allgaier, Annett and Burton finished in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted. Briscoe exited first followed by Cindric, Chastain, Allgaier and Allmendinger. Following pit stops, Haley was penalized and sent to the rear of the field a second time, this time due to speeding on pit road.

The final stage commenced with 76 laps remaining. On the restart, Briscoe and Cindric engaged in a heated battle for the lead while Allgaier and Chastain battled for third. Behind, Gragson made contact with Burton, which loosened Burton’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up the track as Gragson moved up to eighth. Five laps later, Briscoe extended his lead of over a second over Cindric. Chastain, meanwhile, slipped to fourth.

With 65 to go, caution returned when Josh Williams went for a long slide in Turn 3. He was able to nurse his car back below the apron without receiving any further contact from the field and pit. By then, Haley moved back to 16th following his penalty and Briscoe extended the lead to nearly two seconds over Cindric.

Under caution, the leaders pitted. Briscoe exited first followed by Allgaier, Cindric, Chastain and Brandon Jones. During the pit stops, Gragson was penalized and sent to the rear for driving through too many pit boxes on pit road. His teammate, Michael Annett, remained on track and inherited the lead.

On a restart with 61 to go, Briscoe took off on the inside lane while Annett raced four wide with Chastain, Allgaier and Cindric through Turn 1 before Chastain moved to second followed by Cindric, Allgaier, Jones and Hemric. Annett, who struggled on old tires, fell back like an anchor outside the top 10.

With 40 to go, Briscoe extended his lead to over a second ahead of Cindric and more than three seconds over Chastain and Allgaier. A lap later, the caution returned when Vinnie Miller spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Following pit stops, disaster struck for Briscoe, Allgaier and Cindric as all three were penalized for speeding on pit road. When all three were sent to restart outside the top 20, Allmendinger emerged with the lead alongside Gragson.

The race restarted with 34 to go and Allmendinger took off with the lead followed by Gragson, Haley, Jones and Burton. While Allmendinger retained a steady lead over the field, Gragson and Haley battled for second as Gragson would gain the upper hand. With 20 to go, Allmendinger settled in to lead over a second over Gragson followed by Haley, Burton and Chastain. Allgaier was eighth, Briscoe was 10th and Cindric was 17th as all three were running out of time and laps to make up for their late mistakes on pit road.

With 10 to go, Allmendinger started to approach lapped traffic, which gave Gragson a slim, but brewing opportunity to challenge for the lead. Allmendinger, however, was able to navigate his way through the lapped traffic and maintain his advantage around a second over Gragson.

For the final laps, Gragson tried to narrow the gap between himself and Allmendinger, but Allmendinger maintained his ground and his one-second advantage, which was enough for him to cruise to the checkered flag and grab an upset win by 1.858 seconds over Gragson. With the victory, Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in four of his seven starts with Kaulig Racing as the team recorded its third NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory.

“Oh, my god! I won on an oval! You like that?!” Allmendinger said on FOX. “Matt Kaulig, I really love you. Chris Rice, these cars were awesome. It’s Atlanta. You’re trying to figure out how much tire to use early. The car was awesome on long runs. Once I got to the lead, I was just trying to hit my marks, which is hard to do. I can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, everybody that’s associated with this team. We got C2 Freight Resources on the car…Thank you ECR [Engines], Chevrolet, everybody for giving me the opportunity. Let’s party.”

In addition, Allmendinger, who was originally not scheduled to compete in next weekend’s second Dash 4 Cash event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14, will enter the event with the opportunity to win $100,000.

Despite finishing second, Gragson claimed the first Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus of the 2020 season.

“First off, I wanna say congrats to the 16 team,” Gragson said on FOX. “They did a heck of a job today. We fought a lot of adversity out there. I drove through too many pit boxes on one of the pit stops and had to go to the back. This Axalta, EchoPark team, they never gave up. [Crew chief] Dave Elenz did a great job making changes. We were wrecking loose there at the beginning of the race. We just kept working on it, working on it. We were able to come home second. I wanted to be doing burnouts on the front straightaway. Our car looked really good. That’s alright. We’re gonna move on to Miami. That’s my bread and butter track. Just super fortunate to be running here in the Xfinity Series.”

