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  • Kyle Busch caps off potential Xfinity Series career with a dominant victory at Atlanta

    Kyle Busch caps off potential Xfinity Series career with a dominant victory at Atlanta

    In what could be his final NASCAR Xfinity Series start of his illustrious racing career, Kyle Busch walked off as a winner after dominating and fending off the field in overtime to claim the inaugural Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 10. The victory made Busch five-for-five ini this year’s Xfinity season as he also claimed his 102nd career win in his 362nd series start.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Kyle Busch, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Road America, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Daniel Hemric.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Kyle Busch rocketed away with the lead from the inside lane, where he led the first lap followed by AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Justin Haley while Hemric, who started on the outside lane, slipped out of the top five through the first two turns.

    Following the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger, with Haley, Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson running in the top five. Jeremy Clements was in sixth followed by Hemric, Austin Cindric and Jeb Burton while Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones were battling for 10th.

    Five laps later, Kyle Busch’s advantage grew to nearly two seconds over Allmendinger wile Haley, Harrison Burton and Gragson continued to run in the top five. By then, Austin Dillon, who filled in the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in place of Michael Annett with Annett absent due to a leg injury, was battling for a top-25 spot after starting at the rear of the field.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Kyle Busch was out in front by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton was up in third followed by Gragson, Haley and Hemric.

    Under the competition caution, some led by Austin Cindric pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    On Lap 24, the race restarted and Kyle Busch received another strong start to retain the lead while the field behind fanned out to three lanes. While Haley and Hemric struggled to launch on the outside lane, Allmendinger moved up to second followed by Harrison Burton and Gragson.

    By Lap 30, the No. 54 Extra Gum Toyota Supra driven by Kyle Busch was leading by six-tenths of a second over the No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Allmendinger. Harrison Burton, racing in the No. 20 Offerpad Toyota Supra, was in third followed by teammate Hemric, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt, Haley and Alex Labbe.

    With a clear, early advantage, Kyle Busch was able to cruise to the first stage victory on Lap 40. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Harrison Burton, Hemric, Gragson, Moffitt, Labbe, Haley, Brandon Jones and Austin Dillon.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Harrison Burton emerged with the lead followed by Hemric, Allmendinger, Gragson and Kyle Busch, who lost the lead following his service. 

    The second stage started on Lap 46 with Harrison Burton and Gragson starting on the front row. At the start, Gragson and Harrison Burton battled for the lead through the backstretch before Gragson pulled out ahead. Behind, Kyle Busch marched his way to third place behind teammate Harrison Burton before taking over the runner-up spot.

    By Lap 49, Kyle Busch returned to the lead after overtaking Gragson on the outside lane in Turn 3. Shortly after, the caution flew due to an incident on the frontstretch involving Matt Mills and veteran David Starr. 

    When the race restarted on Lap 55, Kyle Busch launched ahead with the lead followed by Gragson while Harrison Burton, Allmendinger and Hemric engaged in a three-wide battle for third in Turn 1. Through the backstretch, Hemric was able to prevail ahead over teammate Harrison Burton with Allgaier moving up to fifth over Allmendinger.

    By Lap 60, Kyle Busch continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Gragson. Behind, Harrison Burton moved back into third place followed by Allmendinger and Hemric, who was being pressured by Allgaier and Moffitt for more. 

    Nearly three laps later, the caution returned when Josh Berry spun off of Turn 4, though he was dodged by the incoming traffic.

    On Lap 66, the race restarted and Kyle Busch was able to clear AJ Allmendinger entering Turn 2 to retain the lead while the field behind battled through multiple lanes for positioning.

    Through the first 70 laps of the event, Kyle Busch remained out in front by more than a second over Allmendinger, with Gragson, Allgaier and Hemric in the top five. Harrison Burton was back in sixth followed by Moffitt, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon.

    Like he did in the first stage, Kyle Busch was able to muscle away from the field with a comfortable advantage and claim the second stage victory on Lap 80 by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Gragson, Allgaier, Hemric, Harrison Burton, Moffitt, Ty Dillon, Haley and Austin Dillon settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and this time, Kyle Busch exited pit road with the lead over Allmendinger, Gragson, Hemric and the field. Following the pit stops, Allmendinger was assessed a pit road speeding penalty. In addition, Harrison Burton pitted for a second time to have the lug nuts on his car tightened.

    With 77 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Hemric started on the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch received another start on the inside lane to retain the lead followed by Gragson while Hemric slipped back to third.

    Seven laps later, Kyle Busch stretched his advantage to more than a second over Gragson, with Moffitt running in third place ahead of Hemric and Allgaier. Running in the top 10 were Haley, rookie Sam Mayer, Austin Dillon, Cindric and Ty Dillon. Allmendinger, meanwhile, was in 16th behind teammate Jeb Burton while Harrison Burton was in 19th in front of Gray Gaulding.

    Not long after, the caution returned for an incident involving Gray Gaulding, who spun and hit the backstretch wall. Under caution, some led by teammates Gragson and Allgaier remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

    With 62 laps remaining, the race restarted. By then, Gragson surrendered his spot near the front to pit and have a flat tire addressed. At the start, Allgaier retained the lead over Haley while the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes between competitors on fresh tires over those with none.

    A few laps later, Allgaier was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Hemric, with Haley, Jeb Burton and Ty Dillon in the top five. By then, Kyle Busch was in ninth in between Cindric and Allmendinger while Harrison Burton was in 11th ahead of Moffitt.

    With 58 laps remaining, Hemric muscled his No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra into the lead over Allgaier. By then, Kyle Busch worked his way back into the top five. Another few laps later, Busch was up into second place and trailing teammate Hemric by more than a second.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Hemric was still leading, but his advantage decreased to a second over his hard-charging teammate Kyle Busch. Allmendinger, meanwhile, trailed by more than two seconds while the Dillon brothers rounded out the top five ahead of Moffitt, Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Cindric and Haley.

    Five laps later, the caution returned for an incident involving Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg in the backstretch, with Jones making hard contact against the outside wall. Under caution, names like Ty Dillon, Myatt Snider, Tommy Joe Martins and Gragson remained on the track while the rest led by Hemric and Kyle Busch pitted. Prior to the restart, Allgaier was sent to the rear of the field due to a commitment line violation,

    With 39 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, the front-runners fanned out to three lanes before Hemric muscled to the lead followed by Kyle Busch on the outside lane. With Busch close behind, Hemric was leading while seeking his elusive first victory in NASCAR.

    With 30 laps remaining, Hemric continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch. Behind, Allmendinger and Moffitt battled for third followed by Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon, Haley, Cindric, Sieg and Clements. Allgaier, following his commitment line penalty, was in 12th while teammate Gragson was in 14th.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the leaders catching lapped traffic, Hemric stabilized his advantage to nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch, who was unable to close in for the lead despite keeping his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate within sight.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Carson Ware spun on the backstretch. By then, Hemric stretched his advantage to nearly a second over Busch.

    Under caution, nearly all of the leaders pitted and Hemric exited pit road ahead of teammate Kyle Busch by a nose. Back on the track, Kyle Weatherman did not pit and assumed the lead.

    With 11 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Hemric moved himself quickly back to the front followed by Kyle Busch and the competitors on the inside lane. For Weatherman, however, his time at the front did not last long after a transmission issue while restarting resulted with him getting hit by Brandon Brown and Harrison Burton before spinning, thus bringing back the caution flag.

    Under caution, few like Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider and Tommy Joe Martins pitted while the rest led by Hemric remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Hemric and Allmendinger started on the front row in front of Kyle Busch and Allgaier. At the start, Allmendinger issued a challenge for the lead on Hemric, who had teammate Kyle Busch trying to push him out in front. While trying to maintain the lead, Hemric was then bumped by teammate Busch, who then was turned into Allmendinger and sent sideways while making hard contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. The incident all but spoiled another opportunity for Hemric to achieve his first NASCAR national touring series win.

