In dominant fashion, Christopher Bell did what he has done for most of the season, ending the race in victory lane.
“I just had a really good race car,” Bell told NBCSN. “This track’s been really good to us and our team.”
Bell led 186 of the 200 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway en route to his fifth victory of the season and the second at New Hampshire.
Cole Custer finished second, followed by Justin Allgaier, Tyler Reddick and Paul Menard rounding out the top five.
Stage 1:
Custer started on the pole but was quickly taken by Bell on Lap 2 into Turn 1. Bell led all the way until 10 to go in the stage when the No. 23 of John Hunter Nemechek lost his brakes and got into the wall. His day was quickly over, not the result that he was looking for at New Hampshire.
With under 10 to go in the stage during this caution, teams chose to select some different strategies. The leaders came in but Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones, among others, stayed out in the hope that either a caution would come out close to the stage ending or they could hold on for some stage points.
That hopefulness worked as Jones ended up winning the stage with Bell, Reddick, Sieg and Allgaier rounding out the top five.
Stage 2:
Stage two continued with Reddick and Bell side by side with the Oklahoma native getting the advantage. Allgaier was able to get up to second but was unable to get past Bell for the stage win.
Custer ended up in third with Reddick and Menard rounding out the top five. With the stage going green the entire way, only 20 cars remained on the lead lap.
Final Stage:
Bell and Allgaier came in one and two and came out of pit lane, one and two, as they restarted the third and final stage.
Bell started out with the lead and pulled away from the field fairly easily. Allgaier wasn’t so lucky as he battled Custer for second and eventually lost the spot to Custer. It stayed like that until Lap 141 when the yellow waved for what was a debris caution. The lap before, the No. 9 of Noah Gragson, tagged the wall and was quickly losing positions after battling for a top 10 spot.
They went back under green but for the first time this afternoon, the beating and banging was evident. It started when Gragson got into with Austin Cindric. Cindric continued battling, this time with the No. 8 of Ryan Truex.
While that was going the No. 18 of Harrison Burton was battling with Menard until Menard had enough and turned Burton heading into Turn 1 on Lap 153. Menard said on the radio that, “He needs to race me clean. He hit me twice.” Burton went on to finish 29th.
The race went back green once again with 42 laps to go and like most of the day, Bell started from the front and pulled away once the green was in the air. However, unlike the previous caution, it was Custer who was chasing down Bell and not Allgaier. Custer was making ground for a little bit but in the end, Bell was too much for him and ended up in victory lane.
Next up for the Xfinity Series? Their second trip to Iowa where Christopher Bell won earlier this year.
Cole Custer continued his hot streak by winning the pole for Saturday afternoon’s Roxor 200 at a hot and steamy New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I didn’t know it was going to be a pole lap honestly,” Custer said after the qualifying. “I thought I could’ve hit it a little bit better. This Haas Automation Mustang has been the best car I have had in New Hampshire in a long time. I can’t thank Mike Shiplett and everybody enough. They brought a really fast car and hopefully we can stay up front today.”
Christopher Bell will start second, followed by Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top five.
Brandon Jones will start sixth, followed by Harrison Burton, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Truex and Noah Gragson to round out the top 10.
Tyler Reddick will start 11th for this afternoon’s race.
After crashing in practice, Camden Murphy attempted to go out and qualify in his Mike Harmon Entry but during his pace lap, he felt something was wrong and went back down onto pit road and did not record a lap.
The ROXOR 200 will get underway at 4 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBCSN.
Christopher Bell led 186 of 250 laps on Sunday to win the NASCAR Xfinity series Circuitcity.com at Iowa Speedway. This was his fourth victory of the season and his second straight win at Iowa.
It was his 12th victory in 55 Xfinity Series races.
“Man, I got to win at Dover on Mother’s Day weekend, or, I guess it was the week before with my mom there,” Bell said. “Now I just won on Father’s Day with my dad here, so it was pretty special.”
Bell dominated the race in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sweeping all the stages.
Pole-sitter Cole Custer led the first 51 laps before Bell was able to pass him for the lead during the first stage and Custer ultimately finished second.
