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Ty Gibbs cruises to fifth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Michigan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. Ty Gibbs, 54 laps led

2. Justin Allgaier, 17 laps led

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

4. Brandon Jones

5. Austin Hill, one lap led

6. Josh Berry, three laps led

7. AJ Allmendinger, seven laps led

8. Daniel Hemric

9. Riley Herbst

10. Landon Cassill

11. Sheldon Creed

12. Sammy Smith, one lap led

13. Brandon Brown, one lap down

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

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

16. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

17. Myatt Snider, one lap down

18. Kaz Grala, one lap down

19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

20. JJ Yeley, one lap down

21. Kaz Grala, one lap down

22. Jeb Burton, one lap down

23. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

24. Mason Massey, one lap down

25. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

26. Alex Labbe, one lap down

27. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

28. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

29. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

30. Bayley Currey, two laps down

31. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

32. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

33. Sam Mayer, two laps down

34. Dillon Bassett, three laps down

35. David Starr – OUT, Hub

36. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

38. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

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

August 6, 2022
Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results.

1. AJ Allmendinger, 42 laps led

2. Alex Bowman, four laps led

3. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

4. Ross Chastain

5. Chase Briscoe

6. Riley Herbst

7. Sam Mayer

8. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

9. Austin Hill

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

11. Landon Cassill

12. Alex Labbe

13. Sage Karam

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

15. Brandon Jones

16. Brett Moffitt

17. Santino Ferrucci

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Jeremy Clements

20. Ty Dillon

21. Bayley Currey

22. Daniel Hemric

23. Sheldon Creed

24. Miguel Paludo

25. Andy Lally

26. Austin Dillon

27. Ryan Sieg

28. Patrick Gallagher

29. Preston Pardus

30. Kyle Weatherman

31. Scott Heckert

32. Kaz Grala, one lap down

33. Myatt Snider, one lap down

34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Suspension

35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Engine

36. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

37. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident

38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Trackbar

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

July 30, 2022
Gragson outduels Gibbs for third Xfinity victory of 2022 at Pocono

A week after having a top-five result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway stripped due to a failed post-race inspection to his car, Noah Gragson rebounded with vengeance after fending off Ty Gibbs to win the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 23.

The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for a race-high 43 of 90-scheduled, including the final 21, as he overtook teammate Josh Berry for the top spot. From there, he fended off a hard-charging Gibbs, including a final lap side-by-side duel with Gibbs through the Long Pond straightaway, to retain the top spot and claim his third victory of the 2022 Xfinity Series season by more than two-tenths of a second.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Justin Allgaier, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, started on pole position after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 168.669 mph in 53.359 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 168.319 mph in 53.470 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Allgaier and Gibbs dueled for the top spot entering the first turn as Allgaier managed to fend off Gibbs and Brandon Jones to lead the field through the Long Pond straightaway. Behind, newcomer Sammy Smith and AJ Allmendinger dueled for fifth ahead of Josh Berry and Richard Childress Racing’s rookies Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill.

During the following lap, the first caution flew when Rajah Caruth made contact with Alex Labbe entering the frontstretch as both were sent spinning and colliding against the inside wall. Despite the hard accident, both competitors emerge uninjured from their wrecked race cars.

When the event restarted under green on the sixth lap, Allgaier rocketed his No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro with the lead on the outside lane as he fended off Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra. Shortly after, Brandon Jones overtook teammate Gibbs for the runner-up spot followed by Allmendinger and Creed as Gibbs was stuck n a side-by-side battle with Hill on the inside lane with no momentum.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading by more than a second over Brandon Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra followed by Allmendinger, Creed and Gibbs while Hill, Noah Gragson, Berry, Daniel Hemric and Sammy Smith were in the top 10. Riley Herbst was in 11th ahead of Santino Ferrucci, Cole Custer, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brett Moffitt, Myatt Snider, Sam Mayer and Anthony Alfredo were in the top 20.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Allgaier captured his sixth stage victory of the season as he was leading by more than a second over Brandon Jones. Allmendinger settled in third followed by Gibbs, Creed, Berry, Gragson, Sammy Smith, Hemric and Hill.

Under the stage break, Anthony Alfredo remained on the track while the rest led by Allgaier pitted. During the pit stops, Allgaier dropped out of the top five due to a slow pit stop and an issue with his jack as Brandon Jones was the first competitor to exit off of pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 25 as Alfredo and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Alfredo took off with the top spot followed by a hard-charging Gragson as Gragson assumed the lead through the Long Pond straightaway. As the field, which was fanned out, returned to the start/finish line, Gragson was out in front ahead of Gibbs, Berry, Brandon Jones and Creed while Allgaier was mired in ninth in between Hemric and Sammy Smith.

By Lap 35, Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Gibbs’ No. 54 entry while Brandon Jones, Creed and Berry were in the top five. Allgaier was back in sixth while battling teammate Berry as Allmendinger, Hemric, Landon Cassill and Hill occupied the top 10. Meanwhile, Sam Mayer, who had pitted a few laps earlier due to suffering a flat tire, was back in 36th and off the lead lap from the leaders.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Gragson notched his seventh stage victory of the season while Gibbs fended off teammate Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot. Creed, Berry, Allgaier, Allmendinger, Cassill, Hemric and Hill were scored in the top 10 at the stage’s conclusion.

Under the stage break, names like Hill and Myatt Snider remained on the track while the rest led by Gragson pitted as Gragson was the first competitor to exit off of pit road.

With 45 laps remaining, the final stage started as the event reached its halfway mark. At the start and as Myatt Snider took his car to pit road with a flat right-rear tire, Hill and Gragson dueled for the lead before Gragson rocketed with the lead on the inside lane as Hill was being challenged by Brandon Jones and Gibbs for the runner-up spot.

Then as the field made their way back to the frontstretch, the caution flew when Santino Ferrucci got sideways entering the frontstretch and triggered a multi-car wreck as he was hit hard by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Then as Stenhouse’s wrecked No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro slid towards the inside wall, he was hit by an oncoming Jeb Burton, who was running towards the inside wall to avoid the incident as Burton was sent upside down as his No. 27 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro slid across the frontstretch before coming to a rest just past the start/finish line while the car remained on its roof. Other competitors that were involved in the wreck included Jeremy Clements and Ronnie Bassett Jr. Despite the incident, all competitors, including Burton, emerged uninjured as the event was red-flagged for more than eight minutes.

When the red flag lifted and the race proceeded under green with 40 laps remaining, Gibbs powered his No. 54 entry to the lead followed by Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro as Brandon Jones battled Gragson for third place. Through the Tunnel Curve, Gragson held on for third place as Hemric challenged Jones for fourth place.

Two laps later, the caution returned when Sammy Smith got loose underneath Cassill in Turn 1 and backed his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra into the outside wall with significant damage. During the caution period, the field led by Gibbs pitted and Gibbs exited with the top spot followed by Berry, Allgaier, Alfredo and Creed, all of whom opted for only fuel to their respective cars, while most of the field opted for two tires. During the pit stops, Creed nearly made contact with David Starr and Stefan Parsons while trying to exit his pit stall. Following the pit stops, Allgaier was penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 34 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Riley Herbst and Brett Moffitt, both of whom remained on the track, occupied the front row. At the start, Herbst took off with the lead and Berry carved his way into the runner-up spot as the field fanned out through the Long Pond straightaway.

Four laps later, Berry rocketed his No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro to the top of the leaderboard over Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang as Creed and Gragson duked for third place in front of Gibbs.

Another nine laps later, Gragson, who had stalked and intimidated teammate Berry for the lead, seized an opportunity and returned to the lead while Gibbs remained in third place. By then, Brandon Jones had made a pit stop under green due to a flat right-rear tire to his car. Shortly after, Gibbs muscled his way into the runner-up spot after he overtook Berry.

With 15 laps remaining, Gragson was leading by four-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Berry, Allmendinger and Creed while Hill, Mayer, Allgaier, Herbst and Hemric occupied the top 10. Meanwhile, Cassill was in 11th ahead of Cole Custer, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg and Myatt Snider while Brett Moffitt, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman, Josh Williams and Sage Karam were in the top 20.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Gibbs. Berry remained in third, trailing by nearly four seconds, while Allmendinger and Creed settled in the top five. Filling out the top 10 were Hill, Sam Mayer, Allgaier, Hemric and Cassill while Herbst fell back to 11th.

Then with six laps remaining and with the leaders making their way through lapped traffic, Gragson and Gibbs dueled for the lead through the frontstretch, but Gragson managed to retain the top spot. Both competitors went at it for the lead during the following lap, but Gibbs could not seal the deal as Gragson remained as the leader.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson remained as the leader by a tenth of a second ahead of Gibbs, who was setting up for a final lap challenge for the victory. Entering the Long Pond straightaway, Gibbs then gained a huge run and managed to pull himself alongside Gragson’s No. 9 entry as both went side-by-side and made little contact. Through the Tunnel Curve, hover, Gragson managed to pull ahead on the outside lane while Gibbs nearly got loose on the inside lane. With Gibbs unable to launch another attack for the win, Gragson cycled his way back to the frontstretch and cross the finish line to win by nearly three-tenths of a second over Gibbs.

With the victory, Gragson earned his eighth NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory, his third of the season and his first since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in April. He also recorded the eighth Xfinity victory of the season for JR Motorsports and he became the third Xfinity regular to achieve three-plus victories throughout the season.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever driven there,” Gragson said on USA Network. “Man, I’m worn out. It really wasn’t that long of a race. Just working my ass off there to keep [Gibbs] back. He’s pretty fast. [Crew chief] Luke Lambert and the rest of this 50th anniversary Bass Pro Shops, Black Rifle Coffee, True Timber team did an unbelievable job with coming down pit road there, putting four tires on. Man, I had to work for it. It was tough. Just getting tight, tight, tight. I didn’t think with 15 [laps] to go, I didn’t think I could hold him off. We just keep digging. This team is unbelievable. I’m fired up. Our third win of the year. It’s a dream come true and it doesn’t get any better than in front of you badass race fans out here. I wanna thank you, guys, for coming out, baby!”

Ty Gibbs settled in the runner-up spot for the second time of this season and for a second consecutive season at Pocono while Berry, Allmendinger and Creed finished in the top five.

“It definitely hurt us being on a tire advantage, but also so surprised to be able to hang with [Gragson] when he was on rights,” Gibbs said. “Great car, just didn’t put it together. I wanna say that was, I feel like, on my part. I just made some mistakes, but we’ll come back at it next weekend. I just put myself in a bad position there, but I always love racing out here. Congratulations to [Gragson]. We both went in [the Tunnel Curve] side-by-side. I just lost my side force and got loose under him, but that’s racing. I put myself in that position, but I feel like I definitely have to look back and see what other options I had. Thank you to everybody that’s a part of this deal. I had a great time”

There were nine lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 18 laps.

With seven races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 16 points over Justin Allgaier, 22 over Ty Gibbs, 87 over Josh Berry and 90 over Noah Gragson.

Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, 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 Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 47 points, Brandon Brown trails by 66, Anthony Alfredo trails by 77, Brett Moffitt trails by 89, Jeb Burton trails by 123, Myatt Snider trails by 144, Jeremy Clements trails by 146, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe trails by 171.

Results.

