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  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Allgaier to make 400th Xfinity career start at Talladega

    Allgaier to make 400th Xfinity career start at Talladega

    Competing in his 12th full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro will be making his 400th career start in the Xfinity circuit. 

    A native of Riverton, Illinois, Allgaier was a full-time ARCA Menards Series competitor for his family owned team, Allgaier Motorsports, led by his father, Mike, when he made his inaugural presence in the Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2008. Driving the No. 12 Dodge for Team Penske, Allgaier, who started 14th, finished 34th in his series debut after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the second half of the event. He returned for the final three races of the season, where his best on-track result during the stretch was an 11th-place run at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    After winning the 2008 ARCA championship, Allgaier was promoted to a full-time racing role in the No. 12 Penske Dodge for the 2009 Xfinity season. Throughout the 35-race schedule, he recorded his first career pole at Memphis Motorsports Park in October. He also recorded a total of three top-five results (all fifth-place finishes), 12 top-10 results and an average result of 16.5 before settling in sixth place in the final standings. At the conclusion of the season, Allgaier was named the 2009 Xfinity Rookie of the Year.

    Remaining with the Penske organization in 2010, Allgaier commenced the season on a strong note by finishing in fourth place in the season-opening event at Daytona. Three races later, he achieved his first Xfinity career win at Bristol Motor Speedway in March after fending off teammate Brad Keselowski and leading the final 27 laps. Allgaier went on to earn a total of two poles, eight top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average result of 11.5 before finishing in fourth place in the final standings. His result made him the highest-finishing Xfinity regular competitor in the standings behind teammate Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

    At the conclusion of the 2010 season, the No. 12 Penske team ceased operations due to sponsorship issues. In spite of losing his ride at Penske, Allgaier found a new team to call home for the 2011 season as he joined Turner Motorsports to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala. After finishing as high as second place through the first 13 scheduled events, he claimed his first victory of the season at Chicagoland Speedway in June. The victory occurred in a thriller after he overtook Carl Edwards, who had run out of fuel, on the final lap before he too ran out of fuel, but had enough to coast and beat Edwards to the finish line by nearly two seconds. To go along with a total of six top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average result of 11.8, Allgaier achieved a career-best third-place result in the final championship standings after spending nearly the entire season in the top five while contending for the title. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Allgaier surpassed 100 career starts in the Xfinity circuit.

    In 2012, Allgaier’s achieved his first and only victory of the season at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in in August after he overtook Jacques Villeneuve, who was sputtering on fuel, on the final lap. Despite claiming his third Xfinity career win along with a total of six top-five results, 19 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.0, Allgaier, settled in sixth place in the final standings behind Michael Annett. The following season marked Allgaier’s first winless season since his rookie campaign in 2009, but he finished one spot better in the championship standings than the previous season in fifth place in a season. During his fifth full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit, he earned a pole, six top-five results, 16 top-10 results and an 11.2 average-finishing result.

    Following the 2013 season, Allgaier moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive for HScott Motorsports. Two years later, however, he returned to the Xfinity Series and teamed up with JR Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro on a full-time basis. In his return to the series, the Illinois native was consistent on the strength of three runner-up results, 11 top-five results and 21 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch to qualify for the inaugural Xfinity Playoffs. After finishing no lower than 14th throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier was able to transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway and stand as one of four competitors to contend for the 2016 Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Allgaier finished sixth on the track and in third place in the final standings. Despite concluding the season winless and without the title, he recorded career-high stats in top fives (13) and top 10s (27) along with a personal-best 9.1 average-finishing result. By then, Allgaier surpassed 200 Xfinity career starts.

    After finishing 30th during the first two scheduled Xfinity events of the 2017 season followed by a fourth-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, Allgaier returned to Victory Lane in the Xfinity Series for the first time in five seasons after beating Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones to win at Phoenix Raceway in March. He went on to earn his second victory of the season at Chicagoland in September before entering in his second consecutive appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender. With four top-10 results throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier also transferred to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season despite losing his crew chief Jason Burdett for the finale due to a L1-level penalty that was handed to Allgaier’s team for failing the post-race inspection process the week prior at Phoenix. By finishing in 12th place during the finale while having veterans Billy Wilburn and Chad Knaus calling the shots, he ended up in third place in the final standings for a second consecutive season. Overall, he recorded two victories, one pole, 10 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.0 throughout the 33-race schedule.