    With Hemric out of contention, Kyle Busch was back out in front followed by Moffitt, Jeb Burton, Haley and Allmendinger. 

    Down to a two-lap shootout, the race restarted with Kyle Busch and Jeb Burton starting on the front row. At the start, Busch managed to clear Burton through the backstretch to retain the lead. While Burton kept Busch within his sights, the latter started to pull away and maintain a decent advantage when he started the final lap.

    For one final lap, Busch was able to keep Jeb Burton and Gragson at bay as he came back around and claimed the checkered flag for the win.

    In addition to winning for the 102nd time in the Xfinity circuit and winning in all five of his scheduled Xfinity starts, Busch also recorded his third series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and his 222nd NASCAR national touring series career victory.

    While celebrating on the frontstretch in front of the grandstands, Busch took a moment to address his late restart incident involving his teammate Daniel Hemric.

    “Yeah, I meant to push [Hemric], and I wanted to hit him, I just wanted to ht him forward and straight but turned him sideways a little bit, and I think he got more help on his right side,” Busch saaid on NBCSN. “Just trying to help a teammate there, and that’s why I restarted behind him. Overall, great day for our 54 car, but [Hemric] was better and deserved this win. So, I’m sorry to Daniel and all those guys. I hate it that all that transpired. That’s why this win is a little more somber than others have been. You don’t take solace in a win like that. But a win’s a win.”

    “Yeah, as far as I know, as far as what’s gonna happen right now, it’s never say never,” Busch, when addressing the potential end of his Xfinity Series career, added. “This is it.”

    Behind Busch, Jeb Burton claimed his second-best result in the series after finishing in the runner-up spot followed by Gragson. Haley came home in fourth place followed by Ty Dillon.

    Moffitt, Allgaier, Clements, Sam Mayer and Cindric finished in the top 10.

    Austin Dillon finished 11th wile filling in for Michael Annett. Allmendinger finished 13th, Riley Herbst came home in 19th, Myatt Snider fell back to 21st, Harrison Burton ended up in 24th and Hemric settled in 30th.

    “What could’ve been, right?” Hemric said. “That’s all you think about. On the flip side of it, you can’t change it. Obviously, I know it wasn’t intentional by no means…Our day will come.”

    There were 16 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 43 laps.

    Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 74 points over AJ Allmendinger and 112 over Daniel Hemric.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, 97 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Jeb Burton, one lap led

    3. Noah Gragson, five laps led

    4. Justin Haley

    5. Ty Dillon, four laps led

    6. Brett Moffitt

    7. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

    8. Jeremy Clements

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. Austin Cindric

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Ryan Sieg

    13. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led

    14. Ryan Vargas

    15. Alex Labbe

    16. Tommy Joe Martins

    17. Jade Buford

    18. Josh Williams

    19. Riley Herbst

    20. Colby Howard

    21. Myatt Snider

    22. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    23. Josh Berry

    24. Harrison Burton, three laps led

    25. Joe Graf Jr.

    26. Matt Mills

    27. Ronnie Bassett Jr.

    28. Jesse Little

    29. Mason Massey

    30. Daniel Hemric, 45 laps led

    31. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    32. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    33. Santino Ferrucci, two laps down

    34. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    35. Gray Gaulding, four laps down

    36. Carson Ware – OUT, Accident

    37. CJ McLaughlin, 25 laps down

    38. Landon Cassill, 36 laps down

    39. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

    40. David Starr – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway following a one-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    From a late penalty to victory, AJ Allmendinger became the first repeat winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the Los Gatos, California, native fended off teammate Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and the field in overtime to win the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, June 5, as he also claimed his second victory of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Ty Gibbs, winner of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at Mid-Ohio and last weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Prior to the event, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns.

    It did not take long, however, for the first caution of the event to fly when Noah Gragson drove off the track and through the grass, where he destroyed the front nose from his car that was also leaking fluid and smoke. Behind, Cody Ware spun in Turn 2. While Ware continued, Gragson parked his battered car between Turns 2 and 3 as his race came to an early end.

    Following the incident, the race restarted on the fifth lap. At the start, Cindric maintained the lead followed by Gibbs, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier and the field.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Tommy Joe Martins due to fluid on the course when the engine from Tommy Joe Martins’ machine expired.

    Another four laps later, the race restarted, with Cindric and Gibbs retaining the front row. At the start, Gibbs made his move beneath Cindric’s No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang to take the lead. Cindric, though, was quick to reassume the advantage in Turn 4, where he continued to fend off Gibbs and lead when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    On Lap 15, AJ Allmendinger muscled his No. 16 Ramco Specialties Chevrolet Camaro into the lead over Cindric. 

    Three laps later and with Allmendinger still leading, Harrison Burton damaged the front nose and splitter from his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra after going off-course in Turn 1. Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green.

    In the final laps of the first stage, names like Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Andy Lally and Myatt Snider pitted for fuel. Back on the track, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Cindric. 

    In Turn 9, Miguel Paludo spun in the gravel trap, but the race continued to run under green. With a healthy advantage over the field, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way back to the start/finish line and win the first stage on Lap 25. Cindric was scored in second place followed by Haley, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gibbs, Snider, Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Lally remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 30 with Gibbs and Hemric on the front row. At the start, Gibbs maintained the lead over Hemric, Snider and the field. Cindric, meanwhile, was back in seventh while Allmendinger was in fifth behind Andy Lally. By then, Justin Allgaier took his car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark and with Gibbs still leading, the caution flew due to Jeremy Clements stalling his car in the Acura Bridge.

    Four laps later, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger, who restarted alongside Gibbs, made his move to take the lead in Turn 2. By Turn 5, teammate Justin Haley moved into the runner-up spot while Gibbs was shuffled back in third in front of Brandon Jones, Hemric and Jeb Burton.

    On Lap 46, trouble ignited for Daniel Hemric, who limped back to pit road after he blew a left-rear tire, which damaged the left-rear side of Hemric’s No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. He was able to limp back to pit road and keep the race running under green.

    Not long after, Allmendinger pitted along with Gibbs, Lally, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Miguel Paludo. During the pit stops, however, Allmendinger was penalized for failing to meet minimum pit stop time and was required to start at the rear of the field for the final stage.

    Back on the track, Haley assumed the lead in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. With the clean air, Haley was able to claim the second stage victory on Lap 50 by nearly two seconds over Brandon Jones. Jones settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Herbst, Cindric, Labbe, Snider, Brandon Brown, Annett and Ryan Ellis.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for tires with some opting to pit again for fuel. During the stops, Andy Lally was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 20 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ryan Sieg and Cindric started on the front row. At the start, Cindric muscled to the lead on the outside lane in Turn 1 while the field behind scrambled for positions.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, Cindric was leading by nearly 11 seconds over Gibbs while Allmendinger, following his penalty, was in third place, trailing by 13 seconds. Moffitt was in fourth followed by Michael Annett and Haley.

    Then, the caution flew when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 4 and was stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, the leaders remained on the track.

    With five laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger quickly made his move beneath Gibbs and Cindric entering Turn 1. With all three competitors making contact against one another in a three-wide battle, Allmendinger returned to the lead past the first turn. As Brett Moffitt moved into the runner-up spot, contact from Gibbs Annett and Haley resulted with Cindric getting hit and spinning in the grass, which ended Cindric’s hopes of winning.

    Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green as Allmendinger retained the lead. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to a multi-car incident in Turn 6 that involved Kris Wright, Alex Labbe and Kyle Weatherman with everyone else scattering around the circuit to avoid the incident.

    Under caution, Moffitt, who was running in the runner-up spot, lost power as a result of a fuel pump issue and stalled on the track, effectively ending his hopes of battling for the win.