1. Noah Gragson, 43 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Ty Gibbs, three laps led

3. Josh Berry, nine laps led

4. AJ Allmendinger

5. Sheldon Creed

6. Sam Mayer

7. Justin Allgaier, 22 laps led, Stage 1 winner

8. Austin Hill, four laps led

9. Daniel Hemric

10. Cole Custer

11. Landon Cassill

12. Riley Herbst, four laps led

13. Brandon Brown

14. Myatt Snider

15. Ryan Sieg

16. Anthony Alfredo, three laps led

17. Brandon Jones

18. Brett Moffitt, two laps led

19. Kyle Weatherman

20. Sage Karam

21. Josh Williams

22. Kyle Sieg

23. Stefan Parsons

24. Mason Massey

25. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

26. Bayley Currey, one lap down

27. David Starr, one lap down

28. JJ Yeley, one lap down

29. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

30. Timmy Hill, one lap down

31. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident

32. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident

33. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

35. Santino Ferrucci – OUT, Accident

36. Ronnie Bassett Jr. – OUT

37. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

38. Rajah Caruth – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course as part of a NASCAR and IndyCar doubleheader feature. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 30, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

July 23, 2022
Allgaier surges to late Xfinity Series victory at New Hampshire

Justin Allgaier survived a series of late cautions and carnage and stormed to the front during the final 50 laps, pulling away during a 21-lap dash to the finish to win the Crayon 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 16.

The 36-year-old veteran from Riverton, Illinois, led twice for 47 of 200 laps, including the final 19, as he withstood a late battle against Landon Cassill before beating Trevor Bayne by nearly four seconds for his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2022 season. Ironically, Allgaier rallied from being involved in an early incident involving newcomer Julia Landauer, where the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro sustained right-front fender damage, to preserve his tires and charge to his late victory.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Josh Berry initially qualified on pole position after posting a pole-qualifying lap at 127.163 mph in 29.952 seconds. He, however, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his car after he slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 during his qualifying session. With that, Daniel Hemric, who clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 126.930 mph in 30.007 seconds led the field to the start. Joining him on the front row was Justin Allgaier, who posted his best qualifying lap at 126.829 mph in 30.031 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Akinori Ogata, Alex Labbe, Howie Disavino III, Joe Graf Jr. and David Starr joined Berry at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Jeremy Clements also dropped to the rear of the field for a tire change along with JJ Yeley, who changed an engine.

When the green flag waved and the race started amid a stacked start from the field, Hemric managed to clear the field entering the first two turns as he went on to lead the first lap while Ty Gibbs challenged and overtook Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Shortly after, Allgaier was locked in a three-wide battle with Trevor Bayne and Landon Cassill for position as Bayne moved up to third while the field behind jostled early for positions. Meanwhile, Brandon Jones, who was up in sixth, got shuffled back to 11th.

Then on the fifth lap, Gibbs, who attempted to make a move on Hemric for the lead entering Turn 3, got loose as his No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Supra made slight contact against Hemric’s No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro. This allowed Bayne to move his No. 18 Devotion Nutrition Toyota Supra into the lead while Hemric and Gibbs recovered and settled in second and fourth.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bayne was leading by nearly a second over both Hemric and Gibbs while Allgaier and William Byron occupied the top five. Cassill was in sixth ahead of teammate AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Sam Mayer and Ryan Sieg while Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, rookie Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Derek Griffith, rookie Austin Hill, Ty Dillon, Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown and Myatt Snider were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Josh Berry was mired in 27th behind Alex Labbe.

Ten laps later, Bayne’s advantage decreased to two-tenths of a second as teammate Gibbs caught and started to challenge Bayne for the lead. Behind, Allgaier was in third place, trailing the leaders by more than two seconds, while Byron was up in fourth ahead of Hemric, Cassill and Allmendinger.

Then another two laps later, Gibbs challenged and overtook teammate Bayne for the lead entering the first turn.

Just past the Lap 30 mark, an initial two-car battle for the lead between teammates Gibbs and Bayne became a four-car battle as JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and William Byron joined the battle, with Allgaier overtaking Bayne for the runner-up spot as he pursued Gibbs for the lead.

Then on Lap 35, the first caution flew when Allgaier, who was trying to pursue Gibbs for the lead while also trying to both fend off teammate Byron and overtake the lapped car of newcomer Julia Landauer, made contact and turned Landauer on the frontstretch as she backed her No. 45 Garage XYZ Chevrolet Camaro against the inside wall while Allgaier proceeded despite sustaining right-front fender damage.

During the caution period, names like Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements, Bailey Currey, Mason Massey, JJ Yeley and Joe Graf Jr. remained on the track while the rest of the field led by Gibbs pitted. During the pit stops, Byron lost several spots on pit road after he got blocked by Creed in front of his pit stall.

With four laps remaining in the first stage, the event restarted under green. At the start, Sieg took off with the lead followed by Brown and Alfredo as the field stacked up and fanned out through the first two turns between the competitors with fresh tires and those with none.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Sieg managed to fend off a hard-charging Gibbs to claim his first stage victory of the season. Allmendinger and Byron managed to carve their way up to third and fourth while Brown edged Bayne to conclude the first stage in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Alfredo, Cassill, Gragson and Hemric. By then, Berry was up in 13th.

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

The second stage started on Lap 52 as Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs launched ahead on the outside lane with the lead while Byron challenged and overtook Allmendinger for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. With Byron succeeding in his brief battle against Allmendinger, Bayne challenged Cassill for fourth place as Hemric, Gragson, Allgaier, Creed, Riley Herbst and Berry battled for spots in the top 10.

Through the first 60 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Byron while Allmendinger, Cassill and Bayne occupied the top five. Hemric was in sixth ahead of Herbst, Gragson, Creed and Berry while Allgaier, Ty Dillon, Hill, Sieg, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Jeb Burton, Brown, Alex Labbe and Myatt Snider were in the top 20.

At the Lap 75 mark, Gibbs continued to lead by more than a second over Byron while Cassill was up in third ahead of teammate Allmendinger and Bayne. Meanwhile, Allgaier was mired back in ninth behind teammates Gragson and Berry.

Six laps later and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Byron moved his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro into the lead over Gibbs. Cassill, Allmendinger and Bayne remained in the top five while Gragson started to pressure Hemric for sixth place.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Byron captured the stage victory by nearly three seconds over Cassill while Gibbs, Allmendinger, Bayne, Hemric, Allgaier, Berry, Herbst and Sieg were scored in the top 10. Just as the stage concluded, Gragson, who was battling Hemric for sixth place, got bumped and turned by Hemric entering Turn 3 as he spun and dropped to 17th.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Byron pitted and Byron retained the lead followed by Cassill, Allmendinger, Hemric, Berry and Bayne. During the pit stops, Gibbs lost a few laps to the leaders due to a mechanical issue with his car.

With 103 laps remaining, the final stage started as Byron and Cassill occupied the front row. During the start, however, the caution quickly returned for a two-car wreck involving Matt Mills and Julia Landauer in Turn 1. The wreck was enough to terminate Landauer’s Xfinity debut in the garage and with a wrecked race car.

Six laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Byron briefly retained the lead until he went wide and fell off the pace due to suffering a flat tire. With Byron pitting under green and losing a lap to the leaders, Cassill moved into the lead followed by teammate Allmendinger, Berry, Allgaier and Hemric while Creed, Ty Dillon, Bayne, Gragson and Herbst were in the top 10.

Shortly after, the caution returned when Hemric lost a left-rear tire, spun and wrecked hard against the Turn 3 outside wall as his strong run came to an end.

With 89 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Berry, who started at the rear of the field despite recording the pole, assumed the lead over Cassill while Creed battled and overtook Allmendinger for third place in front of Gragson. Behind, Ty Dillon and Allgaier battled for sixth ahead of Bayne, Sieg and Herbst.

Then with 85 laps remaining, the caution flew when Derek Griffith spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, some like Austin Hill pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

With 79 laps remaining, the event proceeded under green. At the start and as the field stacked up when Ty Dillon missed a shift, Berry and Cassill duked dead even for the lead as Gragson muscled his way into third place ahead of Allmendinger and Creed. During the following lap, Cassill cleared Berry to take the lead while Gragson challenged teammate Berry for the top spot.

Then with 76 laps remaining, the caution returned when Creed tapped and spun Berry’s No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro in the backstretch. Berry’s incident, which occurred in the middle of the backstretch, ignited a chain reaction, a stack-up and a multi-car wreck involving Mayer, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Myatt Snider, Sieg and Jeb Burton, who lifted Sieg’s rear tires off the ground as he briefly went into the air before coming back down as Burton’s front nose was left demolished. The wreck was enough for the event to be red-flagged for more than seven minutes.

When the red flag lifted and the field proceeded at a cautious pace, names like Brandon Brown, Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman, Labbe, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Bayley Currey remained on the track while the rest led by Cassill pitted.

Following an extensive caution period, the event proceeded under green with 63 laps remaining. At the start, Brown rocketed with the lead as the field fanned out through the first two turns. Then through the backstretch, Creed, who was racing on fresh tires, pulled a bold four-wide move on teammate Hill, Labbe and Alfredo to assume the runner-up spot as Alfredo got loose and smacked the outside wall in Turn 3. With the race remaining under green, Creed moved his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro into the lead during the following lap as Cassill cycled his way into third place.

With 58 laps remaining, Allmendinger and Labbe made contact against one another as Allmendinger, who received miscommunication from his spotter, sent Labbe into the outside wall on the frontstretch. In the midst of the carnage, Brandon Jones, who was trying to avoid the incident, was hit by Brett Moffitt as his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra spun and pounded the inside wall head-on as his event came to an end, and with the caution returning.

With nearly 50 laps remaining, the event restarted under green as Creed and Cassill battled for the lead. Behind, Allgaier utilized the outside lane to muscle his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into third place through the backstretch. During the following lap, Cassill cleared Creed to assume the lead while Allgaier rocketed into the runner-up spot. Behind, teammates Hill and Creed battled for third in front of Byron, who recovered from falling a lap behind in the early laps of the final stage.

Then with 48 laps remaining, Allgaier peaked ahead as he took the lead despite having Cassill close to his rear bumper. While Allgaier and Cassill battled for the lead, Creed and Byron duked for third while Gragson and Bayne overtook Hill for fifth and sixth.

With 40 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading by six-tenths of a second over Cassill while Byron, Bayne and Creed were scored in the top five. Gragson settled in sixth ahead of Hill while Moffitt, Ty Dillon and Brandon Brown occupied the top 10.

Shortly after, disaster struck again for Byron, who fell off the pace while running in third place and pitted under green for a second time due to a mechanical issue with his No. 88 entry. In comparison to his previous issue at the start of the final stage, this issue cost Byron multiple laps and the opportunity to win.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Cassill while Bayne trailed in third place by more than three seconds. Meanwhile, Creed and Gragson battled for fourth while Hill, Ty Dillon, Moffitt, Brown and Bayley Currey were scored in the top 10.

Then with 26 laps remaining, the caution flew when smoke billowed out of the No. 13 entry piloted by Akinori Ogata entering the backstretch as the Japanese competitor limped his car back to the garage.

Down to the final 21 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Allgaier and Cassill battled for the lead through the first two turns until Cassill utilized the inside lane to his advantage as he moved his No. 10 Carnomaly Chevrolet Camaro back into the lead. With the field jostling for late positions, Cassill and Allgaier battled for the lead once again as both Gragson and Bayne settled in third and fourth.

Then with 18 laps remaining, Allgaier reassumed the lead through the backstretch. As Cassill tried to draw himself alongside Allgaier through the following two turns, Gragson issued his challenge on Cassill for the runner-up spot with Bayne settling in fourth. Meanwhile, Brandon Brown, racing on four fresh tires, overtook Creed to move into the top five.