When asked about the contact with Bell which led to him losing the lead, Custer said, “I think it was racing. I think every driver will agree that this place puts on the best racing that we go to, so it was fun. Christopher (Bell) and them had the best car all day. I feel like we caught up to them a good amount. We just need a little more time to work on it.”
Justin Allgaier earned third place in his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton in fourth while Zane Smith finished fifth in the JRM No. 8. Noah Gragson finished sixth and was the highest finishing rookie.
Tyler Reddick had a flat tire right before the finish of Stage 1, putting him two laps down. He finished 15th and holds the series points lead by 51 points over Bell.
Xfinity Series Race Number 14
Race Results for the 9th Annual CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron – Sunday, June 16, 2019 Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA – 0.875 – Mile Paved Total Race Length – 250 Laps – 218.75 Miles
Fin
Str
No
Driver
Team
Laps
S1Pos
S2Pos
Pts
Status
1
2
20
Christopher Bell
Ruud Toyota
250
1
1
60
Running
2
1
0
Cole Custer
FIELDS Ford
250
2
2
53
Running
3
14
7
Justin Allgaier
BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
250
3
5
48
Running
4
10
18
Harrison Burton(i)
Dex Imaging Toyota
250
5
3
0
Running
5
3
8
Zane Smith
LaPaz Margarita Mix Chevrolet
250
6
6
42
Running
6
4
9
Noah Gragson #
Switch Chevrolet
250
4
0
38
Running
7
9
98
Chase Briscoe #
Nutri Chomps/Bomgaars Ford
250
0
0
30
Running
8
6
23
John Hunter Nemechek #
Allegiant Chevrolet
250
8
9
34
Running
9
12
1
Michael Annett
TMC Transportation Chevrolet
250
10
7
33
Running
10
7
22
Austin Cindric
Menards/Richmond Ford
250
9
4
36
Running
11
11
19
Brandon Jones
1st Foundation Toyota
250
0
8
29
Running
12
13
51
Jeremy Clements
RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet
250
0
0
25
Running
13
8
11
Justin Haley #
LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet
250
7
10
29
Running
14
18
8
Gray Gaulding
Chevrolet
250
0
0
23
Running
15
5
2
Tyler Reddick
TAME the BEAST Chevrolet
249
0
0
22
Running
16
19
7
Ray Black II
ISOKERN Fireplaces & Chimneys Scuba Life Chevrolet
249
0
0
21
Running
17
23
36
Josh Williams
Starbrite Star Tron/Simcraft Chevrolet
249
0
0
20
Running
18
17
28
Shane Lee
Circuit City Toyota
248
0
0
19
Running
19
21
21
Joe Graf Jr.
Eat Sleep Race Chevrolet
247
0
0
18
Running
20
33
15
Tyler Matthews
Line Tec Services Chevrolet
247
0
0
17
Running
21
20
42
Chad Finchum
MBM Motorsports Toyota
246
0
0
16
Running
22
32
1
Ryan Repko
The McLain Group Chevrolet
245
0
0
15
Running
23
28
99
Ryan Ellis
The Wes Cook Band Toyota
244
0
0
14
Running
24
27
90
Ronnie Bassett Jr.
Bassett Gutters and More Chevrolet
244
0
0
13
Running
25
22
4
Stephen Leicht
SEM Chevrolet
204
0
0
12
Brakes
26
26
5
Matt Mills
J.F. Electric Chevrolet
123
0
0
11
Electrical
27
34
74
Mike Harmon
The Journey Home Project/Charlie Daniels Chevrolet
Christopher Bell captured his third Xfinity Series victory of the season in Saturday’s Allied Steel Buildings 200 at Dover International Speedway. Bell also won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash’ bonus for scoring the highest finish among a field of four drivers.
“I just can’t say enough about everyone on this team 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing. They never quit. They keep working and over the last couple weeks we’ve had really fast race cars, but we just haven’t been able to capitalize on it. This one is really out to my pit crew. They did a great job of getting me out first there where I could control the restarts,” Bell said.