    The 2018 season was a career year for Allgaier, who achieved a career-high five wins (Dover International Speedway in May, Iowa Speedway in June, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America in August and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September) and emerged as the 2018 Xfinity Series regular-season championship. He also earned a career-high 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.6. Despite the momentum throughout the regular-season stretch and the 2018 Playoffs, respective finishes of 38th, fifth and 24th during the Round of 8 were not enough for the driver of the No. 7 team to transfer to the Championship Round finale at Homestead as he went on to finish in seventh place in the final standings.

    The momentum from the previous season carried forth in the 2019 Xfinity opener at Daytona for Allgaier, who finished in the runner-up spot behind teammate Michael Annett and went on to record 16 results in the top 10 before qualifying for the Xfinity Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. It was not until the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix in November where he won for the first time during the season. The Phoenix victory, however, was enough for Allgaier and the No. 7 team to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead and receive another opportunity to contend for his first title. During the finale, Allgaier cut a tire late in the event and settled in 14th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 300 Xfinity career starts in a season where he achieved a new personal-best average-finishing result of 9.0 along with 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule.

    In 2020, Allgaier’s first victory of the season occurred during the first of a Dover Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in August. A month later, he swept both Richmond Raceway events in a doubleheader weekend to solidify his spot in the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. Despite sustaining two DNFs and three results outside of the top 20 throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier accumulated enough points to transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Phoenix in November. During the finale, Allgaier was in prime position of achieving his first NASCAR Xfinity championship before being overtaken by Austin Cindric on the final lap and during an overtime attempt. He ended up in fifth place on the track and in a career-best runner-up result in the final standings after losing ground to Cindric on the final lap. While he fell one spot short of winning the title, he concluded the season with a career-high 1,008 laps led along with three victories, 11 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.4.

    This past season, Allgaier scratched two venues off of his bucket list after winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March followed by Darlington Raceway in May. The pair of victories along with a total of 10 top-five results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for Allgaier to secure a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. He then managed to finish no lower than ninth throughout the Playoffs, but he missed the top-four cutline to qualify for the Championship Round by a mere margin as he went on to finish in fifth place in the final standings.

    Allgaier commenced the 2022 season with five results in the top 10 through the first 10-scheduled events before collecting his first victory of the season at Darlington in May. Throughout the summer stretch, he achieved his first victories at Nashville Superspeedway in June and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. His three regular-season victories to go along with 18 top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for him to qualify for his seventh consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. Despite recording a 29th-place result in his latest event at Texas Motor Speedway, which marked the first event of the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs, he is currently ranked in sixth place in the Playoff standings and is 20 points above the top-eight cutline to transfer to the Round of 8 while he continues his pursuit to win his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    Through 399 previous Xfinity starts, Allgaier has achieved 19 victories, seven poles, 124 top-five results, 237 top-10 results, 4,696 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.7.

    Allgaier is set to make his 400th career start in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 1, with the event’s coverage to occur at 4 p.m. ET on USA Network. 

  • 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.

  • Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    A pass for the lead with 15 laps remaining in the second stage followed by a two-lap dash to the conclusion of the stage netted Noah Gragson and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team a rain-shortened victory in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 10.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for 20 of 93-shortened laps, including the final 18, as he managed to retain the lead through two late restarts prior to the conclusion of the second stage, including a two-lap dash to the eventual finish over teammate Justin Allgaier and Ty Gibbs. When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, NASCAR directed the field to pit road on Lap 93 due to a weather delay. With the precipitation increasing and more rain approaching the track, NASCAR made the call to deem the race official and award Gragson his fifth Xfinity victory of the season and second in recent weeks after he won last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Brandon Jones notched his fifth career pole position, third of the season and second in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap of 174.695 mph in 30.911 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Ty Gibbs, winner of last year’s Xfinity event at Kansas who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 174.520 mph in 30.942 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Jesse Iwuji (who replaced Kyle Weatherman for the main event despite Weatherman practicing and qualifying for the main event), Joey Gase, Josh Williams, CJ McLaughlin, Brennan Poole, JJ Yeley, Kris Wright, Stefan Parsons and Brandon Brown dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Ryan Vargas also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, the field quickly fanned out to three lanes entering the first turn as Brandon Jones fended off teammate Ty Gibbs to lead the first lap. As the field continued to fan out through the second lap, AJ Allmendinger was in third ahead of Richard Childress Racing’s rookies Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill with JR Motorsports’ competitors Sam Mayer, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier following in pursuit.