With less than 15 laps remaining, Allgaier was ahead by eight-tenths of a second over Cassill followed by a three-car battle for third place between Bayne, Gragson and Brown.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over Cassill, who had Bayne close in on him for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Gragson and Brown battled for fourth while Creed, Ty Dillon, Hill, Clements and Kyle Weatherman were in the top 10.

With five laps remaining, Allgaier remained as the leader by more than two seconds over both Cassill and Bayne, with both competitors dueling hard for the runner-up spot in front of Gragson.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier was leading by more than four seconds over Bayne, who withstood his late, furious battle against Cassill. Having a clear race track in front of him while preserving his tires to perfection, Allgaier was able to cruise his way back to the frontstretch as he captured his third checkered flag of the season.

With the victory, Allgaier achieved his first victory at the Magic Mile as he became the second Xfinity regular to achieve three-plus victories this season along with recording his 19th career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In addition, Allgaier’s victory at New Hampshire snapped a six-year winning streak for Toyota at the Magic Mile with Chevrolet achieving its first win at New Hampshire since 2007 and it was the eighth of the season for JR Motorsports.

“We finished second last year to [a Toyota driver],” Allgaier said on USA Network. “I told these guys [that] I really wanted to win here. This place has been so much fun over the years. First of all, it’s my wife’s birthday today. If I came here with my wife on her birthday, the best way to do it is to take home a trophy to her. Just proud of our team. I didn’t do a good job early on in the race. I apologize to Julia [Landauer] and the No. 45 team. I got into her. I still don’t know what happened, but I just feel bad no matter the case was. [I] Just felt like all day, I wasn’t doing a good job and the guys kept me calm with great pit stops all day. [Spotter] Eddie D’Hondt’s awesome up on the spotter stand. Just really proud of this team. God’s good and you fans, thank you for coming out. This place never disappoints. Love coming to New Hampshire.”

Finishing in the runner-up spot for the second time of the year and to Allgaier was Bayne, who also posted his fourth top-five result in his part-time campaign with Joe Gibbs Racing. Bayne’s next scheduled Xfinity event is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.

“First of all, I never knew what it was like to be frustrated with second place so much,” Bayne said. “Now, watching Dale’s [Earnhardt Jr.] car out there, the No. 7 gets smaller in my windshield two races in a row, has not been fun. We got to figure out how to beat these guys, how to win races. I know we’re close, but what did I need? I think it was just short-run speed. To fight back to finish second was a good day, but I really wanted to see my kids hold a lobster in Victory Lane. I don’t know what it’s gonna take. Thankful to be here. Thankful for Devotion [Nutrition] for allowing me to [race]. I wanna do it more. That’s for sure.”

Cassill, who led 17 laps, settled in third place for his fourth top-five result of the season while Gragson and Brown finished in the top five.

“[This run] just says a lot [about this team],” Cassill said. “I’m really proud of these guys. We worked really hard in the sim and they made a lot of improvements on this car. Fast as Xfinity Internet, right? I just didn’t have any right-rear tire left for Justin [Allgaier] at the end there. [I] Gave it all I had on that restart, but I just can’t thank Kaulig Racing enough for having me in their car. We’ll get that win soon.”

Following the event, however, Cassill and Gragson were disqualified from their top-five results after their respective cars were found to be low during the post-race inspection process. With that, Brown was promoted to third place followed by Jeremy Clements and Creed. Completing the top 10 were Ty Dillon, Hill, Weatherman, Mason Massey and Bayley Currey.

There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 56 laps.

With eight races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular season standings by 16 points over Justin Allgaier, 28 over Ty Gibbs, 87 over Josh Berry and 99 over Noah Gragson.

Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, 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 Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Brandon Brown trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 61 points, rookie Sheldon Creed trails by 63, Anthony Alfredo trails by 69, Brett Moffitt trails by 79, Jeb Burton trails by 98, Jeremy Clements trails by 122, Myatt Snider trails by 138 and Alex Labbe trails by 143 points.

Results:

1. Justin Allgaier, 47 laps led

2. Trevor Bayne, 17 laps led

3. Brandon Brown, 12 laps led

4. Jeremy Clements

5. Sheldon Creed, 10 laps led

6. Ty Dillon

7. Austin Hill

8. Kyle Weatherman

9. Mason Massey

10. Bayley Currey

11. David Starr

12. Joe Graf Jr.

13. CJ McLaughlin

14. Brett Moffitt

15. Sam Mayer

16. Patrick Emerling

17. Howie Disavino III

18. Derek Griffith

19. Ryan Vargas

20. AJ Allmendinger

21. Ty Gibbs, four laps down, 49 laps led

22. Matt Mills, eight laps down

23. JJ Yeley, 10 laps down

24. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

25. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Engine

26. William Byron – OUT, Electrical, 22 laps led, Stage 2 winner

27. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

28. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

29. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

30. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

31. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident, 11 laps led

32. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led, Stage 1 winner

33. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

34. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

35. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident, five laps led

36. Julia Landauer – OUT, Accident

37. Landon Cassill – Disqualified, 17 laps led

38. Noah Gragson – Disqualified

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 23, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.

July 16, 2022
Austin Hill claims second Xfinity Series career victory at Atlanta

For rookie Austin Hill, there is no place like home after the 28-year-old native from Winston, Georgia, earned a dominant victory in the Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his home track, on Saturday, July 9.

Hill, who led four times for a race-high 73 of 163 and overcame radio issues prior to the start, overtook Ryan Truex for the lead with 62 laps remaining. From there, he maintained the lead in front of a steaming pack of competitors running toward the front, including moves from the outside to inside lane to stall late runs from Josh Berry and Daniel, to claim his second NASCAR Xfinity Series career victory and second of this season in front of his home crowd.

With on-track qualifying initially scheduled for Saturday canceled due to rain, the starting lineup was determined by a metric formula used to make the qualifying order in reverse, with the winner of last weekend’s event at Road America having the lowest number. As a result, Ty Gibbs, who won last weekend at Road America and won at Atlanta earlier in March, was awarded the pole position. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Gibbs and Berry dueled for the lead in front of the field fanning out and racing in a tight pack. Once the field returned to the start/finish line, Berry utilized the inside lane to his advantage as he led the first lap. Behind, AJ Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the runner-up spot in front of Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, rookie Austin Hill and Sam Mayer.

Shortly after, the first caution of the event flew when Jesse Iwuji, who was running towards the rear of the field, got loose near the outside wall entering Turn 4 and spun as his car came to rest near the pit road entrance.

When the event restarted under green on the sixth lap, Allmendinger received a draft from Gragson to challenge and overtake Berry for the lead as Gragson got loose entering Turn 3 and fell back to sixth while Mayer and Hill quickly overtook him entering and exiting the frontstretch.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allmendinger held a narrow advantage ahead of Berry and Gibbs while Mayer, Hill, Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Jeb Burton, Jeremy Clements and Daniel Hemric were in the top 10. Two laps later, the caution returned when rookie Sheldon Creed got loose and spun his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro in the backstretch, though he managed to keep his spinning car off the course and not sustain any damage.

Another three laps later, the race proceeded under green as Allmendinger and Berry dueled for the lead. Through the backstretch, the outside lane gained the advantage as Allmendinger pulled ahead followed by Gibbs and Hill while Berry was back in fifth alongside teammate Gragson.

At the Lap 20 mark, Allmendinger remained as the leader in a five-car breakaway ahead of Hill, Gragson, Gibbs and Berry. Two laps later, however, Hill made his move to the lead through the backstretch as he was followed by Gibbs, who attempted but could not overtake Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. Another four laps later, though, Allmendinger reassumed the lead after executing his move entering the frontstretch. He was soon pursued by Berry, Gibbs, Gragson, Hemric and Brandon Brown while Hill fell back to seventh.

Just past the Lap 30 mark, Allmendinger remained as the leader ahead of a seven-car breakaway followed by Berry, Gibbs, Gragson, Brandon Brown, Hemric and Hill. Meanwhile, Brandon Jones was in eighth while Clements and Jeffrey Earnhardt were in the top 10.

Under the final five laps of the first stage and with the leaders navigating their way through lapped traffic that included Natalie Decker, Berry and Allmendinger swapped the lead as the front-runners were jumbled up in tight, close-quarters racing.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 40, Berry managed to fend off the pack as he claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Gibbs edged Allmendinger for the runner-up spot followed by Brandon Brown and Gragson while Hemric, Hill, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Myatt Snider.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Berry pitted as Brandon Jones utilized a two-tire pit stop to his advantage as he assumed the lead followed by Gragson, Hemric, Tyler Reddick and Hill, all of whom elected for two fresh tires. During the pit stops, Allmendinger exited pit road in eighth place after his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro was being blocked by Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Berry had to back his No. 8 Harrison’s USA Chevrolet Camaro back to his pit stall due to a left-rear wheel that was discovered to not be tight and secured while he was attempting to leave his stall. In addition, Hemric and Ryan Sieg were penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

The second stage started on Lap 46 as Creed and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Creed managed to pull ahead on the outside lane to assume the lead followed by Gragson and Reddick while Brandon Jones was losing ground towards the front while stuck on the inside lane and without any drafting support.

Two laps later, Reddick gained a huge run from the backstretch to move his No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro to the lead from Creed while Gragson got shuffled back to 10th. In the midst of the battles, Allmendinger made an unscheduled pit stop for two right-side tires after he made contact with the wall.

Back on track, Reddick was scored as the leader at the Lap 50 mark followed by Creed, Hill, Brandon Brown and Brandon Jones while Mayer, Allgaier, Clements, Gragson and Ryan Truex were scored in the top 10.

Through the first 60 laps, Reddick continued to lead a five-car breakaway from the field followed by Creed, Hill, Brandon Brown and Brandon Jones while Allgaier, Mayer, Truex, Gragson and Riley Herbst were in the top 10.

Eight laps later, Creed made his move in Turn 1 as he reassumed the lead ahead of Reddick, Hill and Brown while the front-runners started to approach Allmendinger, who was on the verge of losing a lap to the leaders. By then, Matt Mills pitted with light smoke coming out of his car.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, Hill executed a final lap pass on teammate Creed entering the first turn to wheel his No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro to his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Creed settled in second followed by Brandon Brown, Reddick and Allgaier while Brandon Jones, Gibbs, Truex, Landon Cassill and Jeffrey Earnhardt were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Hill returned to pit road and Reddick exited with the top spot followed by Hill, Brandon Brown, Gibbs and Jeffrey Earnhardt. Following the pit stops, however, Reddick was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road, thus giving the lead back to Hill. In addition, Jeremy Clements was penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

With 77 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Hill and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs received a push from Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang to assume the lead ahead of Hill as the field stacked up in close-quarters racing. During the following lap, the caution flew when Brandon Jones got loose towards the outside wall in Turn 4 and slipped sideways as he made contact with Hemric’s No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro while Allgaier sustained minor damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro. Amid his spin, Jones managed to straighten his car and proceed without sliding down pit road nor sustaining any significant damage to his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra.

At the start of another restart with 71 laps remaining, the Monster Energy competitors of Gibbs and Herbst made contact through Turn 1 as Gibbs slapped the outside wall twice before he pitted under green for fresh right-side tires and repairs to his No. 54 Toyota. In the midst of the carnage up towards the front, Ryan Truex, who was making his fifth start of the season with Joe Gibbs Racing, assumed the lead in his No. 18 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Supra followed by Hill, Hemric, Brown and Jeffrey Earnhardt while Herbst continued in the top 10.