Haley rebounded from his two pit-road penalties to finish third for his third top-five result of this season followed by Hemric as both competitors will compete for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus at Homestead alongside Allmendinger and Gragson. Burton finished fifth as he remains the only competitor to finish in the top 10 in all Xfinity events through Atlanta. Allgaier, Chastain, Jones, Briscoe and Alfredo rounded out the top 10.

There were 10 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

Briscoe continues to lead the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by four points over Gragson and 32 over Burton.

Results:

1. A.J. Allmendinger, 37 laps led

2. Noah Gragson, six laps led

3. Justin Haley, eight laps led

4. Daniel Hemric

5. Harrison Burton

6. Justin Allgaier, one lap led

7. Ross Chastain

8. Brandon Jones

9. Chase Briscoe, 40 laps led

10. Anthony Alfredo

11. Michael Annett, three laps led

12. Brandon Brown

13. Jeremy Clements

14. Brett Moffitt

15. Colby Howard

16. Austin Cindric, 68 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

17. Riley Herbst

18. Bayley Currey

19. Ronnie Bassett Jr., one lap down

20. Jesse Little, one lap down

21. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

22. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

23. Mason Massey, one lap down

24. Garrett Smithley, one lap down

25. B.J. McLeod, one lap down

26. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

27. Alex Labbe, one lap down

28. Josh Williams, one lap down

29. Myatt Snider, two laps down

30. Matt Mills, two laps down

31. Vinnie Miller, seven laps down

32. Joe Nemechek – OUT, Suspension

33. Timmy Hill – OUT, Alternator

34. Chad Finchum – OUT, Suspension

35. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Engine

36. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Clutch

37. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a doubleheader series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first on June 13 and the second on June 14. The June 13 race at Homestead will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the June 14 race will air at noon ET on FS1.

June 6, 2020
NASCAR Announces Next Installment in Return to Racing Schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 4, 2020) – NASCAR today announced the next installment of events in its return to racing, featuring races at Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

FOX will close out its NASCAR Cup Series season with the *NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Wednesday, July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1), while the NASCAR Xfinity Series season on FOX platforms will conclude at Kentucky Speedway (Friday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1).

In turn, NASCAR welcomes back NBC for its sixth consecutive year of coverage when the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Saturday, July 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC) and NASCAR Cup Series (Sunday, July 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC) return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Fourth of July weekend.

NBC will carry coverage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series through the balance of the season, including the new and highly-anticipated Playoffs schedule that is currently scheduled to culminate with the crowning of three NASCAR national series champions at Phoenix Raceway in November.

The third installment of the 2020 schedule is as follows:

DATE                        TRACK                   SERIES                     DISTANCE        NET                  START (ET)

Fri, June 26                Pocono                   ARCA Menards          200 mi              FS1                  6:00 PM

Sat, June 27              Pocono                   Gander Trucks           150 mi              FS1                  12:30 PM

Sat, June 27               Pocono                   Cup                           325 mi              FOX                 3:30 PM

Sun, June 28              Pocono                   Xfinity                        225 mi              FS1                  12:30 PM

Sun, June 28              Pocono                   Cup                           350 mi              FS1                  4:00 PM

Sat, July 4                  Indianapolis            Xfinity                        151 mi              NBC                 3:00 PM

Sun, July 5                 Indianapolis             Cup                           400 mi              NBC                 4:00 PM

Thur, July 9                #Kentucky               Xfinity                        200 mi              FS1                  8:00 PM

Fri, July 10                 Kentucky                Xfinity                        300 mi              FS1                  8:00 PM

Sat, July 11                Kentucky                Gander Trucks           225 mi              FS1                  1:00 PM

Sun, July 12               Kentucky                Cup                           400 mi              FS1                  2:30 PM

Wed, July 15              Charlotte Oval         ARCA Menards          150 mi              FS1                  4:00 PM

Wed, July 15              Charlotte                 Cup (All-Star Open)    TBA                  FS1                  7:00 PM

Wed, July 15              Charlotte                 Cup (All-Star Race)     TBA                  FS1                  8:30 PM