“Over that long run there, I felt like I could make gains on him running the top. Last time we were here, the top was really good for me, but it seemed like it rubbered up more and the top was a little less of a disadvantage. Once we got the lead – thank you to my pit crew, they did an outstanding job – it’s really special to be here,” Bell continued.
Cole Custer dominated the race, leading 155 laps but after Kaz Grala’s spin on Lap 154, everybody came in for one final stop and the Joe Gibbs squad got Bell out before Stewart-Haas Racing’s group.
Bell said after the race in Victory Lane, “There’s no doubt that he (Cole Custer) was really good.”
Bell had to overcome not one restart but two restarts as Riley Herbst spun out on Lap 175 and then once again on Lap 181 as Grey Gaulding got involved in an incident with Vinnie Miller.
Justin Allgaier finished second for his fifth top-10 this year, Tyler Reddick was third followed by Custer and Chase Briscoe to round out the top five.
Stage 1:
Cole Custer led from wire to wire after starting on the pole in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. The Ladera Ranch, California native went coast to coast, leading all 40 laps as there was no caution during the first stage. There was an incident, however, as Noah Gragson got into the wall. There was no yellow as Gragson was able to continue. Gragson ended up finishing 19th after having to pit late in the race.
Stage 2:
Stage 2 began right where it left off in Stage 1 as the winner from Auto Club Speedway continued his approach to tame Miles the Monster. Custer began the race leading only 38 laps in his four previous trips to the Monster Mile. After the second stage? He led double that. Custer once again led from start to finish, lapping everybody up to 15th place before the green and checkered flags waved to end the stage.
This was Bell’s 11th victory in 51 Xfinity starts in his career but he does trail Tyler Reddick by 23 points in the point standings.
The NASCAR Xfinity teams will have two weeks off before heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend.
Xfinity Series Race Number 10 Race Results for the 38th Annual Allied Steel Buildings 200 – Saturday, May 4, 2019 Dover International Speedway – Dover, DE – 1. – Mile Concrete Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 200. Miles
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 was held Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway with not only bragging rights on the line. For four drivers there was also a whole lot of cash dangling like a carrot in front of them.
The race was the first in the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program which offers an extra $100,000 bonus for the top four finishers. Along with Bell, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Michael Annett qualified for the Dash 4 Cash last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the opening round of the program.
Christopher Bell driving his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota earned his first victory at Bristol along with the giant check that came with the win. This was his 10th Xfinity Series career win. Four of Bell’s wins have come on short tracks.
“It’s pretty cool to get my first win here with the Dash 4 Cash bonus,” Bell commented. “Thank you, Xfinity for doing that.” He added, “ I’m just thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing and driving for such a wonderful team, my guys on pit road have just been outstanding.”
Tyler Reddick in his No.2 Richard Childress Racing Chevy had a special paint scheme honoring Dolly Parton. Reddick wore a big blonde wig before the race in her honor. He pushed his car about as hard as he could but Bell was too fast for him.
“I just needed a little more to get past Christopher,” Reddick stated, “ When I’m behind him it’s hard to make a pass. It was great to have Dolly Parton on our car today. It was a good day but it’s a shame we thought Stage 1 ended a lap too soon, we should have gotten that stage point,” Reddick chuckled.
Stage 1 started with Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick on the front row. The first caution came out when the car of Jeff Green got loose and took Ross Chastain with him, and with both cars receiving heavy damage, they were both done for the day. Reddick had a miscue with his spotter, thinking the stage was over, and backed off, giving Justin Allgaier the Stage 1 win.
Stage 2 started with Allgaier and Reddick on the front row. Allgaier kept the lead at the restart and led every lap in the stage. The only caution was for the spinning car of Jeremy Clements. The stage would end under caution giving the Stage 2 win to Allgaier.
The final stage of the race started with Allgaier once again in the lead. Out of the blue, the No. 7 of Allgaier had problems and he took his car to the garage. Bell took the lead when Allgaier slowed on the track. The only caution of the stage was for Harrison Burton who slid sideways and slowed after cutting a tire down.
