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  • Ty Gibbs claims controversial Xfinity victory at Martinsville; Championship 4 field set

    Ty Gibbs claims controversial Xfinity victory at Martinsville; Championship 4 field set

    With the championship finale looming over the NASCAR Xfinity Series competition and spots to battle for the title up for grabs, Ty Gibbs spoiled teammate Brandon Jones’ opportunity to compete for this year’s title by wrecking him on the final lap before proceeding to claim a controversial victory in the Dead on Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 29.

    The 20-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led seven times for a race-high 102 of 269 over-scheduled laps and took care of business for the majority of the event to secure a spot for the Championship 4 round based on points. Under the final 10 laps and pushing his car for more, however, Gibbs found himself squared off against teammate Brandon Jones, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to maintain his title hopes through a series of late restarts and incidents that sent the event into overtime three times.

    During the third and final overtime attempt, Jones, who traded paint with Gibbs throughout a series of late restarts, managed to navigate his way around Gibbs and the field for the lead, but Gibbs delivered the final blow on the final lap by bumping and sending his teammate backward into the wall. The incident netted Gibbs an unpopular victory from the grandstands while Jones was one of four competitors to have their championship hopes for this season come to a late end.

    By claiming his sixth victory of the 2022 Xfinity Series season, Gibbs is set to square off against JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier for this year’s Xfinity title that will determine a champion next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Playoff competitor Brandon Jones scored his fifth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 95.482 mph in 19.832 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Sheldon Creed, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 95.333 mph in 19.863 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following competitors that included Playoff competitor Austin Hill, Derek Griffith and Kyle Weatherman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Daniel Hemric also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during the practice session on Friday.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Brandon Jones rocketed with an early advantage through the first two turns ahead of Creed and Sammy Smith while Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson dueled for fourth place. As the field battled through two lanes for a full circuit, Jones went on to lead the first lap.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Jones was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Creed followed by Smith, Gibbs and Gragson while Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Anthony Alfredo and Jeb Burton were running in the top 10. Jeremy Clements, Joe Graf Jr., Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill occupied the top 15 while Sam Mayer was back in 16th.

    Ten laps later, Jones continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Gibbs while Creed, Smith and Gragson were all scored in the top five. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 on the track, minus Mayer and Hill.

    On Lap 32, the first caution of the event flew when Patrick Emerling got into the rear of Joe Graf Jr. entering Turn 1 as Graf backed his car hard into the outside wall while Emerling also spun in front of Jeremy Clements and Howie Disavino III. During the first caution period, some led by Gragson pitted while the rest led by Jones remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Gragson was penalized for speeding while entering pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 41, Jones retained the lead over teammate Gibbs and the field. As the field jostled for positions, Jones was able to maintain the top spot for the duration of the first stage as he went on to claim his third stage victory of the 2022 season on Lap 60, which marked the first stage’s conclusion. Teammate Gibbs settled in second followed by Allgaier, Berry and Smith while Herbst, Creed, Allmendinger, Mayer and Hill claimed top-10 spots and the first round of stage points.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Jones pitted while Gragson and Rajah Caruth remained on the track. During the pit stops, Kyle Weatherman and Alex Labbe were both penalized for safety violations.

    The second stage started on Lap 70 as Gragson and Caruth occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson took off with the lead and managed to cross over from the outside lane to the inside lane entering the first turn. Behind, the field fanned out to three lanes as Jones muscled his way into the runner-up spot while Berry and Gibbs were also scored in the top five. Behind, Allgaier battled Smith for sixth place while racing on the outside lane as the field continued to duel and rub against one another for spots.

    Eighteen laps later, Gibbs emerged as the third different leader of the event after he overtook Gragson. 

    On Lap 106, the caution flew when Landon Cassill wheel-hopped his No. 10 StormX Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 3 and smacked the outside wall hard while locking up his front tires. During the caution period, some led by Gibbs remained on the track while the rest led by Jones pitted.

    With nine laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green as Gibbs and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier gained momentum on the outside lane to move his No. 7 iRacing/BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. Five laps later, however, Allgaier slipped up the track entering Turn 3, which allowed Gibbs to reassume the top spot. As Gibbs maintained his ground with the lead, Berry and Hill rubbed fenders while battling for sixth place.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Gibbs claimed his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in second while Allmendinger, Gragson, Sanchez, Berry, Hill, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg and Alfredo were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 and were awarded a second round of stage points while Brandon Jones and Mayer were mired back in 11th and 18th.

    Under the stage break, some led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

    With 122 laps remaining, the final stage started as Berry and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Berry retained the lead and had both lanes to his control with clean air while Hill intimidated Smith for the runner-up spot by bumping him and trying to move him up entering the turns. Smith, however, retained his ground and the runner-up spot while Creed and Jones battled for fourth in front of Herbst and Hemric. A few laps later, Hill prevailed over his battle with Smith as he moved into the runner-up spot while Jones tried to issue a challenge on teammate Smith for third place.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Berry was leading by more than a second over Jones, who battled and overtook Hill for the runner-up spot, while Herbst and Gibbs were scored in the top five. Smith, Mayer, Allmendinger, Gragson and Creed were running in the top 10 ahead of Allgaier, Sanchez, Hemric, Perkins and Snider while Alfredo, Labbe, Sieg, Weatherman and Derek Griffith occupied the top 20.

    Eleven laps later, the caution returned when Yeley wrecked in Turn 3 after wheel-hopping entering the turn and sustaining significant rear-end damage to his car. During the caution periods, the leaders returned to pit road and Jones managed to reassume the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Berry, Gibbs, Gragson and Herbst.

    When the race restarted under green with 81 laps remaining, Jones rocketed with the lead entering the first turn while Berry settled in the runner-up spot behind Jones and in front of Gibbs before Gibbs assumed Berry’s spot during the following lap. Behind, Herbst was in fourth while Allmendinger and Gragson battled for fifth place in front of Hill.

    Then with 72 laps remaining, Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra into the lead over teammate Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra through Turns 3 and 4 as Jones was placed back into a “must-win” situation to maintain his title hopes.

    Sixteen laps later, the caution flew when Kris Wright got bumped by Disavino III as both spun in Turn 3. During the caution period, some that included Allmendinger and Hill pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With 48 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Gibbs and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs, who restarted on the outside lane, rocketed away from the field entering Turn 1 before he crossed over to the inside lane entering the backstretch to block Jones, who was being challenged by Gragson for more. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Ryan Sieg spun towards the outside wall in Turn 1 after getting hit by Hemric’s No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro.

    As the race restarted with 40 laps remaining, Gibbs took off with another strong start while Jones and Gragson dueled for second in front of Smith, Berry, Mayer and Allgaier. Three laps later, however, the caution was displayed when Hill, Clements and Parsons came together as all three wrecked entering the backstretch. The incident prompted Hill to pit his No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet Camaro from the top 20 during the caution period as his hopes of advancing to the Championship 4 round were placed in jeopardy.

    When the race restarted with 32 laps remaining, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead for nearly a full lap before Gibbs, who officially clinched his spot for the Championship 4 finale, cleared the field and had both lanes to his control through Turn 4. It did not take long, however, for the caution to return for a multi-car stack-up that struck entering Turn 4 when Snider got turned and collected Hill, Emerling, CJ McLaughlin, Disavino, Kris Wright, Stefan Parsons and Mason Massey. During the caution period, Berry surrendered seventh place to pit along with Labbe, Hill and Josh Williams while the rest of the competitors remained on the track.

    During the following restart with 23 laps remaining, Gibbs took off with the lead while Jones battled Gragson for second place in front of Smith, Mayer, Herbst and Allgaier. Jones prevailed over Gragson during the following lap as he moved into second place while Allgaier and Allmendinger dueled and rubbed fenders for seventh place.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, the battle for seventh place on the track and for a championship finale spot ignited between Allgaier and Allmendinger as Allgaier, who got moved up the track following a bump by Allmendinger a few laps earlier, ran into the rear of Allmendinger in Turn 3 as both dueled against one another. Then with 17 laps remaining, Allgaier, who got moved up the track again by Allmendinger in Turn 1, delivered the final blow as he pounded into Allmendinger’s rear bumper twice entering Turn 3. With Allmendinger moving up the track, Allgaier seized his opportunity and made contact into the side of Allmendinger as Allmendinger nearly got loose in Turn 4 before falling off the pace after cutting a left-rear tire amid the contact. With the caution flying, Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro for fresh tires as his hopes of transferring to the finale were placed in jeopardy. The incident also erased Gibbs’ steady advantage over teammate Jones.

    Down to the final nine laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Gibbs and Gragson squared off against one another on the front row. At the start, Jones, who restarted behind teammate Gibbs, made his move for the lead after getting into the rear of Gibbs. Just as Jones started to pull ahead of Gibbs with the lead, the caution flew due to Weatherman wrecking in Turn 1 along with Brandon Brown and Jeb Burton. The incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

    During the first overtime attempt, Jones, who restarted on the inside lane alongside teammate Smith and in front of Gibbs, dueled against Smith for the lead entering Turn 1 before Gibbs shoved his nose beneath Jones entering the backstretch. This resulted in all three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors racing three wide for the lead entering Turn 3. That was when Smith got rubbed by Jones as Smith went for a spin as the caution flew and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt. At the moment of caution, NASCAR ruled that Jones was the leader followed by teammate Gibbs as Herbst, Gragson and Creed completed the top five.

    At the start of the second overtime attempt, Jones briefly pulled away from the field entering the first turn until he barely slipped up the track, which allowed Gibbs to stick his car beneath Jones and challenge him for the lead through the backstretch. By then, however, the caution returned when Berry got turned in Turn 2 by teammate Allgaier after he got bumped by teammate Mayer. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was scored as the leader ahead of Jones, who fell back to a “must-win” situation as Allgaier, who continued to run towards the front, moved back up into contention to make the finale.

    The start of the third overtime attempt favored Jones, who made his move beneath Gibbs and Gragson in Turn 1 before all three competitors fanned out to three lanes in a battle for the win through the backstretch. Jones then managed to pull ahead with the lead with a push from Creed through Turns 3 and 4 as he commenced the final lap followed by a hard-charging Gibbs. Then entering Turn 1, Gibbs ran into the rear bumper of Jones, which caused Jones to spin as he backed his No. 19 Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 1. With the caution being displayed, the event was deemed official as Gibbs hustled his way back to the frontstretch and claim the victory.

    By winning for the sixth time in 2022 and for the first time at Martinsville, Gibbs claimed his 10th career win in the Xfinity circuit as he will be making his first appearance in the Championship 4 round as a championship contender, all of which will come in his first full-time Xfinity campaign. 

    Gibbs’ victory was met with mixed results as he received a chorus of boos from the grandstands with the winning driver saluting them before claiming the checkered flag.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I definitely didn’t want to wreck [Jones],” Gibbs said on NBC. “I wanted to get him out of the groove. I felt like we lost here earlier in the spring race just in the same way. I’m just pumped to get this win. It’s so awesome, especially at a track I feel like I’ve been coming to forever. It’s super cool to win here.”

    The last lap incident involving Jones knocked Jones out of the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs as his hopes of competing for this year’s title evaporated along with the hopes of Allmendinger, Mayer and Hill, who was involved in a post-race altercation with Snider on pit road. On the contrary, the incident fell in the favor of Allgaier, who ended up in fifth place and managed to secure the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 Round. This season will mark Allgaier’s fifth appearance in the final round as a title contender, where he will contend for his first NASCAR national touring series championship alongside Gibbs and teammates Berry and Gragson.

    “I had the race won, I think,” Jones, who ended up 23rd, said. “I love my guys. I love everyone on this No. 19 group. I’m excited to make my move to [JR Motorsports] next year and be a part of that organization. A little bit more respect over there, probably, given next year. We got one race left at Phoenix. I know we can go out there and win that, shake this [title fight] a little bit still yet and try to steal a little thunder there. I have no words. I know that we had some fun beating and banging back and forth a little bit, but I’ve never wrecked [Gibbs] or done anything for a win. It kind of shows where that level was there. I think [racing Gibbs earlier] opened up the opportunity to get moved, but I don’t know about dumped, destroyed and finished dead last. At the end of the day, I needed to win the race. Second and last, it is what it is. [I] Just expected to, maybe, have a little bit more of a shot at it there. To me, that’s what’s fun about this sport is having a duel, not just completely destroying somebody’s day.”

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It was definitely a long day,” Allgaier, who finished fifth, said. “We just didn’t have the handling that we wanted to on our iRacing/BRANDT Camaro. We were OK. We were a top-five car all day. Obviously, AJ and I battled a lot today. We were both pushing each other really hard. I hate having to use the bumper, but our team has done such a good job this year and gave themselves a shot to go for a championship. I had to make the most of it today. Proud of our team at JR Motorsports. To put three cars in the final four. We got a long work this week to be ready for Phoenix, but it’s a great racetrack for us. We’re gonna go there. We’re gonna lay it all on the line. It’s gonna be a battle, for sure.”

    “[The battle with Allgaier]’s all fair,” Allmendinger, who settled in 16th, said. “We knew it was gonna be a battle. Thank you to everybody at Kaulig Racing. Our Action Industries Chevy, we were making the best of it. It’s disappointing to end it like that, but still a great year. [We] Did everything we could.”

    In addition to this year’s driver’s championship battle, the final four title contenders (Berry, Gragson, Gibbs and Allgaier) will contend for the 2022 Xfinity owners’ championship next weekend at Phoenix.

    There were 18 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 14 cautions for 91 laps.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 102 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Sheldon Creed

    3. Riley Herbst

    4. Noah Gragson, 23 laps led

    5. Justin Allgaier, five laps led

    6. Sam Mayer

    7. Nicholas Sanchez

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Blaine Perkins

    10. Austin Hill

    11. Jeb Burton

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Rajah Caruth

    14. Myatt Snider

    15. AJ Allmendinger

    16. Derek Griffith

    17. Sammy Smith, one lap led

    18. Jeremy Clements

    19. Brandon Brown

    20. Josh Berry, 40 laps led

    21. Anthony Alfredo

    22. Josh Williams

    23. Brandon Jones, 98 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    24. CJ McLaughlin, one lap down

    25. Mason Massey, four laps down

    26. Kris Wright, eight laps down

    27. Joe Graf Jr., nine laps down

    28. Howie Disavino III, 10 laps down

    29. Ryan Vargas, 21 laps down

    30. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    31. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident 

    32. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident

    33. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    34. JJ Yeley – OUT, Brakes

    35. Matt Mills – OUT, Engine

    36. Chad Finchum – OUT, Brakes

    37. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. Ty Gibbs – Advanced

    3. Josh Berry – Advanced

    4. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

    5. AJ Allmendinger – Eliminated

    6. Austin Hill – Eliminated

    7. Sam Mayer – Eliminated

    8. Brandon Jones – Eliminated

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 5, where a champion will be crowned. The finale is set to commence at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Gragson clinches Championship 4 spot with dominant Xfinity victory at Homestead

    Gragson clinches Championship 4 spot with dominant Xfinity victory at Homestead

    Noah Gragson’s dream 2022 season has been elevated to another high note after the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro clinched a Championship 4 berth with a late dominant victory in the Contender Boats 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 22.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led six times for a race-high 127 of 200-scheduled laps and was initially on his way to claim a dominant victory with a large advantage when a caution with 13 laps remaining due to an on-track incident briefly stalled his run. Despite the caution, Gragson’s pit crew capitalized late by giving him the final fresh of sticker tires needed for a short run with the lead. During a five-lap dash to the finish, he executed at the start to fend off his fellow Playoff rivals to score his unprecedented eighth victory of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    Above all, Gragson became the second Playoff competitor to punch his ticket into the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway in November alongside teammate Josh Berry, where he will contend for his first Xfinity Series championship.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Trevor Bayne secured his second pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 166.667 mph in 32.400 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor Noah Gragson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 165.731 mph in 32.583 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Bayne and Gragson dueled for the lead in Turn 1 and again in Turn 3 until Bayne managed to pull ahead and lead the first lap while the field behind jostled early for positions. As Bayne retained the top spot, Gragson was being challenged early for the runner-up spot by Ty Gibbs and Daniel Hemric while Sam Mayer was in fifth.