Sat, July 18                Texas                     Xfinity                        300 mi              NBCSN             3:00 PM

Sat, July 18                Texas                     Gander Trucks           250 mi              FS1                  8:00 PM

Sun,July 19                Texas                     Cup                           501 mi              NBCSN             3:00 PM

Thur, July 23              Kansas                   Cup                           400 mi              NBCSN             7:30 PM

Fri, July 24                 Kansas                   Gander Trucks           200 mi              FS1                  7:00 PM

Fri, July 24                 #Kansas                 ARCA Menards          150 mi              FS1                  10:00 PM

Sat, July 25                #Kansas                 Gander Trucks           200 mi              FS1                  1:30 PM

Sat, July 25                #Kansas                 Xfinity Series              250 mi              NBCSN             5:00 PM

Sun, August 2            New Hampshire       Cup Series                 318 mi              NBCSN             3:00 PM

NASCAR’s modified event procedures and protocols have been finalized in accordance with public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal officials. Further national series dates will be announced at a later date.

The NASCAR Cup Series will return to racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday, June 7, with a 500-mile event scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET, live on FOX, FOX Deportes, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

* More details on the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race will be announced at a later date.

# NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway (July 9) realigned from New Hampshire Motor Speedway / ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway (July 24) realigned from Chicagoland Speedway / NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway (July 25) realigned from Chicagoland Speedway / NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway (July 25) has been realigned from Iowa Speedway.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

June 4, 2020
Gragson rallies from late incident to win at Bristol in overtime

It was not an ideal move that Noah Gragson had in mind when he wrecked his teammate Justin Allgaier for the lead in the closing laps, but it was one that resulted in the Las Vegas native winning the Cheddar’s 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway following an overtime shootout. The victory was Gragson’s second of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career in his 43rd series start, second of this season and his first national touring series win at Bristol. The victory was the 48th in the series for JR Motorsports.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Rookie Harrison Burton drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Brandon Jones. Carson Ware started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

When the green flag dropped, Burton took the lead followed by Jones. Allgaier, who started 10th, made a bold move on the outside lane to gain positions, but he slipped too high entering Turn 2 and barely touched the wall, though he continued without sustaining any serious damage. The following turn, three other competitors that included Jesse Little nearly made contact with one another but all three continued.

The first caution of the race flew on the fifth lap when Ross Chastain, who cut a right-front tire in Turn 3, got loose and made contact with Austin Cindric entering Turn 4, sending Cindric hard against the outside wall as Chastain spun and was clipped by Michael Annett, who had nowhere to go. All three sustained significant damage to their respective cars. Annett and Cindric retired while Chastain, who sustained damage to the rear end of his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, was able to continue on the lead lap.

The race restarted on the 16th lap and Burton was able to maintain the lead despite being pressured by Jones. Justin Haley settled in third while Daniel Hemric, Chase Briscoe and Allgaier battled hard for fourth. On Lap 18, Haley made the slightest of contact with Jones in Turn 3, sending Jones up the track and out of the racing groove. The following lap in Turn 3, Jones got loose again and dropped more positions. By Lap 24, Jones fell back to 10th after being passed by Vinnie Miller. The following lap, Chastain pitted for more repairs as he dropped out of the lead lap and out of race-winning contention.

On Lap 27, Haley made a run below Burton for the lead but was stalled by a lapped car which caused him to lose ground on the lead and battle Gragson for second. Despite encountering tight lapped traffic, Burton was able to maintain the lead and Gragson was able to take second from Haley at the time of the competition caution on Lap 35. Under caution, Jones along with Chad Finchum, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Colby Howard and Timmy Hill made a pit stop while the rest of the field remained on track.

When the race restarted on Lap 42, Burton benefitted on the outside lane to maintain his lead. Gragson retained second while Haley, who restarted third, spun his tires and dropped to fifth behind Ryan Sieg and Briscoe. Four laps later, Gragson made his move below the bottom of Turn 2 and took the lead from Burton. By Lap 60, Gragson was able to maintain his advantage by six-tenths of a second over Burton. The second caution of the day flew on Lap 63 due to debris from Joe Nemechek’s car in Turn 3. Under caution, Burton pitted from the runner-up position to have minimal damage he sustained from hitting the debris repaired. Four other competitors pitted while everyone else remained on track.

