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2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook following Dover doubleheader

Following a pair of eventful NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Dover International Speedway, another name has been added to this year’s Playoff grid with five regular-season races remaining until the 12-car Playoff field is established.

In a season that has had its share of the ups and the downs, veteran Justin Allgaier turned his season into good fortunes and at the right timing after he won the first Xfinity Dover event of a doubleheader weekend on Saturday, August 22, and for his first win since November 2019 at Phoenix Raceway. With the victory, Allgaier remains as the only Xfinity Series competitor to make every Xfinity Playoffs since its inception in 2016.

While Allgaier won on Saturday, Chase Briscoe rallied from a wreck a day earlier to win for the sixth time this season following a late battle with Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric. The victory reignited Briscoe’s season-long momentum as he continues his pursuit for his first Xfinity Series championship and while his plans for next season remain undetermined.

Through the first 21 races of this year’s Xfinity Series season, Allgaier and Briscoe are among seven competitors to be guaranteed spots in the Playoffs based on wining throughout the regular season. The list also includes regular-season points leader Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, rookie Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones and Justin Haley.

The first competitor who continues to emerge as the highest Xfinity competitor in points with no victories thus far is Ross Chastain. Though he came close on both occasions this weekend at Dover, finishing third on Saturday and second on Sunday, the Floridian has nine top-five results and 18 top-10 results under his belt, the most among the field despite having no victories yet this season. With five regular-season races remaining, Chastain and his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team are 388 points above the top-12 cutline and in prime position of making the Playoffs.

Trailing behind him in points is veteran Michael Annett and his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. Following strong results in both Dover races, where he finished ninth on Saturday and eighth on Sunday, the Iowa native has 12 top-10 results under his belt this season and is 204 points above the cutline while he attempts to make his third Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender.

The next two competitors in points are rookie Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg. Like Annett, Herbst recorded a pair of top-10 results at the Monster Mile to tally his top-10 results this season to 12. He is currently 116 points above the cutline and looking to join teammate Burton in the battle for the series title and the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Sieg, on the other hand, left Dover with a pair of top-15 results and despite starting towards the front on Sunday. With a total of 12 top-15 results through the Dover doubleheader, Sieg is 88 points above the cutline and is five races away in making his third career appearance in the Xfinity Playoffs as a title contender.

Finally, Brandon Brown continues to hold sole possession of the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs following a 14th-place run on Saturday and a 16th-place run on Sunday. While he started on the front row on Sunday, he struggled in keeping pace with the leaders and gaining more valuable stage points. Nonetheless, the Woodbridge, Virginia, native is ahead of the cutline by 31 points.

The first two competitors who continue to trail the cutline are journeyman Jeremy Clements and rookie Myatt Snider. After finishing in the top 15 on Saturday and the top 20 on Sunday, Clements is 31 points behind the cutline. Snider, on the other hand, recorded a pair of top-20 results at the Monster Mile as he trails by 58 points.

Among other competitors who continue to trail the cutline by 96 or more points include Josh Williams, rookie Jesse Little, B.J. McLeod, rookie Joe Graf Jr. and Tommy Joe Martins.

The battle for the final spots to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs continues next weekend on August 28 at Daytona International Speedway, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

August 24, 2020
2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook after Texas

The NASCAR Xfinity Series recent race, Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, featured another repeat winner this season in an unexpected outcome, where it took approximately an hour after the race concluded for the official race winner to be declared. The battle for the final spots to the Playoffs, however, continued to tighten up with several key contenders struggling in the Lone Star state.

With his third consecutive Xfinity Series victory of the season, Austin Cindric and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang team are establishing themselves as a potential championship threat for this season. Cindric’s victory was awarded to him following post-race technical inspection, when initial winner Kyle Busch was disqualified. With his third consecutive win, which was last made in the series in 2018 from Christopher Bell, Cindric joins Chase Briscoe as the only Xfinity competitors that have won three or more races this season. Both Ford competitors also remain as two of six drivers currently guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of a regular-season win(s), a list that include Justin Haley, Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson and rookie Harrison Burton, who rallied from a five-race stretch of finishing no higher than 12th to post a top-five result.

With six of 12 spots to the Playoffs still vacant, Ross Chastain retains one of the spots as the highest-winless competitor this season. A ninth-place result, to go along with a handful of stage points, and his 14th top-10 result has Chastain and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team 297 points above the cutline while the Floridian attempts to make his second series postseason appearance.

For Justin Allgaier, the majority of Saturday’s race at the Lone Star state had Allgaier and his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team scored as the leader. After leading a race-high 98 laps and winning both stages, it appeared that Allgaier would record his first victory of the season. His race-winning hopes, however, were dashed when he was penalized for a blend-rule violation in the final stage. Nonetheless, he was able to race his way back to a third-place result for his fourth top-five result, which keeps the Illinois veteran 228 points above the top-12 cutline.