With 62 laps remaining, Hill reassumed the lead as Truex managed to settle in second in front of Hemric, Earnhardt and Mayer. By then, Gibbs took his car to the garage as his hopes of sweeping Atlanta evaporated.

Then with 56 laps remaining, the caution flew when Mayer, who was trying to force his way in front of Earnhardt, made contact with Earnhardt in the backstretch before he was sent sideways and hard against the outside wall as his race came to an end.

During the caution period, some like Brandon Brown pitted while the rest led by Hill remained on the track.

With 48 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as teammates Hill and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Hill received a strong push from Berry to clear the field with the lead as he was pursued by Berry, Ryan Truex, Hemric and Ryan Sieg while Creed was left on the inside lane and mired in sixth alongside Reddick.

Four laps later, Brandon Brown made contact with the outside wall after he blew a right-front tire, but the race proceeded under green as Brown limped back to his pit stall and eventually retired in the garage.

Back on the track and with 40 laps remaining, Hill remained as the leader of a long pack of competitors while Berry, Truex, Hemric, Sieg, Reddick, Creed, Gragson, Cassill and Allgaier were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, who received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap during the previous caution, was in 17th behind Kyle Sieg.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Hill continued to lead in front of a 10-car breakaway from the field that included Berry, Truex, Hemric, Gragson, Reddick, Cassill, Allgaier, Ryan Sieg and Anthony Alfredo. Meanwhile, Herbst, Creed and Brandon Jones were in the top 15 while Allmendinger was mired in 16th.

With 20 laps remaining, the top-eight competitors pulled away from the field as Hill remained as the leader followed by Berry, Truex, Hemric, Reddick, Gragson, Cassill and Allgaier.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with the top-eight competitors pulling away from the field, Hill retained the lead ahead of Berry, Truex, Hemric and Reddick while Gragson, Cassill and Allgaier kept the front-runners within their sights. Meanwhile, ninth-place Ryan Sieg trailed the top-eight leaders by more than four seconds and Herbst was in 10th while Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and Creed were mired in the top 15.

With five laps remaining, the top-eight front-runners continued to run in a single-file line as Hill remained as the leader.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill maintained his spot as the leader ahead of Berry, Truex, Hemric and Reddick. Then in Turn 1, Hemric launched his charge to the front as he overtook Truex. While trying to overtake Berry for the runner-up spot, he could not gain any additional drafting help as he was left to battle with Berry, Truex, Reddick and Gragson for spots in the top five. This allowed Hill to pull away and maintain both lanes to his advantage as he cycled his way back to the frontstretch and claim his second checkered flag of his career and of the season.

By claiming his second career win in the Xfinity Series, Hill became the sixth competitor to achieve multiple victories in this year’s Xfinity season as he also recorded the 88th Xfinity career win for Richard Childress Racing that was coming off a Cup Series victory with Tyler Reddick last weekend at Road America.

“Look at this crowd,” Hill said on USA Network. “Thank y’all for coming out! I love the fans. What a car. [Richard Childress Racing] has been working hard their ever-loving tales off. To bring some really fast Chevy Camaros. Our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevy Camaro was a rocket ship all day. We had an issue right when we rolled off of pit road. The team couldn’t hear me; we had to do hand gestures on the side of the car to make adjustments. [Crew chief] Andy [Street] and the guys did a heck of a job. First [pit] stop, I put my hand out the door, which meant that I was loose and he made an awesome adjustment, didn’t make an adjustment the rest of the race.

“I knew we had a really good car. We were able to just keep [the field] close enough to me where they could never get a big enough run on me on entry or exit. We just won it at Atlanta. That’s so special. I’ve been trying to win here for a long time. [I] Finished second here three times in a row: twice in a Truck and then earlier in the spring here. It’s been owing me one and finally, we got one in Georgia, where I grew up and was raised about an hour down the road in Douglasville. This is gonna be so special. I can’t wait to party, see my wife and kids, they’re here, and all my family members. This is gonna be a special one.”

“[Winning] Never gets old,” Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, added. “I think we’ve really worked hard to get our cars better. Everyone has. Our engines are better, our cars are better. Our drivers are on it and we’re gonna make a run for that championship, for sure. [Hill]’s really, really impressed me. Solid. Nothing shakes him up. No matter how close you’re on his bumper, what’s happening to him or whatever he don’t get shook. That’s what it takes. I knew another driver like that. He did pretty well, too.”

Behind, Josh Berry came home in the runner-up spot for his eighth top-five result of the season while Ryan Truex recorded his first top-five result of the season after finishing in third place.

“The top [lane] was super good,” Berry said. “That would’ve been really hard to complete that pass ‘cause it seemed like whenever you jumped down to the bottom [lane], the car behind you would just push you away. You couldn’t stay connected enough to build a run. All in all, it was a really good day for our Harrison’s USA Chevrolet. The guys did a good job. We had a bad pit stop there, but they rebounded, got me back up front and got a second place. Stage win’s a good day, and we’ll go on to Loudon.”

“This place is crazy with this [racing] package,” Truex said. “I’m just thankful to be in this car again. This wasn’t on my schedule and [Joe Gibbs Racing], Toyota Racing, Auto-Owners [Insurance] stepped up. To have them on the car with all the success Martin’s [Truex Jr.] had and everything they’ve done for him is really special for me. I was trying to back up and get a run from [Hemric]. I just didn’t have anything for these guys. It seemed like the top few [competitors] in front of us were just, I don’t know if they were more trimmed out, but I could just never get that run I needed. Just kind of had to hang out the top. I was hoping they’d have a big jumble in [Turns] 3 and 4 and I was just gonna run the top, just keep in wide open. It didn’t work out, but just thankful to be here and hopefully, I’ll be back for more.”

Reddick settled in fourth while Hemric, who was in position of claiming his first victory of the season, fell back to fifth. Gragson, Allgaier, Cassill, Herbst and Allmendinger completed the top 10 on the track.

There were 17 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 28 laps.

With nine races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 29 points over Ty Gibbs, 30 over Justin Allgaier, 64 over Josh Berry and 67 over Noah Gragson.

Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 80 points, rookie Sheldon Creed trails by 95, Brandon Brown trails by 100, Brett Moffitt and Jeb Burton trail by 101, Myatt Snider trails by 140, Alex Labbe trails by 152 and Jeremy Clements trails by 154.

Results.

1. Austin Hill, 73 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Josh Berry, 13 laps led, Stage 1 winner

3. Ryan Truex, eight laps led

4. Tyler Reddick, 21 laps led

5. Daniel Hemric

6. Noah Gragson

7. Justin Allgaier

8. Landon Cassill

9. Riley Herbst

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Brandon Jones

12. Sheldon Creed, 16 laps led

13. Jeb Burton

14. Anthony Alfredo

15. Ryan Sieg

16. Kyle Sieg

17. Jeremy Clements

18. Myatt Snider

19. Jeffrey Earnhardt

20. Brett Moffitt

21. Ryan Vargas

22. David Starr

23. Alex Labbe, one lap down

24. Mason Massey, one lap down

25. Josh Williams, one lap down

26. Joey Gase, two laps down

27. Natalie Decker, two laps down

28. Caesar Bacarella, two laps down

29. Bayley Currey, two laps down

30. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

31. Brennan Poole, four laps down

32. Jesse Iwuji, six laps down

33. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

34. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

35. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident, seven laps led

36. JJ Yeley – OUT, Fuel pump

37. Matt Mills – OUT, Engine

38. Sage Karam – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone visit of the season to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

July 9, 2022
Ty Gibbs executes final lap pass on Larson for fourth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Road America

In a NASCAR Xfinity Series event dominated by the return of Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs capitalized in overtime with a final lap pass on Larson to win the 13th annual running of the Henry 180 at Road America on Saturday, July 2.

The 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for five of 48 over-scheduled laps as he overtook Larson, who led a race-high 31, at the start of the final lap. Once he captured the lead, Gibbs then managed to fend off late repeated challenges from the reigning Cup Series champion through the 14-turn circuit before he pulled away up the final straightaway and to the finish line for his fourth checkered flag of the 2022 Xfinity season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Kyle Larson, who made his return to the Xfinity Series following a three-year absence, started on pole position after claiming the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 108.495 mph in 134.318 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 107.922 mph in 135.031 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Landon Cassill, AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Patrick Gallagher dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Jesse Iwuji also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change after he replaced Kyle Weatherman.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson rocketed away from the field as he led through the first turn while Gibbs retained second ahead of Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer and the field. With the field making their way through the 14-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Larson led the first lap by three-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Custer, Herbst and rookie Sheldon Creed while Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, Mayer, Jeremy Clements and Josh Bilicki were in the top 10.

Through the second lap of the event, Larson retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs, who continued to pressure Larson for the lead, while Custer, Herbst, Creed, Reddick, Gragson, Mayer, Clements and Bilicki remained in the top 10. Behind, Brandon Jones was in 11th followed by rookie Austin Hill, newcomer Sammy Smith, Sage Karam, Brett Moffitt, Alex Labbe, Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric and AJ Allmendinger.

Three laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs and Custer battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Herbst and Creed.

By the sixth lap, Landon Cassill spun and went off the course in Turn 12 after he made contact with Ty Dillon, though the event remained under green.

Between Laps 7 and 8, the first round of green-flag pit stops commenced as John Hunter Nemechek pitted along with Reddick, Creed, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Preston Pardus and Brandon Brown. Not long after, the first caution of the event flew when Brett Moffitt over-drove Turn 5 and got his car stuck in the sand trap in Turn 5. At the same time, Alfredo and Andy Lally made contact with one another and spun in Turn 6.

The pair of incidents involving Moffitt, Alfredo and Lally were enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 10 to conclude under caution as Larson captured the stage victory. Gibbs settled in second followed by Custer, Herbst, Brandon Jones, Gragson, Mayer, Clements, Allmendinger and Bilicki.

Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track. During the pit stops, Chris Dyson and Bayley Currey have assessed penalties for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon while Lally spun while trying to enter his pit box.

The second stage started on Lap 12 as teammates Gibbs and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs took off with the lead while Allmendinger overtook Jones for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Then through a straightaway between Turns 3 and 4, Allmendinger drew himself alongside Gibbs in a bid for the lead before he succeeded in entering Turn 6. As Allmendinger retained the lead when he returned to the start/finish line, Gibbs remained in second followed by teammate Jones, Hemric and Berry while Creed, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Larson and Mayer occupied the top 10.

Then during the following lap, Allmendinger went briefly wide in Turn 5, which allowed Gibbs to draw himself even alongside Allmendinger as he reassumed the lead in Turn 6. Jones, meanwhile, remained in third ahead of Hemric as the field behind jostled for positions.

By Lap 15, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allmendinger before he was overtaken by a hard-charging Larson. Then in Turn 5, Mayer ran over the curbs and made contact against the wall entering Turn 5 as he briefly went off the course and into the sand trap before he limped back to pit road with right-front damage. By then, Alfredo overshot the first turn as he suffered a flat left-front tire.

Once Larson dueled and made his way back to the lead over Gibbs on Lap 16, Gibbs made his first pit stop of the day during the following lap followed by Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Brandon Jones, Cassill, Hemric, Hill and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Joe Graf Jr. was slowly limping his way around the circuit with a flat right-rear tire.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 20, Larson captured his second stage victory of the day. Creed settled in second followed by Custer, Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Herbst, Clements, Gragson and Alex Labbe.

Under the stage break, some led by Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

With 22 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Larson fended off Creed to retain the lead at the start while Creed and Custer battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Allgaier retained fourth ahead of Herbst, Gragson and the field.

Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Gragson, who was rubbing fenders with Sage Karam entering the straightaway in Turn 4, veered dead right into Karam as both spun beneath the Sargento bridge. With both spinning in the middle of the circuit and kicking up dust on the circuit, a multi-car pileup ignited with Cassill, Snider, Moffitt, Bayley Currey, Andy Lally, Hemric, Nemechek, Josh Bilicki, Reddick, Clements and Brandon Brown sustaining damage and piling into the carnage. The incident was one that left Karam furious toward Gragson.

During the caution period and while the on-track safety workers continued to clear the carnage, few like Justin Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Patrick Gallagher, Lally, Creed and Sammy Smith remained on the track while the rest led by Larson pitted. During the pit stops, Herbst, who also pitted, received a safety violation penalty. In addition, Allmendinger was penalized for speeding on pit road.

When the race proceeded under green with 17 laps remaining, Allgaier was able to pull ahead of Clements to retain the lead entering the first two turns while Larson fanned out and muscled his way into third place. Shortly after, Clements overtook Allgaier to take over the top spot entering the straightaway near Turn 4 before he was quickly overtaken by Larson entering Turn 5. Behind, Custer made his move into the runner-up spot as the field jostled for positions.

Then through Turns 12 to 14, Custer dueled and overtook Larson to lead a lap for himself. He then managed to retain the top spot by a narrow margin while Gibbs attempted to close in on the two leaders. By then, Allgaier pitted under green.

With less than 15 laps remaining, Custer extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson, who had Gibbs challenging him for the runner-up spot. Behind, Austin Hill was in fourth followed by Clements while Brandon Jones, Labbe, Creed, Miguel Paludo and Gragson were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Allmendinger was in 11th followed by Ryan Sieg, Preston Padres, Jeb Burton and Herbst while Bilicki, Sammy Smith, Lally, Josh Berry and Mayer were in the top 20.

Down to the final 11 laps of the event, driver Chris Dyson spun and smacked against the wall in Turn 12 as he came back across the track and nearly collected Mayer with the caution flying. By then, Custer was leading by more than a second over Larson and Gibbs while Hill, Brandon Jones, Clements, Labbe, Paludo, Creed and Gragson occupied the top 10.

During the caution period, all but Ryan Sieg and Andy Lally pitted as Larson exited pit road first followed by Gibbs and Hill. During the pit stops, Custer endured a slow pit stop and hit Preston Pardus. In addition, Gragson and Patrick Gallagher were penalized for speeding on pit road while Clements was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Sieg held the lead for a brief moment before Larson rocketed his way back to the lead as the field fanned out through the first three turns. Behind, Custer briefly went off course as he was mired back in fifth.

When the field returned to the start/finish line, Larson was ahead by more than two seconds over Gibbs while Berry, Hill and Custer were in the top five. Meanwhile, Creed, who was in the top 10, started to have smoke pouring out of his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. Soon after, Sammy Smith spun and Paludo’s hood flew when he sustained damage. Despite the incident, the event remained under green while Larson checked away from the field.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Gibbs while third-place Custer trailed by four-and-a-half seconds. Hill and Berry occupied the top five followed by Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Behind, Ryan Sieg was back in 11th followed by Sam Mayer, Clements, Preston Pardus, Gragson, Bilicki, Jeb Burton, Currey, Lally and Labbe were in the top 20.

Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew when Custer, who was running in third place while dealing with a break issue, made hard contact against the wall in Turn 5 as his car came to rest off the course in the fifth turn while the driver emerged uninjured. Custer’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Larson and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn and through the following two turns until he managed to fend off Gibbs on the inside lane entering the straightaway through Turns 4 and 5. As the field scrambled for positions, Larson managed to retain the top spot ahead of Gibbs and Hill through the turns.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by a narrow margin over Gibbs, who had Larson within his sight as he issued his challenge for the lead. Then in Turn 3, Larson slipped and went wide as Gibbs, who bumped Larson earlier in Turn 2, assumed the lead in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra. Larson then tried to close in for the lead in Turn 5, but Gibbs managed to retain the lead through Turns 6 and 7. With time running out as Gibbs remained in the lead through Turns 8 to 11, Larson then tried to make his move on the outside lane in Turn 12, but he could not make the move in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro stick as Gibbs remained as the leader. Through the final turn, Turn 14, Larson then made a final bid for the lead, but it was not enough as Gibbs managed to pull away through the uphill straightaway and capture the Road America victory by more than eight-tenths of a second over Larson.

Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

The victory marked Gibbs’ fourth of this year’s Xfinity Series season and the eighth of his career as he became the 13th different competitor to win an Xfinity event at Road America. Ironically, this marked Gibbs’ third time winning an Xfinity event following a last-lap pass as he recorded the 190th Xfinity career win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I don’t know [how I beat Larson],” Gibbs said on USA Network. “I just wanna say all glory to Jesus Christ. Thank you to my team and Monster Energy. I had a fun time racing with Kyle. I thought it was gonna get a little rough there, but he’s such a great competitor. He’s a good person. We played golf the other day, so I wanna tell him thanks for the golf lessons. I still suck. Thank you so much. This is just awesome. I can’t believe it. This is just wonderful.”

“I felt like we were a little bit faster in the first half of the track,” Gibbs added. “The last two sectors I felt like we were not as fast, but I fee like, right now, I just need to earn respect back and that’s what I’m doing. Just gotta learn and not make mistakes. It’s cool to race against the Cup Series guys, so hopefully, that says something, but thankful to where I am at.”

Larson, whose final Xfinity Series start and victory occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018, settled in the runner-up spot following a dominant run in Hendrick Motorsports’ return to the series. He is slated to compete in the upcoming Xfinity events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16 followed by Darlington Raceway on September 3 for JR Motorsports.

“[Gibbs] did a really good job,” Larson said. “It really started with my final corner coming to the white [flag]. I didn’t get through there very good. [I] Got a little bit tight and missed my apex, and was late back to the throttle. He had a run on me down the frontstretch, so obviously, kind of had to protect the inside [lane]. He just got my angles messed up for those two corners, so he did a really good job executing and I didn’t. Bummer, but really fun race there all race long…Fun and congrats to Ty. That was really impressive. He ran me clean and I was gonna run him clean. Just didn’t work out for me.”

Berry survived the late chaos to come home in third place while Austin Hill and Brandon Jones finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Herbst, Gragson, Clements and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10.

There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 12 laps.

With 10 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over Ty Gibbs, 34 over Justin Allgaier, 39 over Noah Gragson and 74 over Josh Berry.

Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Currently, Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 72 points, Brett Moffitt trails by 87, Brandon Brown trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 94, Sheldon Creed trails by 98, Myatt Snider trails by 129, Alex Labbe trails by 135 and Jeremy Clements trails by 143.

Results.

1. Ty Gibbs, five laps led

2. Kyle Larson, 31 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

3. Josh Berry

4. Austin Hill

5. Brandon Jones

6. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

7. Riley Herbst

8. Noah Gragson

9. Jeremy Clements

10. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

11. Preston Pardus

12. Justin Allgaier, three laps led

13. Josh Bilicki

14. Andy Lally

15. Alex Labbe

16. Bayley Currey

17. Josh Williams

18. John Hunter Nemechek

19. Patrick Gallagher

20. Sam Mayer

21. Jeb Burton

22. Jesse Iwuji

23. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

24. Sammy Smith – OUT, Engine

25. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, six laps led

26. Miguel Paludo – OUT, Accident

27. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Engine

28. Chris Dyson – OUT, Accident

29. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

30. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

31. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident

32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

36. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Brakes

37. Ty Dillon – OUT, Header

38. Will Rodgers – OUT, Suspension

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second visit of the season at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 9, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.

July 2, 2022
Allgaier cruises to a dominant Xfinity Series victory at Nashville

Justin Allgaier outlasted the warm humidity surrounding the state of Tennessee by scoring a dominant NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, June 25.

The 36-year-old Allgaier from Riverton, Illinois, led five times for a race-high 134 of 188 laps, including the final 40. He swept both stages en route to his second Xfinity victory of the 2022 season and his first at Nashville after beating runner-up Trevor Bayne by four-and-a-half seconds.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring Saturday, Riley Herbst started on pole position for the second time in his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 156.665 mph in 30.562 seconds. Joining him on the front row was AJ Allmendinger, winner of the previous Xfinity event at Portland International Raceway who posted a qualifying lap at 156.200 mph in 30.653 seconds.

Prior to the event, Tyler Reddick started at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Natalie Decker also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to her car.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Herbst and Allmendinger dueled early for the lead through the first two turns until Allmendinger gained the advantage on the outside lane in Turn 3 to take the lead as he led the first lap. Behind, the field fanned out and jostled for positions through the frontstretch as Allmendinger stabilized his early advantage over Herbst.

By the fifth lap, Allmendinger was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Herbst followed by Trevor Bayne, rookie Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier while Jeb Burton, Josh Berry, Daniel Hemric, Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.

At the Lap 10 mark, Allmendinger continued to lead by a second over Herbst while Allgaier continued his march to the front as he battled Bayne for third place. Behind, Hill remained in fifth while Gragson, Brandon Jones and Ty Gibbs battled for ninth.

Five laps later, Allgaier muscled his No, 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro to the runner-up spot after he overtook Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Another four laps later, Allgaier emerged as the second leader of the event after he overtook Allmendinger’s No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for the top spot.

Through the first 35 laps of the event, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than four seconds over both Allmendinger and Herbst as Hill and Bayne joined the battle in the top five. Meanwhile, Berry was in sixth while Jeb Burton, Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Hemric were in the top 10. Sam Mayer was in 11th ahead of teammate Noah Gragson, Landon Cassill, Ryan Preece and Jeffrey Earnhardt while rookie Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown and Kyle Weatherman were in the top 20.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier, who continued to extend his advantage to six seconds, captured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Bayne made his way into the runner-up spot followed by Herbst, Allmendinger, Hill, Berry, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Mayer and Gragson.

Under the stage break, the field led by Allgaier pitted as Allgaier exited with the lead followed by teammate Berry, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Gibbs and Hill. Following the pit stops, Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger, Cassill and Hemric were penalized for speeding on pit road along with Sheldon Creed and Kyle Sieg. Jeb Burton was also penalized due to an equipment interference while Bayne endured a slow pit stop due to Herbst hitting Bayne’s crew member.

The second stage started on Lap 52 as teammates Allgaier and Berry occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, Allgaier rocketed away with the lead while Gibbs battled Berry for the runner-up spot. Behind, teammate Mayer along with Brandon Jones, Herbst and Hill battled towards the front as Allgaier checked away from the field.

By Lap 60, Allgaier was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Mayer, Herbst and Hill while Berry, Gragson, Bayne, Brandon Jones and Ryan Preece were running in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was mired in 13th, Tyler Reddick was up in 16th and Hemric was back in 22nd.

At the Lap 75 mark, Allgaier extended his advantage to nearly one-and-a-half seconds over Gibbs while Mayer, Herbst and Bayne remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Hill was back in 10th while Preece made his way up to eighth. Allmendinger could only make his way back up to 11th while Hemric was mired in 17th ahead of teammate Landon Cassill.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Allgaier claimed his fifth stage victory of this season and swept both stages of the event in Nashville after beating Gibbs by more than two seconds. Gibbs settled in second followed by Mayer, Herbst, Bayne, Gragson, Berry, Brandon Jones, Preece and Hill.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Allgaier returned to pit road as Gibbs edged Allgaier to emerge with the lead followed by Bayne, Gragson, Herbst and Mayer. Following the pit stops, Mayer and Anthony Alfredo were penalized for speeding on pit road.