    With the race sent into overtime, Allmendinger received a strong start through the first turn to maintain the lead over teammate Haley and Gibbs while everyone else scattered and scrambled for positions through the first two turns.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger maintained a decent advantage over Haley and Gibbs. With the leaders clearly out in front, chaos ensued behind, starting with Riley Herbst getting into Miguel Paludo in Turn 1 as Paludo spun. Shortly after, Andy Lally bumped into Herbst and sent Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang spinning in Turn 2.

    Back to the front, Allmendinger continued to lead Haley and Gibbs through Turns 4 and 5. Having the lead in his sole possession, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way through the 13-turn circuit for a final time to claim the checkered flag and win.

    With his second victory of the season, Allmendinger became the first multi-winner of the Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio since its inception in 2013. He also claimed his seventh Xfinity career victory, his fifth on a road course and the 10th career win for Kaulig Racing.

    “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little upset,” Allmendinger said on FS1 when mentioning about the penalty. “But we win and lose as a team so I was gonna fight until the checkered flag flew. I knew we had the best car…This Ramco Specialties Chevrolet had some massive rear grip. I lost the restart, [Gibbs] opened up a gap and I know these guys will do it to me, so I barreled in there when I saw a gap and I was gonna come out on the other side clean. That’s all I got there.”

    Haley settled in second place for his first top-five result of the season while Ty Gibbs came home in third place and notched his sixth top-five result in seven Xfinity starts this season.

    “First of all, congrats to AJ,” Haley said. “That’s amazing. This is LeafFilter’s home, this is [team owner] Matt Kaulig’s home. To finish one-two here is really special. Obviously, you want the LeafFilter car to go to Victory Lane, but I thought we were a little better than AJ there at the end, but I had so much damage. I was just on the splitter so hard…Really, really special day here.”

    Brandon Jones finished in fourth place followed by Andy Lally. Brandon Brown finished in sixth place followed by Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams.

    Hemric settled in 12th while Cindric ended his race in 14th after leading a race-high 30 laps. Riley Herbst and Paludo finished 21st and 27th following their spins on the final lap.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 23 laps.

    Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 96 points over Allmendinger.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Justin Haley, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Ty Gibbs, 16 laps led

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Andy Lally

    6. Brandon Brown

    7. Michael Annett

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    10. Josh Williams

    11. Alex Labbe

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Jade Buford

    14. Austin Cindric, 30 laps led

    15. Cody Ware

    16. Jeb Burton

    17. Gray Gaulding

    18. Ryan Vargas

    19. Matt Jaskol

    20. Landon Cassill

    21. Riley Herbst

    22. Colby Howard

    23. Matt Mills

    24. Jesse Little

    25. Preston Pardus

    26. Kyle Weatherman

    27. Miguel Paludo

    28. Ryan Ellis

    29. Myatt Snider

    30. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    31. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Fuel pump

    32. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    33. Jeremy Clements, 10 laps down

    34. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 10 laps down

    35. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps down

    36. David Starr, 12 laps down

    37. Bayley Currey – OUT, Electrical

    38. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    39. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Engine 

    40. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident 

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a trip to the Lone Star state for a 250-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Moffitt to compete full 2021 Xfinity schedule with Our Motorsports

    Moffitt to compete full 2021 Xfinity schedule with Our Motorsports

    Following a productive 2020 season, Brett Moffitt will be moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and drive a Chevrolet Camaro on a full-time basis with Our Motorsports for the 2021 season.

    Moffitt, a 28-year-old native from Grimes, Iowa, is coming off his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series with GMS Racing, where he recorded a single victory (Kansas Speedway in October), 10 top-five results, 16 top-10 results and an average result of 9.7. He was one of four competitors to make the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished in fourth place in the final standings.

    In addition, Moffitt competed in 29 Xfinity Series races with Our Motorsports in 2020, where he recorded one top-five result, seven top-10 results and an average result of 18.3, with a best on-track result of fifth place at Talladega Superspeedway in June. He contributed to the team’s final owners’ points result of 15th place.

    The 2021 season will mark Moffitt’s first full-time campaign in the Xfinity Series after spending the last three seasons as a Truck Series competitor, where he won the 2018 championship with Hattori Racing Enterprises and made the Championship 4 round in his last two seasons with GMS Racing.

    Moffitt’s move to full-time racing with Our Motorsports means that he will not be returning to GMS Racing next season.

    “[Year] 2020 was a learning year for the entire Our Motorsports operation and the program is now ready to step up to another level,” Moffitt said. “I’m thankful for the last two seasons with GMS Racing and the support Maury Gallagher, Spencer Gallagher, Ron Booth, Mike Beam and the entire team gave me.”

    “Brett has been instrumental in helping us build this team from scratch and be competitive,” Chris Our, Owner of Our Motorsports, said. “We’ve challenged each other to turn Our Motorsports into a race-winning organization and we have some exciting things in the works that will help us accomplish that goal together.”

    With Moffitt confirmed as a full-time driver for Our Motorsports, Joe Williams will also remain as crew chief for the organization in 2021.

    “Our Motorsports has made great strides in 2020 and I’m really excited to carry that momentum into 2021 with Brett Moffitt behind the wheel,” Williams said. “Brett is the kind of driver that makes us better as an organization and I am confident in what we can accomplish together next year.”

    Additional details regarding Moffitt’s sponsors and the organization for next season will be announced at a later date.

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Martinsville II

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings – Martinsville II

    With just one race left before the Championship 4 event at Phoenix International Raceway, Truck Series drivers and teams were vying for the final two spots in the Playoffs. Two of those spots were already claimed by GMS Racing drivers Sheldon Creed and 2018 Truck Series Champion Brett Moffitt.

    Positions third and fourth were up for grabs as six drivers were desperately trying to lock themselves in to fight for a championship spot with only two still available. At some points during the race it looked as though Austin Hill would race his way in, but due to engine woes, the Georgian would be out of the race early and his championship hopes were eliminated, as well. Despite six cautions making up the final stage, at the conclusion of the 200 laps, it was rookie Zane Smith and race winner Grant Enfinger who took the last two spots and earned a shot to win the championship.

    However, there were other drivers like Austin Hill who was once inside the cut line but now find themselves having to wait until next year to try again. We’ll take a look at this week’s Power Rankings following the Martinsville Truck Series race.

    1. Grant Enfinger – After years of trying, Grant Enfinger finally can make a bid for the Truck Series championship after being so close to advancing when the Championship 4 format was implemented. Enfinger was in a must-win situation heading into Martinsville, or in a worst-case scenario, needed a lot of help from other playoff drivers who experienced trouble throughout the night. Fortunately for Enfinger, he didn’t have any trouble at all in the race, aside from lining up behind the race leaders at one point during one of the late cautions. The Alabaman reclaimed the lead with just two laps to go, and never looked back, and ultimately advanced to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. In addition, he led 49 laps and finished eighth and third, respectively, in Stage 1 and 2.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    2. Zane Smith – Smith led 20 laps before coming home with his sixth and most important top-five of the season. His finish was enough to get him locked into the Championship 4 at Phoenix. Smith was in a position to possibly win the race at some points. But his main objective was to fend off Matt Crafton to get the position, which he did, as Crafton finished behind Smith in the running order. Now, Smith will have to overcome his biggest challenge yet and that is to win the championship over his GMS Racing teammates at Phoenix.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    3. Sheldon Creed – Despite bringing out the caution at Lap 176, Creed rebounded to an eighth-place finishing position for his 12th Top 10 of the year. Creed won the first stage and led 65 laps en route to his eighth-place position. He will also be racing for his first championship alongside his teammate Zane Smith.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    4. Matt Crafton – While it was a disappointing finish in Crafton’s eyes, it could have certainly been worse, such as not finishing the race. The ThorSport driver had the lead at certain moments in the race, including at one point when he was one of the four hopefuls to fight for the championship. He led six laps and finished second in both stages before finishing fifth in the running order for his ninth top-five of the season. Unfortunately for Crafton, he finished behind Zane Smith and that was not good enough to move on to defend his 2019 Truck Series Championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    5. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes came home in the second position after starting seventh. He was one of the unlucky ones that did not advance to the Championship 4, missing the position by one spot. Despite not advancing, the Kentucky native collected his ninth top-five of the year.