    Four laps later and following an early battle with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Gibbs moved his No. 54 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Supra into the lead over Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Brandon Jones followed by Allmendinger, Gragson and Allgaier. Teammates Hill and Creed battled for sixth while Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric occupied the top 10. Riley Herbst was in 11th followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry and Brett Moffitt while Landon Cassill, Myatt Snider, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Bailey Currey were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Brandon Jones while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly four seconds. Behind, Allmendinger and Allgaier battle for fourth while Sammy Smith, Hill and Mayer were in sixth, seventh and eighth. Meanwhile, Creed, coming off his career-best run at Darlington Raceway, had fallen back to ninth while Brett Moffitt was in 10th.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Gibbs, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Brandon Jones while Gragson remained in third place and trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra into fourth place followed by Allgaier while Allmendinger, Hill, Moffitt, Mayer and Herbst were in the top 10. Creed was back in 12th behind Josh Berry while Hemric, Cassill and Chastain battled in the top 15.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Gibbs rocketed his way to his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Gragson, who navigated his way around Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot nearing the Lap 40 mark, settled in second followed by Jones, Sammy Smith and Allgaier while Moffitt, Hill, Allmendinger, Berry and Herbst were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gibbs pitted for the first time and Gibbs retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Hill.

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead entering the first turn while Hill, who restarted in the top six, fanned out to three lanes in his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he moved up the leaderboard and battled Gragson for the runner-up spot. At the front, Gibbs retained the lead as Allgaier settled behind teammate Gragson and Hill before attacking Hill for third place. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith, who restarted third, fell back to sixth.

    Four laps later, Moffitt, who recorded a strong top-six result in the first stage, scrapped the outside wall in Turn 1 while running in the top 10 as he dropped back to 13th while the event proceeded under green.

    Through Lap 60, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while teammate Allgaier’s No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro trailed by more than three seconds. Hill and Brandon Jones occupied fourth and fifth while Cassill, Berry, Sammy Smith, Allmendinger and Chastain were running in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Jeremy Clements, whose team awaits the verdict of appealing their encumbered victory at Daytona in August and currently sit outside of the Playoff picture, spun his No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro below the apron entering Turn 4 while trying to enter pit road. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while names like Hill, Moffitt and Ryan Sieg remained on the track. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 75, Hill assumed an early advantage while Moffitt, who restarted on the front row and on the outside lane, spun the tires, which caused the field to jam up and fan out through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Shortly after, Gragson rocketed his way into the lead in the backstretch. During the following lap, Allmendinger made his way into second followed by Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Gibbs while Hill continued to lose more spots on the track while on old tires.

    Then with eight laps remaining in the second stage, the caution returned due to rain reported on the track. At the moment of caution, Gragson was the leader followed by teammate Allgaier, then Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith. By then, Moffitt, Hill and Ryan Sieg had fallen back to 15th, 17th and 19th.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Gragson and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first turn until Gragson managed to pull ahead of Allgaier through the backstretch while Gibbs used the outside lane to bolt his way into third place.

    During the final lap of the second stage, Gragson maintained the lead while Gibbs battled Allgaier for the runner-up spot in front of Jones. While the on-track battles behind the leaders continued for a final full lap, Gragson managed to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with the lead and record his 13th stage victory of the 2022 season. Behind, Allgaier edged Gibbs to settle in second despite getting body-slammed by Gibbs approaching the start/finish line. Brandon Jones and Chastain settled in the top five while Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the field led by Gragson was brought to pit road and the race was red-flagged on Lap 93 due to a weather delay.

    Then as the rain continued, NASCAR deemed the race official and Gragson, who awaited any news in the garage, was awarded his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the season. The victory was Gragson’s 10th of his Xfinity career and his first in the series at Kansas as he sets his sights to the Playoffs and for his first NASCAR national touring series championship. The victory was also the 11th of the season for JR Motorsports.