Teammate Michael Annett also had a decent run at Texas, where he collected stage points from both stages and settled in fifth when the checkered flag flew. With his third top-five result and his fifth consecutive top-10 result in recent weeks, Annett is 164 points above the cutline to make the Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

While it was a good race for some, it was not the case for rookie Riley Herbst. Coming off two strong results at the Kentucky Speedway doubleheader, Herbst’s run was cut short early on the fourth lap when he was battling Gragson and made contact with the Turn 4 outside wall, an incident that would end his run in the garage. With a 36th-place result, the Las Vegas rookie and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team went from 69 points above the top-12 cutline to 60.

Following an up-and-down doubleheader at Kentucky, Ryan Sieg’s race at Texas concluded midway due to suspension issues. The Tucker, Georgia, native and his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet team remain inside the cutline by 58 points despite posting their seventh result outside the top 20.

With last week’s doubleheader at Kentucky produced up-and-down results for Brandon Brown, Saturday’s run at Texas was a run that stabilized his position within the top 12. A 10th-place result, his fourth of the season, allowed the Woodbridge, Virginia, native to retain the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by 31 points while he aims to make his first postseason appearance.

If there is a competitor making recent strides and gaining ground towards the cutline to the Playoffs, it is Jeremy Clements and his family owned team based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. With an 11th-place result, his ninth top-15 finish of the season and fifth in a row, Clements trails Brown for the final Playoff spot by 31 points in his quest to qualify for his second postseason, first since 2017.

Coming into Texas Motor Speedway and being 14 points below the cutline, Myatt Snider received an opportunity to race his way back into the top-12 cutline on the strength of eight top-15 results in his rookie Xfinity Series season. The Charlotte native, however, was involved in an early incident and could not recover as he settled in 34th place. In losing a spot in the standings to Clements along with a handful of points, Snider trails the cutline by 38 points.

Other competitors who remain in contention for the Playoffs include rookie Jesse Little, Alex Labbe, Josh Williams, B.J. McLeod, rookie Joe Graf Jr., Chad Finchum and Vinnie Miller.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its next scheduled race of the season at Kansas Speedway on July 25, which will air at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 20, 2020
2020 Xfinity Series Playoff outlook after Kentucky

For the second time this season, the NASCAR Xfinity Series ran a doubleheader feature on two consecutive dates, this week being at Kentucky Speedway. When both races were complete, the series featured a new winner to this season as Austin Cindric rallied from a season highlighted with near misses to win his first two races of 2020.

For Cindric and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang team, it all started on Thursday, July 9, when he outlasted fellow competitor Chase Briscoe through a handful of late restarts and cautions to record his elusive first victory of this year’s Xfinity season and his first on an oval-shaped circuit. Then, he came roaring back on Friday, July 10, with a dominating victory, leading more than half of the 200-scheduled laps and the final 43, to win his second consecutive race in a similar fashion to his first two career victories in August 2019 between Watkins Glen International and at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Cindric’s breakthrough win at the Bluegrass State, now, guarantees six regulars into the 2020 Playoffs, a list that include points leader Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, rookie Harrison Burton, Justin Haley and Brandon Jones. The second half of the 12-car Playoff field remains to be determined with the Playoffs within sight, though not scheduled.

With solid third- and fourth-place finishes at Kentucky, Ross Chastain and his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro team are the highest of those above the cutline with no recorded victories through the first 15 races of this season. The results, nonetheless, have Chastain with six top-five results and 276 points above the cutline.

Behind, Justin Allgaier rallied from a harrowing last-lap accident in the first Kentucky event that sent him to the hospital to post a strong fifth-place result the following day. While he, too, continues to pursue his first win of the year and since November 2019 at Phoenix, Allgaier and his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team are 184 points above the cutline.

The two Kentucky races produced strong results for Michael Annett and rookie Riley Herbst. For Annett, it started with a fifth-place result on Thursday and he came back the following race to finish eighth. The results kept Annett and his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team 136 points above the cutline. For Herbst, a pair of top-10 results were much needed for the Las Vegas rookie, who has had an up-and-down season prior to Kentucky. It all started on Thursday, where Herbst made a late charge to finish in the runner-up spot, which tied his best result in the series since finishing second to teammate Harrison Burton at Auto Club Speedway on Leap Day. For Friday, Herbst was in position for another strong run when he was hampered with a late pit road speeding penalty. His 10th-place result was not only the eighth of this season, but it was also enough to keep him and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra team 69 points above the cutline.

That leaves Ryan Sieg and Brandon Brown in sole possession of the final two spots to the Playoffs. For Sieg, it was an up-and-down week that started with a ninth-place result on Thursday. The ninth-place result marked his first top-10 result since Darlington Raceway in May followed by eight consecutive results of results outside the top 10, finishing no higher than 12th during the eight previous races and despite winning two stages in two consecutive races at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June. Everything, however, changed the following Kentucky race on Friday, when suspension issues and a 35th-place result has Sieg and his No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet Camaro team just 57 above the cutline. For Brown, finishes of 27th and 13th have him 14 points above the top-12 cutline.