    Fell Out

    1. Austin Hill – Engines woes eliminated Austin Hill from championship contention and he was credited with a 35th place finish. Hill was above the cut line heading into the race and most likely would have been racing for the championship, had the engine not expired on his No. 16 Toyota. However, like many others, he will have to wait until next year to try again for the championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
  • Grant Enfinger scores Martinsville victory, locks into Championship 4

    Grant Enfinger scores Martinsville victory, locks into Championship 4

    Despite a bundle of late-race cautions in the final 20 laps on Friday night at Martinsville, Grant Enfinger, who was in a must-win situation, held off his ThorSport teammate Ben Rhodes to claim his spot in the Championship 4 by winning the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200.

    “It was tough; we knew we were going to have to take our gloves off and fight for this one,” Enfinger said after celebrating with his team. “It’s been an up and down season for us, but we tended to peak when we needed to. And now I feel really good about our chances at Phoenix.”

    No Trucks were sent to the rear following prerace inspection and Sheldon Creed was on the pole based on the metric system. Stages of 50-50-100 made up the 200-lap event.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 50

    When the green flag flew, the battle for the lead was between GMS drivers Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith with Creed taking the lead on Lap 12 and leading through the early portions of the race. Three cautions would slow the first stage. The first yellow came on Lap 14 with a major stack up on the frontstretch. Tanner Gray was spun after contact from the No. 02 of Tate Fogleman. Others involved included Ray Ciccarelli, Danny Bohn, Trevor Bayne and Codie Rohrbaugh.

    During the pit stops, Bayne was penalized for removing equipment while Rohrbaugh was penalized for pitting too soon.

    Another yellow flew on Lap 49 when the No. 44 of Natalie Decker was bumped from behind by the No. 3 of Jordan Anderson. From there, a 19 lap green-flag run occurred before Clay Greenfield in the No. 68 spun in Turn 3, bringing out a late-stage yellow and ending the first stage under caution. Sheldon Creed took the stage victory with Crafton, Sauter, Zane Smith, Rhodes, Moffitt, Eckes, Enfinger, Lessard, and Friesen completing the Top 10 stage finishers.

    Stage 2: Lap 59 – Lap 100

    A lot of action was seen throughout Stage 2 including problems for Austin Hill in the No. 16. Hill, who recently announced his return to Hattori Racing in 2021, began experiencing engine-related issues as his truck began shutting off and on.

    Meanwhile, two drivers had tire issues. On Lap 72, Parker Kligerman in the No. 75, had a left-front tire go down after contact with Austin Hill, while the race leader, Sheldon Creed, experienced a left-rear flat.

    Fortunately for Kligerman and Creed, both drivers caught a break a few laps later when the No. 68 of Greenfield would once again bring the caution out in Turn 3. During the caution, problems continued to get worse for Hill as the team attempted to diagnose his engine problem. The issue was found during a Lap 90 caution, as it was reported that Hill had a dead cylinder.

    Unfortunately for the Georgia native, the truck quit running on Lap 117 and he was credited with a 35th place finish which ended any chance of making it to the Championship 4.

    The stage would restart with two to go on Lap 98 and featured exciting action as Stewart Friesen in the No. 52 picked up his first stage win of the 2020 season. Crafton, Enfinger, Lessard, Moffitt, Ankrum, Eckes, Sauter, Hocevar, and Rhodes were the Top 10.

    it was at this very moment, we would see Enfinger’s first glimpse at the lead, as the No. 98 team used a different pit strategy during the stage break, staying out to assume the lead for the Stage 3 restart.

    Stage 3: Lap 112 – Lap 200

    As in most cases, Stage 3 saw the most action and the most yellows with six yellows flown through the remaining 88 laps.

    It would seem as though once a restart took place, another yellow would ensue which created a couple of harrowing moments for Enfinger who was trying to race his way in for a Championship 4 spot. On a Lap 161 restart, his teammate Johnny Sauter spun his tires and fell back to 18th with Enfinger right on his back bumper. Enfinger wrestled the lead away but was once again involved in a caution with 25 to go when Sheldon Creed, who was battling with Enfinger, got spun in Turn 4 after contact by the No. 98 truck.

    Things weren’t looking so great for Enfinger with the restart that came with 10 to go, as he restarted in the fourth position with some stronger trucks in front of him, including Raphael Lessard and Brett Moffitt. But the Alabaman caught a lucky break just one lap later when the No. 4 of Lessard wrecked in Turn 2 with contact from the No. 99 of Rhodes after Rhodes was caught from behind by the No. 23 of Moffitt.

    Following the yellow, the restart came with two laps to go with Enfinger and Rhodes making up the front row and both needing a victory to advance to the Championship 4. As fate would have it, Enfinger fended off Rhodes and got his fourth win of the year.

    Rhodes, unfortunately, finished second and would miss out on making the Championship 4 by just one position.

    “We had a shot, but first off, congrats to Grant they worked their butts off all year,” Rhodes said of his teammate. “They have three wins, this is their fourth, they deserve it. We were racing as hard as we can. Didn’t have the speed we needed but we hung around and my team had good strategy all day long. It’s just unfortunate.”

    There were 11 cautions for 82 laps and 16 lead changes among nine different leaders.

    Those racing for the championship include Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith. The driver who has the has the best finish of these four contenders next week at Phoenix International Raceway will win the Truck Series championship.

    Official Results following the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

    1. Grant Enfinger, led 49 laps
    2. Ben Rhodes, led one lap
    3. Zane Smith, led 20 laps
    4. Christian Eckes
    5. Matt Crafton, led six laps
    6. Stewart Friesen, won Stage 2, led five laps
    7. Danny Bohn
    8. Sheldon Creed, won Stage 1, led 65 laps
    9. Austin Wayne Self
    10. Derek Kraus
    11. Trevor Bayne
    12. Tyler Ankrum
    13. Carson Hocevar, led five laps
    14. Timmy Hill
    15. Spencer Boyd
    16. Dawson Cram
    17. Brandon Jones
    18. Sam Mayer, OUT, Crash
    19. Jordan Anderson, 1 lap down
    20. Raphael Lessard, 1 lap down
    21. Clay Greenfield, 2 laps down
    22. B.J. McLeod, 2 laps down
    23. Johnny Sauter, 3 laps down
    24. Parker Kligerman, 4 laps down
    25. Ray Ciccarelli, 4 laps down
    26. Norm Benning, 4 laps down
    27. Natalie Decker, 5 laps down
    28. Brett Moffitt, OUT, Crash
    29. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 26 laps down
    30. Ryan Truex, 31 laps down
    31. Tanner Gray, OUT, Damage Vehicle Policy
    32. Todd Gilliland, OUT, Overheating
    33. Spencer Davis, OUT, Brakes
    34. Codie Rohrbaugh, OUT, Overheating
    35. Austin Hill, OUT, Engine
    36. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Crash
    37. Josh Reaume, OUT, Transmission

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will head to their final race of the season to decide a champion at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, Nov. 6 live on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Brett Moffitt punches ticket into Championship 4 following Kansas victory

    Brett Moffitt punches ticket into Championship 4 following Kansas victory

    Despite an overtime restart and making contact with his teammate Zane Smith, Grimes, Iowa native Brett Moffitt held on to win his first race of the 2020 season at Kansas Speedway and is now one of four drivers eligible for the Championship 4.