    “[The race] was tough,” Gragson, who still managed to display his victorious trademark by climbing the fence on the frontstretch, said on USA Network. “I don’t know if we had the fastest car there at the beginning in the first stage. I felt like if [the race] would’ve went green, we could’ve kept working on [the car], working on it. We had a pretty fast car there, but I’ll take’em any way we get’em. [Allgaier] was fast. [Gibbs] was, obviously, the fastest car all day. Extremely grateful. Super thankful.”

    Teammate Allgaier concluded the event in the runner-up spot while Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Chastain finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt were awarded top-10 results.

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

    With a single regular-season event remaining in the schedule, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones have clinched spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst have also clinched spots for the Playoffs based on points. 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 13 points, Brandon Brown trails by 100, Anthony Alfredo trails by 101 and Myatt Snider trails by 177.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 20 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Justin Allgaier

    3. Ty Gibbs, 66 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Brandon Jones, five laps led

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. AJ Allmendinger

    7. Josh Berry

    8. Sammy Smith

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. Brett Moffitt

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Austin Hill

    13. Landon Cassill

    14. Ryan Sieg

    15. Daniel Hemric

    16. Riley Herbst

    17. Brandon Brown

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Myatt Snider

    20. Kris Wright

    21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    22. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    23. David Starr, one lap down

    24. Josh Williams, one lap down

    25. Rajah Caruth, one lap down

    26. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

    27. Derek Griffith, one lap down

    28. Howie Disavino III, one lap down

    29. Dillon Bassett, one lap down

    30. Joey Gase, one lap down

    31. Mason Massey, two laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    33. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    34. CJ McLaughlin, two laps down

    35. Bayley Currey, three laps down

    36. Jesse Iwuji, four laps down

    37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Transmission

    38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Engine

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude next Friday, September 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway, where the 12-car Playoff field will be determined. Coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 7:30 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.

  • Jason Burdett to call 250th Xfinity event as crew chief at Daytona

    Jason Burdett to call 250th Xfinity event as crew chief at Daytona

    In his eighth full-time season as a NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro team piloted by vt, Jason Burdett is within reach of a milestone start. By participating in this weekend’s Xfinity event at Daytona International Speedway, Burdett will call his 250th career event as a crew chief.

    A native of Arkport, New York, Burdett, whose racing career commenced by working with several local teams near Watkins Glen, joined Robert Yates Racing in 1998, where he worked as a tire specialist for Dale Jarrett. Three years later, he transitioned to Hendrick Motorsports, where he was a part of the 2001 Cup Series championship-winning team piloted by four-time champion Jeff Gordon. Another six years later, he joined forces with Michael Waltrip Racing and served as Jarrett’s crew chief for 14 Cup events. Upon returning to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, he spent the following three seasons serving as Gordon’s car chief before teaming up with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 HMS team from 2011 to 2014.

    In 2015, Burdett was named a full-time Xfinity Series crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro entry piloted by Regan Smith. Despite commencing the season with a 35th-place finish at Daytona, where Smith was involved in a late rollover accident, the duo earned 12 top-10 results through the first 20-scheduled events. Then at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, Burdett achieved his first victory as a NASCAR crew chief when Smith pulled a “bump-and-run” move on Alex Tagliani on the final lap to claim his first victory of the season. Another seven races later, Burdett and Smith went to Victory Lane for the second time of the year at Dover Motor Speedway in October. By then, Smith was in third place in the standings and trailing the points lead by 36 points. Despite finishing in the top-10 for the remaining five Xfinity events, Smith capped the 2015 season in fourth place in the final drivers’ standings and 22 points shy of the title. Overall, Burdett led Smith and the No. 7 JRM team to two victories, 11 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.0 in his first season as an Xfinity crew chief.

    The following season, Burdett remained as crew chief for JRM’s No. 7 entry that was being piloted by Justin Allgaier, who replaced Smith. Despite not recording a single victory throughout the season, the new duo utilized consistency on a strength of 21 top-10 results to qualify for the inaugural 2016 Xfinity Series Playoffs. Burdett and Allgaier went on to finish no lower than 14th throughout the Playoffs as they transferred all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November with an opportunity to contend for the 2016 Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Allgaier finished in sixth place on the track and in third place in the final standings. Despite falling short of the title, Burdett managed to lead the No. 7 team to two additional top-five results (13), an additional top-five result (27) and one spot higher (third) compared to the 2015 season.