    On the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Jeb Burton made contact with JJ Yeley and sent Yeley up the track as he squeezed Riley Herbst into the outside wall in the backstretch.

    During the following restart on the seventh lap, Bayne and Gragson dueled for the lead again until Bayne pulled ahead to retain the lead. Behind, Gragson was left to battle Gibbs for second place while Mayer, who was trying to overtake Hemric for fourth place, got loose entering Turn 3. Mayer’s minor slip-up, which nearly collected Hemric, allowed Hemric to retain fourth followed by Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman and AJ Allmendinger while Mayer fell back to eighth in front of Austin Hill.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bayne was leading ahead of teammate Gibbs, Gragson, Brandon Jones and a hard-charging Weatherman while Hemric, Allmendinger, Mayer, Hill and Chandler Smith occupied the top 10. By then, Josh Berry, a Championship 4 finalist after winning last weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was in 12th while teammate Justin Allgaier was back in 14th.

    Thirteen laps later, Gragson battled and overtook Bayne to become the second different leader of the day. By then, Gibbs, Hill and Allmendinger were scored in the top five followed by Landon Cassill, Hemric, Weatherman, Allgaier and Berry while Mayer and Brandon Jones fell back to 11th and 12th. In addition, Sheldon Creed made an unscheduled pit stop under green after cutting a right-rear tire.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Gragson retained the lead by more than four seconds over Gibbs while Cassill muscled his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro into third place. Bayne, meanwhile, fell back to fourth in front of Hill and Allmendinger while Hemric, Mayer, Allgaier and Weatherman were running in the top 10.

    Six laps later, the second caution of the event flew when Mason Massey had fallen off the pace in Turn 2 after getting into the wall. At the same time, CJ McLaughlin spun from the top to the bottom and below the apron through the backstretch as his car came to a stop. The incident was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 45 to conclude under caution as Gragson captured his 15th stage victory of the 2022 season. Cassill settled in second followed by Gibbs, Bayne, Allmendinger, Hill, Hemric, Mayer, Weatherman and Allgaier. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 while the remaining two which included Berry and Brandon Jones were scored in 11th and 12th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. Following the pit stops, Cassill emerged with the lead followed by Gibbs, Gragson and Hill. During the pit stops, Nick Sanchez, the 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion, missed his pit stall and had to cycle around the circuit for a second time for service.

    The second stage started on Lap 50 as Cassill and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start and amid a brief stack-up towards the front, Gibbs muscled his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra into the lead until Gragson rocketed his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro back into the lead through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch. Shortly after, a three-car battle for the lead intensified between Gragson, Gibbs and Hill while Allmendinger was in fourth ahead of Cassill, Mayer and a bevy of competitors vying for positions.

    By Lap 55, Hill led a lap for himself and he retained the top spot ahead of Gragson and Gibbs while Allmendinger, Mayer, Cassill, Berry, Bayne, Allgaier and Hemric were running in the top 10. By then, all but one of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Brandon Jones was mired in 14th.

    Fifteen laps later, Hill retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Gragson followed by Allmendinger, Bayne and Gibbs while Allgaier, Mayer, Cassill, Hemric and Chandler Smith were running in the top 10. By then, Berry made an unscheduled pit stop under green after making contact with the outside wall.

    Another lap later, Gragson reassumed the lead over Hill as Allmendinger started to close in on the two leaders. While Bayne and Gibbs stabilized themselves in the top five, a three-car battle for sixth place occurred between Cassill, Allgaier and Mayer. Not long after, Creed made another pit stop under green after getting into the wall and cutting a right-rear tire.

    By Lap 80, Gragson was leading by more than a second over Allmendinger, who overtook Hill for the runner-up spot, while Bayne and Gibbs remained in the top five. A few laps later, Weatherman, who was having a strong run toward the front, pitted under green after making contact with the wall. Soon after, Ryan Sieg was off the pace while running in the access road with flat tires while Allgaier made a pit stop under green with a flat right-front tire.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Gragson captured his 16th stage victory of the 2022 season and the second of the day. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Hill, Bayne, Mayer, Gibbs, Cassill, Hemric, Chandler Smith and Stefan Parsons. By then, five of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Brandon Jones, Berry and Allgaier were scored in 11th, 19th and 24th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson retained the lead after exiting pit road first and by a hair over Hill, Allmendinger, Bayne and Mayer.

    With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Gragson and Hill dueled for the lead until Gragson cleared the field and pulled away through the backstretch followed by Bayne. During the following lap and as the field behind jostled for positions, Hill overtook Gragson through Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead while Bayne was running third place in front of a side-by-side battle between Mayer and Allmendinger. Brandon Jones soon joined the battle toward the front along with Gibbs, Hemric and Cassill.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Hill and Bayne battled dead even for the lead, with the latter returning to the lead, while Gragson, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were running in the top five. Behind, Hemric, Gibbs, Mayer, Cassill and Berry scrambled within the top 10 while Chandler Smith, Herbst, Parsons, Sanchez and Parker Retzlaff were running in the top 15 ahead of Bayley Currey, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton, Brennan Poole, Myatt Snider and Allgaier. 

    Ten laps later, Bayne was out in front by more than a second over Hill while Allmendinger, Gragson, Berry, Cassill, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 while the remaining two that included Mayer and Allgaier were in 11th and 16th.

    Another 15 laps later and with a series of spots being swapped towards the front, Gragson, who overtook Hill three laps earlier and was starting to reel in on Bayne for the lead, executed a bold move beneath Bayne entering the first turn to reassume the lead. Not long after taking the lead, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second while Bayne was starting to be challenged by Allmendinger and Hill for the runner-up spot. 

    With less than 70 laps remaining, Allmendinger moved his way into the runner-up spot over Hill following a heated between Hill while Gragson continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds. Behind, Berry was in fourth ahead of Bayne while Gibbs, Cassill, Hemric, Smith and Mayer were in the top 10.

    Then with less than 65 laps remaining, Allgaier, who was running in 17th, pitted under green but endured a slow stop from his crew due to a jack issue.

    With 60 laps remaining, pit stops under green commenced as Hill pitted followed by the leader Gragson, Bayne, Brandon Jones, Gibbs, Mayer and others. Following the pit stops, Bayne was penalized for speeding while entering pit road. Under the final 55 scheduled laps and with the cycle of green flag pit stops complete, Gragson cycled his way back into the lead followed by a hard-charging Hill while Allmendinger, Gibbs and Cassill were scored in the top five. 

    Five laps later, Gragson’s advantage decreased to a tenth of a second over Hill, who continued to close in on Gragson despite radioing concerns about a vibration to his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro. Another three laps later, Hill surrendered the runner-up spot to pit under green to have the vibration issue addressed as he dropped out of the lead lap category.

    Back on the track and with 45 laps remaining, Gragson was leading by more than five seconds over runner-up Allmendinger and by more than nine seconds over third-place Berry while Cassill and Gibbs were in the top five.

    Two laps later, Cassill, who was running towards the top five, pitted under green for four fresh tires and fuel while Gragson retained the lead by more than six seconds over Allmendinger.

    With 30 laps remaining, Gragson stabilized his advantage to more than six seconds over Allmendinger while Berry, Hemric and Gibbs were scored in the top five. By then, seven of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitor, Allgaier, was in 12th. In addition, 13 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with a handful of competitors making contact against one another and towards the wall, Gragson extended his advantage to nearly eight seconds over Allmendinger while third-place Berry trailed by more than eight seconds. While Hemric and Gibbs remained in the top five, Chandler Smith was up in sixth while Mayer, Hill, Allgaier and Herbst were in the top 10. 

    Then with 13 laps remaining, the caution flew when Stefan Parsons spun in Turn 1 with damage to his entry. By then, Nick Sanchez had fallen off the pace below the apron with flat right-side tires after making contact with the wall earlier as his strong night towards the front was spoiled. Parsons’ incident erased Gragson’s advantage of more than eight seconds over teammate Berry.

    Under caution, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson exited with the lead still in his possession followed by Allmendinger, Hemric, Gibbs and Hill.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson launched away with the lead following a strong start while Allmendinger was left to fend off Gibbs for second place. Through the backstretch, however, Allmendinger and Gibbs gained ground on Gragson, who continued to lead as he returned to the frontstretch. As the laps dwindled, Gragson slightly extended his advantage to nearly half a second over Allmendinger while Gibbs kept Allmendinger close in front of him.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson remained as the leader by half a second over Gibbs while Allmendinger was back in third. Having no late challenges mounting behind him, Gragson muscled his way back to the frontstretch under full power and streaked across the finish line for his unprecedented eighth victory of the 2022 season and to claim a second spot in the championship finale.

    In addition, Gragson recorded his 13th career victory in the Xfinity Series and his first at Homestead after dominating the previous three Xfinity events in Miami before falling short of the victory. Gragson’s victory was also the 15th of the season for JR Motorsports, which marked the 73rd overall Xfinity victory for JRM, and the 23rd of the season for Chevrolet, which clinched the manufacturer’s title a week ago.

    “I wanted this one so bad the last three years,” Gragson said on USA Network. “Words can’t describe how thankful I am for everybody at JR Motorsports. Unbelievable. Thank you, Bass Pro Shops. Man, I’m worn out. It takes a lot of focus to run the fence like that. Pit crew did a great job. Really grateful.”

    Ty Gibbs posted his fourth runner-up result of the season and left Homestead with a 30-point advantage above the top-four cutline to transfer to the Championship 4 round while Allmendinger, who came into the event 16 points below the cutline, moved back into the cutline with a five-point advantage with his sixth third-place finish of this season.

    “We were just battling our race car, I feel like, all day,” Gibbs said. “We made great adjustments and my guys never gave up. Thank you to my whole Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra No. 54 group. We’ll move on to Martinsville. I feel like that’s a place we were really fast earlier this year and probably had a shot to win at, so I’m excited to go back there. To come out with a P2 finish is, I feel like, pretty good. We’re plus 30 [in the Playoff standings], so I think that’s really strong.”

    “[I’m] Really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said. “Our Action Industries Chevy was pretty damn good. It was probably still better than the driver. Overall, we made up a lot of points there and we at least have a shot down at Martinsville.”

    Hemric and Mayer finished fourth and fifth while Bayne, Chandler Smith, Herbst, Hill and Allgaier, who rallied from an eventful run from the rear towards the front, completed the top 10 on the track.

    “I’m glad [today’s] over,” Allgaier, who is five points below the cutline, said. “Our team, definitely, had some adversity tonight. The only saving grace, I think, was about a 70-lap run there. We were able to drive away from [Gragson] and keep on the lead lap or tail end of the lead lap. I felt like we definitely made good strides over the course of the day to get our BRANDT Foundation Camaro up where we needed to be. The jack [issue] hurt us the most. That green flag stop, just losing all that track position, and I just tried to push it as hard as I could to get back up there. Ultimately, it worked out. We got back on the lead lap and were able to score some points there. We’re below the cut. We’ll go [to Martinsville] and we can lay it all on the line. Five points [deficit] is nothing. We can go there and have a good weekend. We’ll lock our way into Phoenix.”   

    There were 13 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 24 laps.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 127 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    3. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    4. Daniel Hemric

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Trevor Bayne, 46 laps led

    7. Chandler Smith

    8. Riley Herbst

    9. Austin Hill, 19 laps led

    10. Justin Allgaier

    11. Josh Berry, three laps led

    12. Landon Cassill, three laps led

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Brennan Poole

    15. Brandon Jones, one lap down 

    16. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

    17. Sheldon Creed, one lap down

    18. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    19. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    20. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    21. David Starr, two laps down

    22. Myatt Snider, two laps down

    23. Patrick Emerling, two laps down

    24. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    25. Nicholas Sanchez, two laps down

    26. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

    27. Kris Wright, four laps down

    28. Julia Landauer, four laps down

    29. Timmy Hill, five laps down

    30. Josh Williams, five laps down

    31. CJ McLaughlin, five laps down

    32. Matt Mills, five laps down

    33. Ryan Sieg, 10 laps down

    34. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Accident

    35. Kyle Sieg – OUT, Accident

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Electrical

    37. Mason Massey – OUT, Engine

    38. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. Josh Berry – Advanced

    3. Ty Gibbs +30

    4. AJ Allmendinger +5

    5. Justin Allgaier -5

    6. Austin Hill -7

    7. Sam Mayer -28

    8. Brandon Jones -38

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ return to Martinsville Speedway, where the Championship 4 field will be determined. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 29, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Josh Berry wins at Las Vegas and advances to Championship 4

    Josh Berry wins at Las Vegas and advances to Championship 4

    Josh Berry drove his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane Saturday evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to claim his fifth Xfinity Series career win and a spot in the Championship 4.

    He also led a decisive 65 laps, including the final 34, to give Chevrolet its 500th win in the series to clinch the Manufacturer Championship.

    Berry described the day as, “just really, really, really, special. You know when I started on this journey and found out I was gonna run full-time this year we all sat down at the beginning of the year and said that our goal was to make the Championship 4. We felt like we were capable of that. We knew what we could do. We knew there would be bumps along the road in my first full season but we believed in our hearts that we could be at Phoenix.

    His teammates, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier finished second and third, respectively, giving JR Motorsports a 1-2-3 sweep at Las Vegas.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs and Trevor Bayne finished fourth and fifth with Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Anthony Alfredo rounding out the top 10.

    Gragson leaves Las Vegas leading the standings by 19 points over Gibbs and with a 29-point advantage over Allgaier.

    Regular season champion AJ Allmendinger started on the pole and led seven laps, finishing seventh in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. But, after experiencing a vibration caused by two loose tires, he had to make a green flag pit stop, putting him a lap down. Allmendinger finished 22nd, the lowest of the playoff contenders.  

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Hailie Deegan finished 13th, the best finish ever by a woman in an Xfinity Series debut.  

    After the race, Deegan said, “I’m pretty excited right now; the guys gave me an amazing car.”

    When asked if we might see her competing in more Xfinity Series races, she said, “I would love to be. If anyone’s out there that wants to pay the bills I’d be more than happy to run some more Xfinity races.”