    “Definitely relief, Moffitt said following the Kansas victory. “It’s go time in the season, and we’ve had a pretty rough one on our No. 23 (GMS) team, so it’s a lot of relief to get back to victory lane to do it in a such high-pressure situation and knowing now we have a shot to win the championship.”

    Kansas Speedway was the opening round for the Round of 8 Playoffs for the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, which began on Saturday afternoon on a windy day in Kansas City, KS. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith was on the pole with Hailie Deegan making her first Truck Series appearance starting 34th in the No. 17 DGR-Crosley Ford F-150. Stages 30-30-74 laps made up the 134-lap race but an overtime restart caused the race to go three laps longer than the advertised distance.

    Stage 1: Lap 1 – Lap 30

    The action was intense from the get-go with playoff driver Ben Rhodes brushing the Turn 2 wall early on. The Kentucky native fell in the running order as far back as 20th when the first stage ended.

    Meanwhile, GMS Racing’s Sheldon Creed swiped the lead at the start of the race and held on to win the first stage. Following Creed were Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Johnny Sauter, Moffitt, and Todd Gilliland completing the Top 10.

    Stage 2: Lap 37 – Lap 60

    After the restart on Lap 37, a major wreck occurred off Turn 4 causing a seven-minute red flag. Multiple drivers were involved in the accident including some playoff drivers. Tyler Ankrum’s truck caught on fire after breaking a fuel line and we saw his No. 26 truck go up in flames. Other involved were Talladega winner Raphael Lessard, David Gravel, Parker Kligerman, Tanner Gray, Clay Greenfield, Ben Rhodes, Dawson Cram, and Trevor Bayne.

    During the red flag, Rhodes’ team was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall as they were repairing the truck during the damaged vehicle policy. The penalty ultimately ended Rhodes’s shot of winning the race, and he eventually wound up 20th, three laps down. With just two races left before the championship race at Phoenix, the Kentucky native faces a must-win situation moving forward at Texas and Martinsville.

    Following the red flag, a few battles for the lead ensued. Zane Smith grabbed the lead from Austin Hill on Lap 48 but Creed was back out front (Lap 54) for the Stage 2 victory, sweeping both of the stages. Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Eckes, Crafton, Gilliland, Sauter, Moffitt, and Enfinger rounded out the Top 10.

    Prior to the conclusion of Stage 2, playoff drivers Christian Eckes and Austin Hill made major contact after Eckes tried avoiding the lap truck of Jennifer Jo Cobb on the frontstretch which caused Hill’s team to have a long pit stop to fix the damage during the Stage 2 break.

    Stage 3: Lap 67 – Lap 139

    With 52 laps to go, Zane Smith passed teammate Sheldon Creed for the lead. Smith maintained the lead for the longest time until the final round of the green-flag pit stops occurred with 34 laps to go. Following Smith’s, and Moffitt’s pit stops, both GMS Racing teammates battled each other on the apron. Smith held Moffitt briefly before Moffitt had the top spot.

    However, during the initial cycle, Moffitt was unable to check out which allowed Smith to close back in and take the lead again with 10 laps to go. Smith looked as though he had the race in the bag but Moffitt came back and challenged again. Unfortunately for Smith, Moffitt came down to block for the lead, but it was a little too much as Smith ended up sliding sideways into Turn(s) 3 and 4 causing an overtime restart.

    Even with the overtime restart, Moffitt scored his 12th career victory and is now locked into the Championship 4 for the third consecutive year since 2018. Zane Smith finished in the 11th position after the contact.

    “I think that was our ticket to Phoenix right there,” Smith said after the contact with Moffitt. “I felt like, I’ve really been stepping it up at the track for sure. I don’t know if that showed at the track today, but it was just whoever could work through lap traffic at the end. I got him (Moffitt) and pulled away a little bit, then he (Moffitt) got to me and did a slider. I had a big run down the hill and he (Moffitt) hit my right-front pretty hard. Luckily, I was able to save the truck off the fence.”

    There were four cautions for 24 laps and 13 lead changes among nine different drivers.

    Moffitt led twice for 15 laps en route to victory.

    Updated Playoffs standings

    1. Brett Moffitt, Locked into the Championship 4
    2. Sheldon Creed, +26 above the cut line
    3. Austin Hill, +19 above the cut line
    4. Zane Smith, +7 above the cut line
      Below the cut line
    5. Grant Enfinger, -7
    6. Matt Crafton, -15
    7. Ben Rhodes, -33
    8. Tyler Ankrum, -56

    Official Results following the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway.

    1. Brett Moffitt, led 15 laps, locked into Championship 4
    2. Sheldon Creed, (Playoff driver) led 61 laps, won both stages
    3. Austin Hill, (Playoff driver), led 13 laps
    4. Grant Enfinger, (Playoff driver), led one lap
    5. Chandler Smith, led one lap
    6. Christian Eckes, led seven laps
    7. Timothy Peters
    8. Matt Crafton, (Playoff driver)
    9. Derek Kraus
    10. Trevor Bayne
    11. Zane Smith, (Playoff driver), led 37 laps
    12. Ryan Truex, 1 lap down
    13. Todd Gilliland, 1 lap down
    14. Tyler Hill, 1 lap down
    15. Parker Kligerman, 1 lap down
    16. Hailie Deegan, 1 lap down
    17. Tate Fogleman, 1 lap down
    18. Johnny Sauter, 1 lap down, led one lap
    19. Austin Wayne Self, 2 laps down
    20. Ben Rhodes, (Playoff driver), 3 laps down
    21. Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
    22. Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
    23. Dawson Cram, 4 laps down
    24. Colin Garrett, 4 laps down
    25. Clay Greenfield, 5 laps down
    26. Ray Ciccarelli, 6 laps down
    27. Josh Bilicki, 7 laps down
    28. Jennifer Jo Cobb, 9 laps down
    29. Jordan Anderson, 12 laps down
    30. Norm Benning, OUT, Vibration
    31. Tim Viens, OUT, Fuel Pump
    32. Raphael Lessard, OUT, Crash
    33. Tyler Ankrum, (Playoff driver) OUT, Crash
    34. David Gravel, OUT, Crash
    35. Tanner Gray, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series will visit Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 25 scheduled for noon ET on FOX Sports 1 and MRN Radio.

  • Briscoe snaps a one-month dry spell; rallies to win at Dover

    Briscoe snaps a one-month dry spell; rallies to win at Dover

    From a wreck on Saturday to a win on Sunday, Chase Briscoe capped off an up-and-down weekend at Dover International Speedway by winning the second Drydene 200 event on August 23 in a backup car and following a late battle with Ross Chastain. The victory was Briscoe’s sixth of the season, first since early July at Indianapolis and the eighth of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Saturday’s first Xfinity race at Dover, where only the top-15 finishers were inverted. With that, Brett Moffitt, who finished 15th on Saturday, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Brandon Brown.

    Chase Briscoe started at the rear of the field after moving to a backup car along with Daniel Hemric due to a driver change. Anthony Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Alex Labbe and Vinnie Miller also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Noah Gragson and Myatt Snider retained their starting spots for Sunday’s event, but both lost their pit stall selection for next week due to two pre-race technical failures.

    When the green flag waved and the second Xfinity Dover race commenced, Moffitt jumped to an early advantage through Turns 1 and 2. Justin Haley moved up to second place followed by rookie Riley Herbst while Brown fell back to fourth place in front of Noah Gragson. 

    By the third lap, Justin Allgaier, coming off his first win of this season at Dover on Saturday and who started 15th, moved up to eighth place. Ryan Sieg, on the other hand, fell back to 12th place behind rookie Harrison Burton while Austin Cindric was scored in 10th place.