The first trailing outside the cutline is Myatt Snider, who finished 15th on Thursday but 31st the following race at Kentucky after a crash. With a full season under his belt between RSS Racing and Richard Childress Racing, Snider remains in contention and within sight of the top-12 cutline by 14 points. Behind, Jeremy Clements recorded strong results in both Kentucky races, where he finished 12th on Thursday and came back to finish 11th on Friday after leading the first 11 laps. The top-10 results in both Kentucky races have the South Carolina native trailing the top-12 cutline by 30 points and with an opportunity to reach his second career Playoffs since 2017. The top-10 results at the Bluegrass State have tallied Clements’ top-15 results of 2020 to nine as his average result of 18.1 through the first 15 Xfinity races is his personal best. In addition, through the first 15 races, Clements has led a total of 12 laps, which ties his most laps led in a season, (2011 and 2017), with an opportunity to surpass the mark and establish a new record of laps led in a season.

Among those still pursuing the cutline include Alex Labbe, rookie Jesse Little, Josh Williams, B.J. McLeod, rookie Joe Graf Jr. and Vinnie Miller.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return for its upcoming race at Texas Motor Speedway on July 18, which will air at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

July 13, 2020
Cindric notches first win of 2020 at Kentucky Speedway

In an overtime shootout, Austin Cindric scored his first elusive NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season in the Shady Rays 200 at Kentucky Speedway, the first of a series doubleheader at the Bluegrass State, after powering away from Chase Briscoe and stabilizing a half-second lead over rookie Riley Herbst at the moment of caution due to a last-lap multi-car wreck. The victory was Cindric’s third of his Xfinity Series career and his first on an oval-shaped track after collecting his first two series victories in back-to-back races in August 2019 at Watkins Glen International and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Noah Gragson drew the pole position and was joined on the front row with Ross Chastain. The No. 90 DGM Racing Chevrolet team driven by Ronnie Bassett Jr. failed pre-race inspection twice, which cost the team the pit selection for next weekend’s race, but the driver and the team retained their 22nd-starting spot for the first Kentucky race. Mason Massey and Bayley Currey, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

While the field rolled off of pit road for the pace laps, rookie Anthony Alfredo remained on pit road as his crew addressed a steering issue to the No. 21 Alsco/Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Because it was a safety issue being addressed, Alfredo was allowed to retain his 11th-starting spot.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Gragson shot to an early lead on the bottom lane. In Turn 1, however, Jeb Burton slipped on the bottom, spun and was T-boned by Brandon Jones as the rear tires of Burton’s No. 8 Rocky Boots/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro briefly came off the ground following the contact. The first caution of the race was immediately displayed. Burton was able to continue the race following repairs to the rear end, but multiple laps behind, while Jones retired. This marked the second time in the last three Xfinity Series races where Jones was eliminated prior to the first lap due to an accident.

When the race restarted on the eighth lap, Chastain made a brief challenge for the lead on the outside lane through Turns 1 and 2, but Gragson was able to retain it on the bottom in Turn 3. While Gragson was leading, Austin Cindric, who was in pursuit of his first win of 2020, moved into second after passing Chastain. Michael Annett, rookie Harrison Burton and Chase Briscoe would also overtake Chastain for positions in the top five. Gragson was able to retain the lead when the competition caution flew on the 15th lap.

Under the competition caution, some like Briscoe, Brandon Brown, rookie Joe Graf Jr., rookie Kody Vanderwal, Tommy Joe Martins and Matt Mills pitted for early adjustments while the rest remained on track.

The race restarted on Lap 20 and Gragson retained the lead, though he was being pressured by Cindric. Both competitors drove away with a one-second advantage over third-place Burton, who was followed by Chastain and Alfredo, who rallied from his early steering issues. While the racing progressed, Allgaier, who was running in sixth, slipped underneath Alfredo, but he was able to prevent his car from spinning, though Annett and Justin Haley each gained a position.

In the closing laps of the stage, Burton gained ground and moved into second while Cindric was left in a tight battle with Chastain and Alfredo for position. They did not have anything for Gragson as the driver of the No. 9 Switch/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro was able to win the first stage on Lap 30, thus collecting his sixth stage win of the season. Burton settled in second followed by Cindric, Chastain and Alfredo. Annett, Haley, Allgaier, Ryan Sieg and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top 10 in the first stage.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Gragson exited first followed by Burton, Cindric, Chastain and Alfredo. Briscoe remained on track and took over the lead. Following the pit stops, however, Burton was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

The second stage commenced on Lap 38 and Gragson was able to clear Briscoe for the lead on the bottom lane in Turn 1. By Lap 40, the top-three competitors of Gragson, Briscoe and Cindric were ahead by more than a second over Chastain while rookie Riley Herbst, who started 23rd, was in fifth after overtaking Brown. Behind, Allgaier and Haley were back in 10th and 11th while Alfredo had fallen back to 12th.