With 92 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Allgaier and Gibbs dueled for the lead through the backstretch until Allgaier retained the lead approaching Turn 4. Behind, Bayne and Hill battled for third in front of a flurry of competitors led by Brandon Jones.

Back at the front, Gibbs reignited his battle for the lead against Allgaier as he swapped the top spot with the JR Motorsports veteran before he assumed the lead with 89 laps remaining. Allgaier, however, fought back during the following lap as the battle between him and Gibbs continued to ignite. Behind, Bayne trailed by eight-tenths of a second while Brandon Jones, Hill and Allmendinger, who rallied from his early pit road speeding penalty, battled for spots in the top five.

With 83 laps remaining, the caution flew when Berry slipped sideways and spun off the front nose of Preece through the backstretch. During the caution period, some like Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, Alfredo and Berry pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

Four laps later, the race proceeded under green, At the start, Allgaier gained another strong start to retain the lead while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bayne and Ty Gibbs battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Hill was in fourth ahead of Hemric, who recovered from his early pit road speeding penalty, while a three-wide action occurred between Gragson, Creed and Jeb Burton.

Then with 72 laps remaining, the caution returned when Jeffrey Earnhardt made contact while battling Creed as he spun off of Turn 4 while being dodged by the field. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Preece and Bayne were penalized for equipment interference.

With 66 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Allmendinger and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Allmendinger took off with the lead followed by Jones and Gragson as the field fanned out.

Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Jeb Burton made contact and turned Creed sideways into the outside wall in Turn 1 as Joe Graf Jr. was also involved.

When the race restarted under green with 58 laps remaining, Allmendinger fended Brandon Jones to retain the lead as Allgaier bolted his way towards the front on four fresh tires. Meanwhile, Gragson remained in third ahead of Hemric and Gibbs while Cassill, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Tyler Reddick were in the top 10. Shortly after, Myatt Snider spun behind the leaders, but the race proceeded under green.

Four laps later, the battle for the lead between Brandon Jones and Allmendinger ignited as Jones made his move beneath Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevrolet through the turns. The former, however, was able to fend off the challenges entering the straightaways as Gragson joined the battle. Meanwhile, Allgaier battled and overtook Gibbs for fourth place.

With less than 50 laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to nearly half a second over Brandon Jones while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly seven-tenths of a second. Allgaier and Gibbs remained in the top five followed by Mayer while Hemric, Herbst, Bayne, Hill and Cassill battled within the top 10.

Then with 42 laps remaining, contact ensued between rivals Gibbs and Mayer as Mayer got into the left-rear quarter panel of Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entering Turn 4 while both were battling in the top five. With Gibbs sideways, he made contact with Mayer’s No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro and both competitors bumped and rubbed fenders before both managed to continue running straight as the race proceeded under green. The contact placed Mayer in fifth while Gibbs fell back to eighth behind Herbst.

Back at the front, Allgaier reassumed the lead with 37 laps remaining after tracking and overtaking Allmendinger on four fresh tires while Brandon Jones and Gragson settled in third and fourth.

With 30 laps remaining, the battle for the runner-up spot ensued as Gragson overtook Brandon Jones before he issued his challenge on Allmendinger. With Allgaier checking out and leading by nearly four seconds, Bayne, who rallied from his late pit road penalty, made his way into the top five as he then overtook teammate Brandon Jones for fourth place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to lead by more than three seconds over Bayne, who made his way into the runner-up spot, while Gragson, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in the top five. Shortly after, however, Gragson, who had not pitted since the conclusion of the second stage, pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. Brandon Jones would soon pit along with Allmendinger, Hemric and Cassill.

With 10 laps remaining, Allgaier remained as the leader by more than nearly four seconds over Bayne while Herbst, Gibbs and Mayer were up in the top five. By then, Preece was in sixth followed by Hill, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Sieg and Brett Moffitt.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier stabilized his advantage to four seconds over Bayne. Having a clear racetrack in front of him with a dominant race car, Allgaier was able to cycle his way back to the finish line and claim his second checkered flag of the 2022 Xfinity season.

With his second victory of the season and first at Nashville, Allgaier recorded his 18th career win in the Xfinity Series, his 15th driving for JR Motorsports, as he became the fifth multi-winner of this year’s Xfinity season.

“What a heck of a race,” Allgaier said on USA Network. “I’ve been coming here a long time and love this racetrack, and have been trying to go to Victory Lane so bad and haven’t been able to do it. Today was for the dirt racers, though, ‘cause it was slick, it was hot. We were sliding around. Just proud of this team, everybody at JR Motorsports, the Hendrick engine shop…These black marks [burnouts], they never get old. That’s the best race car I’ve ever had. This series is just so much fun right now. Man, that was a good race. ”

Bayne, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, came home in the runner-up spot for his third top-five result in his fifth series start of the season while Herbst, Ty Gibbs and Mayer finished in the top five.

“I think I’ve learned a lot of perspective in the last three years,” Bayne said. “I’m still frustrated and upset right now with second because we had a winning car. I felt like I did everything I could to do today. We drove to second three times and just kept getting ourself in pit road with [Herbst] clipping our guys. Nothing my guys can do about that, but then, we had a tire get away, went all the way to the back on that last run and drove to second. Catching Allgaier, my buddy Gator, congrats to him. Proud of him, happy for him, but I wanted that guitar really bad. The thing is I’m thankful to be here, thankful to have the opportunity to drive these cars. You can see how pink I am. That’s pushing hard those last 20 laps…It’s all we could do, man. We just got to clean it up. If you’re gonna win, you got to be perfect.”

“Our Ford Mustang was really good,” Herbst said. “We got the pole and we wanted to lead some laps. Unfortunately, we didn’t lead any laps. We got quite a bit of stage points, which we needed. It’s just a really good day for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and myself included. I’m proud of all these guys on the No. 98 team. Just keep doing these runs and we’ll eventually get there. Just keep knocking on the door. Eventually, it will open.”

Preece, winner of Friday night’s Truck Series event at Nashville, ended up in sixth place while Jeffrey Earnhardt, Hill, Ryan Sieg and Moffitt completed the top 10.

Notably, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Hemric and Cassill finished 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th following their late pit stops.

There were 13 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 27 laps.

With 11 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 25 points over Ty Gibbs, 32 over Justin Allgaier, 42 over Noah Gragson and 75 over Josh Berry.

Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 69 points, Brett Moffitt trails by 72, Brandon Brown trails by 74, Jeb Burton trails by 93, Sheldon Creed trails by 100, Myatt Snider trails by 116, Alex Labbe trails by 141 and Jeremy Clements trails by 160.

Results.

1. Justin Allgaier, 134 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

2. Trevor Bayne

3. Riley Herbst

4. Ty Gibbs, four laps led

5. Sam Mayer

6. Ryan Preece

7. Jeffrey Earnhardt

8. Austin Hill

9. Ryan Sieg

10. Brett Moffitt

11. Brandon Brown

12. Parker Retzlaff

13. Noah Gragson, one lap down

14. Brandon Jones, one lap down, one lap led

15. Stefan Parsons, one lap won

16. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down, 48 laps led

17. Daniel Hemric, one lap down

18. Landon Cassill, one lap down

19. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

20. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

21. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

22. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

23. Alex Labbe, two laps down

24. Ryan Ellis, three laps down

25. Kyle Sieg, three laps down

26. Patrick Emerling, three laps down

27. Myatt Snider, three laps down

28. BJ McLeod, three laps down

29. Josh Berry, four łaps down

30. Dillon Bassett, six laps down

31. Bayley Currey, seven laps down

32. Natalie Decker, seven laps down

33. JJ Yeley, 31 laps down

34. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

35. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

38. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Power

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ 13th consecutive, annual visit to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which will occur on Saturday, July 2, at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

June 25, 2022
Berry prevails in battle with teammate Allgaier for Xfinity win at Charlotte

In a dominant run by JR Motorsports on home turf, Josh Berry prevailed after a late battle with teammate Justin Allgaier before cruising to win the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 28.

The 31-year-old Berry from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led five times for a race-high 89 of 200 laps, including the final 23 after intimidating and battling Allgaier for the top spot two laps earlier. Following those two intense laps of battling with his JR Motorsports teammate, Berry gained a huge advantage.

It enabled him to snatch the lead for good and drive away for the win when Allgaier got into the wall and eventually pitted under green due to a flat tire. Having an advantage of three-quarters of a mile over Ty Gibbs for the final 23 laps of the event, Berry proceeded to capture his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.

On-track qualifying to determine the starting lineup occurred on Friday and rookie Sam Mayer notched his first Xfinity career pole after recording a pole-winning lap at 179.892 mph in 30.018 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Justin Allgaier, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 178.571 mph in 30.240 seconds.

Prior to the event, names like Ryan Vargas, Trevor Bayne, Brandon Jones, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ty Gibbs and Joe Graf Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Riley Herbst dropped to the rear of the field as he started the event in a backup car.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Mayer took off with an early advantage while Ryan Preece battled and overtook Allgaier for the runner-up spot as the field made their way through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch.

Following the first lap, which was led by Mayer, Preece battled and overtook Mayer through the frontstretch during the following lap to assume the lead while JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson, Allgaier and Mayer fanned out while battling for the runner-up spot.

Two laps later, Gragson battled against teammates Allgaier and Mayer for the runner-up spot and muscled his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to the front as Preece and Allgaier fought for the runner-up spot. Behind, Mayer was overtaken by teammate Josh Berry for fourth place.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gragson was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Preece followed by Berry, Allgaier and Mayer while AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, Austin Dillon and Jeb Burton were in the top 10. Brett Moffitt was in 11th followed by rookie Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones, Ty Gibbs, rookie Austin Hill, Stefan Parsons, Ryan Sieg, Trevor Bayne, JJ Yeley and Jeremy Clements while Riley Herbst was in 22nd. By then, Brandon Brown had made an unscheduled pit stop under green to address a flat right-front tire.

Five laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Brandon Jones slipped sideways and spun below the banking in Turn 1 as he came back across the track while being dodged by the field.

Another four laps later, the race resumed under green. At the start, Gragson rocketed to the lead followed by teammates Berry, Mayer and Allgaier while Preece slipped back to fifth through Turns 2 and 3. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Timmy Hill slipped sideways and spun against the outside wall in Turn 3.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 25, Gragson retained the lead while Mayer, who slid up the track through Turn 1, was left battling teammate Berry for the runner-up spot in front of teammate Allgaier. Behind, Allmendinger made his move on Preece for fifth place before Preece regained his momentum and challenged Allgaier for fourth place.

By Lap 30, Gragson was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Berry while teammate Allgaier trailed by more than a second in third place. Preece was in fourth ahead of Allmendinger and Mayer while Hemric, Moffitt, Ty Gibbs and Trevor Bayne were in the top 10. By then, Jeb Burton made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-front tire.

Just then, the third caution of the event flew when Brandon Brown got loose and spun below the apron in Turn 3.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 35, Josh Berry used the outside lane to his advantage as he assumed the lead while Gragson was left battling teammate Allgaier and Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. Behind, Daniel Hemric muscled his way into the top five ahead of Mayer, Preece and Moffitt while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs and Bayne were in the top 10.

Through the first 40 scheduled laps, Berry extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Allgaier while teammate Gragson trailed by two seconds in third place. Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger and Hemric were in the top five followed by Mayer, Moffitt, Preece, Gibbs and Brandon Jones while Bayne, Creed, Ryan Sieg, Hill and Riley Herbst were in the top 15.