    The Xfinity Series Playoffs continue next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 4:30 ET Saturday on the USA Network with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Allmendinger claims fourth consecutive Charlotte Roval Xfinity Series win

    Allmendinger claims fourth consecutive Charlotte Roval Xfinity Series win

    The road course dominance of AJ Allmendinger continued under a sunny afternoon in Concord, North Carolina, after he claimed a late dominant victory in the fifth annual Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, October 8. It was his fourth consecutive Xfinity Series win at the Charlotte Roval as the field for the Playoff’s Round of 8 was set.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led two times for a race-high 25 of 72 over-scheduled laps. Allmendinger capitalized on two overtime attempts while also dealing with power steering issues to overtake and hold off Ty Gibbs to claim his historic fourth consecutive Xfinity Series victory at the Roval. This also marked his second consecutive win following a last-lap photo-finish victory over Sam Mayer at Talladega Superspeedway. Allmendinger was one of eight competitors to officially transfer to the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Allmendinger claimed his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a 102.235 mph lap in 81.694 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor Ty Gibbs, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 102.144 mph in 81.767 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Scott Heckert, Ryan Vargas and Kris Wright dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars along with Playoff competitor Noah Gragson, who started the event in a backup car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Allmendinger battled and fended off Gibbs to lead the field through the first two turns and approaching the infield road course turns. As the field jostled for positions through the infield and back to the oval turns, Allmendinger remained out in front over Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed. Through the backstretch chicane and back to the frontstretch chicane, Allmendinger retained the top spot by a decent advantage as he navigated his way back to the start/finish line and led the first lap.

    By the second lap, Allmendinger was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Hemric, Allgaier and Creed while Sam Mayer, Landon Cassill, Austin Hill, Jeremy Clements and Sage Karam were in the top 10.

    Then on the third lap, early trouble struck for Playoff competitor Daniel Hemric, who went off the track and hit the wall in Turn 5 and damaged the left side of his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro. Following an unscheduled pit stop for repairs, the reigning Xfinity Series champion returned to the track but plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly one-and-a-half seconds over Gibbs while Allgaier, Creed, Mayer, Cassill, Hill, Clements, Sage Karam and Riley Herbst were running in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Josh Berry was in 12th, Brandon Jones was scored in 16th, Ryan Sieg was running behind Jones in 17th, Gragson was in 20th and Hemric was mired back in 38th, dead last.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Kris Wright wrecked in the first turn. Wright’s incident occurred two laps earlier after JJ Yeley spun all by himself in Turn 7. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including Gragson, pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 11, Allmendinger retained the lead ahead of Gibbs and the rest of the field.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, Marco Andretti, who was making his NASCAR debut in Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro, spun entering the backstretch chicane. In addition, Alex Labbe went off the course and got a sign stuck to his front end while Allgaier and Cassill spun together in Turn 4. In the midst of the on-track carnage, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones, Labbe, Kaz Grala and Hemric pitted while Allmendinger retained the lead. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Allmendinger claimed his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Gibbs settled in second while Mayer, Hill, Herbst, Allgaier, Davison, Cassill, Berry and Karam were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest including Creed, Gragson, Karam, Brandon Jones, Alex Labbe, Ryan Sieg, Hemric, Grala, Josh Williams, Preston Pardus and Brandon Brown remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hill had the hood of his car up due to a power steering issue while Patrick Gallagher was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 22 as Karam and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson used the outside lane to his advantage as he stormed to the lead entering the first turn followed by Creed while Karam was left to battle Brandon Jones for third place in front of the field.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Creed was leading ahead of Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Gragson and Karam while Hemric, Herbst, Labbe, Allmendinger and Mayer were running in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 as Allgaier was in 11th, Berry was in 13th, Clements was running in 15th, Sieg was back in 17th and Hill was mired back in 32nd. In the midst of the competition toward the front, Bayley Currey spun Brad Perez in Turn 8 as Andy Lally sustained damage from getting into Currey.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 33 and 34, Creed continued to lead by more than three seconds over Gibbs while Brandon Jones, Gragson and Karam remained in the top five. By then, Herbst carved his way up to sixth followed by Allmendinger, Mayer, Hemric and Allgaier while Labbe, Davison, Berry, Alfredo and Clements occupied the top 15.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, some of the drivers, including Karam, Labbe, Cassill, Stefan Parsons, Clements, Jeb Burton, Josh Bilicki, Allmendinger, Gragson and Gibbs, along with the leader, Creed, pitted under green while Brandon Jones cycled his way into the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Brandon Jones claimed his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Herbst settled in second while Mayer, Allgaier, Davison, Hemric, Berry, Alfredo, Creed and Gibbs were scored in the top 10. By then, six of 12 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while Sieg, Gragson, Allmendinger, Clements and Hill were mired in 12th, 17th, 18th, 26th and 30th, respectively. During the stage’s conclusion, Myatt Snider limped his No. 31 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro back to pit road with a flat left-rear tire.

    Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Brandon Jones, pitted, while the rest led by Herbst remained on the track.

    With 24 laps remaining, the final stage started with Creed and Gibbs on the front row. At the start, Creed pulled ahead with the lead through the first turn while Gibbs fended off Allmendinger, Gragson and Karam to remain in second through the infield turns. As the field re-entered the oval turns and approached the backstretch chicane, Gibbs started to close in on Creed as he launched his bid for the lead while Allmendinger kept both within his sights.

    During the following lap, Gibbs moved into the lead over Creed entering the backstretch chicane while Allmendinger remained in third as he started to challenge Creed for the runner-up spot. Not long after, the caution flag flew again when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 6 after getting hit by teammate Anthony Alfredo before he was hit by Marco Andretti, whose NASCAR debut came to an end late in the event.

    When the race restarted under green with 19 laps remaining, Gibbs fended off Creed and a daring three-wide attempt from Allmendinger to lead the field through the infield turns and back to the oval turns. Shortly after, the caution flew when Preston Pardus was hit by Kaz Grala, who spun and got his car stalled backward in the backstretch chicane. In the midst of the carnage, Herbst, who was running toward the top 10, sustained significant damage to the left-rear area of his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang after a stack-up resulted in Davison hitting Herbst.

    During the following restart with 15 laps remaining, Gibbs jumped ahead and retained the lead while Allmendinger and Creed briefly battled for second as Allmendinger prevailed while Karam and Gragson were in the top five ahead of the field. While the field jostled for positions through the infield turns and the backstretch chicane, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger while third-place Creed trailed by more than a second.

    A lap later, Herbst spun while exiting the backstretch chicane in 10th place. By then, Brad Perez hit the wall towards the backstretch while Joe Graf Jr. spun in Turn 6. Despite the incidents, the race remained under green flag conditions.

    With 12 laps remaining, however, the caution returned due to debris on the course after Herbst lost a flat left-rear tire carcass and sustained more damage to the left-rear area of his car. At the same time, Allgaier had a sign stuck to the front of his car.

    Three laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Gibbs retained the lead with a strong start while Allmendinger battled and fended off Creed to retain the runner-up spot ahead of the field. Behind, a spin by Grala ignited a stack-up with cars wrecking in Turn 2 that involved Herbst, Patrick Gallagher, Ryan Vargas, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki and Brad Perez. Shortly after, Creed spun in Turn 7 after getting hit by Karam before the caution flew amid the carnage.

    Down to the final six laps of the event, the event restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs launched ahead with another strong start while Allmendinger fended off Karam for second place. Behind, teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for fourth in front of Parsons, Brandon Jones and Labbe as the field scrambled for late positions through the infield turns and back to the oval turns.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch for the final five mark, Gibbs continued to lead by half a second over Allmendinger while Karam, Gragson and Allgaier remained in the top five. By then, Parsons remained in sixth ahead of Davison, Brandon Jones, Labbe and Berry while Mayer, Hemric, Kvyat, Casasill and Sieg were in the top 15.

    Then with four laps remaining, Karam spun from third and backed his car into the wall. As Karam continued and limped his car back to pit road, the race remained under green and Gibbs retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger. Karam’s incident allowed Gragson, Allgaier and Parsons to move up the leaderboard.

    Two laps later, the caution flew due to debris being reported on the track and the event was sent into overtime. By then, Gibbs had extended his advantage to a second over Allmendinger.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Gibbs and Allmendinger dueled for the lead entering the first turn. They rubbed fenders through the first two turns as Allmendinger muscled into the lead entering the third turn. Through the infield turns, Allmendinger and Gibbs pulled away from the field, with Allmendinger closing in on Gibbs. It did not take long, however, for the caution to fly again and send the event into a second overtime attempt when Herbst spun, slapped the wall between Turns 4 and 5 and picked up a billboard sign on the course. Herbst eventually retired with a wrecked race car.

    During the start of the second overtime attempt, Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn before Allmendinger pulled ahead and came out on top. Behind, Gibbs and Gragson battled for second while James Davison moved up to fourth in front of Allgaier. While Parsons spun in Turn 7, the field scattered to avoid hitting him as the race proceeded under green.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained the leader by more than a second over Gibbs and Gragson. While Gibbs tried to close in on Allmendinger through the infield turns, the oval turns and the backstretch chicane, Allmendinger had enough power to fend off and beat Gibbs to the finish line by half a second.

    In addition to claiming his fourth consecutive victory at the Roval along with his second win in recent weeks, Allmendinger recorded his 15th career victory in the Xfinity Series, his 10th on a road course venue and his fifth of the 2022 season. The victory was also the 19th overall in the Xfinity circuit for Kaulig Racing.

    “It’s unbelievable,” Allmendinger said on NBC. “All the credit goes to all the men and women at Kaulig Racing. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was pretty good, but Ty [Gibbs] was really good there at the end. I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to get him. I knew I could just get to one restart on the outside of him, at least, we had a chance. I was whining pretty bad there. I was frustrated, didn’t think we had a shot, but I’m always gonna put it on my back when it’s time to go. We got that one. We stole that one!”

    Gibbs settled in second place for the third time this season as he secured his spot in the Playoff’s Round of 8. Gragson came home in third place while James Davison and Justin Allgaier finished in the top five. Alex Labbe finished sixth followed by Brandon Jones, who secured the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by two points over Ryan Sieg. Berry, Sieg and Landon Cassill completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Playoff competitors Mayer, Clements, Hemric and Hill ended up 11th, 14th, 17th and 29th, respectively, while Herbst, who was unable to finish, was scored in 32nd.

    AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones have transferred to the Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs and will continue in their pursuit of this year’s championship. Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements have been eliminated from title contention. With Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, being among one of four competitors eliminated from Playoff contention, the 2022 Xfinity Series will be primed to feature a new champion at season’s conclusion.

    There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 15 laps.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 25 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ty Gibbs, 24 laps led

    3. Noah Gragson, one lap led

    4. James Davison

    5. Justin Allgaier

    6. Alex Labbe

    7. Brandon Jones, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg

    10. Landon Cassill

    11. Sam Mayer

    12. Anthony Alfredo

    13. Myatt Snider

    14. Jeremy Clements

    15. Daniil Kvyat

    16. Sheldon Creed, 18 laps led

    17. Daniel Hemric

    18. Jeb Burton

    19. JJ Yeley

    20. Brandon Brown

    21. Preston Pardus

    22. Scott Heckert

    23. Brad Perez

    24. Ryan Vargas

    25. Stefan Parsons

    26. Bayley Currey

    27. Joe Graf Jr.

    28. Timmy Hill

    29. Austin Hill, two laps down

    30. Sage Karam, two laps down

    31. Andy Lally, three laps down

    32. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    33. Patrick Gallagher – OUT, Engine

    34. Josh Bilicki, six laps down

    35. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    36. Marco Andretti – OUT, Accident

    37. Josh Williams – OUT, Track bar

    38. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

    2. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    3. Ty Gibbs – Advanced

    4. Josh Berry – Advanced

    5. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

    6. Sam Mayer – Advanced

    7. Austin Hill – Advanced

    8. Brandon Jones – Advanced

    9. Ryan Sieg – Eliminated

    10. Daniel Hemric – Eliminated

    11. Riley Herbst – Eliminated

    12. Jeremy Clements – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to occur next Saturday, October 15, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Allmendinger claims photo finish win at Talladega, advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    Allmendinger claims photo finish win at Talladega, advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    AJ Allmendinger saved his absolute best for the last and kept his championship hopes for this season alive after beating Sam Mayer in a photo finish to win the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 1.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led three times for a total of three of 113-scheduled laps. Prior to the finish, he was running in second place behind pole-sitter Austin Hill under the final 10 laps. Following a shuffle amongst the front-runners, he made his way to the front of the field with two laps remaining before being overtaken by Sam Mayer prior to the final lap as he was shuffled back to third. Allmendinger then overtook Sieg through the backstretch and tucked in behind Mayer for the following two turns until he seized an opportunity entering the frontstretch to pull a slingshot move on Mayer with drafting help from teammate Landon Cassill. From there, Allmendinger was able to surge ahead and edge Mayer by a nose to claim his fourth checkered flag of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series and a spot to the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Playoff contender Austin Hill claimed his first career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 182.036 mph in 52.605 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Ty Gibbs, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 181.981 mph in 52.621 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Jesse Iwuji, Caesar Bacarella, Jeremy Clements, BJ McLeod, Mason Massey and Noah Gragson dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Joey Gase also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Bayley Currey, Timmy Hill and Howie Disavino III, all of whom missed driver introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hill battled Allmendinger dead even for the lead, but managed to retain the top spot and pull away from the field entering Turns 3 and 4 as he proceeded to lead the first lap with drafting help from teammate Sheldon Creed.

    During the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Ty Gibbs got bumped off the front nose of Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro as his No. 54 Sport Clips Toyota Supra slipped sideways before spinning across the backstretch. Despite making light contact with the outside wall, Gibbs managed to continue as he was dodged by the field. Under the caution period, names like Gragson, Sam Mayer, Ryan Vargas, Clements and Caesar Bacarella pitted while the rest led by Hill remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on the sixth lap, Hill retained the lead followed by teammate Creed, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and the field. Not long after, Allgaier launched a bid for the lead on the outside lane before rocketing to the top on the eighth lap. By then, he had drafting help from AJ Allmendinger and a number of competitors running on the outside lane while Hill attempted to fight back on the inside lane.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading ahead of Allmendinger, Hill, Daniel Hemric and Trevor Bayne while the field behind fanned out to three tight-packed lanes.

    By Lap 15, Hill, who reassumed the lead a lap prior, was out in front followed by teammate Creed and Bayne while Anthony Alfredo, Myatt Snider, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Gragson, Riley Herbst and Hemric were in the top 10. In addition, 10 of the 12 Playoff contenders were running within the top 20 with Sam Mayer running in 21st and Jeremy Clements mired back in 25th.

    Nearing the first stage’s conclusion on Lap 20, Hill continued to lead as he was out in front of a long line of competitors running towards the outside lane. Creed settled in second followed by Alfredo, Allmendinger, Hemric, Allgaier, Brandon Brown, JJ Yeley, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg while Bayne, Snider, Derek Griffith, Gibbs, Gragson, Jeb Burton, Parker Kligerman, Herbst, Berry and Mayer were in the top 20.