Ten laps later, the trio of Gragson, Briscoe and Cindric were still ahead by four seconds over Chastain, nearly five over Herbst and more than eight over Annett. At the front, Gragson was leading by half a second over Briscoe, who had Cindric running near his rear bumper and was reporting a vibration to his No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang. With the leaders starting to approach lapped traffic, Allgaier was in seventh while Alfredo was in 10th ahead of Haley.

On Lap 54, Cindric threaded his way between the lapped car of Kyle Weatherman and Briscoe to move into the runner-up spot. Though Cindric was starting to narrow his deficit to Gragson, he ran out of time to challenge for the lead as Gragson was able to win the second stage on Lap 60 and claim his seventh stage victory of 2020. Cindric settled in second, more than a second behind, followed by Briscoe, who was more than five seconds behind. Chastain and Herbst settled in the top five while Allgaier, Annett, Sieg, Brown and Alfredo were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Gragson retained the lead after exiting pit road first. Briscoe moved up to second followed by Herbst, Cindric, Chastain and Allgaier.

The final stage started at the halfway mark of the 134-lap race, and Gragson retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane in Turn 1. Cindric moved his way back to second followed by Briscoe, Herbst and Allgaier while Chastain fell to sixth and in the clutches of Annett and Burton for position.

With 60 laps remaining, Gragson was ahead by a tenth of a second over Cindric and both were ahead of Briscoe, Herbst and Allgaier by more than a second. Behind, Chastain trailed by four seconds while battling a number of cars, including Burton. Ten laps later, Gragson was still ahead by around a tenth of a second over Cindric. Briscoe was in third while Allgaier was in fourth. Herbst was back in fifth and ahead of teammate Burton while Chastain, Annett, Alfredo and Sieg were in the top 10.

Four laps later, the caution returned when Brown, who came into the first Kentucky race clinging on to the 12th and final spot in the standings to the Playoffs, spun through Turns 3 and 4 and made contact with the outside wall following contact from Haley, thus sustaining heavy damage to the rear end. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Haley exited first after having two tires changed on his car. Clements exited second after also changing two tires while Gragson, the first on four fresh tires, was in third. Following the stops, Chastain was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.

With less than 40 laps remaining, the race restarted and Haley maintained the lead on the outside lane followed by Cindric. The following lap, Cindric moved into the lead, Haley was pressured by Briscoe for second and Gragson had fallen back to eighth. Burton moved up into fourth followed by teammates Annett and Allgaier with Herbst also behind. Six laps later, Cindric was ahead by nearly two seconds over Haley, who was still pressured by Briscoe for the runner-up spot. Burton, Annett, Allgaier and Herbst followed suit while Gragson was stuck in eighth.

Under 30 laps remaining, the caution returned following a late incident involving Moffitt and Chastain. Four laps later, the race restarted and Haley, who spun his tires but received a push from Briscoe, cleared Cindric for the lead on the inside lane. In Turn 2, Cindric gained a huge run to reassume the lead and Briscoe and Burton moved up while Haley was left in fourth ahead of Allgaier.

Ten laps later, with 20 to go, Cindric was ahead by a second over Briscoe while Burton was trailing by two seconds. Behind, Allgaier moved into fourth after prevailing over a battle with Haley while Gragson was stuck in sixth. With the race dwindling to its final laps, Cindric stretched his lead by more than two seconds over Briscoe, who was struggling for grip. Burton was still in third followed by Allgaier while teammate Gragson was able to race his way back into the top five after passing Haley. Shortly after, the caution returned for a wreck involving Colby Howard in Turn 1.

When the race restarted with nine laps remaining, Cindric and Briscoe battled against one another for the lead as Gragson went three wide to move into third ahead of Burton and Allgaier. A lap later, Cindric cleared Briscoe for the lead and was slowly starting to stabilize his lead by half a second over a steaming pack of cars. With four laps remaining, however, the caution returned when Burton, who had fallen back into the top 10, slid sideways following contact with Annett in a cloud of smoke across the Turn 3 outside wall before he spun his car below the apron. He was able to continue without sustaining any damage.

Following Burton’s late spin, the race was sent into overtime. When the green flag waved, Cindric and Briscoe, again, battled dead even for the lead through Turn 1 when Briscoe got loose underneath Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske/Snap-On Ford Mustang. Briscoe’s slip allowed Cindric to clear and set sail with the lead in Turn 2 while Herbst and Chastain moved into second and third. Behind, Gragson made contact with teammate Allgaier, which sent Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT/JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro slipping sideways across Turns 1 and 2 as he lost a multitude of positions.

On the final lap, with the field behind continuing to scramble for late positions, Cindric was ahead by half a second over Herbst and Chastain while Briscoe fell back to fourth and was locked in a battle with Annett, Alfredo and Haley. As Cindric entered Turn 3, the caution flew following a multi-car wreck that started when Allgaier got loose in Turn 2 and slipped into Bassett Jr., who spun and made hard contact against the inside wall as all four wheels of Bassett’s No. 90 Chevrolet came off the ground. Timmy Hill and Vanderwal were also involved in the wreck. With the race concluding under caution, Cindric was able to cruise across the finish line to win the race.