    Following the first 10 laps, the first caution of the race flew due to an incident involving Earnhardt and Miller in the backstretch, where they made contact with one another and towards the outside wall before Miller made more contact against the Turn 3 outside wall. By then, Moffitt was still leading over Haley, Herbst, Gragson and Allgaier. Ross Chastain was in seventh place ahead of Cindric and Michael Annett while Burton was in 10th. Brandon Jones was in 14th, Chase Briscoe was in 16th and Alfredo, who rallied from power issues that forced him to start at the rear of the field, was in 20th ahead of Daniel Hemric.

    Under caution, few like Timmy Hill, Stephen Leicht, Matt Mills and Korbin Forrister pitted.

    When the race restarted around the Lap 15 mark, Moffitt retained the lead following a strong start. Haley and Herbst battled for second place while behind, Brown got loose underneath Gragson in Turn 3. Brown and Gragson were able to prevent their cars from spinning despite sliding sideways as they continued running inside the top 10. 

    Towards the front, Chastain took over second place followed by Herbst while Haley fell back to fourth in front of teammates Allgaier and Gragson. Meanwhile, Moffitt retained the lead through Lap 20 and when the competition caution flew.

    Under caution, only a few that included Brandon Jones, Hemric, Josh Williams, Stephen Leicht, Kody Vanderwal and Matt Mills pitted while the rest remained on track. Prior to the restart, Burton was sent to the rear due to a choose cone violation.

    When the race restarted on Lap 24, Moffitt and Chastain battled dead before Chastain emerged with the lead the following lap. Behind, Allgaier continued to muscle his way to the front after taking over third place from Herbst. In addition, Gragson passed Haley for fifth place while Cindric and Briscoe moved up to seventh and eighth. Hemric also emerged in the top 10 as he battled Brandon Brown for more.

    Following Lap 30, Chastain was ahead by nearly a second over Moffitt and more than a second over Allgaier. Behind, Jones, racing on fresh tires, was in 18th. Five laps later, Chastain extended his advantage to more than a second over Moffit and nearly two seconds over Allgaier. Gragson moved back up into the top five while Haley, Briscoe, Cindric and Hemric battled for sixth place.

    Another five laps later and with the laps in the first stage dwindling, Chastain continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Allgaier and Moffitt. Proving he had a fast car throughout Saturday’s Xfinity Dover race and in the early stages of Sunday’s event, Chastain raced to his first stage victory of the season on Lap 45. Allgaier settled in second followed by Moffitt, Herbst and Gragson. Briscoe, Cindric, Haley, Hemric and Brown were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Jones emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop. Behind, Allgaier beat Chastain to exit in second place, but the first on four fresh tires. Following the stops, however, Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the second stage started past the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier muscled ahead with the lead. Behind, Chastain and Briscoe made a three-wide move on Jones to move up followed by Cindric while Jones fell back to fifth place. In addition, Gragson took over seventh place from Hemric while Burton moved up to ninth ahead of Haley. Shortly after, Alfredo joined the battle as he battled Burton for a top-10 spot.

    While the batting around the track among multiple competitors continued to ensue, Allgaier was ahead by two-tenths of a second over Chastain and with Briscoe and Cindric trailing closely behind the two leaders. By Lap 60, the top-four competitors were ahead by more than a second over fifth-place Jones and more than two seconds over sixth-place Gragson.

    Past the Lap 60 mark, the caution returned due to an incident in Turn 2 involving Earnhardt and Herbst. Under caution, few that included Jeremy Clements, B.J. McLeod, Kody Vanderwal and Chad Finchum pitted while the rest remained on track.

    On Lap 69, the race restarted and the battle for the lead ignited between Allgaier, Chastain, Briscoe and Cindric. The following lap, Briscoe moved up to second place and he grabbed the lead the next lap. While Briscoe led his first lap of the day, Chastain and Cindric battled for third place followed by Gragson while Hemric moved up to sixth place after passing Jones.

    By Lap 80, Briscoe was ahead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Chastain, Cindric and Gragson continued running inside the top five. Behind, Hemric and Jones were in sixth and seventh and Moffit was in eighth ahead of Haley and Burton. Alfredo was in 11th ahead of Brown and Michael Annet, Sieg was in 14th ahead of Snider and Herbst was in 16th.

    For the final 10 laps of the second stage, Briscoe was able to power away from the field and claim his fifth stage of the season on Lap 90. Allgaier settled in second followed by Chastain, Cindric and Gragson. Hemric, Jones, Moffitt, Burton and Haley were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Briscoe retained the lead after exiting pit road first following a four-tire stop followed by Cindric, Hemric, Chastain, Burton and Jones while Allgaier fell back to eighth place. The race went from bad to worse for Allgaier, who dropped to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation. Labbe also dropped to the rear of the field due to crew member interference.

    With nearly 100 laps remaining, the final stage started and Briscoe retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane. Chastain moved up to second place over Cindric while Burton moved up to fourth place over Hemric. Gragson and Jones also joined the battle involving Burton and Hemric.

    Three laps later and at the halfway mark on Lap 100, Briscoe was ahead by nearly a second over Chastain, who continued to run ahead of Cindric for the runner-up spot. Another 10 laps later and with 90 laps remaining, Briscoe was still leading by more than a second over Chastain and Cindric. Hemric and Burton settled in the top five ahead of Gragson, Annett, Jones, Herbst and Moffitt. Meanwhile, following his uncontrolled tire violation penalty, Allgaier raced his way back up to 14th behind Alfredo, Haley and Sieg. Brown was in 15th, Snider was in 17th and Clements was in 19th.

    With 80 laps remaining and while the laps continued to dwindle, Briscoe stabilized his advantage to nearly a second over Chastain with Cindric trailing by two seconds. Hemric trailed by less than four seconds while Burton trailed by more than four seconds. Gragson settled in sixth while Annett and Jones battled for seventh. Allgaier, meanwhile, was up to 11th.

    Twenty laps later and with 60 laps remaining, Briscoe extended his advantage to two seconds over Chastain followed by Cindric, Hemric and Burton. Behind, Allgaier was back in the top 10 as he was running in 10th place.

    With approximately 40 laps remaining and with only 11 cars on the lead lap, Hemric was the first of the lead-lap competitors to make a green flag pit stop for fresh tires and fuel to complete the race to its distance. Shortly after, Burton made the turn to pit road, but he was penalized for a commitment line violation after he locked up his tires, nearly slid while turning down the banking and failed to keep all four tires inside the pit road entrance line. Haley, not long after, pitted along with race leader Briscoe, Cindric, Moffitt and Chastain.

    While the pit stops under green continued to cycle through, Stefan Parsons spun while entering pit road. At the same time, Chastain and Briscoe made contact with one another as Chastain blocked and attempted to retain his spot ahead of Briscoe, who approached him with full speed, bumped him and struggled to navigate his way around Chastain’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Shortly after, Briscoe bumped and moved Chastain out of the way in Turn 3. 

    At the front, after Jones pitted, Gragson retained the lead ahead of Annett, Allgaier and Alfredo, but all needed to make a final pit stop to complete the race to its distance. Behind, Briscoe was in sixth ahead of Chastain, Cindric and Hemric.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, Annett was the leader after teammate Gragson pitted. Behind, Briscoe was ahead by less than two seconds over Chastain. Shortly after, Briscoe extended his advantage over Chastain after Chastain struggled to navigate his way through three lapped cars.

    With 12 laps remaining, Briscoe reassumed the lead after Annett pitted. By then, he was ahead by nearly three seconds over Chastain while Cindric started to close within Chastain for the runner-up spot.

    Under 10 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to stabilize his advantage to nearly three seconds over Chastain and Cindric. For the remainder of the race and with a decent advantage, Briscoe was able to navigate his way through lapped traffic and claim his sixth checkered flag of the season.