    Then with two laps remaining in the first stage, a number of competitors led by Allmendinger dipped to the bottom lane in an attempt to overthrow Hill, but Hill also moved below the bottom lane as he retained the lead.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 25, Hill captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Creed settled in second followed by Hemric, Brandon Jones, Bayne, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Gibbs, Brown and Mayer. By then, seven of 12 Playoff contenders were scored in the top 10 while Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry, Gragson and Clements were running within the top 22.

    Under the stage break, some led by Hill pitted while others that included Currey, Timmy Hill, Howie Disavino III, Joey Gase, Ryan Vargas, David Starr, Joe Graaf Jr., Iwuji, McLod and Caesar Bacarella remained on the track. All the competitors who remained on the track under caution eventually pitted prior to the restart, giving Hill back the lead.

    The second stage started on Lap 30 as Hill and Bayne occupied the front row. At the start, Hill retained the lead on the inside lane before Bayne assumed the top spot on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Brandon Jones, Mayer and a bevy of competitors. As Bayne continued to lead on the outside lane, Hill remained as the lead competitor on the inside lane followed by teammate Creed.

    Ten laps later, Bayne retained the lead followed by teammate Brandon Jones while Creed emerged as the first competitor on the inside lane while launching his bid for the lead followed by Brown. By then, the field started to fan out to three tight-packed lanes.

    Another five laps later, Hill, who made a bold move beneath Bayne through the frontstretch to reassume the lead three laps earlier, was out in front followed by Alfredo and Brown while Bayne, Mayer and Sieg were running three wide while battling for fourth in front of the pack.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 50, Hill, who navigated his way through both lanes while also fending off a late surge from Allgaier, captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season and second of the day. Allgaier settled in second followed by Allmendinger, Bayne, Jeb Burton, Mayer, Brown, Brandon Jones, Sieg and Berry. By then, seven of 12 Playoff were scored in the top 10 while Gibbs, Herbst, Gragson, Hemric and Clements were running in 11th, 12th, 14t, 23rd and 31st, respectively. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Hill returned to pit road for service while names like Currey, Joey Gaase, Jeffrey Earnhardt, David Starr, Joe Graf Jr., Iwuji, Caesar Bacarella, Disavino, Timmy Hill, Ryan Vargas, McLeod and Mike Harmon remained on the track. All eventually pitted prior to the restart, giving Bayne the lead followed by Mayer, Gragson, Brandon Jones and Gibbs.

    With 58 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Bayne and Gragson dueled for the lead before Gragson muscled his way into the lead while Bayne settled in second in front of teammates Brandon Jones and Gibbs. A lap later and with the field fanning out to three tight-packed lanes, Ryan Sieg emerged with the lead followed by a fast-charging Allmendinger and Hill.

    With 50 laps remaining, Sieg was the leader of the race and ahead of a long line of competitors running towards the outside wall followed by Allmendinger, Hill, Brandon Jones and Gragson while Gibbs, Herbst, Landon Cassill, Snider and Jeb Burton were in the top 10.

    Nearing the final 45 laps of the event, green flag pit stops commenced as teammates Jeb Burton and Anthony Alfredo pitted before another wave of competitors, including Gragson, pitted, mainly for fuel. During the pit stops, Myatt Snider turned across the front nose of Blaine Perkins while trying to enter his pit stall as Snider ended up looping his car backwards inside his pit stall.

    With 40 laps remaining, Currey, who was one of 11 competitors who had yet to pit, was leading while Hill, the first competitor who pitted, led a bevy competitors in 12th place as he tried to close in on the lead group.

    Eight laps later, Hill reassumed the lead when the rest of the competitors who had yet to pit led by Currey pitted. By then, Hill led a 14-car breakaway at the front followed by Allmendinger, Gragson, Cassill, Mayer, Kligerman, Creed, Sieg, Herbst, Berry, Gibbs, Bayne, Brandon Jones and Hemric. Behind, the next six competitors trailed by more than four seconds with Jeb Burton in 15th ahead of Allgaier, Alfredo, Derek Griffith, Yeley and Brandon Brown. With all but one of 12 Playoff competitors running within the top 20, Clements was the lone Playoff contender running outside of the top 20 in 25th.

    With 25 laps remaining, Hill retained the lead ahead of Allmendinger, Gragson, Cassill and Mayer while the top-14 competitors remained four seconds ahead of the 15th-place competitor Jeb Burton. In addition, the top-19 competitors were ahead by nearly 23 seconds over the 20th-place competitor Blaine Perkins.

    Five laps later and down to the final 20 laps of the event, Hill continued to lead ahead of Allmendinger, Gragson, Cassill and Mayer while Kligerman, Creed, Sieg, Herbst, Berry, Gibbs, Bayne, Brandon Jones and Hemric remained within the 14-car lead pack.

    With 10 laps remaining, Hill remained as the leader ahead of the 14-car lead pack followed by Allmendinger, Gragson, Cassill, Mayer, Kligerman, Creed, Sieg, Herbst, Berry, Gibbs, Bayne, Brandon Jones and Hemric.

    Then with six laps remaining, Mayer was the first competitor to fan out and start a second lane followed by Sieg and others as they launched a bid for the lead on Hill, who remained on the inside lane. During the following lap, Gragson made a move on the outside lane before he was blocked by Hill through the frontstretch. This then caused the field to fan out to three lanes as Hill was shoved out of the lead draft while Mayer and Allmendinger moved up and battled dead even for the lead ahead of the pack.

    With two laps remaining, Allmendinger was out in front with drafting help from teammate Cassill while Mayer fought back on the outside lane with drafting help from Sieg. Through the backstretch, Mayer gained a strong run as he cleared the field and assume the lead with both lanes to his control. While Snider spun behind the leaders in the backstretch, the race remainder under green flag conditions.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Mayer remained as the leader ahead of Sieg, Allmendinger, Cassill and the pack. He continued to lead through three turns until he started to pull away from the pack. This allowed the pack led by Allmendinger and Sieg to gain a momentum and close back in on Mayer entering the frontstretch. Then, Allmendinger, who had teammate Cassill behind him, made his move to the outside of Mayer. With the momentum on his side, Allmendinger was able to beat Mayer by 0.015 seconds to steal the victory.

    As a result, Allmendinger achieved his fourth Xfinity Series victory of the season, the 14th of his career and his first on a superspeedway venue. The victory awarded Allmendinger and his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro team a one-way ticket to the Round of 8 in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs, where he joins Noah Gragson as the only competitors to be guaranteed a spot for the next Playoff round. It also marks the seventh Xfinity victory for Kaulig Racing on a superspeedway venue (Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway).

    Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I still hate [restrictor plate racing]!” Allmendinger exclaimed on USA Network. “Gosh, we’ve been so close to winning one and I feel like I keep giving them away. I’m still learning, trying to know what too big of a lead is, but honestly, all the credit to [teammate] Landon Cassill. He kept shoving me. He stuck with me. That’s what’s great about Kaulig Racing. When you got teammates like Landon and Daniel [Hemric], that you know no matter where you go, they’re gonna go with you. [It] Makes it a little bit easier. [Cassill]’s gonna share [the win] with me, but I wish we could both be the winner because he deserves it more than I do. Man, I just wanted to win a superspeedway [event]. Finally got it.”

    Mayer, who came within inches of claiming his first Xfinity career victory, settled in a career-best second place for his 10th top-five finish of the season. With the result, Mayer, who came into Talladega a single point above the top-eight cutline, leaves Talladega with a 13-point advantage above the cutline as he is in seventh place in the Playoff standings.

    “This is my first time getting to the end of a speedway race, coming to the checkered [flag],” Mayer said. “It was a good first experience, I guess. [I will] Take a top five [finish] at a place like this any day. Going into today, we were just like get some stage points and hopefully, survive to the end. Obviously, we survived at the end and we did everything right. We were just three feet shy…I’m looking forward to [the Charlotte Roval]. I’m just happy to get through this one, but our Accelerate Chevrolet Camaro probably should be in Victory Lane right now.”

    Cassill came home in third place followed by Ryan Sieg and Josh Berry. Kligerman, Gibbs, Hemric, Brandon Jones and Gragson completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, eight of 12 Playoff competitors finished in the top 10 on the track while Herbst, Hill, Allgaier and Clements finished 11th, 14th, 15th and 20th, respectively.

    There were 20 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 11 laps. All 38 starters finished the event while 23 finished on the lead lap.

    The 2022 Sparks 300 event marks the third and final time the fall Xfinity Talladega event will occur, with the series’ scaling back to competing at Talladega once annually in 2023.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

    2. Sam Mayer, three laps led

    3. Landon Cassill

    4. Ryan Sieg, 11 laps led

    5. Josh Berry

    6. Parker Kligerman

    7. Ty Gibbs

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Brandon Jones, one lap led

    10. Noah Gragson, one lap led

    11. Riley Herbst

    12. Sheldon Creed, two laps led

    13. Trevor Bayne, 13 laps led

    14. Austin Hill, 60 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    15. Justin Allgaier, six laps led

    16. Anthony Alfredo

    17. Jeb Burton

    18. JJ Yeley

    19. Josh Williams

    20. Jeremy Clements

    21. Joey Gase

    22. Joe Garaf Jr.

    23. Derek Griffith

    24. Bayley Currey, one lap down, 12 laps led

    25. David Starr, one lap down

    26. BJ McLeod, one lap down

    27. Timmy Hill, one lap down, one lap led

    28. Jesse Iwuji, one lap down

    29. CJ McLaughlin, one lap down

    30. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

    31. Caesar Bacarella, one lap down

    32. Howie Disavino III, one lap down

    33. Brandon Brown, one lap down

    34. Mike Harmon, two laps down

    35. Myatt Snider, two laps down

    36. Blaine Perkins, three laps down

    37. Jeffrey Earnhardt, four laps down

    38. Mason Massey, 18 laps down

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

    3. Ty Gibbs +49

    4. Austin Hill +43

    5. Josh Berry +27

    6. Justin Allgaier +25

    7. Sam Mayer +12

    8. Ryan Sieg +6

    9. Daniel Hemric -6

    10. Riley Herbst -10

    11. Brandon Jones -10

    12. Jeremy Clements -47

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for a 250-mile feature and where the first round of eliminations will occur. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 8, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Gragson ties all-time Xfinity wins streak after victory in Playoff opener at Texas

    Gragson ties all-time Xfinity wins streak after victory in Playoff opener at Texas

    Noah Gragson commenced the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by making history with his record-tying fourth consecutive victory in recent weeks to claim the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 24.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for 85 of 200-scheduled laps and executed a pit stop under the green flag with less than 50 laps remaining to his advantage. He reassumed the top spot with 12 laps remaining and beat Austin Hill by more than a second to claim his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.

    Above all, Gragson became the first Playoff contender to punch his ticket into the Round of 8 in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Brandon Jones secured his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 185.637 mph in 29.089 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Noah Gragson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 185.363 mp in 29.132 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Playoff contender Ty Gibbs, as well as, Bayley Currey, David Starr, Akinori Ogata, Tommy Joe Martins, Stefan Parsons and JJ Yeley dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change.

    When the green flag waved and the race began, Brandon Jones surged ahead with a brief advantage over Gragson entering the first turn. Then, he slipped sideways below the apron in Turn 1 off the front nose of Daniel Hemric’s No. 11 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet Camaro. As Jones tried to straighten his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra below the apron, the field fanned out to avoid Jones and Gragson pulled away with the lead. He went on to lead the first lap by eight-tenths ahead of John Hunter Nemechek followed by Justin Allgaier, Hemric and Landon Cassill. Meanwhile, Jones, who managed to keep his car intact without drawing a caution, was all the way back in 20th behind Alex Labbe.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gragson was leading by a tenth of a second over Nemechek, who challenged Gragson for the lead before claiming it during the following lap. He was followed by Allgaier, Hemric and Cassill while Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, AJ Allmendinger, rookie Austin Hill and Josh Berry, rounding out the top 10. Playoff contender Sam Mayer was in 11th, Jeremy Clements was in 13th, Riley Herbst was scored in 15th ahead of Brandon Jones as Ty Gibbs was mired back in 24th behind Brennan Poole.

    Nine laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Jeffrey Earnhardt, who was battling Poole for a spot outside of the top 20, got into the side of Poole’s car entering the backstretch and his No. 26 YesWav/ForeverLawn Toyota Supra darted to the inside wall and wrecked hard, which ended Earnhardt’s event early. By then, Nemechek was still leading Gragson, Brandon Jones had recovered to 14th and Ty Gibbs was up in 18th behind Creed.

    During the first caution period, some like Creed, Alex Labbe, Matt Mills, David Starr, Joey Gase, Garrett Smithley and Joe Graf Jr. pitted while the rest, led by Nemechek, remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Nemechek and Gragson dueled for the lead until Nemechek managed to clear Gragson for the top spot while the field jostled for positions. Behind the leaders, Sam Mayer, who got loose beneath Cassill entering Turn 1 and lost a handful of spots, hit the wall entering Turn 4 and fell to 16th. With the race proceeding under green, Gragson kept the runner-up spot ahead of Hemric, Allgaier and Allmendinger while Nemechek retained the lead.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Nemechek’s No. 18 Romco Equipment Toyota Supra was ahead by nearly six-tenths of a second over Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while Hemric, Allgaier and Allmendinger remained in the top five. By then, Gibbs carved his No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Supra into 10th place while Berry, Weatherman, Hill and Nicholas Sanchez were in sixth through ninth, respectively.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when CJ McLaughlin spun in Turn 2, though he managed to keep his car intact without hitting the wall. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Nemechek who slid through his pit box, pitted, while the rest, led by Hemric and Allgaier remained on the track. Playoff contenders Gragson and Gibbs were among the front-runners who also pitted along with Nemechek.

    With three laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hemric retained the lead on the inside lane while teammate Allmendinger battled Allgaier for the runner-up spot. In Turn 3, however, Allmendinger got loose and fell back to fourth behind Allgaier and Hill. Behind, JR Motorsports’ Berry and Gragson battled for fifth while Hemric held on to the top spot.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Hemric claimed his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in a close second place followed by Hill, Gragson, Allmendinger, Berry, Nemechek, Ryan Sieg, Gibbs and Kyle Weatherman. By then, Playoff contenders Brandon Jones, Clements, Herbst and Mayer were in 12th, 13th, 26th and 27th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Hemric, and including Allgaier, Hill, Gragson, Allmendinger, Berry, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Joey Gase, Matt Mills, Weatherman, Clements, Poole, Yeley, Mayer and Currey pitted while the rest, led by Nemechek, remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as teammates Nemechek and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek pulled ahead with the lead on the inside lane followed by Gibbs and Nicholas Sanchez while Brandon Jones was in fourth ahead of Cassill, Brown, Creed and Ryan Sieg.

    Two laps later, Gibbs, who started the event at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his car, assumed the lead for the first time. Another two laps later, however, Nemechek reclaimed the top spot. Behind, Gragson, who was trying to navigate his way back toward the front, overtook Creed for seventh place while Hemric was mired back in 12th.

    By Lap 60, Nemechek was leading by half a second over teammate Gibbs while teammate Jones trailed by more than a second in third place. Cassill was in fourth followed by a hard-charging Gragson while Sanchez, Brown, Creed, Hemric and Hill, who reported a vibration to his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro, were in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was in 11th ahead of Berry and Allgaier, Herbst was back in 16th, Clements was in 20th, Mayer was in 22nd and Sieg was in 24th.

    Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Nemechek continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over teammate Gibbs while Gragson was up in third place and trailing the two Joe Gibbs Racing leaders by more than a second. Jones and Cassill remained in the top five while Hemric battled teammate Allmendinger for sixth ahead of Hill, Sanchez, Allgaier and Berry.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when veteran David Starr lost a right-front tire and pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 and slowly limped his car back to pit road. During the caution period, the No. 51 Straitline Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Playoff contender Jeremy Clements received a push from a wrecker after losing power as he fell out of the lead lap category. The issue was eventually enough for Clements’ crew to push the car to the garage area for further analysis. Once pit road opened for the field, some of the drivers, led by Nemechek, pitted, while the rest, led by teammates Hemric and Allmendinger, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Berry was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation along with Cassill, who sped on pit road.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Hemric and Allmendinger dueled for the lead until Allmendinger managed to navigate his No. 16 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. In Turn 3, Hemric was locked in a battle with Sieg for the runner-up spot while Sanchez, who briefly made a bid towards the front, got loose up the outside lane as he fell out of the top 10. Soon after, Akinori Ogata spun off of Turn 4, but the race remained under green.

    Back at the front, Allmendinger continued to lead while Hemric led a four-car battle for the runner-up spot, featuring Sieg, Gragson and Nemechek.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Allmendinger, the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season champion, captured his third stage victory of the season. Gragson muscled his way into the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Hemric, Gibbs, Hill, Allgaier, Sieg, Brandon Jones and Mayer were scored in the top 10. By then, Herbst was in 12th and Berry was back in 22nd.

    Under the stage break, some of the drivers pitted, led by Allmendinger and Hemric, while the rest, led by Gragson, remained on the track.

    With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started. Gragson secured the lead on the inside lane as he slid in front of Nemechek and was followed by Gibbs, Hill and Allgaier while Brandon Jones challenged and overtook Creed for sixth place. With the battles around the circuit ensuing, Gragson stabilized a narrow advantage over the field with Nemechek slowly closing in.

    At the halfway mark with 100 laps remaining, the battle for the lead between Gragson and Nemechek ensued with the latter attempting to intimidate the former as Gibbs, Hill and Allgaier remained in the top five. By then, seven of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 on the track and all but one were running in the top 16.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Akinori Ogata spun in Turn 2. With the field remaining on the track and the race proceeding under green with 91 laps remaining, Gragson rocketed with the lead followed by Nemechek and Hill while Gibbs and Allgaier battled for fourth. Not long after, the caution quickly returned for a multi-car wreck entering Turn 3. It began when Allmendinger got into Brown as Brown clipped Cassill and sent Cassill into the outside wall while Mayer barely escaped the carnage. Also involved in the carnage were Myatt Snider, Anthony Alfredo, Weatherman, Joey Gase, Sieg and Brown.

    When the race restarted under green with 81 laps remaining, Hill dipped his No. 21 Chevrolet below Gragson as both, along with Nemechek, went three wide for the lead. Then in Turn 2 and entering the backstretch, the caution flew when Nemechek got loose as he slipped sideways and clipped Allgaier, who was trying to make it a four-wide battle for the lead. Both collided against one another hard alongside the outside wall. The carnage did not stop there, however, as pole-sitter, Brandon Jones, collided into both with Poole, Joe Graf Jr., Weatherman, Josh Williams, Joey Gase and Sieg while Hemric smacked the inside wall. The wreck eliminated Jones, Nemechek, Allgaier and Hemric from further competition. Allmendinger, who dodged the wreck, moved back up to 14th as Gragson managed to keep the lead ahead of Hill, Berry, Gibbs and Herbst.

    With 74 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Gragson engaged in a tight battle with Hill for the lead before clearing him while Gibbs started to challenge Hill for the runner-up spot. Shortly after, however, the caution returned when Garrett Smithley got bumped and turned off the front nose of Weatherman through the backstretch while Stefan Parsons and Myatt Snider sustained damage after clipping Smithley.

    Six laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson retained the lead while Gibbs engaged in a tight side-by-side battle for the runner-up spot alongside Hill and Herbst battled Sanchez for fourth place.

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Gragson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Hill and Herbst while Allmendinger carved his way back into the top five in fifth. Sanchez was in sixth followed by Berry, Creed, Ryan Sieg and Mayer, rounding out the top 10. By then, eight of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 15.

    A few laps later, Gibbs washed up the racetrack in Turn 3 and toward the outside wall as he lost momentum and was overtaken by Hill.

    With 50 laps remaining, Gragson extended and stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Hill, who had Gibbs closing in for another challenge for the runner-up spot. Behind, Allmendinger was in fourth followed by Berry and Herbst while Creed, Sanchez, Mayer and Sieg were in the top 10.

    Six laps later, Gragson surrendered the lead to pit under green followed by Gibbs. Once Hill pitted during the following lap, Allmendinger, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead followed by Berry, Herbst, Sanchez and Mayer. By then, Gragson, Hill and Gibbs were lapped by the field.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead followed by Berry, Mayer, Currey and Jeb Burton, all of whom had yet to pit. By then, Sanchez, Creed, Herbst and others had already pitted under green while Gragson was still a lap down, but running in the top 10 on fresh tires and with enough fuel for the finish.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Allmendinger retained the lead as one of four competitors who have not yet made a pit stop while Gragson was up in fifth and still a lap down, but gaining ground. Four laps later, however, Allmendinger surrendered the lead to pit along with Berry while Jeb Burton assumed the lead followed by a hard-charging Gragson, who un-lapped himself and went to work on closing back in on Burton for the lead. 

    Then with 11 laps remaining, Gragson reassumed the lead as Jeb Burton pitted. By then, Hill made his way up to second followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Berry while Herbst was back in sixth.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second over Hill, with Hill losing ground to the leader, while third-place Gibbs trailed by more than three seconds. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson remained as the leader by more than a second over Hill. With Hill unable to close on the leader, Gragson was able to navigate his No. 9 Chevrolet back to the frontstretch and claim his unprecedented seventh checkered flag of the season and his fourth in a row in recent weeks.

    With his accomplishment, Gragson joined the late two-time Xfinity champion Sam Ard as the only competitors to win four consecutive Xfinity events. Gragson also secured his 12th career victory in the Xfinity circuit, his first at Texas and the 13th victory of the 2022 season for JR Motorsports. With an automatic ticket to the Round of 8, which will commence in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gragson continues his pursuit to win the 2022 Xfinity title before moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023 for Petty GMS Motorsports.

    “This No. 9 team, man, they’re on fire,” Gragson said on USA Network. “The pit crew’s done awesome. Our car was as fast as Xfinity internet all day. Just so thankful for the opportunity. Such a relief. We lost this race in 2020. Just executed a great race. [Crew chief] Luke Lambert and the rest of the boys, they did a great job. Last year, I was standing with Justin Haley and saw John Hunter [Nemechek] raising the Andy’s Frozen Custard trophy over his head. He said, ‘Man, I would’ve tried a little bit harder if I would’ve seen that trophy and knew what it was.’ That made me motivated. I was like, ‘Damn, I want that [trophy], too.’ We came back and the team did a great job. We’re on fire as a team right now.”

    Playoff rookie Austin Hill notched a strong runner-up result for his 11th top-five of the season while Ty Gibbs emerged as the lone Joe Gibbs Racing competitor to finish the event by ending up in third place. Hill leaves Texas in fourth place in the Playoff standings and 30 points above the top-eight cutline to transfer to the Round of 8 while Gibbs is currently in third place and with a 46-point advantage.

    “We were faster than [Gragson],” Hill said. “I don’t know if he was just kind of pacing there or not, but [I] just got too tight there at the end. I’m sure I could’ve done a better job coming to that green flag pit stop. The guys did an excellent job all day on pit road. Pit stops were fantastic. It’s nice to start the Playoffs like this and start it off right, but at the same time, we know that if we would’ve won the race, we wouldn’t have to worry about [Talladega] or the [Charlotte] Roval. A little frustrated, but at the same time, happy with the performance. We showed speed. We just needed that little bit more.”

    “Honestly, we were a little bit tight,” Gibbs said. “[We were] fighting that all day. We fired off one run really free and just kept it tight for the rest. [The crew] adjusted what I asked for, but I asked for a little bit too much and that’s what we went to. It’s my fault. Thank you to my team. We’ll keep moving on to Talladega, which is a yard sale.”

    Meanwhile, Allmendinger survived his late incident and made his late pit strategy work to perfection as he finished fourth while Herbst completed the top five. 

    “I wished we could’ve won that race,” Allmendinger, who is 47 points above the top-eight cutline, said. “I thought we had a shot, but the way it could’ve been and the way it actually ended up to have a really good points day, we’ll take it.”

    “This was our game plan,” Herbst, who is a single point below the cutline, added. “Just fall back on what we’ve been doing all year, consistency. We need to execute tremendously better if we want to advance. To come away out of Texas with a top five, it’s good and we’ll go battle with the Monster [Energy] guys at Talladega.”

    Berry, Creed, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and CJ McLaughlin completed the top 10 on the track, with eight of 12 Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10.

    There were 14 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 52 laps. Only eight of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 85 laps led

    2. Austin Hill, one lap led

    3. Ty Gibbs, three laps led

    4. AJ Allmendinger, 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Riley Herbst

    6. Josh Berry

    7. Sheldon Creed

    8. Sam Mayer

    9. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

    10. CJ McLaughlin, one lap down

    11. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

    12. Bayley Currey, one lap down

    13. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

    14. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

    15. Jeb Burton, one lap down, five laps led

    16. Matt Mills, two laps down

    17. Alex Labbe, three laps down

    18. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

    19. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down

    20. Myatt Snider, four laps down

    21. Parker Retzlaff, 10 laps down

    22. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    23. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Dvp

    24. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    25. Joey Gase – OUT, Dvp

    26. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    27. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

    28. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 60 laps led

    29. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

    30. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    31. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident

    32. Mason Massey – OUT, Accident

    33. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    34. JJ Yeley – OUT, Water pump

    35. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Suspension

    36. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Ignition

    37. David Starr – OUT, Accident

    38. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

    2. AJ Allmendinger +47

    3. Ty Gibbs +46

    4. Austin Hill +30

    5. Josh Berry +24

    6. Justin Allgaier +20

    7. Sam Mayer +1

    8. Ryan Sieg +1

    9. Riley Herbst -1

    10. Daniel Hemric -8

    11. Brandon Jones -13

    12. Jeremy Clements -29

    With the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs underway, the battle for the series championship in the Round of 12 will continue next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 1, at 4 p.m. ET on the USA Network.

  • Gragson wins the battle at Bristol; Allmendinger clinches 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship

    Gragson wins the battle at Bristol; Allmendinger clinches 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship

    In a late attrition between two Xfinity Series regulars to cap off the regular-season stretch on a strong note, Noah Gragson came out of top over a late battle against Brandon Jones to win the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 16.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led the final 25 laps and benefitted through a 20-lap dash to the finish while on old tires to fend off a hard-charging Jones and capture his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and third in a row in recent weeks at Thunder Valley. The victory enabled Gragson to collect additional bonus points toward the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs as he commences the pursuit of his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Gibbs claimed his fifth career pole position and fourth of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 122.584 mph in 15.563 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 122.100 mph in 15.715 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Joe Graf Jr. and Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Gibbs and Berry dueled for the lead while AJ Allmendinger, who started fourth, briefly went up the track and struggled to come up to pace after having a gear shifting issue. By the completion of the first lap, he was mired back in eighth while Gibbs was out in front ahead of Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric.

    On the fifth lap, the first caution flew when Nick Sanchez blew a right-front tire entering the backstretch as he fell off the pace and managed to keep the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro off the wall. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was out in front by more than a second followed by Berry, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Mayer while Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 10, Gibbs launched ahead with the lead while Allgaier moved his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into the runner-up spot over teammate Berry. Behind, Mayer rocketed his No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro into fourth place after overtaking Smith while Jeb Burton was in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle between Gragson and Brandon Jones.

    Three laps later, however, the caution returned when Riley Herbst made contact against rookie Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 4 while battling for a spot in the top 15 as he spun before his No. 98 Resorts World Ford Mustang went below the apron and continued without sustaining any significant damage.

    During the following restart on Lap 18, Gibbs rocketed away with another strong restart in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Allgaier fended off teammate Berry for the runner-up spot. Behind, Sammy Smith maneuvered his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra around Mayer for fourth while Gragson battled Jeb Burton for sixth place.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly a second over Allgaier followed by Berry, Smith and Mayer while Gragson, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Landon Cassill were in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was black in 11th ahead of Ryan Sieg, rookie Austin Hill, Creed and Jeremy Clements while Anthony Alfredo, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Jeffrey Earnhardt and JJ Yeley were in the top 20.

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Sanchez spun in Turn 4 as this marked his second incident of the night. During the caution period, few names like Brandon Jones, whose window net was loose, and Creed pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 41, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Gibbs managed to clear and fend off Allgaier with the lead. Behind, a trio of JR Motorsports competitors including Berry, Gragson and Mayer battled for third while Jeb Burton retained sixth ahead of Allmendinger, Smith, Hemric and Hill.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Brandon Brown got loose entering the backstretch as he spun, pounded the inside wall and damaged the rear end of his car.

    Another five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead again through the first two turns before Gibbs retained the top spot on the outside lane in Turn 2. Behind, Gragson was in third followed by teammates Berry and Merry while Allmendinger was locked in a battle with Jeb Burton and Hemric for sixth.

    By Lap 60, Gibbs continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Berry, Mayer, Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Smith and Ryan Sieg were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Austin Hill was in 11th followed by Cassill, Clements, Currey and Kyle Weatherman while Creed, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in 20th, 21st and 24th, respectively.

    Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to less than half a second over Allgaier, who kept teammate Gragson behind in his rearview mirror, while Mayer and Berry remained in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger retained sixth as he was slowly catching Berry for position.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 85, Gibbs, who had to navigate his way through lapped traffic while also keeping Allgaier behind him, captured his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in second while Gragson, Mayer, Allmendinger, Berry, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Cassill and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. By then, Creed was mired in 17th as he was unable to record a stage point in the first stage compared to his rivals (Hemric, Cassill and Sieg) vying for the final Playoff berths.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Gibbs pitted while Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 94 as Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt occupied the front row. At the start, Creed took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Gibbs and Allgaier while Earnhardt struggled to launch on the inside lane. During the following lap, Allgaier overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot before he went to work on Creed for the lead. 

    Soon after, a tight side-by-side battle for the lead between Creed and Allgaier ignited as Creed refused to give up the top spot. With both competitors refusing to give up and making contact, Creed managed to pull away with a steady lead of half a second while Allgaier was being challenged by Gibbs for the runner-up spot. 

    At the Lap 110 mark, Creed was leading by a tenth of a second over Allgaier followed by Gibbs, Mayer and Gragson while Brandon Jones, Smith, Allmendinger, Earnhardt and Hill were in the top 10. By then, Cassill, who came into the event holding the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, made an unscheduled pit stop under green. Soon after, Cassill, who then had smoke coming out of the right front of his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro upon returning to the track with the driver reporting a brake hub issue, took his car to the garage as his Playoff hopes were placed in jeopardy.