The following restart on Lap 68, Gragson received a push from teammate Allgaier. The contact allowed Gragson to boost ahead with the lead while Allgaier moved to second over Briscoe. By Lap 75, A.J. Allmendinger, who started 27th in his first Xfinity event of the season, made his way in the top 10, running ninth. From there, Gragson was able to lead the field through the conclusion of the first stage on Lap 85 and win the stage despite encountering lapped traffic. Allgaier settled in second followed by Briscoe, Haley and Hemric. Riley Herbst, Jones, Allmendinger, Sieg and Myatt Snider finished in the top 10.

Under caution, most of the leaders pitted while Burton, who pitted early, remained on track and reassumed the lead. Jones pitted for two tires and was the first off pit road. Jeremy Clements only took fuel and exited fifth behind Allgaier and Briscoe. Gragson suffered a slow pit stop and came out in sixth. Following the pit stops, Hemric was nabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field.

The second stage started on Lap 98 and Briscoe ran into the back of Burton which allowed Burton to boost ahead with the lead. Haley moved to second after Briscoe slipped in Turn 3 and fell back to fifth behind Gragson and Allgaier. Jones, who restarted second with two fresh tires, fell back to sixth. The caution returned three laps later for an incident in Turn 1 involving Hill and Vinnie Miller.

Six laps later, the race restarted with Burton maintaining the lead. During the restart, Allgaier used the outside lane to move into second over Haley. Gragson fell to fifth while battling Ryan Sieg and Briscoe for position. By Lap 119, Gragson moved back to fourth after passing Jones, who was battling loose conditions. Two laps later, the caution flew when Sieg made contact with Allmendinger in Turn 3 while battling for seventh. The contact resulted in Allmendinger sliding below the apron, but he was able to proceed without sustaining damage. He and Hill pitted while the rest of the field remained on track.

When the race restarted on Lap 128, Allgaier mounted a challenge for the lead below Burton and was able to take it. On Lap 137, Tommy Joe Martins made contact with the outside wall but the race proceeded under green. Four laps later, just as Gragson moved Burton out of the racing groove in Turn 1 to move back to second, the caution returned when Patrick Emerling wrecked through Turns 2 and 3 following contact with Bayley Currey. The race was red-flagged for nine and a half minutes to give the safety officials time to clean the fluid from Emerling’s No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet from the bottom of Turn 2 through the high groove in Turn 3. When the red flag was lifted, the majority of the field remained on track while Sieg, Clements and Miller pitted.

When the green flag returned on Lap 148, Allgaier made the bottom lane work to his advantage as he powered away with the lead followed by Gragson. A lap later, Haley used the outside lane to take third from Burton. By Lap 155, Allgaier and Gragson gapped third-place Haley by more than a second. Meanwhile, Josh Williams engaged in a battle with Allmendinger for a top-10 spot while Hemric rallied from his penalty to race in eighth while battling Snider.

Despite encountering lapped traffic, which included Joe Graf Jr., Allgaier was able to hold off teammate Gragson to win the second stage. Haley and Burton finish third and fourth while Briscoe was able to pass Jones following a bump-and-run move to finish fifth. Jones, Hemric, Snider, Herbst and Allmendinger finished in the top 10.

Under caution, nearly the entire field pitted and Allgaier was able to barely avoid making contact on pit road with Gragson, who was exiting his pit stall, to maintain the lead. Gragson, Jones, Haley and Briscoe followed pursuit. During the pit stops, Sieg and Miller remained on track to inherit the front row for the start of the final stage.

With the final stage starting on Lap 182, Allgaier used the high lane to reassume the lead. A lap later, Sieg challenged Allgaier on the bottom lane for one circuit before Allgaier moved up the track in Turn 3 and allowed Gragson to move to second from Sieg. By Lap 190, Sieg, battling on old tires on the high lane, fell back to ninth.