Shortly after, the caution flew due to a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch that involved Myatt Snider, Kyle Weatherman and Jeffrey Earnhardt. The caution was enough for the first stage, scheduled for Lap 45, to conclude under the yellow flag as Berry captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammates Allgaier and Gragson settled in second and third followed by Allmendinger, Hemric, Mayer, Preece, Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Moffitt. During the caution period, Landon Cassill, who was in 16th, lost power on the backstretch and needed assistance back to his pit stall while his crew went to work to diagnose a fuel pump issue to his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Berry pitted and Allgaier exited with the lead followed by Berry, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Hemric and Allmendinger. During the pit stops, Gragson’s pit crew popped the hood up on the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro to address a potential mechanical issue.

The second stage started on Lap 49 as teammates Allgaier and Berry occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier retained the lead after receiving a push from teammate Mayer while teammates Berry and Mayer battled behind for the runner-up spot in front of Allmendinger and Brandon Jones.

Through the following lap, Berry challenged Allgaier for the lead on the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4, but Allgaier managed to use the outside lane to fight back through the frontstretch. Then, as Berry tried to clear Allgaier in Turn 1, he slipped up the track and Allgaier used the crossover move on the inside lane to reassume the lead as teammate Mayer joined the battle.

By Lap 60, Allgaier continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Berry while Mayer trailed by more than a second in third place. Allmendinger and Brandon Jones were in the top five ahead of Hemric, Gibbs, Bayne, Preece and Creed while Herbst, Sieg, Moffitt, Hill, Austin Dillon, Snider, Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Bayley Currey were in the top 20.

Nearly 15 laps later, the caution flew when Jeb Burton got loose and spun from the top to the bottom lane in Turn 1. By then, Allgaier led by nearly a second over teammate Berry while Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones remained in the top five.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 78, the front-runners fanned out as Allgaier just managed to stay ahead of Mayer and Allmendinger while Berry slipped back to fifth.

During the following lap, Brandon Jones slipped sideways again through Turns 3 and 4 while running in the top five, but he managed to keep his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra straight and running despite losing a bevy of spots as the race proceeded under green.

Back at the front, Allgaier was ahead by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Mayer while Berry worked his way back to third place ahead of Allmendinger and Bayne.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90 amid the on-track actions and battles ensuing around the track, Allgaier captured his third stage victory of the season. Berry worked his way back into the runner-up spot followed by Mayer, Bayne, Preece, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Creed, Hemric and Moffitt.

Under the stage break, the leaders led by Allgaier returned to pit road for adjustments and Berry reassumed the lead after exiting with the top spot followed by Bayne, Mayer, Allgaier, Creed and Preece. During the pit stops, Allgaier lost three spots due to an issue with changing the left-front tire on his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Following the pit stops, Creed was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Josh Williams was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Nicholas Sanchez was penalized for removing the jack out of his pit box while Joe Graf Jr. was penalized for a safety violation.

With 101 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Berry and Bayne dueled for the lead for a full lap as Berry emerged ahead to lead the halfway mark on Lap 100.

During the following lap, Berry cleared the field to retain the lead while Preece muscled his way into the runner-up spot. Behind, Allgaier and Bayne battled for third place while Mayer was in fifth ahead of Allmendinger.

Then with 97 laps remaining, the caution flew when Riley Herbst blew a right-front tire and scrapped his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang against the outside wall in Turn 3.

With 91 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Berry and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Berry and Preece battled for the lead until Preece managed to pull his No. 5 Hunt Brother’s Pizza Ford Mustang ahead in Turn 3. Behind, however, the caution returned again due to another multi-car wreck that involved Austin Dillon, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Stefan Parsons and Joe Graf Jr.

Following an extensive caution period, the race restarted under green with 81 laps remaining, At the start, Berry battled and fended off Preece to lead while Allgaier moved into the runner-up spot ahead of Preece. Behind, Mayer was in fourth ahead of Bayne, Hill, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Hemric and Brandon Jones.

With 70 laps remaining, Berry was leading by nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while third-place Preece trailed by nearly three seconds. Mayer was in fourth ahead of Bayne while Hill, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Gragson and Hemric occupied the top 10. In the midst of the on-track action, Allmendinger pitted under green to address a flat tire and lost two laps in the process.

Ten laps later, Berry continued to lead by more than a second over Allgaier while Mayer was in third place, trailing by more than seven seconds. Behind, Bayne passed Preece to move into fourth while Gibbs was in sixth. Gragson, meanwhile, was up to eighth in between Brandon Jones and Hill while Hemric was in 10th ahead of Creed.

Another 10 laps later, Berry led the field by three-tenths of a second over Allgaier who was methodically closing in on him. Behind, Mayer and Bayne remained in third and fourth while Ty Gibbs overtook Preece to move into the top five. Soon after, Brandon Jones rallied his way into sixth place while Preece fell back to seventh. By then, 17 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

A few laps later, Creed pitted his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. He was soon followed by Clements, Josh Williams, Bailey Currey, Preece, Hemric and Bayne as a cycle of green-flag pit stops ensued. During the pit stops, Bayne and Austin Hill were both penalized for speeding on pit road.

Nearing the final 40 laps, teammates Berry and Allgaier pitted from the top-two spots as Gragson, who still had to make a pit stop, emerged out in front. Once Gragson pitted with 38 laps remaining, Allgaier cycled his way into the lead by a narrow margin over teammate Berry while third-place Preece trailed by nine seconds.

With 30 laps remaining, Allgaier retained the lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate Berry while third-place Preece trailed the two leaders by more than 11 seconds. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Mayer were in the top five while Brandon Jones, Gragson, Hemric, Garrett Smithley and Creed were in the top 10.

Then with 25 laps remaining, teammates Allgaier and Berry duked it out for the lead through the frontstretch. As Berry made a move on the inside lane and slid up the track in Turn 1, Allgaier pulled a crossover move beneath Berry through the backstretch. They nearly made contact against one another through Turn 3 before Allgaier pulled ahead in Turn 4. Just then, Allgaier made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. This allowed Berry, who had repeatedly pressured Allgaier for the lead, to surge ahead to the top spot, though Allgaier kept his teammate within his sights.

Under the final 20 laps, Berry stabilized his advantage to more than two-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while Preece, who trailed by more than 16 seconds, was under pressure by Ty Gibbs for third place.

Nearing the final 15 laps, the battle for the lead ignited once again between teammates Berry and Allgaier amid lapped traffic as Allgaier tried to issue another challenge for the lead. Then shortly after, Allgaier made contact with the wall in Turn 1. He then made contact with the wall again in Turn 3 as he cut a tire and was forced to pit under green.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Berry was out in front by more than 16 seconds over Ty Gibbs while Mayer, Preece and Gragson occupied the top five. Hemric was the last competitor scored on the lead lap in sixth place while Creed was the first competitor a lap down in seventh place. Allgaier, meanwhile, was back in eighth place, a lap down, while Bayne and Myatt Snider were in the top 10.

With five laps remaining, Berry stabilized his advantage to more than 16 seconds over Gibbs.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Berry remained as the leader by nearly 17 seconds over Gibbs. Having a huge lead to his advantage, Berry easily cycled his way back to the frontstretch and went on to claim his second checkered flag of the season.

With the victory, Berry notched his first win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his second Xfinity Series victory of the season and the fourth win of his career in his 42nd series start. The victory was also a first at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports as Berry became the third multi-winner of this year’s Xfinity season.

Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“Man, it’s so amazing,” Berry, who led a race-high 89 of 200, said on FS1. “This car was so good. [Crew chief] Mike [Bumgarner] and this whole group have worked so hard. We’ve been getting better every week. I think the sky’s the limits as we continue to learn about each other and keep getting better. I’m so happy for Harrison’s USA. This is their home track…Just truly so amazing. Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. and Kelley [Earnhardt Miller], LW [Miller], thank you, all of you, for what you do. That was a battle with Justin [Allgaier]. It always is with us. We always just seem to run good at the same places and always have to race each other, but he slipped up in [Turn] 1. I got loose too. I was following off him and he got loose. I got loose, too. Man, it all worked out.”

Finishing in second place and 18 seconds behind Berry was Ty Gibbs, who won the spring Xfinity Charlotte event a year ago, while Mayer, Gragson and Preece finished in the top five.

Hemric came home in sixth place and as the final competitor on the lead lap while Allgaier, Creed, Bayne and Snider finished in the top 10 amid a lapped behind.

“[I’m] Just proud of our team,” Allgaier, who led 63 laps, said. “After the first contact into the wall, I kind of felt like maybe the right rear [tire] was going soft and ultimately, it ended up going down. I got the fence again and had to pit under green, so just disappointing, but congrats to Josh and this whole JR Motorsports team. It’s nice to have the momentum we’ve got right now. We’re gonna keep riding that high.”

There were 12 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 44 laps.

With the first half of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch complete, AJ Allmendinger leads the standings by 33 points over Noah Gragson, 40 over Ty Gibbs, 58 over Justin Allgaier and 60 over Josh Berry.

AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots in the Playoffs as winless competitors. Anthony Alfredo trails the cutline by 48 points, Jeb Burton trails by 50, rookie Sheldon Creed trails by 59, Brett Moffitt trails by 73, Brandon Browns trails by 76, Myatt Snider trails by 122 and Jeremy Clements trails by 129.

Results.

1. Josh Berry, 89 laps led, Stage 1 winner

2. Ty Gibbs

3. Sam Mayer, two laps led

4. Noah Gragson, 36 laps led

5. Ryan Preece, 10 laps led

6. Daniel Hemric

7. Justin Allgaier, one lap down, 63 laps led, Stage 2 winner

8. Sheldon Creed, one lap down

9. Trevor Bayne, one lap down

10. Myatt Snider, one lap down

11. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

12. Jeb Burton, one lap down

13. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

14. Austin Hill, one lap down

15. Bayley Currey, two laps down

16. Brandon Jones, two laps down

17. Brandon Brown, two laps down

18. JJ Yeley, two laps down

19. AJ Allmendinger, two laps down

20. Matt Mills, two laps down

21. Garrett Smithley, three laps down

22. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

23. CJ McLaughlin, four laps down

24. Shane Lee, four laps down

25. Riley Herbst, four laps down

26. Ryan Vargas, 13 laps down

27. Josh Williams – OUT, Suspension

28. Nicholas Sanchez – OUT, Ignition

29. Landon Cassill, 69 laps down

30. Stefan Parsons, – OUT, Accident

31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

32. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

33. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

34. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

35. Brennan Poole – OUT, Brakes

36. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

37. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is the series’ inaugural visit to Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, June 4, at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 28, 2022
Justin Allgaier finds Lady Luck at Darlington and breaks one-year winless streak

Justin Allgaier returned to victory lane at Darlington Raceway Saturday afternoon in his JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet and ended a 34-race winless drought.

Coincidentally, the last Xfinity Series trophy he raised was also at the track known as Too Tough to Tame, where Allgaier, apparently, is the exception to the rule.

It doesn’t hurt to be part of a winning team either. JRM has won the last three races in the series with Noah Gragson victorious at Talladega Superspeedway and Josh Berry at Dover Motor Speedway.

Allgaier led 76 laps of the Mahindra ROXOR 200 and grabbed his fourth top-five finish this year but gave much of the credit to his No. 7 crew who kept him in contention all day with fast pit stops.