    Remaining as Allgaier’s crew chief for the 2017 Xfinity season, it only took the first four scheduled events of the season for Burdett and Allgaier to achieve their first victory of the season at Phoenix Raceway in March. By then, Allgaier snapped an 80-race winless drought dating back to August 2012 and a one-year winless drought for JRM’s No. 7 team. Six months later, the duo wheeled their way to their second victory of the season at Chicagoland Speedway as they earned a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Throughout the Playoffs, Burdett and Allgaier earned four top-10 results in six races as they managed to earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. Prior to the finale, however, Burdett was suspended from the event and fined $10,000 for an L1 infraction stemming from an unattached brake cooling hose that was found on Allgaier’s car the week prior at Phoenix in November. With Burdett absent, veterans Billy Wilburn and Chad Knaus worked atop Allgaier’s No. 7 pit box at Homestead, where he went on to finish in 12th place on the track and in third place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    Returning atop the pit box for the 2018 Xfinity Series season, Burdett and Allgaier rallied from sustaining two DNFs through the first 10-scheduled events by earning six top-10 results and claiming their first victory of the season at Dover in May. Following the Dover victory, however, Burdett was suspended for the following two Xfinity events and fined $25,000 after it was discovered that some rear suspension components on Allgaier’s race-winning car did not meet NASCAR specifications. Once Burdett returned as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway in June, the duo went to Victory Lane during the following event at Iowa Speedway. They went on to win at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway between August and September. Once the regular-season stretch concluded at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, Burdett and Allgaier captured the 2018 Xfinity Series regular-season championship as they entered the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as a title favorite. During the Playoffs, however, they managed to finish in the top five twice in six events. Coupled with two DNFs and three results outside of the top 20, Burdett and Allgaier failed to reach the Championship Round and compete for the title. Despite settling in seventh place in the final standings and being suspended for two events, the 2018 season produced a career-best season for Burdett, who achieved five victories, a pole, 17 top-five results and 24 top-10 results with Allgaier. In addition, he surpassed 100 Xfinity events as a crew chief.

    Burdett and Allgaier commenced the 2019 Xfinity season on a strong note, where Allgaier finished in the runner-up spot behind teammate Michael Annett at Daytona. They went on to earn 17 additional top-10 results, including three runner-up results, to qualify for the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. After finishing no lower than sixth through the Playoff’s Round of 12 and 8, Burdett and Allgaier notched their first elusive victory of the season at Phoenix in November. The victory enabled the duo and the No. 7 JRM team to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead, where they ended up in 14th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings. Ironically, the 2019 season marked the third season where Burdett led the No. 7 team to an overall average-finishing result of 9.0, including the years 2015 and 2018.

    Burdett and Allgaier recorded 10 results in the top 10 through the first 19-scheduled events of the 2020 season before notching their first victory of the year in the first of a Dover Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in August. A month later, they swept both Richmond Raceway events as part of a doubleheader feature as they went on to make the Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. Despite finishing outside of the top 20 three times throughout the Playoff’s Round of 12 and 8, the duo made the Championship Round for the fourth time in five seasons. During the finale at Phoenix in November, Allgaier was in position to win his first championship during an overtime attempt before he was overtaken by Austin Cindric on the final lap. Unable to mount a final lap challenge on Cindric, Allgaier fell back to fifth place on the track as he and Burdett settled in a career-best second place in the final standings.

    This past season, Burdett and Allgaier recorded two regular-season victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and at Darlington Raceway in May as they made the Xfinity Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. Despite finishing no lower than ninth throughout the Playoffs, they missed the top-four Championship finale cutline by a mere margin as they went on to finish in fifth place in the final standings. Together, the duo achieved two victories, 16 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.6 throughout the 2021 season. In addition, Burdett surpassed 200 Xfinity events as a crew chief.

    This season, Burdett and Allgaier have achieved three victories through the first 22-scheduled events: Darlington in May, Nashville Superspeedway in June and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. To go along with a pole, 10 top-five results, 15 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.4, they are currently ranked in third place in the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season standings and trail the points lead by 70 points.