With 100 laps remaining, Allgaier’s lead over Gragson was less than half a second. Haley moved to third followed by Jones, Hemric and Briscoe. Five laps later, Allgaier was able to extend his advantage by nearly a second over Gragson. By then, Allmendinger was eighth following his late spin and Burton was back in 10th.

With 81 laps remaining, Haley passed Gragson in Turn 2 to move into second and started pursuing Allgaier for the lead. At this time, however, his teammate, Allmendinger, made an unscheduled pit stop to have the right-side tires of his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet changed. The late misfortune cost him multiple laps behind the leaders.

As the laps dwindled, Allgaier started to approach lapped traffic but he was able to maintain the lead despite Haley gaining more ground for the lead. With less than 60 to go, Haley caught Allgaier for the lead when Allgaier was experiencing difficulties trying to lap Clements and Brandon Brown. Just as the lead between the two Justins intensified, the caution flew with 52 to go when Martins spun in Turn 4. Under caution, the leaders pitted. Herbst exited pit road first after taking two tires followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Haley and Hemric.

When the race restarted with 45 to go, Allgaier took advantage of the high lane to lead the field through Turn 2. At the same time, the caution quickly returned when Herbst and Haley made contact that resulted in Herbst being turned in Turn 2 and slapping the outside wall. Herbst pitted, but ended his day due to the damage while Haley remained on track in third despite sustaining cosmetic damage to his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

The next restart came with 36 to go. Allgaier maintained his lead while Jones, who restarted fourth, rocketed to second. Gragson used the high lane to take second and Haley forced his way underneath Jones to move to third and Jones fell to the clutches of Briscoe for fourth. With approximately 20 to go, Haley, who was trying to pursue Gragson for second, slipped high in Turn 1 and scrubbed the wall, causing him to fall off the pace. He was able to nurse his car back to pit but the incident cost him multiple laps and his hopes of winning his first Xfinity race.

Just when the race appeared to have been sealed by Allgaier, the caution flew with 13 to go when Colby Howard blew a left-front tire and stopped in Turn 2. The leaders remained on track under caution. When the race restarted with seven to go, Allgaier maintained the lead, but Gragson made his move to challenge for the lead a lap later. He moved below his teammate in Turn 2 and raced side by side with him through Turn 3 before edging out with the lead in Turn 4. Then, he ran into the side of his teammate in Turn 1, causing Allgaier to slip into the outside wall before spinning and making hard contact into the Turn 2 inside wall, drawing a caution with five to go. Gragson was able to continue with the lead followed by Briscoe, Burton, Jones and Snider. Allgaier drove his damaged No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet back to pit road but the damage was enough to end Allgaier’s strong race in his pit stall.

The incident between the two JR Motorsports teammates sent the race into overtime. In the first overtime attempt, Gragson led the field through Turn 1. In Turn 2, Jones attempted to split Gragson and Briscoe through the middle, but was unable to make enough room for himself to make the move occur. By the time the field returned to Turn 4 for the start of the final lap, Gragson managed to clear Briscoe and was able to fend off Briscoe for one final circuit to claim the checkered flag first.

“Really, [I] apologize to Justin and the No. 7 team,” Gragson said on FOX Sports 1. “That’s not how I want to race, but I saw the position open up. He, kind of, slipped off the bottom the lap before and I tried to get to the bottom and I just got too loose. All of us top-five guys – really everybody on the field – this track’s like ice out there right now. We were slippin’ and slidin’. What a heck of a night for this No. 9 team. It’s Bristol, baby! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I sucked here. My crew chief believed in me and he wanted me to come back and run with them. Dave Elenz is the man.”

“The team did a great job getting us track position we needed,” Allgaier said on PRN radio. “I’m more mad at myself for making a mistake and slippin’ off the bottom, but yeah we got wrecked. We had the car to beat all night and unfortunately, we don’t have anything to show for it. I hate it for my guys. We’ll rebound and we’ll come back next weekend.”

Briscoe finished second followed by Jones and Burton as the trio will join Gragson in battling for the first Dash 4 Cash bonus this upcoming weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Myatt Snider edged Hemric to finish fifth for his first career top-five finish in the Xfinity Series. Hemric rallied in sixth while Brandon Brown, Clements, Josh Williams and Allmendinger rounded out the top 10.