Brandon Jones took a risk and stayed out when everyone else came to pit road, inheriting the lead. Several cars were fighting loose conditions and bounced off the wall including the No. 00 of Cole Custer in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Bell grabbed the lead when Jones fell back on older tires and never looked back winning the race along with the Dash 4 Cash money.
Custer, in spite of fighting loose conditions, kept his car in the top five all day and came home in third place. Although he had a good finish Custer wasn’t very happy with his performance.
“I wasn’t happy. It’s so frustrating,” Bell said, “ I think we were the best car at the end it’s just we didn’t have the fire off speed on the restarts to get the track position. We’ll all get better, I’m just so frustrated. I wish we’d had a shot to really go for the win there.”
Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek would round out the top five. Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, and Harrison Burton finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
The lap leaders for today’s race were Allgaier who led 138 laps, Reddick who led 61 laps, Custer leading 26 laps, Jones led 19 laps, and Bell led 57 laps.
Reddick leads the Xfinity Series Standings with 321 points, Bell is second with 308 points, Custer is third with 275 points, Cindric is fourth with 251 points and Annett rounds out the top five with 238 points.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Richmond International Raceway on Friday, April 12 where the top four finishers at Bristol – Bell, Reddick, Custer and Briscoe – will be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash.
Xfinity Series Race Number 7 Race Results for the 37th Annual Alsco 300 – Saturday, April 6, 2019 Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN – 0.533 – Mile Concrete Total Race Length – 300 Laps – 159.9 Miles
LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch recovers from an early race issue to win the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Since winning Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200, Busch will now go for the triple sweep at Vegas in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“It was really tough to come back from one of those setbacks,” Busch said after an eventful day in his No. 18 Extreme Concepts / iK9 Toyota. “I wasn’t sure how we were going to be able to do it down a set of tires. We got a lucky break with a caution during the second stage. That kind of got us back on cycle, and we were able to put the first set (of tires) back on with fresh wheels so we didn’t have any more issues there.”
John Hunter Nemechek tried everything he could with the late race position he had, but came up just 0.192 seconds short of victory.
“We gave him a run for his money,” Nemechek said. “I’ve been beaten by Kyle (Busch) too many times, in late model races and now in the Xfinity Series. Hopefully, we can come out on top and build momentum off of this.”
Noah Gragson was the highest finishing rookie in his No. 9 Switch Chevrolet after an aggressive three-wide pass on the final lap to finish in third. Austin Dillon helped Kaulig Racing earn their best career finish of fourth in the No. 10 Stitched Chevrolet. Daytona 500 champion Michael Annett rounded out the top five.
Ryan Sieg, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer and Justin Haley (one lap down) completed the top 10.
Custer Sets the Pace in Stage One
Qualifying was rained out, so the field was set by the order of owners’ points. Stephen Leicht and Christopher Bell started at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments to their cars prior to the start of the race. Cole Custer started on the front row and led the opening eight laps. Austin Cindric, for a brief moment was out front on Lap 9, but Custer reclaimed the top spot for the rest of the first stage.
On Lap 3, Donald Theetge spun through Turn 3 and slowly drifted up the track, collecting Joey Gase. A few drivers did elect to come down pit road, but all the leaders stayed out.
Tyler Reddick leads Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek on the front stretch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
After 15 laps into the race, Kyle Busch, who was working on his triple sweep at Vegas, came down pit road after feeling a vibration. He went a lap down early, and faced an uphill battle early in the race as a few others were already a lap down. This also put him at a disadvantage as he was down a fresh set of tires. Tyler Reddick radioed in saying that something might be breaking, and had trouble getting onto pit road as he was stuck in the outside lane. However, he stayed out on track to keep the lead lap position.
The rest of the stage finished under green with Custer collecting the stage points. At this point, four cars retired from the race and one had not yet joined the race. During pit stops, Custer lost three spots while Tyler Reddick gained the lead leaving pit road. Three penalties were handed out during this pit cycle. Jeff Green’s crew members were over the wall too soon, and both Timmy Hill and Josh Williams had uncontrolled tire issues.