With the victory, Cindric became the sixth full-time Xfinity competitor to be guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs by virtue of a regular-season win and he became the 17th competitor to win an Xfinity race at Kentucky. He also recorded the first Xfinity victory of the season for Team Penske and the sixth for the Ford nameplate.

“I don’t care what shape the track is, if it’s dirt, oval! I don’t care!” Cindric exclaimed. “I’m just happy that this Snap-On Ford Mustang’s in Victory Lane. We’ve come so close all year. These guys have given me so many awesome race-winning cars with Snap-On celebrating their 100th anniversary with their Makers and Fixers program. It’s awesome to have them on the car. I’m pumped. This is awesome. I’d love to be able to come back and do another performance like that tomorrow night, but all the credit to my guys for getting me here. I love [Briscoe], but he’s won enough! Those restarts were a lot tougher than I was thinking they would be. Obviously, you never got out of the gas till he got loose like he should’ve, but I’m just so happy. Thank you to Roger [Penske], thank you to everyone on the team for believing in me. I believe this is a championship team and this is the start of many wins for this season. I’m so happy that it came here.”

Behind Cindric, Herbst tied his career-best finish of the series with a runner-up result while Chastain rebounded from his late incident with Moffitt to finish third. Briscoe settled in fourth while Annett settled in fifth for his second top-five result of the season. Alfredo finished sixth while Haley, Kyle Weatherman, Sieg and Moffitt concluded the race in the top 10.

Gragson, who led a race-high 87 laps, fell all the way back to 11th, Burton settled in 17th and Allgaier ended his night in 20th and on a wrecker after failing to complete the final lap. Myatt Snider finished 15th and based on the top-15 finishers from Thursday’s race being inverted for the start of Friday’s Xfinity race, second of the week, he will start on the pole and will be joined on the front row with rookie Jesse Little, who finished 14th on Thursday.

Following his last-lap accident, Allgaier was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 40 laps.

With his fourth-place result, Briscoe maintained the lead in the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by 16 points over Gragson, 45 over Cindric and 48 over Chastain.

Results:

1. Austin Cindric, 41 laps led

2. Riley Herbst

3. Ross Chastain

4. Chase Briscoe, five laps led

5. Michael Annett

6. Anthony Alfredo

7. Justin Haley, three laps led

8. Kyle Weatherman

9. Ryan Sieg

10. Brett Moffitt

11. Noah Gragson, 87 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner

12. Jeremy Clements

13. Joe Graf Jr.

14. Jesse Little

15. Myatt Snider

16. Chad Finchum

17. Harrison Burton

18. B.J. McLeod

19. Ronnie Bassett Jr. – OUT, Accident

20. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

21. Timmy Hill – OUT, Accident

22. Bayley Currey, one lap down

23. Vinnie Miller, two laps down

24. Alex Labbe, two laps down

25. Kody Vanderwal, two laps down

26. Josh Williams, three laps down

27. Brandon Brown, four laps down

28. Mason Massey, six laps down

29. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Suspension

30. Matt Mills, 14 laps down

31. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Brakes

32. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

33. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Rear gear

34. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

35. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Electrical

36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return for its second race of the week at Kentucky Speedway on July 10, which will air at 8 p.m. on FS1.

July 10, 2020
Allgaier’s return to Cup Series at Indy cut short

It has been an eventful weekend for Justin Allgaier. From receiving a call to fill in for one of NASCAR’s icons to pulling double duty between two of the sport’s major division series at a famed racetrack, the Illinois native, who races as a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, was aiming for a strong result in his return to the sport’s premier series. Instead, Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard did not fall in the favors for Allgaier and the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team after a bizarre wreck on pit road left them out of contention and exiting early in the race.

For Allgaier, it started on Friday, July 3, when he was called to serve as an interim driver of the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who had tested positive for COVID-19 along with his wife, Chani, and was unable to compete in the Cup Series for the first time in 663 races, none since November 2001. In addition to Johnson and his wife, one member of Johnson’s crew went under self-quarantine due to coming into contact with the driver during the last few days. Johnson’s positive test of COVID-19 was something that Hendrick Motorsports quickly alerted NASCAR and was following all the necessary guidelines under the sport’s COVID-19 guidelines.

Based on a random draw, the No. 48 team led by crew chief Cliff Daniels was due to start fourth, but the driver change sent Allgaier to the rear of the field when the green flag waved at Indy. For the first 12 laps, Allgaier was able to methodically work his way up to 30th when the competition caution flew. Things changed, however, under caution when Allgaier was entering pit road. It was past the pit road entrance when he was caught up in a pileup as a result of a stack up. In the ensuing chaos, Allgaier was hit in the rear end by rookie Brennan Poole, ran into the back of Corey LaJoie and pinned the right-rear tire changer of Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 crew against Blaney car before coming to rest alongside Ryan Preece’s crumbled car with significant front nose damage.