    Fifteen laps later, Allgaier prevailed in his intense battle with Creed as he moved into the lead while Creed was left to fend off Gibbs and Gragson for the runner-up spot. Another three laps later, however, disaster struck for Creed when Gragson bumped into the rear of Gibbs as Gibbs went up the track and collided with Creed and both competitors smacked the outside wall hard in Turn 2. The wreck was enough to eliminate Creed from the event as his hopes of making the Playoffs evaporated. Gibbs was also eliminated from the event while Gragson continued. 

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 138, Allgaier took off with the lead on the outside lane while teammate Gragson retained the runner-up spot in front of Brandon Jones, who was racing on two fresh tires. Soon after, Mayer bolted his way into third place while Allmendinger went to work in battling Jones for fourth. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Allgaier was leading by more than half a second over teammate Gragson followed by Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones while Hill, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Hemric and Smith were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg was in 12th in front of Berry, who got into the outside wall earlier, while Cassill was still mired in 37th and undergoing repairs in the garage.

    Ten laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over teammate Gragson while Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones remained in the top five. By then, Sieg remained in Playoff contention as he was in 13th place.

    Then with four laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Mayer, who tried to pull a three-wide move on both CJ McLaughlin and JJ Yeley, entering Turn 1, made contact with Yeley as both spun through the turn and below the apron while being dodged by Gragson. 

    The incident involving Mayer was enough for the second stage to conclude on Lap 170 as Allgaier captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Gragson settled in second while Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Hill, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Mayer and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, Hemric and Sieg, who settled in 11th, were above the top-12 cutline while Cassill remained in the garage and in 37th place. In addition, Allmendinger locked up the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship for a second consecutive season.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted and Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Brandon Jones, Hill, Allmendinger and Herbst. Back on the track, however, Bayley Currey and Joe Graf Jr. remained on the track.

    With 121 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Currey and Graf occupied the front row. At the start, Currey launched ahead followed by Allgaier while Graf struggled to get up to speed on the inside lane. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Allgaier navigated his way around Currey as he reassumed the lead. Shortly after, Brandon Jones moved into second place while Currey retained third ahead of Hill, Herbst and Gragson. 

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Allgaier retained as the leader by a tenth of a second over future teammate Brandon Jones while Currey, Hill and Gragson were scored in the top five. By then, Sieg was in 10th on the track behind Hemric and scored six points above the cutline over Cassill, who was in 37th place and more than 90 laps down.

    Twenty-five laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over Brandon Jones, who started to have Hill pressure him for the runner-up spot, while Gragson and Herbst were running in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger was in sixth ahead of Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Currey and Stefan Parsons. By then, Cassill, who was back on the track, was 112 laps behind the leaders while Sieg continued to hold possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs. Hemric, who was back in 15th, also continued to remain above the top-12 cutline.

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Gragson overtook Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot while Allgaier continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds. By then, Hemric, who was mired back in 22nd and off the lead lap category, was reporting power steering issues to his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the battle for the lead started to intensify as Gragson closed in to the rear bumper of teammate Allgaier in his bid for the lead. 

    Then with 30 laps remaining, the caution flew when Yeley, who made contact with the leader Allgaier as Allgaier was trying to lap Yeley and Alex Labbe with a three-wide move, spun and pounded the inside wall in the backstretch as his event came to an end. During the caution period, some led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Gragson remained on the track Following the pit stops, Allgaier and Jeffrey Earnhardt were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. 

    With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson rocketed his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to the lead ahead of Brandon Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra while Hill started to challenge Jones for the runner-up spot. Behind, Herbst was in fourth followed by Mayer, Berry, Stefan Parsons and Ryan Sieg, who was trying to finish the event to make the Playoffs.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Brandon Jones followed by Hill, Herbst and Berry while Sieg remained in ninth and in contention to make the Playoffs.

    With five laps remaining, a tight battle for the lead ignited between Gragson and Brandon Jones, with the former remaining out in front by a hair over the latter as both also navigated his way through lapped traffic.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Brandon Jones. Entering Turn 3, Jones gained a strong run on Gragson in a final bid for the lead, but the run was not enough as Gragson retained the top spot. From here, he made his way back to the frontstretch and beat Jones to the finish line by a tenth of a second to grab his sixth checkered flag of the 2022 season and his third in a row in recent weeks.

    With the victory, Gragson achieved his 11th career win in the Xfinity Series, his second at Thunder Valley and the 12th victory of the season for JR Motorsports. By accumulating six victories along with a bevy of points throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he will commence the Playoffs with the top seed and with 2,051 points as he pursues his quest of winning his first Xfinity title.

    Photo by Jim Barnes for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Man, three [wins] in a row,” Gragson said on USA Network. “That last caution came out. I knew if we could bring the top [lane], it was gonna be hard for [Jones] to get there. [I] Appreciate Brandon Jones for racing us clean. He fed us the bumper with two [laps] to go. I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence, but we won here at Bristol in 2020. There was no fans here. This is 10 times cooler. [I] Appreciate you, Bristol. Thank you, all you fans, for coming out. You guys are awesome. Man, I’m just so thankful. What a great opportunity to race here for our fans and having the opportunity to win a race. Man, our car was fast all day. Once we got out to the top, we were rolling. Man, I had a blast.”

    Brandon Jones, who is set to join JR Motorsports to pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro in 2023, trailed Gragson and his future ride to the finish line by a tenth of a second as he settled in second place for the second time of the season and for his sixth top-five result of the season. He will line up in seventh place in the Playoff standings with 2,010 points as he also commences his pursuit for his first Xfinity title.

    “I thought this [loss] hurts the most just because that was our race to win,” Jones said. “We fought so many different things tonight, adversity-wise. [I] Just kept piling back up and kept coming back. It was really cool to look at our race, in particular, as a whole to see where it started to where it ended for us. [I] Really thought when [Allgaier] sped [on pit road], I was like, ‘Aw man. Easy piece of cake. We got it.’ The bottom [lane] didn’t take off great. I didn’t have a great restart, but those newer tires, fresher tires, certainly paid a dividend at the very end. I just caught [Gragson] at the wrong time every single time. I could get in deeper into the corner and I could get him to the middle, but I just could never get to the exit. I got him, maybe, two times where I had a shot to try and get to his left rear and try to get him loose. I put maximum pressure on him. [I] Gave it everything I had today. Man, there’s a lot of momentum. These last couple of races we’ve had has really kicked it up here lately, so we’re ready. “

    Hill came home in third place followed by Mayer and Herbst, all of whom have made the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs. Allmendinger settled in sixth place while Berry, Stefan Parsons, Allgaier and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.

    By clinching the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship and being awarded an additional 15-point bonus towards the Playoffs, Allmendinger became the first Xfinity competitor to achieve multiple regular-season titles and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons. He will now line up in fourth place in the Playoff standings with 2,032 points as he pursues his first NASCAR title.

    Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[I’m] Really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said. “[I’m] Frustrated at myself tonight, but all in all, great to win the regular-season championship two years in a row. To finish top six today, [I] really had a really fast car at the end of the race there. On long runs, I thought we had a shot to win the race. Short runs, we struggled a little bit, but overall, great regular season. We got to get ready for the Playoffs. We’ve been struggling a little bit. Tonight was a little bit of a boost and hopefully, get ready for Texas.”

    Sieg’s 10th-place run was enough for him to claim the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by five points over Cassill, who could only climb his way to 35th place on the track while 112 laps behind the leaders. Hemric also made the Playoffs despite finishing 20th as he will pursue his quest to defend his series title.

    Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Sieg have made the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. 

    Landon Cassill and rookie Sheldon Creed join names like Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown, Brett Moffitt, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe as the remaining competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

    There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 58 laps.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 25 laps led

    2. Brandon Jones

    3. Austin Hill

    4. Sam Mayer

    5. Riley Herbst

    6. AJ Allmendinger

    7. Josh Berry

    8. Stefan Parsons

    9. Justin Allgaier, 148 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Ryan Sieg

    11. Bayley Currey, four laps led

    12. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    13. Anthony Alfredo

    14. Sammy Smith, one lap down

    15. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    16. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    17. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

    18. Sage Karam, one lap down

    19. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

    20. Daniel Hemric, two laps down

    21. Josh Williams, two laps down

    22. Myatt Snider, two laps down

    23. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    24. CJ McLaughlin, three laps down

    25. Kris Wright, three laps down

    26. Alex Labbe, three laps down

    27. Patrick Emerling, six laps down

    28. Ronnie Bassett Jr., six laps down

    29. Nick Sanchez, six laps down

    30. David Starr, seven laps down

    31. Bobby McCarty, 12 laps down

    32. Mason Massey – OUT, Oil line

    33. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    34. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes

    35. Landon Cassill, 112 laps down

    36. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident, 89 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    37. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led

    38. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Clements captures thrilling, overtime Xfinity victory at Daytona

    Clements captures thrilling, overtime Xfinity victory at Daytona

    From a three-hour rain delay to three overtime attempts amid a series of late carnages that eliminated numerous top contenders, Jeremy Clements thrusted himself into the main spotlight in an unexpected turn of events by winning the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway between August 26-27.

    The 37-year-old Clements from Spartanburg, South Carolina, led the final three of 118 over-scheduled laps after placing himself in prime position of contending for the win in the third and final overtime attempt, where he restarted alongside rookie Austin Hill on the front row. When Hill fell out of contention due to electrical issues prior to the restart, Clements found himself in the lead with drafting help from Sage Karam. Despite being challenged by AJ Allmendinger prior to the final lap, Clements was able to retain the lead and start the final lap when the event’s 10th and final caution flew as Riley Herbst spun in the frontstretch. With the event concluding under caution, Clements emerged as the upset winner of a wild event that commenced late Friday evening before concluding early Saturday morning. Clements’ first Xfinity victory in five seasons was also one that guaranteed him and his family-owned organization a spot in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that would have determined the starting lineup scheduled for Friday but canceled due to rain, AJ Allmendinger was awarded the pole position based on a metric formula per NASCAR’s rulebook. Joining him on the front row was Noah Gragson.

    Prior to the event, Josh Williams dropped to the rear of the field as a result of a driver change, where he replaced Patrick Emerling in the No. 5 BJ McLeod Motorsports entry. Jesse Iwuji, Daniel Hemric and Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field following unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started following a three-hour delay due to rain, Allmendinger received a push from Sam Mayer to launch ahead with an early lead through the first turn. He then moved from the outside to inside lane while fending off Mayer and Noah Gragson while Sammy Smith, who started fourth, was getting shuffled out of the lead draft.

    Following the completion of the first lap, Allmendinger, who led the first lap, was ahead of Gragson and Mayer while Josh Berry was in fourth followed by rookie Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst and the field fanning out to two tight-packed lanes.

    On the fifth lap, Gragson overtook both Allmendinger and teammate Mayer in a three-wide move across the start/finish line to lead for the first time. With Gragson moving to the lead, Allmendinger found himself getting shuffled out of the lead and toward the bottom half of the top 10 while Gragson’s teammates, Mayer and Berry, moved into the top three.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the field fanning out in a tight side-by-side pack towards the front, Gragson was leading ahead of teammates Berry and Mayer while Herbst and Ty Gibbs were in the top five. Creed was in sixth ahead of Brandon Jones, Myatt Snider, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg while Brandon Brown, Landon Cassill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric were in the top 15. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Sammy Smith, Blaine Perkins, rookie Austin Hill and Jeb Burton occupied the top 20.

    Five laps later and with Gragson continuing to lead, the first caution of the event flew. Sammy Smith, who was trying to carve his way back to the front after getting shuffled out early, spun and pounded the infield wall in Turn 4 as his first NASCAR national touring series event at Daytona came to an early end. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Gragson, pitted, while the rest, led by Berry, remained on the track.

    As the race restarted on Lap 19 with Berry and Herbst occupying the front row, Herbst launched ahead with the lead following a push from the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra piloted by Ty Gibbs. Herbst then moved to the outside lane through the backstretch, which allowed Gibbs to rocket to the lead with a push from Creed as the field fanned out.

    A lap later, the caution returned due to debris coming off of Kyle Sieg’s car. During the caution period, names like Jeb Burton, Berry, Haley, Sage Karam, JJ Yeley and Joe Graf Jr. pitted while the rest, led by Gibbs, remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, the Monster Energy competitors of Gibbs and Herbst dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Herbst received a push from Landon Cassill’s No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro to move ahead. With Gibbs fighting back on the inside lane, Herbst managed to lead the following lap before both Monster competitors dueled again for the lead.

    During the following lap, Gibbs received a push from teammate Brandon Jones and Allmendinger to pull away from the field while Herbst was getting shuffled towards the rear of the top 10.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Gibbs fended off the field over the previous five laps to claim his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Hill carved his way to the runner-up spot while Creed, Allmendinger, Berry, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Mayer, Haley and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track. During the caution period, Hill and Caesar Bacarella made contact on pit road, resulting with Bacarella spinning his No. 45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet Camaro into his pit box. In addition, Snider lost a fuel can while Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 34 as Berry and Jeb Burton occupied the front row. At the start, Berry and Burton dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Berry received a push from Brandon Brown to retain the top spot while having both lanes to his control. Two laps later, Brown moved his No. 68 Larry’s Lemonade Chevrolet Camaro to the lead before Anthony Alfredo led during the following lap.

    By Lap 40 and with the field fanning out through three tight-packed lanes, Alfredo was out in front followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Ryan Sieg and Mason Massey while Creed, Cassill, Brown, Allmendinger and Berry were in the top 10. 

    Five laps later, Allgaier, who assumed the lead on Lap 41, was leading ahead of Alfredo, Creed, Berry and Jeb Burton while Gragson, Gibbs, Herbst, Ryan Sieg and Stenhouse were in the top 10. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 50, Alfredo and Allgaier engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead with the field also fanning out between two and three tight lanes. Shortly after, Daniel Hemric pitted under green to address a flat tire.

    Then on the final lap of the second stage, Creed, who was running in third, got turned by Allgaier as he spun his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro below the backstretch apron. With the race remaining under green and Creed limping back to pit road, Gragson retained the lead ahead of the pack. He was also able to lead the field back to the frontstretch and claim his 11th stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 60. Alfredo, who led six laps during the second stage compared to Gragson’s 10, settled in second followed by Herbst, Mayer, Berry, Nemechek, Gibbs, Allgaier, Snider and Ryan Sieg.

    Under the stage break, the majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while names like Ryan Vargas, Jesse Iwuji, David Starr, Bayley Currey, Bacarella and Matt Mills remained on the track. Once the competitors who initially remained on track pitted prior to the restart, Gragson, who was the first competitor to exit pit road, was out in front.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage started as Gragson and Herbst occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson received a push from teammate Allgaier to lead the field through the first two turns. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Gibbs moved into the runner-up spot as he settled behind Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while Allgaier, Herbst and Brandon Jones occupied the top five.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Gragson was leading a long line of competitors running on the outside lane followed by Gibbs, Allgaier, Herbst, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Cassill, Brandon Jones, Stenhouse and Haley.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Herbst lost a left-rear tire before slipping sideways and spinning his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang at over 100 mph through the infield backstretch grass. Despite looping his car wildly across the backstretch grass, Herbst managed to keep his car off the wall as he slowly limped his way back to pit road. During the caution period, names like Karam, Clements, Alex Labbe, Bayley Currey, Matt Mills, Bacarella, Joey Gase and Herbst pitted while the rest remained on the track.