Stage Two Dominated by Dirt Racers
As the field restarted the race, Tyler Reddick wasted no time and pulled away from the field to lead all the laps in the second stage. Christopher Bell had also worked his way up toward the front after starting at the rear of the field to finish in second at stage end, as the two dirt racers put on a great show racing together.
The one notable event that was a major turning point was on Lap 60 when the yellow was displayed after Austin Cindric and Zane Smith collided on the exit of Turn 2. Cindric went for a long slide, and barely made contact with the outside wall, if any. Both were able to continue the race, but this allowed Kyle Busch to put on the scuff set of tires from the first stage, putting him on the same tire strategy as the rest of the field. He was still a lap down, but it put him in much better position for either a lucky dog or a wave around.
Two drivers received penalties during pit stops. Ryan Sieg was caught speeding on pit road, and Vinnie Miller had a crew member over the wall too soon.
Kyle Busch Surges Back to the Front in the Final Stage
Most of the third stage was uneventful, aside from Busch charging through the field toward the front. He first claimed the lead from Tyler Reddick on Lap 112, and kept the top spot until 20 laps remaining.
Bell and Reddick worked together to reel in Busch, and Bell eventually was able to get by Busch. He led for a lap, but brushed the wall in Turns 3 and 4, giving the lead back to Busch. Bell and Reddick also collided a few times, allowing Busch to pull a gap. On Lap 190, Ja Junior Avila spun off Turn 4 into the infield grass to bring out the caution flag. All drivers had one set of fresh tires, and elected to come to pit road with only six drivers on the lead lap. Before the yellow flag, Busch, Jones and Reddick had over a 20 second lead on the fourth place driver. The top three positions stayed the same after pit stops, but Brandon Jones gained two spots to start in the fourth position.
On the restart, Bell and Reddick attempted to work together to get by Busch who didn’t have quite the perfectly handling car at this point in the race. Bell had briefly stepped out in front before, and Reddick was attempting to do the same.
Before the leaders could take the white flag, Cole Custer had a run on Brandon Jones out of Turn 2. Jones attempted to block, and the two made contact on the back stretch. Jones over-corrected and turned hard into the outside wall. His window net went down and he was able to walk away uninjured, and was evaluated and released from the infield care center shortly after.
Most of the leaders crashed during the first overtime attempt on the exit of Turn 4. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
The first overtime attempt had many unknowns, including who would push who and if there would be a four-wide pass going into the first turn. Many of the other drivers had better handling cars, as more started to charge for the win. Going into Turn 3, Reddick lost control of his car as he was to the inside of Busch. As he slid up the track, he collided into Bell and the two went spinning on the exit of Turn 4. Both Austin Cindric and Zane Smith crashed into the sides of both cars heavily, ending the day for all four drivers. The yellow flag was displayed before Busch could take the white flag.
Kyle Busch chose the outside lane on all the final restarts, including the one for the last overtime attempt. John Hunter Nemechek stayed to Busch’s inside until Turn 4 when Busch could clear his car. Noah Gragson made a 3-wide pass in Turns 1 and 2 to recover from an early ill-handling race car, but Busch had too much of a lead for anyone to get a run on him. This was Busch’s second career NASCAR Xfinity win at Vegas, and made him one win away from completing the triple sweep.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series competes next at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on March 9.
Race Results for the 23rd Annual Boyd Gaming 300 – Saturday, March 2, 2019, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
It was a misty afternoon as the NASCAR Xfinity Series took to the track for the Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but for Christopher Bell, it was all smiles.
Bell in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra dominated the race. Bell won all three stages and led the most laps leading 142 out of 163. A late caution bunched the field up as the green flag flew with three laps to go and drivers trying to get the top spot, but Bell was just too strong today.
“Man, I’m very thankful and very fortunate to drive this Rheem Supra,” Bell said, “It’s the first Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, that means a lot to me to be able to become their first driver to win this.” Bell then added, “The Supra is awesome, it looks great and it’s fast too. It’s a lot of fun and I’m just honored to be here.”