    Through 249 previous appearances as an Xfinity crew chief, Burdett has achieved 18 victories, three poles, 104 top-five results, 175 top-10 results and 4,049 laps led while working with two different competitors (Regan Smith and Justin Allgaier).

    Burdett is scheduled to call his 250th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Larson avoids late calamity for Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen

    Larson avoids late calamity for Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen

    With late misfortune in the form of an on-track collision and spin spoiling the hopes of William Byron and Ty Gibbs battling for the victory in the closing laps, good fortune fell in the favor of Kyle Larson as he went on to win the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 20.

    The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led three times for seven of 82-scheduled laps. Despite starting at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro while representing JR Motorsports, Larson spent the majority of the event running towards the front while watching his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs duke for the lead amid late carnages and late-race restarts. During the final restart with five laps remaining, however, Larson capitalized on a late on-track incident involving Byron and Gibbs, both of whom spun following contact in the bus stop. With the lead in his possession, Larson managed to fend off AJ Allmendinger and Sammy Smith to grab his first checkered flag in the Xfinity Series of this season and first since 2018.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Byron claimed his first pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 125.021 mph in 70.548 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, winner of the previous Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway after he posted his best lap at 124.506 mph in 70.840 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Andy Lady, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Patrick Gallagher, Timmy Hill and Scott Heckert dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Byron and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Byron managed to pull ahead with the lead while AJ Allmendinger overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot throughout the following three turns. Through the Back Straight, Inner Loop and Outer Loop, Byron continued to lead the field. Despite being pressured by Allmendinger through Turns 6 and 7, Byron went on to lead the first lap. 

    During the second lap, Byron stretched his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs battled and overtook Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was in fourth while Riley Herbst occupied the final spot in the top five in fifth.

    Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Justin Allgaier, who was in 20th behind Jeremy Clements, slipped sideways in Turn 3 and through the esses as he spun and made hard contact against the Armco barrier. The front-end damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro was enough to terminate Allgaier’s run at The Glen early. 

    When the race restarted on the eighth lap, Gibbs dueled and managed to fend off Byron through the first four turns to assume the lead. Entering the Inner Loop and the bus stop, however, Byron reassumed the lead as Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider spun. With the event remaining under green flag conditions, Byron continued to fend off Gibbs with the top spot as Allmendinger trailed closely behind in third.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, rookie Sheldon Creed, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Connor Mosack occupied the top 10. Daniel Hemric was in 11th ahead of Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Kyle Larson and Josh Berry while Alex Labbe, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, Landon Cassill and Josh Bilicki were scored in the top 20.

    During the following lap, Gibbs battled and overtook Byron to lead a lap for himself. In the midst of the battle, rookie Austin Hill made an unscheduled pit stop to address a broken axle to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro as he was lapped by the field. 

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Patrick Gallagher came to a stop at the bus stop due to a mechanical issue. By then, Hill was in the garage due to his drive line issue along with Jeb Burton, who retired due to a brake failure and suffered his seventh DNF of the season. 

    During the caution period, some led by Gibbs and Byron pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

    With two laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Sammy Smith challenged and overtook Allmendinger for the lead entering the first three turns, which left Allmendinger to fend off Kaz Grala and Jeremy Clements for the runner-up spot as the field behind jostled for positions.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Sammy Smith, who was making his fourth career Xfinity start in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra, claimed his first Xfinity stage victory. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Grala, Clements, Kyle Weatherman, Josh Bilicki, Byron, Creed, Larson and Andy Lally. Meanwhile, Herbst, who spun in the bus stop during the previous lap, fell all the way back to 34th as he pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Myatt Snider was also involved in his second incident of the day after slapping the Armco barrier in Turn 7 and suffering significant rear-end damage to his No. 31 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet Camaro.

    Under the stage break, some led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Sammy Smith and Byron remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 23 as Smith and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Smith and Byron dueled for the lead through the first turn until Smith managed to clear Byron and retain the lead. Behind, Byron’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro came under attack from Larson’s No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro as Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro joined the battle.

    Then through Turn 6, Larson, who started the event at the rear of the field, rocketed his Camaro to the lead on fresh tires as he assumed full command of the field. With Larson out in front, teammate Byron moved into the runner-up spot while Creed and Gibbs quickly overtook Smith through the first three turns as Smith was back in fifth.