    The victory was the 17th in the Xfinity Series for Stewart-Haas Racing since joining forces with Fred Biagi as Briscoe currently leads the current Xfinity field with the most wins of this season (six). In addition, Briscoe recorded his third victory of this season with crew chief Richard Boswell and the 11th for Ford (ninth since June).

    “At the beginning of the race, as soon as we took the green [flag], I knew that I was gonna be really good,” Briscoe said on MRN. “The car was way better than what it was yesterday and really what I was looking for. I think we were able to finish sixth in the first stage from the back. I knew that if we could just get clean air, I was gonna be in really good shape. That long run, I felt like I was not the greatest, but just having clean air helped. The green flag cycle, I lost the race last year because I didn’t come to pit road hard enough. I still, obviously, gave up a lot of time to Ross [Chastain]. I got to get a lot better at that. I didn’t want a caution because I had such a big lead, but I was wanting a caution so I didn’t have to do green flag pit stops. Overall, super happy to get HighPoint.com back in Victory Lane. It feels like it’s been forever and it’s only been a month and a half. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into the Playoffs.”

    While celebrating his win, Briscoe took a moment to address his on-track contact with Chastain.

    “Me and Ross, I feel like, always race really hard, but we normally keep it clean,” Briscoe added. “I knew that Ross would’ve did the exact same thing in my situation, especially if I’d done what I did off of pit road. I packed air on him, I didn’t hit him. I think once I packed air on him, he slowed up so much. I was so close, I hit him eventually, but I didn’t wreck him. I think he knew I wasn’t very happy after getting ran down the apron. I just moved him out of the way. He’s trying to win his first race of the year. His job is to not let cars pass him…that’s the same as my job. I did what I did.”

    Chastain finished in second place for his ninth top-five result of the season followed by Cindric, who has finished in the top five in the last nine Xfinity races. Despite the contact with Briscoe, Chastain expressed no hard feelings towards the race winner.

    “I’m just proud of this whole Moose Fraternity team, this No. 10 car, this Kaulig Racing group,” Chastain said. “We’ve been working at it. We didn’t have the speed to start the year. We had high expectations. We’ve been working as a group. I’m just proud that we came here with no practice and we had a car capable of winning both days. We just needed a few more things to go our way. I think if we came back and raced again tomorrow, we probably had one. We keep getting one spot better every day. Our changes overtime were incredible. They were exactly what I needed. Once the race went on, then I needed a little more. It’s one of those things, it’s tough right now…this whole Kaulig group is getting hot and getting fast at the right time.”

    “Obviously, a solid day,” Cindric added. “Not the best. We tried some things overnight. Probably the first doubleheader, we tried some things and it didn’t work. It didn’t help when we didn’t have track position. We weren’t able to work our way as forward as quickly we did yesterday on our PPG Ford Mustang. [We] Scored some solid points and move on to Daytona and try to have a little fun there.”

    Jones and Hemric rounded out the top five following stellar runs. Finishing in the top 10 were Gragson, Allgaier, Annett, Herbst and Moffitt as only the top-seven competitors finished on the lead lap. Following his pair of penalties, Burton finished in 11th place ahead of Haley.

    There were 12 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 24 laps.

    With his pair of podium results, Cindric continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 62 points over Briscoe and 97 over Gragson.

    Results.

    1. Chase Briscoe, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Ross Chastain, 24 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Austin Cindric, one lap led

    4. Brandon Jones, eight laps led

    5. Daniel Hemric

    6. Noah Gragson, 11 laps led

    7. Justin Allgaier, 19 laps led

    8. Michael Annett, one lap down, five laps led

    9. Riley Herbst, one lap down

    10. Brett Moffitt, one lap down, 25 laps led

    11. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    12. Justin Haley, one lap down

    13. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    14. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

    15. Tommy Joe Martins, two laps down

    16. Brandon Brown, two laps down

    17. Alex Labbe, two laps down 

    18. Myatt Snider, three laps down

    19. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

    20. David Starr, three laps down

    21. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

    22. Josh Williams, three laps down

    23. Jesse Little, three laps down

    24. Chad Finchum, four laps down

    25. B.J. McLeod, four laps down

    26. Colby Howard, four laps down

    27. Kody Vanderwal, four laps down

    28. Stefan Parsons, four laps down

    29. Jeffrey Earnhardt, five laps down

    30. Matt Mills, six laps down

    31. Stephen Leicht, eight laps down

    32. Korbin Forrister – OUT, Brakes

    33. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

    34. Timmy Hill – OUT, Overheating

    35. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Suspension

    36. Vinner Miller – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Talladega Xfinity race features unique top-15 finishers

    Talladega Xfinity race features unique top-15 finishers

    While Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley and Ross Chastain emerged victorious with the race win and the third Dash 4 Cash bonus on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, there were a multitude of competitors who avoided a series of late calamities and earned strong results at one of the world’s fastest superspeedway venues.

    The first was Brett Moffitt. A former champion of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Moffitt made his ninth start of the season in the No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. Starting 20th, the Grimes, Iowa, native found himself in the right place at the right time in the closing laps, running within the top 10 and in the lead pack. Following a series of carnages, which he was avoid to dodge, Moffitt restarted 10th with three laps remaining and was able to gain five more spots to finish fifth. The result was Moffitt’s first top-five career result in the Xfinity Series and his third top-10 result in his 12th series start. The fifth-place result was also the best for Our Motorsports in the team’s 11th race in the series this season, having achieved a sixth-place result at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    Behind Moffitt, Anthony Alfredo backed up his his first top-five finish in the series last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway to notch another top-10 result in his first Xfinity performance at Talladega. Starting 10th, Alfredo finished second in the first stage and 12th in the second while leading his first career laps at Talladega (five). Spending the majority of the race inside the top 10, dodging the late carnages and rallying from a late pit road speeding penalty, Alfredo restarted fifth with three laps remaining and with a final opportunity to pull off his first win in an upset fashion. Ultimately, he was able to cross the line in sixth for his fourth top-10 result of the season. Through six races he has competed in thus far, he has finished no worse than 14th.

    Next was Gray Gaulding, who emerged with a top-10 result in his first Xfinity Series start of the season. A year after notching a career-best runner-up result at Talladega as a full-time competitor for SS-Green Light Racing, Gaulding started this season without a full-time ride. After competing in four Cup races this season with Rick Ware Racing, Gaulding made his first Xfinity start of the season at Talladega while returning to SS-Green Light Racing. Starting 21st, Gaulding was ninth with three laps remaining and was able to gain one more spot to finish eighth. The result was Gaulding’s fifth Xfinity top-10 career result in his 42nd series start and SS-Green Light Racing’s second top-10 result of this season after finishing eighth at Daytona International Speedway in February with Ray Black Jr.

    In addition, Alex Labbe, who started 27th, managed to escaped the late carnage to restart in sixth with three laps remaining and cross the finish line inside the top-10 (ninth). The top-10 result was Labbe’s fourth of his Xfinity career and second of this season after finishing 10th in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway in February while also leading 19 laps. The result came with a little victory for the Saint-Albert, Quebec, native, who will receive his first opportunity to compete for the $100,000 bonus from the Dash 4 Cash program next weekend at Pocono Raceway alongside Haley, Chastain and Austin Cindric.

    Finishing just outside the top 10 were Brandon Brown and rookie Jesse Little. Brown, who was running inside the top 10 in the late stages of the race, finished 11th for his ninth top-15 finish of the season while Little, a newcomer to the series, earned his fourth top-15 result this season and emerged as the highest-running rookie candidate in the race. In addition, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Tommy Joe Martins managed to finish inside the top 15 while dodging a multi-car pileup on the frontstretch feet away from the finish line. Earnhardt, who finished 14th, claimed his second top-15 result of the season while Martins claimed his first top-15 finish since finishing 11th at Iowa Speedway in June 2017. 