Following a red flag period spanning more than 11 minutes, the No. 48 crew went to work to repair the car. By the time the damage was repaired, Allgaier returned to the track in 39th, multiple laps down. Shortly after a restart on Lap 20, the right-front tire blew on the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet and Allgaier was off the pace while trying to make his way back to pit road. Shortly after, crew chief Daniels made the call for Allgaier to park the car in the garage as his race came to an end.

“[Poole], actually, got in the back of me,” Allgaier said after being released from the infield care center. “I didn’t know if I got [hit] the gentleman on [Blaney’s crew] or not. Once the wreck started happening in front of us and we all got bottled-up there, one car after another were getting run into. It’s just a shame. I hate it for these guys on this Ally No. 48 [team]. They’ve done such a great job. They’ve prepared so well for the circumstances. Obviously, our hearts and thoughts are for Jimmie and his family right now. That’s the most important piece of all this is getting him back to the race track soon. And, I wanted to do well for them today and it’s disappointing to be standing here talking to [TV interviewer] unfortunately. But we’ll go on. I don’t know what next week looks like yet. We’ll go run the Xfinity Series race and go have a good shot at it. It’s a disappointing way to end the Brickyard 400.”

Allgaier’s 37th-place result in his 77th Cup career start, first since August 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway, was a result he did not have in mind, especially at a track where he won at in the 2018 Xfinity Series season and coming off his seventh-place result in the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit the day before. Nonetheless, he remained humble and thankful for the opportunity to race at Indianapolis in the iconic No. 48 machine and for Johnson, who is scheduled to retire at the conclusion of this season following an illustrious racing career.

“I told Mr. [Hendrick] and I told Jimmie as well just how honored I was that they would ask me to be in this role. It means a lot. It means a lot as a driver. It means a lot to everybody involved and my family. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to do it again.”

There are no current plans established for Johnson’s return to racing nor for the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team in terms of driver plans for next weekend’s Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. He may return only after receiving clearance from his physician and has two negative COVID-19 test results spanning 24 hours apart. His initials plans of testing an IndyCar vehicle for Chip Ganassi Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Wednesday, July 8, has been cancelled.

Allgaier will return for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series’ doubleheader weekend at Kentucky Speedway on July 9 and 10, which will both air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. The NASCAR Cup Series will return for its next scheduled race at Kentucky on July 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

July 6, 2020
Justin Allgaier wins Most Popular Driver Award in Xfinity Series

By Staff Report | NASCAR.com

The fans have spoken. Justin Allgaier has been named the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver for the first time.

Allgaier, 33, takes the mantle from former teammate Elliott Sadler, who had won the fan-voted honor for three consecutive years. Sadler retired from full-time racing following the conclusion of the 2018 season, paving the way for Allgaier’s ascension in the voting this year.

The driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet finished fourth in the final Xfinity Series standings after making it to the Championship 4 for the third time in four years. His victory in the penultimate race of the year at ISM Raceway in Phoenix clinched a spot in Miami, where he finished 14th.

Allgaier is known for his affable attitude and fan-friendly demeanor. He often is surrounded by wife Ashley and daughter Harper on pit road before strapping in.
The veteran finished the year with that one win in Phoenix, 16 top-five finishes and 24 top 10s in 33 races. He’s up to 11 wins all time in the Xfinity Series.

The award for Allgaier continues an eight-year run for JR Motorsports drivers. Other former JRM drivers to earn the honor during that time include Sadler (2016-18) Chase Elliott (2014-15), Regan Smith (2013) and Danica Patrick (2012).

December 4, 2019
Bell and Allgaier end up short of championship

After coming up short in last year’s Championship 4 race, Christopher Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team were back for another chance at the Xfinity Series championship. This would be Bell’s last opportunity for the foreseeable future as he goes Cup Series racing next year for Leavine Family Racing. Already being an emotional week for the Oklahoma native, Bell had hopes of bringing home a championship to the No. 20 team.

Bell qualified seventh at Homestead-Miami Speedway and had a great car early on, finishing 12th in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. He even had the lead multiple times throughout the race and at one point he led 23 laps out front. However, the last time we would see Bell at the front was right before green flag pit stops. A miscommunication call between the driver and spotter had Bell staying out instead of coming in to pit road.

Even with a fast car, Bell was unable to catch the other two championship drivers. There were no late-race cautions and the Oklahoma native had to settle for a disappointing fifth-place finish and third in the championship after a strong season with eight wins.

“Yeah, it was just a miscommunication,” Bell said describing the incident. “I don’t know if my spotter didn’t get told what our cue word was, but I told, got the cue word to pit, and then all of a sudden, I started pitting and he said, not now, not now. But that didn’t matter whenever you get beat by 17 seconds. I’m glad that didn’t have an effect on the outcome of the race.”

Even after the incident, Bell was making up ground but was just too far back in order to make anything happen.