Stage 1 and Stage 2 both ran caution free, with Bell sweeping both stages. Cole Custer who started on the pole in his No. 00 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang came up just a little short but still had a great run.
The final stage of the race saw Brandon Jones get the jump off pit road in first place, however, a speeding penalty sent him to the rear of the field giving Tyler Reddick the top spot. It took Bell about 11 laps to retake the lead and it was game over. A late caution for the spinning car of John Hunter Nemechek saw the field bunch up for a late-race shootout but it wouldn’t deter Bell who took the checkered flag in first place. Custer would end up in the runner up spot.
“That was a fun race. I thought the end was pretty good. I thought I might get it for a second. We just didn’t have enough there and Bell kind of took my line there in the last lap. It is a great start to the year in our first race with the Jacob Companies Mustang. We got a new crew chief and it was huge for us to start the year strong. I feel like we will be a threat all year,” commented Custer after the race.
Justin Allgaier in his No.7 JR Motorsports Chevy also had a good run today finishing in third.
“Hats off to the guys at JR Motorsports. We had great pit stops all day. We were able to charge our way back through there and at the end, I thought we had the ticket.” Allgaier stated. “I was going to go to the middle on the last restart. I thought I could get that momentum but unfortunately, I let Cole (Custer) get by me. Still all in all a great day and a great start to the season.”
Jones and Reddick would round out the top five. Jeffrey Earnhardt, in his No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is having his best season ever coming home in his career best finish with sixth place. He continues to become a fan favorite in the series.
Ryan Preece, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, and Austin Cindric finished seventh through 10th, respectively.
Bell leads the Xfinity Series standings with 99 points, Jones is in second with 95 points, in third is Allgaier with 81 points, fourth is Reddick with 76 points and Custer rounds out the top 10, also with 76 points.
The Xfinity Series heads next to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 2.
Christopher Bell fought his way into the Championship 4 finale, winning the Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric will join him for the 2018 Xfinity Championship at Homestead Miami Speedway.
“We’re going to Homestead baby!” Bell exclaimed over the radio in celebration with his team.
Bell started the day by failing inspection three times during qualifying. According to the NASCAR rule book, the No. 20 Gamestop Toyota would lose their car chief and be forced to start in the rear. They did not get a qualifying time set, and started 38th for the race. However, they did not give up and took the lead just past halfway through the race, easily becoming the car to beat. It was Bell’s seventh win in his rookie season, a new Xfinity Series record.
“Man, that’s never sounded sweeter before in my life,” Bell said with a feeling of relief on the frontstretch in front of all the fans. “I’ll be honest, after Kansas and Texas, I accepted that we weren’t going to be able to get there [to the Championship 4]. I knew this thing was fast. It feels good to give Gamestop a win.”
The early parts of the race saw Justin Allgaier winning both stages, but a late-race collision with John Hunter Nemechek forced his team to make repairs, blocking the brake ducts. Later in the final run, Allgaier’s right front caught fire and he lost a lap, and eventually, his spot in the Championship 4.
”Disappointment,” Allgaier shared. “At the end of the day we did everything right this year. We had a great season. Today we did everything right at the beginning part of the race. That was probably the most frustrating part. We led a lot of laps. We won both stages. All things considered, it was going to be a great day. Ultimately at the end, getting ourselves in that bad position, getting caught up in that little of a crash and losing brakes. At that point it was survival, gain as many points as we can gain.”
Elliott Sadler, Austin Cindric and Matt Tifft were the others eliminated from the Playoffs for the Xfinity Series.
Field Fights for Every Spot in Stage 1
John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer battle for position in the Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway. Photo by Rachel Schuoler for Speedway Media.
As the field took the green flag, they were put under yellow for the third race in a row. Akinori Ogata in the No. 66 Toyota lost a deck lid and spun before the field could complete a lap. The team for the Japanese rookie was able to make repairs and continue in the race.
On the restart, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Preece were able to get by the outside rows and put themselves into the second and third positions respectively. Further along in the run, Preece’s car fell off pace with the leaders, but Allgaier was able to get by about 30 laps into the race.