    Down to the final 24 laps of the event, the race restarted under green, At the start, Gragson and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns until Gragson rocketed clear with the lead followed by teammate Allgaier and Allmendinger. Haley and Jeb Burton then moved into the top five through Turns 3 and 4 while Gibbs fell back to sixth.

    With 20 laps remaining, Gragson continued to lead ahead of teammates Allgaier and Mayer while Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric were in the top five while running within a tight side-by-side pack. Scored in the top 10 were Haley, Hill, Gibbs, Creed and John Hunter Nemechek.

    Two laps later, the caution flew when Nemechek slipped off the front nose of Brandon Brown through the backstretch as he spun and was hit by Creed, whose No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro slid back across the track and was T-boned by Joe Graf Jr.’s No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro. All three competitors involved in the carnage emerged uninjured.

    With 13 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for the lead until Gragson was shoved out in front and clear of the field by Allmendinger through the backstretch. Gragson then moved up the track to stall Allgaier’s momentum on the outside lane as he retained the top spot when the field returned to the frontstretch.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson remained as the leader on the outside lane followed by Allmendinger, Allgaier, Mayer and Hemric while Austin Hill was trying to work his way to the front on the inside lane.

    Then when the field returned to the frontstretch, the caution returned when Allmendinger got turned by Allgaier as both spun below the apron approaching Turn 1. Their spin triggered a chain reaction wreck as Mayer, Berry and Snider also spun below the apron while everyone else escaped. In the midst of the carnage, Hemric was scored in second behind Gragson while Brown, Sieg and Stenhouse were in the top five.

    With four laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson received drafting help from Brown and Hemric received drafting help from Ryan Sieg as all four dueled for the lead. Then through the backstretch, Hemric moved into the lead while Hill made a bold three-wide move on both Gragson and Ryan Sieg as he moved into third place.

    During the following lap, Austin Hill assumed the lead as the competitors began to scramble towards the front. Through Turns 3 and 4, Cassill got into the wall after slipping in front of Jeb Burton as he fell off the pace with a flat right-front tire. With the race remaining under green, the caution then returned when Hemric spun while trying to block Gragson as a multi-car wreck erupted in the frontstretch that consumed Brandon Jones, Herbst, David Starr, Alfredo, Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Sage Karam. The multi-car wreck was enough to send the event into overtime.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt amid a stacked restart with contact occurring towards the front, Gragson and Hill dueled for the lead. Not long after, the caution flew and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt when Herbst made contact with Brown through the backstretch as Brown spun and clipped Haley as Gibbs and Ryan Sieg were also clipped and sent spinning. This triggered another multi-car wreck that involved Alex Labbe, Bayley Currey, Caesar Bacarella, Josh Williams, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Kyle Sieg, Ryan Vargas and Stenhouse. In the midst of the incident, Allmendinger carved his way back to third behind Hill and Gragson while Timmy Hill, Clements and Karam were in the top six.

    During the second overtime attempt, Hill retained the lead and moved up the track through the first two turns to block and stall Gragson’s momentum. Just then, the caution returned when Gragson got bumped and turned off the front nose of Allmendinger as he collided head-on into the outside wall on the backstretch. Gragson was then hit hard by Cassill and Myatt Snider, with Blaine Perkins, Hemric, Gibbs and Matt Mills all wrecking in the backstretch. With Hill leading and Allmendinger occupying the runner-up spot, names like Clements, Timmy Hill, Karam, JJ Yeley, Ryan Vargas, Kyle Sieg, Jesse Iwuji and Herbst were in the top 10.

    Prior to the third overtime attempt, Allmendinger, who was in second, peeled to pit road after his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ran out of fuel. In addition, Hill, who remained on the track as the leader, reported electrical issues to his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he kept his car running below the apron through the turns and shaking it back and forth to keep it under race pace.

    Then at the start of the third overtime attempt, Hill’s electrical issues knocked him out of contention as he was unable to launch on the restart. This allowed Clements to take the lead followed by Karam through the first two turns. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, who emerged in fourth place through the first two turns, began his dash back to the front as he pushed Brown while closing in on both Clements and Karam. Through the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4, Karam was shuffled back to fifth while being overtaken by Brown, Allmendinger and Timmy Hill. In addition, Allmendinger overtook Brown for the runner-up spot as he then made his move beneath Clements for the lead.

    With the leaders approaching the frontstretch to start the final lap, contact from Karam sent Herbst, who joined the battle, spinning towards the pit road entrance before he came back across the track and was dodged by the field. By then, Clements’ No. 51 One Stop/ASE Chevrolet Camaro managed to fend off Allmendinger as he took the white flag and started the final lap. A few seconds later, the caution flew and the race was deemed official, thus handing Clements the victory.

    With the victory, Clements achieved his second career win in the Xfinity Series and his first since claiming his first series win at Road America in August 2017. In addition to becoming the 127th different competitor to win multiple Xfinity events, he became the eighth series regular to win throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season stretch and secure a spot for the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs that will commence in mid-September.

    “I’m speechless, man,” Clements said on USA Network. “I don’t even know what to say. That’s incredible, man. We were as fast as Xfinity internet and it feels so good. We survived that big wreck back there somehow. It was like a Days of Thunder wreck. Then I was like, ‘Well, if we can just keep up with these guys, it’ll be a good day.’ Top five and bring this car home in one piece, and that’s a good day. Wow, this is incredible. Thank you, [fans], so much for sticking around. I know it’s late as hell. It’s time to drink a beer!”


    “I just, honestly, didn’t have the car to get up there,” Clements added. “I had a car to just stay with the pack. I couldn’t really get in there. I’d have to have somebody pushing me. Just trying to be aggressively cautious and it worked for once. I’ve done a lot of these speedway races and a lot of them haven’t worked out. I guess we finally got one. It’s incredible to win at Day-freaking-tona, man! Holy crap! Wow!”

    In the midst of the carnage and unexpected turn of events capped with a surprise winner, Timmy Hill claimed a career-best runner-up result followed by Allmendinger, who maintained his lead in the regular-season standings. Brandon Brown and Sage Karam finished in the top five while Ryan Vargas, Ty Gibbs, Alex Labbe, JJ Yeley and Kyle Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 19 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The event featured 10 cautions for 41 laps.

    With three races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 58 points over Ty Gibbs, 80 over Justin Allgaier and 115 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Jeremy Clements are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Ryan Sieg trails the top-12 cutline by 12 points, rookie Sheldon Creed trails by 55, Anthony Alfredo trails by 91 and Brandon Brown trails by 98.

    Results.

    1. Jeremy Clements, three laps led

    2. Timmy Hill 

    3. AJ Allmendinger, four laps led

    4. Brandon Brown

    5. Sage Karam

    6. Ryan Vargas, one lap led

    7. Ty Gibbs, 11 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Alex Labbe

    9. JJ Yeley

    10. Kyle Sieg

    11. Jesse Iwuji

    12. Myatt Snider

    13. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps led

    14. Austin Hill, 18 laps led

    15. Riley Herbst, two laps led

    16. Joey Gase, two laps down

    17. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    18. Josh Berry, three laps down, six laps led

    19. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Dvp, one lap led

    20. Brandon Jones, four laps down

    21. Jeb Burton, five laps down

    22. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident, 52 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    23. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    24. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    25. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    26. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    28. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

    29. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    30. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    31. David Starr – OUT, Accident

    32. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    33. Mason Massey – OUT, Engine

    34. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

    37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    38. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip of the season to Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, on Saturday, September 3, during Labor Day weekend. The event is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Ty Gibbs cruises to fifth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Michigan

    Ty Gibbs cruises to fifth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Michigan

    After assuming command of the field at the start of the final stage, Ty Gibbs never looked back as he cycled his way to a dominant victory in the New Holland 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 6.

    The 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, rallied from starting ninth to lead twice for a race-high 54 of 125-scheduled laps, including the final 16, as he beat runner-up Justin Allgaier by more than a second to claim his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the 2022 season at the Irish Hills.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Noah Gragson started on pole position for the second time this season after recording a pole-winning lap at 190.370 mph in 37.821 seconds. Joining him on the front row was AJ Allmendinger, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course who clocked in his best lap at 190.340 mph in 37.827 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, David Starr and CJ McLaughlin started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Blaine Perkins and Matt Mills also dropped to the rear due to an engine change made to their cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Gragson and Allmendinger dueled early for the lead until Gragson gained a strong run on the outside lane to pull ahead through the backstretch. As Brandon Jones issued a three-wide challenge on Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier for the runner-up spot, Gragson proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Allmendinger retained second ahead of Jones while Daniel Hemric challenged Allgaier for fourth place.

    Three laps later and with the field jostling early for positions, Josh Berry, who was battling Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith and Ty Gibbs for spots in the top 10, washed up the track and scrapped the outside wall in the backstretch as Kyle Weatherman made the slightest contact against Berry while quickly moving to the left to avoid hitting Berry. Then entering Turn 3, Weatherman got loose underneath Berry as Berry’s No. 8 Harrison’s Chevrolet Camaro washed up the track towards the outside wall again. Despite the contact, both proceeded at full race pace as Berry was mired back in the top 15.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Gragson was leading by six-tenths of a second over Allmendinger followed by Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Hemric while Sammy Smith, Ty Gibbs, rookie Sheldon Creed, rookie Austin Hill and Landon Cassill were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second over Allmendinger, who was fending off Allgaier and Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot, while Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra inside the top five. Meanwhile, Berry was in 12th in between Riley Herbst and Brandon Brown while Myatt Snider and Ryan Sieg occupied the top 15.

    By Lap 20, Gragson, who remained as the leader, had his advantage decreased to less than half a second with the latter closing in on the former and bidding for the lead. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones were in the top five followed by Ty Gibbs, Hemric, Hill, Creed and Cassill.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Gragson carved his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro through lapped traffic and to his ninth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Allgaier, who could not navigate his way around Gragson for the lead, settled in second followed by Sammy Smith, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Hemric, Hill, Cassill and Berry.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson retained the lead following quick service from his pit crew followed by Allmendinger, Smith, Allgaier, Hill and Hemric.

    The second stage started on Lap 36 as Gragson and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier pushed Allmendinger to the lead until Allgaier issued a challenge for the lead entering the first turn. Allmendinger, however, pulled away on the outside lane followed by a fast-charging Gragson, Allgaier, Smith, Gibbs and the field. 

    Then as the field entered the frontstretch, Gragson made his move beneath Allmendinger in his bid for the lead, but a bold three-wide move on the outside lane moved Allgaier to the lead entering the first turn followed by Smith and Ty Gibbs while Allmendinger and Gragson fell back to fourth and fifth. 

    On Lap 40, the caution flew when CJ McLaughlin got loose and pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 as he spun below the apron while being dodged by the competitors running towards the rear of the field. At the same time, Matt Mills spun and backed his car into the outside wall while trying to brake and dodge McLaughlin.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 45, Allgaier and Ty Gibbs dueled for the lead until Allgaier used the outside lane to his advantage and pulled ahead with the lead through the first two turns. Behind, Smith moved back into the runner-up spot followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones while Gragson was back in sixth.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier continued to lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Sammy Smith followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Gragson while Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Landon Cassill, Hemric and Riley Herbst were in the top 10. Behind, Berry was in 11th followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Creed, Hill, Anthony Alfredo, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Myatt Snider, Kyle Weatherman and Kyle Sieg.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Dillon Bassett made contact with David Starr entering the backstretch as Starr got into the outside wall and spun below the backstretch without hitting the inside wall. During the caution period, some led by race leader Allgaier and Smith pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger and Gragson remained on the track.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as teammates Allmendinger and Cassill occupied the front row. At the start, teammates Cassill and Allmendinger dueled for the lead while their other teammate, Hemric, washed up the track and nearly got into the outside wall entering the backstretch. After dueling with Cassill throughout the backstretch, Allmendinger pulled ahead entering the frontstretch to retain the lead and commence the final lap of the second stage. Meanwhile, Gragson overtook Cassill for the runner-up spot as he bolted his way towards the front.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Gragson, who gained a strong run through the backstretch before drawing himself alongside Allmendinger’s No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro through the frontstretch, edged Allmendinger by 0.035 seconds to capture his 10th stage victory and second of the day on Lap 60. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Berry, Cassill, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Kaz Grala, Myatt Snider, Gibbs and Hill.

    Under the stage break, some led by Gragson and Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Ty Gibbs remained on the track. During the pit stops, Berry was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 59 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Gibbs and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs launched his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra to the lead on the outside lane. Shortly after, Hill moved into the runner-up spot while Smith was being pressured by Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones for positions in the top five for nearly a full lap. 

    Four laps later, Sam Mayer ran into the rear of Smith’s No. 18 Toyota as Smith was engaged in a fierce battle with Allgaier for third place, which damaged the left-front fender of Mayer’s No. 1 BUSDX Chevrolet Camaro and caused a tire rub as he began to slide below the leaderboard. During the following lap, he made an unscheduled pit stop under green while Smith remained on the track in fourth place.

    Back on the track and down to the final 50 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than two seconds over Allgaier, who overtook Hill for the runner-up spot. Teammates Smith and Brandon Jones were in the top five while Herbst, Allmendinger, Gragson, Creed and Cassill occupied the top 10. Behind, John Hunter Nemechek was in 11th while Brandon Brown, Hemric, Berry and Alfredo were in the top 15.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs, who reported debris on his grille, continued to lead by more than two seconds over Allgaier while Smith, Hill and Jones, who had Allmendinger and Gragson closing in, were in the top five. Shortly after, however, Gibbs was able to use the lapped car of Blaine Perkins to remove the debris from his grille and retain the lead.

    Another 10 laps later, Gibbs retained the lead by nearly two seconds over Allgaier. Behind, Smith, Gragson and Hill were scored in the top five followed by Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Herbst, Berry and Hemric.

    Four laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops occurred as Brandon Jones pitted his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra along with Allgaier. During the following lap, Gibbs surrendered the lead to pit for four fresh tires and fuel along with Creed, Gragson and Smith, who led a lap for himself prior to pitting. During the pit stops, Sammy Smith’s strong run was spoiled when he was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 20 laps remaining, Berry, who has yet to pit, was leading by more than 13 seconds over Alfredo followed by Sieg, Weatherman and Gibbs. Meanwhile, David Starr experienced a scary moment while pitting as the right-front tire on his car exploded amid a fire.

    Five laps later, Gibbs cycled his way back to the lead after Ryan Sieg and Kyle Weatherman pitted. By then, Berry and Alfredo had pitted while Allgaier was in the runner-up spot followed by Gragson, Jones and Hill. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allgaier, who was experiencing difficulties navigating his way through lapped traffic, followed by Gragson, Jones and Hill while Allmendinger, Berry, Hemric, Herbst and Cassill were in the top 10. Creed was back in 11th ahead of Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown and Anthony Alfredo, all of whom were on the lead lap.