“Well, that second to last run, I don’t know if I just did a better job blocking or what, but we definitely seemed to maintain a little bit better, and then whenever we pitted, I didn’t know ‑‑ you don’t know how many laps that we pitted earlier than the other two guys, but I was pretty happy whenever I drove by them because I think we only had 30‑something laps to go at that point, and my car had been okay for that distance.”

Bell ends his full-time Xfinity Series campaign with 16 wins, 41 top-fives and 46 top-10 finishes along with 12 poles.

Justin Allgaier, on the other hand, had a more disappointing race. The eventful weekend started out with practice when the No. 52 of David Starr came up when he was not clear and made slight contact with Allgaier off Turn 1. Rain showers came and washed out the practices for the rest of the day on Friday. Coming back on Saturday afternoon for qualifying, Allgaier struggled with a 16th place starting effort.

While it wasn’t a pretty Stage 1, Allgaier managed a third place for the second stage. However, after Stage 2, it was like you didn’t see the No. 7 team for the rest of the race. A major moment came late in the final stage, where Allgaier almost spun coming down to pit road. He held onto the car and made it to pit road for adjustments.

Despite those adjustments, the car continued to struggle in the remaining laps. With no late-race cautions, Allgaier finished 14th, one lap down and fourth of the four Championship 4 drivers.

“Yeah, I mean, that was probably the hardest one,” Allgaier said. “Chase sitting here probably got in the wall less than we did, and the caution came out, and it didn’t for us. So I was pretty bummed in that. But on the flip side of it, once this didn’t come out, there was no reason to try to cause a caution. We weren’t fast enough really to be in that position anyway and it ‑‑ at the end of the day, I probably could have done something to benefit ourselves there.”

“The unfortunate part is you’ve got a long way to go to get back to pit road at a slow speed and that ended up putting us two laps down, which we were able to drive our way back to one lap down, but the time that we lost just trying to get back to pit road really, really affected the outcome of where we finished tonight, which didn’t matter, but just for going into the off‑season you’d rather have a better finish than where we finished, 14th, 13th, 15th, something like that. Disappointing.”

Allgaier ends the 2019 Xfinity Series season with one win, 16 top fives and 24 top-10 finishes.

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November 16, 2019
Preview – 2019 Xfinity Series Championship at Homestead

Four drivers are set to compete for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship title this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is a diverse group of drivers from four different teams representing Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota manufacturers.

Drivers listed alphabetically.

Justin Allgaier:

Allgaier drove his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane at ISM Raceway last Saturday to secure his spot in the Championship 4 with his first victory this season. This will be the third time in four years that Allgaier has competed for the title, finishing third in two previous attempts in 2016 and 2017. So far this season he has 16 top-fives and 24 top -10 finishes, leading 607 laps with an average finish of 8.9.

He is optimistic about his chances and feels as though the team has hit its stride at the perfect moment.

“We’re going to go to Homestead and have some fun. A lot of the storylines this year have been surrounding the other three contenders and they’ve been really strong and they’ve won a lot of races, but I feel like this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team is peaking at the right time and you can’t count us out,” Allgaier said. “We’re going into this weekend with a new mentality and a new energy and we’re going to have a shot at winning a championship. I can’t wait to see what we can go there and do this weekend.”

Christopher Bell:

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been impressive this season with a career-high eight wins in his No. 20 Toyota. His most recent win at Texas Motor Speedway locked him into the Championship 4. This is the second consecutive year that he has qualified for the Playoffs, finishing fourth in 2018. Bell has 19 top-fives and 20 top-10s this year along with six poles and has led 1,968 laps.

Bell obviously wants to win at Homestead but regardless of the outcome, he is happy with what he has already accomplished this season.

“I feel good so far. Yes, I want to win the championship so bad, but ultimately it comes down to the last run. If you have a bad pit stop, we saw Erik Jones win the race off pit road two years ago and had it in his hands and one guy stayed out and picked his lane on the restart and it was over. It’s just such a toss-up that you never know how things are going to play out. I would love to win it, but if not, the goal is to get there and we’ve accomplished that,” Bell said. “We’ve won races this year and that’s something I’m proud of. We’ve got an opportunity to win a championship and that’s all you can ask for.”

Cole Custer:

Custer has driven his No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to seven victories this year. He earned a spot in the Championship 4 on points with a runner-up finish last weekend at ISM Raceway. He has 16 top-fives and 23 top-10s in 2019 with six poles and 907 laps led. It is his second consecutive time qualifying for the championship round, finishing second in 2018. Custer’s first career win was at Homestead in 2017. In three starts at the 1.5-mile track, he has an average finish of 6.7.

Custer says that it will take a “near-perfect” effort to win at Homestead and is confident that his team is capable of doing just that.