With about five laps to go, Elliott Sadler made slight contact with the No. 40 Toyota of Chad Finchum. There was no visible tire smoke or rub, but Sadler did lose a few spots. While his teammate Allgaier would go on to win the stage, Sadler would be the only Playoff driver to finish outside of the top-10 and not collect any stage points.
Sadler would spend a lot of time on pit road as his team made repairs. He would stay on the lead lap. Austin Cindric beat Allgaier and Nemechek off pit road to claim the lead starting the second stage. Matt Tifft was caught speeding on pit road, and Brandon Jones was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Both drivers had to restart at the rear.
Allgaier Makes a Statement, Sweeps Both Stages
On the restart, Cindric chose the outside. As we saw in most cases during yesterday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck series, the inside was the preferred line with the extra room of the dogleg and the least risk going into Turn 1 fighting a 3-wide move. Allgaier was able to get by easily and reclaim the lead. He would lead all the laps and take the win in the second stage in a yellow-free stage.
However, it was not uneventful. With a handful of laps left, Bell was attempting to pass Cindric when the two made slight contact multiple times. The last bit of contact was coming out of Turn 2. Bell was not happy, shaking his fist out the window net at Cindric, and said over the radio to his team, “I so wanted to wreck him!”
During pit stops, Allgaier lost four positions as Nemechek reclaimed the lead.
Championship Hopes Flip in Final Stage
Bell clawed his way to the front and with 100 laps to go, claimed the top spot. Allgaier made a few adjustments on pit road to make his car a little faster, but lost track position and ran in the fourth position at this time.
During the run before their potential last pit stop, Cindric drove hard into Turn 1 but slid up in Turn 2, colliding into Allgaier. It was the second time Cindric collided into a Playoff drive. Allgaier held his hand out the window net, palm up, but was able to stay focused and drive forward to get around Nemechek for the third position. Cindric lost his fifth position to Matt Tifft, fighting his way back to the front after a pit road speeding penalty after Stage 1. By this time, the bottom four drivers were now in a must-win situation, so nerves and aggression were starting to get the best of some of those drivers.
With about 65 laps to go, Tyler Hill in the No. 13 spun right in front of a few championship drivers, but no other cars were collected. The yellow flag was displayed, and everyone came down pit road for what may be the final time. Bell won the battle off pit road and all Playoff contenders were in the top 11 at this point.
Tifft fought his way up into the second position on the restart, but a few laps into the run, there were two separate incidents. Ty Majeski spun in Turn 3 to officially bring out the yellow, but Nemechek got loose on the exit of Turn 4. Tyler Reddick inadvertently helped spin out Nemechek with slight contact, but the heaviest contact actually corrected his car when he dove to the inside and hit Allgaier, causing massive damage to the right front fenders. During the yellow, Allgaier came to pit road and his crew made repairs, and surprisingly, it did not affect the handling.
The field took the restart, and Allgaier was able to climb back up into the top-10. Tifft and Bell were both in must-win scenarios, and with both drivers running up front for the potential win, that forced Allgaier to start considering a must-win situation to ensure a chance for the championship at Homestead. With about 48 laps to go, the No. 8 Chevrolet of Tommy Joe Martins went up in smoke to bring out the yellow. He would retire from the race, as no front runners elected to visit pit road.
The Xfinity Series drivers would see yet another restart where most of the field panned out through the dogleg to fight for as many positions as possible. With some contact and beating and banging, Bell emerged as the leader with a hungry and hard-chargin Tifft.
With about 25 laps remaining, Allgaier had a fire in the right-front corner as he lost brakes, making his championship hopes go up in smoke. There was no damage to the tire, so he was able to continue without visiting pit road, but was much slower having no brakes in the right front. No other incidents occurred in the closing laps, as Bell secured his spot for the Championship 4 at Homestead.
The final championship race will be held at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Coverage for the Ford EcoBoost 300 begins at 3:30pm ET on Saturday, November 17.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Unofficial Race Results for the 20Th Annual Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 – Saturday, November 10, 2018 ISM Raceway – Avondale, AZ – 1 Mile Paved
John Hunter Nemechek claims his first career pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at ISM Raceway, setting a time of 26.970 seconds at 133.482 mph.