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return at Pocono Raceway on June 28 as part of a quadruple-header weekend and on the same day as the second NASCAR Cup Series race of the weekend at the Tricky Triangle. The race will air at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • GMS Racing Gander Trucks Las Vegas Preview

    GMS Racing Gander Trucks Las Vegas Preview

    Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Trench Shoring / Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Silverado

    Las Vegas Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 2, Best start: 9, Laps led: 4

    2020 Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts:1, Best start: 12, Best finish: 9, Laps led: 2

    Notes:

    – Sheldon Creed qualified and finished inside the top 10 for both races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2019.
    – Creed and the No. 2 team will utilize chassis No. 324 this week in Las Vegas. This is a brand new chassis in the GMS stable.
    – Creed enters the weekend ninth in the championship standings.

    Quote:

    “I’m ready to get to Vegas. I had a strong run both times we were out here last year and I think we’ll run well this week. We’re bringing a brand new truck this week so it’s exciting to see how that will perform. I know all the guys at the shop have been working hard to get ready for these first few races and now it’s time to go out there and show what we got.”

    Zane Smith, No. 21 The Cosmopolitan at Las Vegas Chevrolet Silverado

    Las Vegas Gander Trucks Stats
    – Making his first Gander Trucks start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    2020 Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 1, Best start: 6, Best finish: 11

    Notes:

    – Although this is Zane Smith’s first Gander Trucks start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the rookie did make one Xfinity Series start at the track in 2019 where he qualified sixth.
    – Smith and the No. 21 team will compete with chassis No. 301 this week in Las Vegas. This chassis was used five times in the 2019 season and notably finished second at Texas in March of 2019.
    – Smith enters the Las Vegas weekend 12th in the Gander Trucks points standings.
    – The Cosmopolitan at Las Vegas will partner with Smith for this weekend’s event. The Cosmopolitan is a unique luxury resort hotel and casino in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.

    Quote:

    “I’m excited to get out to the West Coast. I’ve raced at Las Vegas in an Xfinity car so I’m familiar with the track, but it will be interesting to be there in a truck for the first time. It’s really exciting to be able to represent The Cosmopolitan at their home track.”

    Brett Moffitt, No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet Silverado

    Las Vegas Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 4, Best start: 2, Best finish: 2, Laps led: 57

    2020 Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 1, Best start: 2, Best finish: 13

    Notes:

    – Brett Moffitt has qualified inside the top 10 in every Gander Trucks event at Las Vegas that he has entered. Moffitt has scored a top-10 finish in every Las Vegas Gander Trucks start with the exception of September 2018, where he finished 11th.
    – Moffitt and the No. 23 team will utilize chassis No. 321. Moffitt competed with this chassis at Las Vegas in September 2019, where he qualified fourth, finished seventh and led 12 laps.
    – Moffitt will be pulling double duty this weekend, racing in Friday night’s Gander Trucks race as well as Saturday’s Xfinity race for Our Motorsports.

    Quote:

    “I’m ready to get to Las Vegas and really show what we’ve worked on in the off season. I had strong runs in both Vegas races last year and I’m looking forward to building on that this weekend. Las Vegas is the home of the Gallagher family, and to go out there and get a win for Mr. Gallagher with Allegiant on our Silverado would be really cool.”

    Tyler Ankrum, No. 26 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado

    Las Vegas Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 1, Best finish: 11

    2020 Gander Trucks Stats
    – Starts: 1, Best start: 7, Laps led: 1

    Notes:

    – Tyler Ankrum is set to make only his second start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
    – Ankrum and the No. 26 will compete with chassis No. 322. This chassis went to victory lane at Phoenix in November 2019.
    – Ankrum enters the Las Vegas event 11th in the points standings.

    Quote:

    “I’m ready to take on Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Daytona didn’t end how we wanted to and I’m looking to bounce back this week. I’m confident in what my guys are bringing to the track and everybody at GMS has been working hard to get us prepared for these first few races. It’ll be nice to be out on the West Coast. I’ve got some friends and family coming in from California and I’m looking forward to going out and competing for a win.”

    ABOUT GMS RACING

    GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series with drivers Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Tyler Ankrum and Zane Smith as well as part-time with David Gravel. The team also competes in the ARCA Racing Series with Sam Mayer. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 Gander Trucks Championship, the 2019 ARCA East championship and has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://gmsracing.net/.

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow GMS Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  • Moffitt’s and Friesen’s bid for a championship comes short

    Moffitt’s and Friesen’s bid for a championship comes short

    Brett Moffitt was hoping to be the first driver to win a second consecutive Truck Series title and he was certainly capable of doing so. However, he came up short Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Despite winning at Bristol and Canada, the GMS driver was winless throughout the rest of the Playoffs. But his consistency kept him in play and he had a sizable points lead in the rest of the rounds. Moffitt knew it was going to be tough to outlast the other Championship 4 drivers, but if it was going to be anyone, he had one of the best chances with the powerhouse GMS Racing team.

    Moffitt started fourth based on owner points but never could get his Truck in a winning position. The No. 24 machine struggled most of the night, finishing fourth in both stages and only being able to lead three laps. The team tried some adjustments throughout the race, even winning the race off pit road after one of the stages to put Moffitt in the lead for one restart.

    However, it would be the only time we saw the Grimes, Iowa native out front. In fact, the GMS driver ran as low as 21st at one point. Then, with a late race pit stop, he had one more chance to run for the title. Moffitt fell short though and wound up finishing fifth in the running order and third in the championship.

    “We were missing speed overall,” Moffitt explained to MRN Radio. “We struggled all day from the time we unloaded. The Truck got a lot better, everyone worked hard. Jerry (Baxter, Crew Chief) and all my guys made improvements, but we just missed it. It is what it is, we’ll regroup and get better, and we’ll go for it in 2020. Just can’t thank the Maury Gallagher family enough for this opportunity and everyone that helped us out all year. CMR Roofing and all the countless sponsors we had throughout the season. It’s a bummer, we’ll move on and get better as an organization.”

    Moffitt finishes the year with four wins, 13 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes, while also achieving three poles.

    Moffitt’s technical teammate and last week’s winner Stewart Friesen also had an opportunity to secure the title. With qualifying rained out, the Canadian inherited the pole based on owner points. This gave Friesen the advantage to be out front at a track where track position means everything.

    Friesen and the No. 52 Halmar team had a good run early in Stage 1, running up front with Ross Chastain and finishing third when the stage ended. Though it seemed like his Truck began to go away and it became challenging for Friesen in the rest of the remaining laps. Stage 2 saw him finishing fifth but he had to deal with an ill-handling Truck.

    As the handling became an issue, Friesen was unable to get the Truck to his liking. The team continued to struggle to fight for track position with a long green-flag run. Stage 3 went the distance and saw no cautions, which could have helped Halmar Racing find the adjustment they needed. Ultimately, Friesen finished a disappointing 11th, last out of the Championship 4 drivers.

    “An uphill battle,” Friesen described to MRN Radio. “Thanks to Halmar and all these guys that worked so hard. Thanks for all the support, got a lot of friends and family here. I appreciate everyone watching at home and those who came down here to support us. We just didn’t have a chance, we struggled. We could hang a little bit on the short end, but not on the long run. It was just a swing and a miss tonight.”

    Even winning two races this season was not satisfactory for Friesen at the moment following the final race.

    “It’s good to win a couple of races,” he added. “It would have been a lot cooler to have had a chance at it tonight. Like I said, we could hang on the short run, but it would just back up. We’ll hopefully put something together and come back stronger for next time.”

    The Canadian finishes 2019 with two wins, 12 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes along with one pole to his name.