“In 2018, we had a great car and we were able to lead 95 laps during the race, but we struggled a little bit on the long runs. Tyler Reddick was able to get the top going and had great long-run speed and he was able to make it work for him. I tried late in the race to get the top going, but I couldn’t get it going as fast as him and watched him just drive away. Feeling that heartbreak has us set on kill for this weekend so we don’t have to experience that again and instead, we can hopefully be the ones celebrating on the frontstretch, but it’s going to take a near-perfect race from everyone, which I know we are capable of doing,” Custer said.

Tyler Reddick:

Reddick heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday hoping to win back-to-back Xfinity Series titles. He claimed a spot in the Championship 4 after his third-place finish at Phoenix, earning enough points to advance. He has five wins this season in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet along with 23 top-fives, 26 top-10s, four poles and 484 laps led.

Reddick is hoping to see a race that is similar to last year’s event.

“I would like it to end kind of the way it did last year with a long run and being able to run up by the fence and just do what I enjoy most, just trying to go as fast as I can on the long run,” he said. “Obviously, it’s just going to come down to who runs the best race all day, who is there at the end. So it’s whoever can do the best and that’ll be our champion.”

The Xfinity Series Ford EcoBoost 300 is set for Saturday afternoon at 3:30 ET on NBCSN with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

November 14, 2019
Allgaier fights for first win of 2019 in Round of 8 cutoff race

AVONDALE, Ariz. — When the Playoffs were on the line, Justin Allgaier rose to the occasion by winning the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 as the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 has officially been declared.

“We had a hot rod today,” Allgaier declared.

After winning five races in 2018, Allgaier looks for redemption at Homestead-Miami Speedway this year by winning his first race of the season. It also came at the right time since the JR Motorsports driver was among the cutoff line throughout the race.

“I don’t think we could have beaten the 20 (Bell),” said Allgaier. “But when he made his mistake, we capitalized on it. That’s what it’s all about. No question (not winning) is a weight on your shoulders, man. You can’t even begin to describe it.”

Christopher Bell won last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway to secure his spot for the championship race. Bell led every green-flag lap in both opening stages, but a speeding penalty on pit road forced him to drop to the rear of the field on the restart of the final stage. Another caution, later on, forced him to pit again. The No. 20 car went one lap down and wasn’t able to recover.

“I feel like I gave up a winner,” said Bell. “It all comes down to this one next week. I’m ready for it. I feel really good about where we’re at, and our car is going to be extremely strong next week.

“We’ve prepared a ton for this. Ever since we left Homestead last year, we knew that this race was where we needed to improve. Pretty much all year long, we’ve been focused on Homestead.”

Since Brandon Jones won at Martinsville, no other driver was completely locked in yet. In a combination of stage points and other competitors falling out of the race, Cole Custer had a large enough gap in the points standings to mathematically lock himself into Homestead.

“I never got the memo,” Custer laughed when asked if he was told about the championship status update after Stage 2. “I was giving it all I had. I was really struggling with the brake pedal. I kind of lost it at the start of the run. I had to save the whole run until like 15 laps to go, and then I just let it happen. I just came up a little bit short, but I think that was the best run we’ve had at Phoenix in a long time.”

“I’m looking forward to Homestead, and hopefully we can do one spot better.”

The regular-season champion, Tyler Reddick, will now go for a second consecutive championship in the Xfinity series. Last year, he won with JR Motorsports. This year, he’ll look to bring a title to Richard Childress Racing.

Chase Briscoe, Michael Annett, Austin Cindric, and Noah Gragson were the four drivers eliminated after Phoenix.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will crown their champion next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

November 9, 2019
Gragson and Allgaier leave Kansas with solid runs

Kansas City, KS – Justin Allgaier was still looking for his first career Xfinity Series win of the 2019 season heading into Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway. He came close a couple of weeks ago at Dover, dominating the race before losing it late. The JR Motorsports driver had high hopes coming into Kansas looking to get that elusive victory to get him into the Championship 4.

Allgaier qualified seventh, ran strong most of the day, finished fifth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. However, Allgaier ultimately brought home the No.7 Trademark Nitrogen/Brandt Chevy Camaro in the fifth position.

“To be honest with you, we weren’t a top-five car today,” Allgaier said. “We struggled all day and didn’t have the speed we were looking for. Some timely cautions and some cars that had some trouble really helped us out to get our top five. The guys worked hard, we battled. At one point, we were way off of where we needed to be at. We were able to come back and had a good finish out of it.”

“It helps in the points, we scored stage points in both stages. It’s not over by any stretch of the imagination. There’s a lot of guys right there on our tail, but it makes you feel better going into Texas in a few weeks.”

Playoff driver and Allgaier’s teammate Noah Gragson had an up and down day, finishing third in Stage 1 before ultimately finishing 13th. With Gragson sitting seventh in the standings after Kansas, he still believes that he is not in a must-win situation going forward.

“Not a bit,” Gragson said. “The way we picked up stage points, the speed we had today definitely not. We have the car to do it and I don’t think we’re in a must-win situation. We’re a contender and we can win. I’m really proud of the effort at JR Motorsports and ready to get on to Texas.”

October 21, 2019