    During the following lap, Byron duked and overtook teammate Larson through the frontstretch while entering the first turn to return to the lead. Behind, Gibbs was in third ahead of Creed, Smith settled in fifth and Allmendinger was mired back in 13th behind Sam Mayer.

    Then on Lap 27, the caution flew when Alex Labbe stopped in the bus stop with damage to his car. At the moment of caution, Smith, who was set to pit under green, opted to keep his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra on the track to avoid a penalty of pitting when pit road was closed, though he was mired back in 15th. 

    During the caution period and when pit road was accessible for the field, Smith pitted while the rest of the front-runners led by Byron remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 29, the field fanned out as Byron fended off teammate Larson and Gibbs to retain the lead through the first three turns. Byron remained out in front through the seven-turn circuit while Gibbs started to pressure Larson for the runner-up spot. 

    Then on Lap 31, the caution returned when Kris Wright, who was piloting the No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, came to a stop near the Armco barriers in Turn 1 due to a broken drive line. By then, Daniel Hemric fell out of the top 10 and towards the end of the field as he encountered a fuel pressure issue.

    With seven laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hendrick teammates Larson and Byron dueled for the top spot until Byron benefitted on the outside lane to retain the lead through the first three turns. As Creed overtook Larson for the runner-up spot, Mayer spun in the bus stop while the race remained under green.

    Three laps later, Byron extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Creed while Gibbs, Larson, Gragson, Allmendinger, Custer, Brandon Jones, Grala and Josh Berry were in the top 10. Ross Chastain was in 11th ahead of Anthony Alfredo, Connor Mosack, Landon Cassill, Herbst, Timmy Hill, Jeremy Clements, Sammy Smith, Stefan Parsons and Josh Bilicki. Meanwhile, Kyle Weatherman, who spun in Turn 1 two laps earlier, was mired back within the top 30.

    During the following lap, Custer, who was in seventh, got hit and turned by Brandon Jones through the bust stop as he pounded the Armco barrier. Shortly after, Brandon Jones spun his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra in Turn 7 without sustaining any significant damage. In spite of both incidents, the race proceeded under green,

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Byron captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the season. Gibbs settled in second followed by Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Creed, Berry, Grala, Chastain and Mosack.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Creed pitted while the rest including Byron, Gibbs, Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Berry, Mosack, Herbst and Smith remained on the track as differing strategies were occurring within the field.

    With 38 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Byron outdueled Gibbs through the first three turns to retain the lead while Gragson trailed in third followed by Allmendinger and Berry.

    Three laps later, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Gragson retained third ahead of Allmendinger and Berry. Meanwhile. Larson was in sixth ahead of Sammy Smith, Herbst, Creed and Chastain.

    Then with 30 laps remaining, Byron pitted under green along with Gibbs, Gragson, Larson, Sam Mayer and Connor Mosack. In the midst of the pit stops, Allmendinger cycled to the lead while Gibbs managed to exit pit road ahead of Byron. By then, Creed pitted under green a lap earlier.

    During the following lap, Allmendinger pitted under green along with Josh Berry as Sammy Smith assumed the lead. Once Smith pitted on Lap 53, it was Herbst’s turn to lead a lap for himself.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Herbst, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Clements, Chastain, Grala and Custer while Hemric, Cassill, Josh Bilicki, Andy Lally and Preston Padres were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Gibbs, the first competitor with the freshest tires and full fuel, remained ahead of Byron in 13th, Gragson was in 16th and Allmendinger was mired back in 19th behind Larson.

    A lap later, the caution flew when Daniel Hemric lost a left-front tire and veered dead straight into the tire barrier in the carousel as his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro was left with significant front-nose damage and out of the event. By then, Herbst surrendered the lead to pit while Clements, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead. During the caution period, however, Clements led the competitors who had yet to pit while Gibbs remained on the track to cycle to the lead followed by Byron, Gragson, Larson and Allmendinger. Following the pit stops, Chastain was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Following an extensive caution period to have the carnage cleared, the race restarted under green with 15 laps remaining. At the start and with the field fanning out entering the first turn, Gibbs and Byron dueled for the lead until Gibbs managed to pull ahead with the lead through the first three turns. Behind, Larson moved into the runner-up spot while Byron fell back to third.