Nemechek edged Cole Custer by 17-thousandths of a second, as both drivers were the only two to run in the 26-second bracket. Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Preece completed the top-five.
“It feels good,” Nemechek told NBCSN. “We came here with the mindset to try and qualify on the pole. We unloaded not really good yesterday so we only got to do one mock (qualifying) run and it wasn’t that great.”
Most of the other Playoff drivers will start in the top-10. Elliott Sadler qualified in sixth, Daniel Hemric in eighth and Matt Tifft in 10th. Tyler Reddick had a slip in the second round, preventing him from putting down a fast enough lap to get into the final round. He will start 14th. The biggest news with those in the championship hunt was Christopher Bell failing inspection three times. He will start 38th.
Round one had about half of the Playoff contenders waiting until the last few minutes before turning a lap. Austin Cindric was fastest and most Playoff contenders held top-15 lap times. All but one made it through to the second round. Christopher Bell and Ty Majeski failed inspection three times, so they will start at the rear of the field. Neither was able to turn a lap, along with Josh Bilicki.
“Well the good thing is (Miami) doesn’t decide on where we start, it decides on where we finish,” Bell told NBCSN. “We got 200 laps, which is an eternity, especially from what I grew up doing in sprint car racing. Got a bunch of pit stops in there and a fast car to make it up. We’ll be fine.”
Bell also shared that this was the same car that won both times at Richmond Raceway.
“This is probably the fastest car we’ve brought to the race track all year-long compared to the field,” Bell said.
In round two, one more Playoff contender was eliminated. Tyler Reddick car got loose in Turn 4, which hurt his first and second attempts at improving his qualifying time. He will start 14th in the afternoon’s event. John Hunter Nemechek was fastest over Cole Custer, as the two were the only drivers to run just one lap in qualifying.
For the final round, the remaining Playoff drivers hold top-10 starts, and despite some last second laps by Cindric, Nemecheck was the one holding the top starting position, ahead of Custer, Cindric, Allgaier and Preece. Coverage for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at ISM Raceway will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on NBC.
Starting Line Up
ISM Raceway
20th Annual Whelen Trusted To Perform 200
Noah Gragson claimed his sixth pole of 2018 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and will start in front for tonight’s Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway.
Being only 18 points above the cutoff line for the final round of the 2018 Playoffs, Gragson was determined to take the best step forward, setting a pace of 26.456 seconds at 136.075 mph.
“I’m going full offense mode,” Gragson said earlier today before qualifying. “I’m going to Phoenix to win the race. We ran really good there last year with Marcus Richmond and the team at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Myself and Christopher Bell, two teammates, we led I think all but 10 laps of that race, so I feel really confident in the way that I’ll be able to work with my Toyota Tundra out in Phoenix. It’s going to be a really good race track for my team and I feel really comfortable about it.”
Gragson beat Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Stewart Friesen and Brett Moffitt, rounding out the top five.
While Gragson has started strong and raced well at Phoenix, he hasn’t finished better than 15th. Last year, a late-race crash with Justin Haley prevented him from getting a potential victory in the series. He has one DNF at the raceway, and during the 2018 Playoffs has only finished a best of seventh.
When asked about the new layout, Gragson gave his thoughts on moving the start-finish line.
“I guess it is kind of the same track with a different configuration — with the start-finish line. I don’t know if you’re going to be able to change your lap time — in theory, you shouldn’t. Coming off the corner you might be able to change it up a little in the old turn one –new turns three and four. It’ll be a little bit different — that’s for sure. Restarts are going to be sketchy — that’s for sure, but I feel like if we can stay up front in my Safelite AutoGlass Tundra it’ll be no problem. Just feel really confident going into this weekend and hopefully, we can pick up that win and move on to Homestead. Then it’s all hammer down from there.”
The rest of the Playoff contenders will start in the top 15 positions: Matt Crafton (ninth), Grant Enfinger (12th) and Johnny Sauter (14th). The green flag will wave at 8:40 ET later this evening.