There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 85 laps.

Briscoe continues to lead the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by nine points over Gragson and 26 over Burton.

Results.

1. Noah Gragson, 55 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Chase Briscoe

3. Brandon Jones

4. Harrison Burton, 81 laps led

5. Myatt Snider

6. Daniel Hemric

7. Brandon Brown

8. Jeremy Clements

9. Josh Williams

10. A.J. Allmendinger

11. B.J. McLeod

12. Vinnie Miller

13. Joe Graf Jr.

14. Timmy Hill

15. Jeffrey Earnhardt, two laps down

16. Ryan Sieg, three laps down, six laps led

17. Justin Haley, four laps down, one lap led

18. Justin Allgaier – OUT, 156 laps led, Stage 2 winner

19. Colby Howard, seven laps down

20. Bayley Currey, eight laps down

21. Kody Vanderwal, 10 laps down

22. Carson Ware, 14 laps down

23. Tommy Joe Martins, 19 laps down

24. Chad Finchum, 26 laps down

25. Matt Mills – OUT, Clutch

26. Jesse Little, 43 laps down

27. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, four laps led

28. Ross Chastain, 48 laps down

29. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident

30. Mason Massey, 192 laps down

31. Ronnie Bassett Jr. – OUT, Engine

32. Joe Nemechek – OUT, Accident

33. Alex Labbe – OUT, Overheating

34. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Suspension

35. Jeff Green – OUT, Ignition

36. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

37. Michael Annett – OUT, Accident

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will travel to Hampton, Georgia, and race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 6. The race will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

June 2, 2020
NASCAR updates Xfinity Dash 4 Cash schedule

The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Dash4Cash schedule has been adjusted in the midst of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and as the series embarks toward its next scheduled event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Following the upcoming event at Bristol on June 1, the top four Xfinity regulars who finish the highest on track at the short-steeped venue will qualify for the first Dash 4 Cash event of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 6. The following two consecutive race weekends, Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14 and Talladega Superspeedway on June 20, will also serve as Dash4Cash events. The location of the fourth and final event is to be determined.

The format of the Dash 4 Cash remains the same. The highest-finishing Dash 4 Cash contender in each event will claim the check prize of $100,000 and will automatically qualify for the next scheduled event with an opportunity to win another check. In addition to the winner, the next three highest-finishing Xfinity drivers will also receive an opportunity to challenge for the prize on a weekly basis.

Last season featured the Big Three trio of the series – Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick – claiming the four Dash 4 Cash events, with Bell winning two $100,000 checks, by winning the race over the competition. With all three racing as NASCAR Cup Series rookies this season, it opens possibilities for familiar names like Justin Allgaier, who won four Dash 4 Cash events between 2016-2018, or new names, many of whom have never won the prize for themselves, to contend for it on a weekly basis.

Catch the Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash qualifier at Bristol Motor Speedway on June 1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 28, 2020
Rain postpones Xfinity Series’ return at Darlington Raceway

Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Rainy weather led to the postponement of Tuesday night’s race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway.

The Toyota 200 was scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start, a time moved up Monday by two hours because of the threat of inclement weather. Persistent rain forced the 147-lap event to move to Thursday at noon ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

The race is the Xfinity Series’ first event since March 7. All of the circuit’s races since mid-March were placed on hold by the outbreak of COVID-19. The Darlington event and subsequent races in May and June are scheduled to be held without fans in attendance and without practice or qualifying.

NASCAR officials had 10 Air Titans to lead the track-drying delegation at the 1.366-mile oval, but persistent storms made it impossible to race.

When the race does get going, Noah Gragson — winner of the Xfinity season opener at Daytona in February — will start from the No. 1 spot after a structured draw for starting positions. He’ll line up alongside JR Motorsports teammate Michael Annett on the front row. Points leader Harrison Burton starts 12th.

May 19, 2020
Statement from NASCAR

NASCAR Statement

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 12, 2020) – “At this time, NASCAR will hold its race events at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway without fans in attendance. These events will be restricted to competitors, crews, officials and other necessary personnel to conduct the race. We will work with public health officials as we determine future scheduling beyond these events.”

March 12, 2020