    With 10 laps remaining, Gibbs continued to lead by more than eight-tenths of a second over Byron followed by Larson, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Gragson was back in sixth ahead of Berry, Creed, Mayer and Grala while Herbst, Mosack, Custer, Landon Cassill and Alfredo occupied the top 15. Stefan Parsons was in 16th while Clements, Brandon Jones, Lally and Chastain were scored in the top 20.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Chastain and Alfredo spun in Turn 6 as Chastain got his No. 92 Protect Your Melon Chevrolet Camaro stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, some led by Connor Mosack pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Gibbs and Byron again dueled for the top spot through the first three turns with Larson following in close pursuit. With both making contact and remaining side-by-side through Turn 4 and entering the Inner Loop, Gibbs then made contact against Byron’s car in the Inner Loop as both spun off the course and out of winning contention. In the midst of the spin, Larson emerged with the lead followed by Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, Grala and Gragson.

    During the following lap, Byron, who was initially in position to claim the first Xfinity victory for Hendrick Motorsports, expressed his displeasure to Gibbs by sending Gibbs’ No. 54 Cub Cadet Toyota Supra around in retaliation in Turn 6. Back at the front, Allmendinger started to challenge Larson for the lead while Grala intimidated Smith for third place.

    With two laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and eight-tenths of a second over third-place Smith. Behind, Grala retained fourth ahead of Gragson while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Cassill were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and seven-tenths over Smith. Through the first four turns and the Inner Loop, Larson stabilized his narrow advantage over Allmendinger. Then in turns 6 and 7, Allmendinger tried to draw his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro close to Larson’s rear bumper, but he did not have enough momentum to make his move as Larson managed to pull away from both Allmendinger and Smith to streak across the finish line with the win. 

    With the victory, Larson, who won the Cup event at The Glen a year ago, achieved his 13th career victory in the Xfinity Series, first driving for JR Motorsports, his first at The Glen and his first since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018. The victory was also the ninth of the season for JR Motorsports and the first for JRM’s No. 88 team led by crew chief Jason Stockert.

    “I got lucky,” Larson told USA Network. “I think my only shot really was if [Gibbs and Byron] really got racing. I just wanted to help William down the front stretch as much as I could, then they got to battle up the esses. I tried to help William get clear to the bus stop. They raced side-by-side into there, got together and the seas parted and I was able to get through. Then I had AJ behind me, so I was just trying to hit my marks as best I could. He had me definitely nervous out in front of him, so cool to get a win here. Wished William and I could’ve fought out for the win there. Either way, happy to get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane. Cool to get a win with the No. 88.”

    Following their late run-in, Byron, who led 35 laps from pole position, ended up 25th while Gibbs, who led 25 laps, fell back to 27th. Both met on pit road at the race’s conclusion to discuss the incident.

    Allmendinger, who led three laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Sammy Smith earned his first top-five result in the Xfinity Series by finishing third. Gragson and Grala finished in the top five while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Clements completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured a record-tying eight cautions for 23 laps.

    With four races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 61 points over Ty Gibbs, 70 over Justin Allgaier and 99 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, 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 to make the Playoffs by 39 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 80, Brandon Brown trails by 106, Jeremy Clements trails by 160, Myatt Snider trails by 176 and Jeb Burton trails by 178.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, seven laps led

    2. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

    3. Sammy Smith, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Noah Gragson

    5. Kaz Grala

    6. Sam Mayer

    7. Riley Herbst, four laps led

    8. Sheldon Creed

    9. Josh Berry

    10. Jeremy Clements, two laps led

    11. Cole Custer

    12. Stefan Parsons

    13. Ryan Sieg

    14. Timmy Hill

    15. Connor Mosack

    16. Landon Cassill

    17. Josh Bilicki

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Andy Lally

    20. Brad Perez

    21. Preston Pardus

    22. Kyle Weatherman

    23. Scott Heckert

    24. Brandon Jones 

    25. William Byron, 35 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    26. Bayley Currey

    27. Ty Gibbs, 25 laps led

    28. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    29. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    30. Austin Hill, nine laps down

    31. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    32. Brandon Brown – OUT, Axle

    33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

    34. Kris Wright – OUT, Driveshaft

    35. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

    36. Patrick Gallagher – OUT, Rear gear

    37. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

    38. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip of the season to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, August 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.