    With five laps remaining, Gibbs, who was trying to navigate and lap Ryan Sieg and Alfredo, continued to lead by more than a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Jones and Hill stabilized themselves in the top five.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs remained as the leader by more than a second over Allgaier. With Allgaier unable to narrow the deficit, Gibbs, who was proceeding to lap Brandon Brown, cycled his way back to the frontstretch as he streaked his No. 54 Toyota to the finish line and captured his fifth checkered flag of the 2022 season. 

    In addition, Gibbs, who last won at Road America during the Fourth of July weekend, captured his first NASCAR national touring series victory at the Irish Hills and his ninth career win in his 39th overall start in the Xfinity circuit. He also recorded the sixth victory at Michigan for Joe Gibbs Racing and the fifth for the Toyota nameplate as he trails the regular-season points lead by 28 points with five races prior to the start of the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    “We had a very fast Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra,” Gibbs said on USA Network. “I’m so excited. I think this style of racing shows the strategy and the pit stops. It’s pretty spread out. My guys did a great job. My pit crew, they work so hard. I work out with them during the weekend. I see how hard they work, so every one of them did a good job. All glory to God. My car was faster than Xfinity high speed internet. Just kidding it wasn’t that fast. I just race, week in and week out, but [there’s] people who get all excited and think they’re making a huge statement and then they get in the playoffs and suck. I’m just doing what I can, week in and week out.”

    Allgaier, who led 17 laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Gragson, who led 39 laps and won the first and second stage, came home in third place after he was unable to charge his way back to the lead during the final stage.

    “I just had a couple of errors today that really kept us from racing [Gibbs],” Allgaier said. “Hats off to Ty. He did a great job. This team, our BRANDT Professional Agricultural Camaro was really good all day. We chose to play the right strategy. We gave up some points in the regular-season points, but I think it was the right strategy. I picked the wrong lane on one of the restarts and that was just kind of the difference maker, but all in all, a good day. A hot day, but a good day. Proud of our team. Proud of the effort.”

    “I felt like we had a good enough car to be able to get back up there,” Gragson said. “[I] Just kind of struggled on the short run. We won the first stage and then, kind of got shuffled back on the restarts on the second stage. [I] Decided to stay out, ended up winning the second stage. Once everything cycled through and we pitted after this stage, those guys started up front and on the tires they took. Just struggled, but really proud of the effort by all the guys sticking behind us. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. We got two Playoff points, but I felt like we were good enough to win.”

    Brandon Jones and Hill finished in the top five while Berry, Allmendinger, Hemric, Herbst and Cassill completed the top 10 on the track. Following his late pit road penalty, Sammy Smith ended up in 12th place, the final competitor on the lead lap.

    There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 19 laps. Only 12 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With five races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 19 points over Justin Allgaier, 28 over Ty Gibbs, 87 over Noah Gragson and 98 over Josh Berry.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline by 52 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 75, Brandon Brown trails by 87, Jeb Burton trails by 155, Myatt Snider trails by 156 and Jeremy Clements trails by 170.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 54 laps led

    2. Justin Allgaier, 17 laps led

    3. Noah Gragson, 39 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Austin Hill, one lap led

    6. Josh Berry, three laps led

    7. AJ Allmendinger, seven laps led

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Riley Herbst

    10. Landon Cassill

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Sammy Smith, one lap led

    13. Brandon Brown, one lap down

    14. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down, one lap led

    15. Ryan Sieg, one lap down, two laps led

    16. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

    17. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    18. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    20. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    21. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    22. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    23. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    24. Mason Massey, one lap down

    25. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

    26. Alex Labbe, one lap down

    27. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

    28. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

    29. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    30. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    31. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

    32. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    33. Sam Mayer, two laps down

    34. Dillon Bassett, three laps down

    35. David Starr – OUT, Hub

    36. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

    37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

    38. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, which will occur on August 20 at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

    Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

    Nearly a year after achieving an upset victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in NASCAR’s premier series, AJ Allmendinger added another major achievement to his racing resume by winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, July 30.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led three times for a race-high 42 of 62 scheduled laps, including the final 18, as he rallied from a slow pit stop early in the event to cruise to his third Xfinity victory of the 2022 season and stabilize himself atop the drivers’ standings.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, AJ Allmendinger notched his second consecutive Xfinity Series pole position at Indianapolis after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 97.834 mph in 89.748 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in his best lap at 97.732 mph in 89.842 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Brandon Jones, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Brown, Kaz Grala and Austin Dillon dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Chase Briscoe and Miguel Paludo, who spun during Friday’s Xfinity practice session, also dropped to the rear of the field due to a tire change made to their respective cars.

    During the pace laps, Briscoe and Jeb Burton pitted as their respective crew members popped the hoods of both cars open. In the midst of this, Burton took his No. 27 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a rear track bar issue as his event came to an end without taking the green flag.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn as Allmendinger managed to clear Gibbs and the field through Turns 1 to 3 to emerge out in front with a clear racetrack. Behind, Gibbs retained second while Riley Herbst and Noah Gragson battled for third in front of Alex Bowman, Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier.

    Through the 14-turn circuit and when the field returned to the frontstretch, Allmendinger led the first lap ahead of Gibbs, Herbst, Gragson and Bowman while Allgaier, Mayer, Josh Berry, Sage Karam and Landon Cassill occupied the top 10.

    Following the second lap, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to a second over Gibbs as Herbst stabilized himself in third. Behind, Gragson was under attack by Bowman for fourth place as Allgaier started to join the battle. By then, Alex Labbe emerged in the top 10 in ninth place while Bubba Wallace, piloting Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 DoorDash Toyota Supra, was in 11th.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly two seconds over Gibbs followed by Herbst, Bowman and Gragson while Allgaier, Mayer, Berry, Karam and Wallace were in the top 10. Rookie Sheldon Creed was in 11th followed by Landon Cassill, rookie Austin Hill, Ross Chastain and Daniel Hemric while Anthony Alfredo, Andy Lally. Ty Dillon, Preston Padres and Myatt Snider were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Labbe, who overshot Turn 12 while running in the top 10 a lap earlier, pitted after flat-spotting his tires along with Ryan Sieg while names like Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Kaz Grala, Santino Ferrucci, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones and Miguel Paludo were in 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 31st, respectively.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Allmendinger extended his advantage in his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro to more than two seconds over Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Bowman was up in third place as he trailed the leaders in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro by more than four seconds. Herbst and Allgaier were scored in the top five followed by Mayer while Gragson was back in seventh. Berry, Wallace and Karam filled in the final spots in the top 10 before Wallace made an unscheduled pit stop to address an overheating issue in his car.

    Four laps later, the first caution flew when Parker Kligerman snapped loose entering Turn 7 and collided into Ryan Ellis as both wrecked and came to rest off the course. At the time of caution, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Gibbs. 

    During the caution period, most of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gragson, Myatt Snider and Briscoe, who pitted prior to the caution being displayed, remained on the track. During the pit stops, Allmendinger fell all the way back to 14th due to issues while having his right-rear tire changed. In addition, Briscoe, who remained on the track after pitting earlier, was penalized for a commitment box violation.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Gragson pulled ahead of Snider through the first turn as he assumed full control with the lead while Bowman outlasted a side-by-side duel with Gibbs to move into third. In addition, Allgaier moved up to fourth through the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7 while Mayer made a bold move on both Monster Energy competitors of Herbst and Gibbs in Turn 7 in a bid for fifth before he backed out and Herbst prevailed.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Gragson captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Snider retained second followed by Bowman, Allgaier, Herbst, Gibbs, Berry, Creed, Allmendinger and Mayer.

    Under the stage break, Gragson surrendered the lead to pit along with Snider, Landon Cassill and Briscoe while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Cassill was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 24 as Bowman and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman emerged out in front, but Allgaier fought back entering the first turn. Behind, Gibbs got turned by Josh Berry and he spun in Turn 1 as the field scrambled and fanned out to avoid him. Back at the front, Allgaier emerged with the lead as the field continued to jostle for positions while making their way through the infield straightaway and the turns. Then entering Turn 8, Herbst spun while running towards the front following contact with Berry, but the race proceeded under green.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch for Lap 25, Allgaier was leading Bowman while Allmendinger bolted his way into third place after overtaking Berry while Ross Chastain was in fifth. Behind, Anthony Alfredo, who was running in 11th, spun in Turn 1 as the field managed to avoid hitting Alfredo.

    During the following lap, the caution returned due to a piece of debris spotted in Turn 1. Under caution, some like Herbst, Karam, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track. Prior to the restart, Gragson, who sustained damage to his front splitter, also pitted his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 28, Allmendinger, who restarted on the second row, made a bold three-wide move on Bowman and Allgaier exiting the frontstretch and entering the first turn as he reassumed the lead while the field made their way through the first three turns, Turns 4 and 5 and entering the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7.

    By Lap 30, Allmendinger was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Bowman followed by Allgaier, Berry and Chastain while Creed, Daniel Hemric, Kaz Grala, Mayer and Austin Hill were in the top 10. Miguel Paludo carved his way up to 11th followed by Andy Lally, Myatt Snider, Alex Labbe and Brandon Jones while Jeremy Clements, Ty Dillon, Brett Moffitt, Briscoe and Gibbs were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Herbst was in 23rd and Gragson was mired in 34th while Bubba Wallace, who sustained front-nose damage to his car while also encountering overheating issues, retired in the garage due to engine issues.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 31, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than a second over Bowman while Allgaier, Chastain and Berry remained in the top five.

    Near the conclusion of the second stage, names like Hemric, Hill, Briscoe and Andy Lally pitted under green along with Allgaier, Chastain, Mayer, Gibbs, Herbst and Jeremy Clements. During the pit stops, Hemric was penalized for speeding on pit road while Gibbs, Clements and Lally were all penalized for commitment box violations.

    Then on Lap 38, the leader Allmendinger pitted followed by Bowman, where Bowman managed to exit pit road in front of Allmendinger, as Berry, who had yet to pit, cycled to the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Berry notched his sixth stage victory of the season. Labbe settled in second followed by Kaz Grala, Sage Karam, Preston Pardus, Ty Dillon, Bayley Currey, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Bowman was back in 13th ahead of Allmendinger and Allgaier.

    Under the stage break, some led by Berry pitted while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track.

    With 18 laps remaining, the final stage started as Bowman and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman and Allmendinger dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Allmendinger reassumed the lead ahead of Bowman while Sheldon Creed started to pressure Bowman for second followed by Allgaier. Behind the leaders, Paludo got turned as he spun in Turn 12, but the race proceeded under green.

    During the following lap, Mayer got bumped by Cassill and went off the course in Turn 1 while Allgaier sustained left-front damage after making contact with Creed while entering the first turn. Then in Turn 13, Creed, who was running in the top five, got turned by Chastain as Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a second over Bowman.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Bowman while Allgaier was being pressured by Chastain as Briscoe was in the top five. Behind, Hill, the current Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year leader, was in sixth ahead of Cassill, Herbst, Santino Ferrucci and Josh Berry.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Bowman while Chastain, Briscoe and Allgaier occupied the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bowman followed by Chastain and Allgaier while Briscoe fell back to fifth. Meanwhile, Riley Herbst, who spun at the beginning of the second stage, carved his way back to sixth while Hill, Berry, Mayer and Gibbs, who rallied from his spin and pit road penalty in the second stage, were in the top 10. Gragson was in 11th followed by Cassill, Labbe, Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci while Brandon Jones, Moffitt, Hemric, Anthony Alfredo and Ty Dillon were mired in the top 20.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Bowman while third-place Chastain trailed by more than 14 seconds. With no pressure mounting behind him and having a clear racetrack in front of him with a clean race car, Allmendinger smoothly navigated his way through the 14-turn circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch for his third checkered flag victory of the season.

    With his third victory of the 2022 season, Allmendinger, who will attempt to sweep the weekend at the Brickyard after winning last year’s Cup Indy event, achieved his record-setting ninth Xfinity win on a road course event and his 13th career victory in his 80th start in the series. The victory was also the 17th overall in the Xfinity circuit for Kaulig Racing as Allmendinger became the fourth Xfinity regular to achieve three-plus victories this season.

    “God, I love this place!” Allmendinger, whose last victory occurred at Portland International Raceway in June, said on NBC. “Indy, baby, let’s go! [I] Can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. We’ve struggled. We’ve worked hard to get a little bit better. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was really good. I knew Bowman was really good on the long runs, so [I] tried to gap him as much as I could. God, I love Indy.” 

    “We win and lose as a team,” Allmendinger, who addressed his early slow pit stop, added. “I knew the way our car set up, in traffic, it’s not very good. We were having a little bit of brake issues as well. The [pit] guys recovered really well. I was just frustrated ‘cause I knew that we gave up stage points a little bit there as well to the guys we’re fighting in the points. At this point, points don’t mean a damn thing. We’re kissing the bricks. Hell yeah!”

    Bowman finished in second place, trailing Allmendinger by more than two seconds, while Allgaier overtook and fended off Chastain to claim third place. Briscoe, who won the inaugural Xfinity Indy Road Course event, rounded out the top five in fifth.

    “Yeah, just a little tight on the short run,” Bowman said. “[I] Thought I could get [Allmendinger] on the long run there and just kind of ran out of time. [I] Probably was a little too nice on the last restart. I knew he was gonna be better than us firing off, but yeah, ran out of time. Big thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com and Ally for letting me drive this [car] to try to help me for tomorrow. [I] Had a lot of fun. The race car was probably as fast as Xfinity Internet there at the end. We were definitely running [Allmendinger] down. Just not enough laps.”

    Completing the top 10 were Herbst, Mayer, Gibbs, Hill and Gragson. Notably, Josh Berry finished 14th behind Sage Karam, Brandon Jones settled in 15th, Creed ended up 23rd behind Hemric and Paludo settled in 24th.

    There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 11 laps.

    With six races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 17 points over Justin Allgaier, 30 over Ty Gibbs, 92 over Josh Berry and 95 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 50 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 75, Brandon Brown trails by 83, Brett Moffitt trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 142, Jeremy Clements by 148 and Myatt Snider by 151.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 42 laps led

    2. Alex Bowman, four laps led

    3. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

    4. Ross Chastain

    5. Chase Briscoe

    6. Riley Herbst

    7. Sam Mayer

    8. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    9. Austin Hill

    10. Noah Gragson, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

    11. Landon Cassill

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Sage Karam

    14. Josh Berry, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    15. Brandon Jones

    16. Brett Moffitt

    17. Santino Ferrucci

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Jeremy Clements

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Bayley Currey

    22. Daniel Hemric

    23. Sheldon Creed

    24. Miguel Paludo

    25. Andy Lally

    26. Austin Dillon

    27. Ryan Sieg

    28. Patrick Gallagher

    29. Preston Pardus

    30. Kyle Weatherman

    31. Scott Heckert

    32. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    33. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Suspension

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Engine

    36. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

    37. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident

    38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Trackbar

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ annual visit of the season at Michigan International Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, August 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.