“This team right here — the pit stops today were killing it,” he said. “They were awesome. This Hellman‘s Camaro was so fast. Just a testament to the 7 guys, but everybody at JR Motorsports — they‘ve been working so hard. It‘s showing with our finishes, not just our 7 team, but all of us.

“We‘ve been doing this way too long, and you know how great it feels to get back to Victory Lane.

“And by the way, it was awesome racing my teammates. That was probably the coolest part, racing my teammates all day, so hats off to those guys.”

His teammate, Gragson won the first two stages and led 45 laps during the race for his eighth top-five result of the season.

“A 1-2 finish for our company, that was great,” Gragson said. “We had great points today. Two stage wins and a second place. I wanted that win. I was ripping the top. I went on a bike ride this morning with Justin Allgaier, right at sunrise. He said, ‘Man, I’m going to run the bottom,’ and I knew he was going to run the bottom.

Photo by Ted Seminara

“We ran at the fence all day. He got the win. Hopefully, we’re selling T-shirts out on the concourse for ripping the top. I don’t know if anyone was higher than us, and there’s barely a scrape on the right side.”

Riley Herbst finished third, John Hunter Nemechek was fourth and JRM driver, Sam Mayer, rounded out the top five. Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill and Daniel Hemric finished sixth – 10th respectively.

Up Next: May 21 at Texas Motor Speedway for the Texas 250 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 7, 2022
Elliott conquers Dover for first Cup victory of 2022

The one-day wait was worth the wait for Chase Elliott, who rose to the occasion in the late stages to win the rain-postponed DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday, May 2, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

The 2020 Cup champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led three times for 73 of 400-scheduled laps and rocketed away from Ross Chastain during a 53-lap dash to the finish before beating Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to conquer the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, for the second time in his career.

With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Chris Buescher notched his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole after turning in a pole-winning lap at 160.149 mph in 22.479 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who recorded a fast lap at 159.744 mph in 22.536 seconds.

Prior to the event, William Byron and Josh Bilicki dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars along with Kurt Busch due to a steering adjustment. Rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland also started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started on a cloudy afternoon on Sunday, Buescher rocketed with an early advantage over the field as he went on to lead the first lap while Chase Elliott moved up to second place over Hamlin, who was under threat by Kyle Larson for more. Behind, Ryan Blaney was able to settle into fifth place ahead of Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

Through the first 10 laps, Buescher continued to lead ahead of Elliott, Hamlin, Larson and Blaney while Bowman, Suarez, Chastain, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace occupied the top 10.

Nine laps later, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead over Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

On Lap 40, a scheduled competition caution flew with Hamlin retaining the lead over Larson, Buescher, Elliott, Blaney and the rest of the field. By then, 27 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Larson, Buescher, Elliott and Chastain.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 45, Larson and Hamlin dueled for the lead until Hamlin used the outside lane to retain the top spot. Behind, Chastain moved into third place followed by Buescher, Elliott and Blaney while Suarez and Kyle Busch battled for seventh place as more battles ensued behind in the field.

By Lap 50, Hamlin was leading by nearly a second over Larson followed by Chastain, Buescher and Elliott while Blaney, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Bowman and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10.

On Lap 68, the caution flew due to precipitation on the track. During the caution period, the competitors remained on track under a cautious pace. Soon after, nearly the entire field led by Hamlin pitted while Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and William Byron remained on the track.

Then on Lap 78, the field led by Larson was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to the precipitation intensifying around the circuit. More than an hour later and with the jet dryers unable to enter the circuit due to the increased precipitation, NASCAR declared that the event would be postponed to Monday.

When the field returned to action on Monday under a cautious pace, Blaney surrendered third place to make a pit stop and for adjustments to his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang.

By Lap 83, the race resumed under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead over teammate Elliott and Truex while Hamlin bolted his way into the top five on four fresh tires as he challenged Byron for fourth place, which he succeeded. Soon after, Hamlin was challenged by teammate Truex for the spot while Byron and Bell battled for fifth place in front of Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.

Four laps later, however, the caution flew when rookie Austin Cindric got loose and smacked the outside wall in Turn 3. In the process, rookie Todd Gilliland was hit and spun into the wall by Blaney.

Another five laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Larson and Elliott dueled for the top spot through the first turn until Elliott managed to assume the lead for the first time. Behind, Hamlin, who rocketed to third place during the previous restart, retained the spot ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Truex. Behind, Byron was in sixth while Kyle Busch and Chastain battled for seventh place.

At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson, Bell and Truex occupied the top five. Byron retained sixth ahead of Chastain, Kyle Busch, Buescher and Bowman while Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick and Justin Haley were in the top 15. Bubba Wallace was back in 16th ahead of Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch and Erik Jones while Blaney was back in 27th behind Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe. By then, Cindric retired to the garage.

By Lap 110, Hamlin trailed Larson by two-tenths of a second in a bid for the lead while Larson and Bell battled for third place in front of Truex and Chastain. Two laps later, Hamlin overtook Elliott to reassume the lead. At the same time. Chastain made a bold three-wide move on Truex and Larson to move into fourth place.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin claimed his second stage victory of the season. Elliott settled in second followed by Bell, Chastain, Truex, Larson, Byron, Buescher, Kyle Busch and Keselowski.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin, who exited pit road with the lead, lost the left-front wheel as the wheel came off of his car. With Hamlin returning to pit road, Chastain assumed the lead followed by Bell, Truex, Elliott, Byron and Buescher.

The second stage started on Lap 128 as Chastain and Bell occupied the front row, At the start, Chastain retained the lead while Truex, Buescher and Elliott all overtook Bell for positions in the top five. In the process, Bell made an unscheduled pit stop after falling off the pace with the driver suspecting a loose wheel on his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry. The issue cost Bell two laps, though he continued.

Back on the track on Lap 135, Chastain’s No. 1 Pitbull Tour 2022 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading by four-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry while third-place Buescher trailed by less than a second. Elliott and Kyle Busch occupied the top five ahead of Byron, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Stenhouse.

On Lap 156, the caution returned when Larson spun his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the frontstretch and made light contact with the inside wall after cutting a tire. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Truex while Buescher, Elliott and Kyle Busch remained in the top five.

Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Chastain exited with the top spot ahead of Truex, Justin Haley, Elliott and Keselowski.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 163, Chastain retained the lead while Haley moved his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into second place ahead of Truex, Elliott, Keselowski and Kyle Busch while Harvick and Buescher battled for seventh place.

By Lap 175, Chastain was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Truex while Haley, Elliott and Keselowski were scored in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Buescher, Harvick, Byron and Blaney.

On Lap 188 and just as Truex issued a challenge on Chastain for the lead, the caution flew when AJ Allmendinger made contact with Kurt Busch entering Turn 2, which got Busch’s No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry loose before the car spun and made contact with the inside wall.

Under caution, some competitors like Haley, Bowman, Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, Wallace, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon remained on the track while the rest led by Truex pitted.

When the race proceeded under green on Lap 194, Haley assumed the lead while teammate Allmendinger overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot, thus placing both Kaulig Racing competitors in the top-two spots.

A lap later, however, the caution returned when Joey Logano, who was struggling with pace, slid sideways and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1 following contact with Erik Jones exiting the frontstretch.

As the race restarted at the halfway mark on Lap 200, Haley retained the lead over teammate Allmendinger while Bowman muscled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot. Way behind the field, Ty Dillon got bumped and loose in Turn 3, but the race proceeded under green as Dillon continued to lose spots on the track.

Back at the front, Haley was leading by two-tenths of a second over Bowman while Reddick was locked in a battle with Kyle Busch for fourth place behind Allmendinger.

By Lap 210, Bowman made a bold move through Turn 2 to move into the lead over Haley as Kyle Busch joined the battle. Two laps later, however, Busch rocketed his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry from third to first after overtaking both Haley and Bowman on the frontstretch. With Elliott and Allmendinger remaining in the top five, Truex, Chastain and Hamlin battled within the top-10 mark.

At the Lap 225 mark, Kyle Busch, who celebrated his 37th birthday, was leading by nearly two seconds over Elliott while Bowman, Truex and Byron were in the top five. Behind, Hamlin, following his early pit road issues, was in sixth ahead of Haley, Allmendinger, Chastain, Reddick, Harvick, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Wallace, Buescher, Blaney, Almirola, Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Keselowski. By then, Larson was in 23rd behind Bell while Harrison Burton was the highest-running rookie candidate in 27th.

Seven laps later, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a shredded right-front tire as he lost two laps in the process. Shortly after, Ty Dillon made an unscheduled pit stop to address a flat right-front tire.

Just past the Lap 240 mark and while Kyle Busch maintained a one-and-a-half second advantage over Elliott, the caution flew when Cody Ware got loose and smacked the outside wall on the frontstretch. In the process of his spin, Ware clipped Hamlin as Hamlin was sent backward against the inside wall with right-side damage to his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry, thus making his afternoon tougher to overcome.

Under caution, Blaney and Harrison Burton remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted.

With three laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney retained the lead while teammates Kyle Busch and Truex overtook Burton for second and third. Behind, Elliott nearly made contact with the outside wall on the frontstretch while battling Chastain.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 250 in a flurry of late jostling for positions, Blaney fended off Kyle Busch to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Bowman settled in third ahead of Truex, Stenhouse, Chastain, Erik Jones, Burton, Buescher and Elliott.

Under the stage break, Blaney, whose strategy to win the second stage worked, pitted along with Burton and Austin Dillon, whose pit crew lifted the hood of Dillon’s No. 3 Breztri Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for adjustments, while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

With 143 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes, Kyle Busch retained the lead over Bowman while Stenhouse moved into third place. Shortly after, Chastain overtook Truex for fourth place in front of Erik Jones. By then, Larson was back in the top 10 in ninth place ahead of teammate Elliott.

With 125 laps remaining, Kyle Busch continued to lead by more than half a second over Bowman while Stenhouse, Chastain and Truex remained in the top five. Erik Jones remained in sixth place ahead of Larson, Elliott, Buescher and Aric Almirola while Allmendinger, Bell, Harvick, Keselowski, Byron, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Haley, Preece and Wallace. By then, Reddick and Blaney were mired outside of the top 20 while Hamlin was back in 27th ahead of Austin Dillon.

Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch, who lapped Austin Dillon, stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex and Stenhouse remained in the top five.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over Bowman while Chastain, Truex, Stenhouse, Elliott, Larson, Erik Jones, Buescher and Bell occupied the top 10. Almirola was in 11th ahead of Allmendinger, Harvick, LaJoie, McDowell, Preece, Haley, Byron, Blaney and Wallace while Briscoe, Suarez, Keselowski and Hamlin were scored on the lead lap. By then, names like Reddick, Custer, Austin Dillon and Harrison Burton were lapped. In addition, Logano was mired in 30th and three laps behind the leaders while Kurt Busch was in 32nd and eight laps behind.

Just as Kyle Busch and Bowman peeled off the track to pit under green, the caution flew when the right-front tire off of Allmendinger’s No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came off in Turn 1.

Under caution, the majority of leaders that did not pit prior to the caution led by Truex pitted and Chastain assumed the lead after exiting with the top spot ahead of Truex, Elliott, Bell, Stenhouse and Larson. Prior to the restart, Kyle Busch and Bowman took the wave around to return to the lead lap.

Down to the final 70 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain took off with a brief advantage until he was pressured by Elliott for more.

Four laps later, the caution flew when Suarez and LaJoie made contact entering Turn 3, which sent LaJoie into the outside wall while Suarez spun and forced the field to scatter.

With 61 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Elliott dueled for the lead through the first two turns with Elliott briefly peaking ahead until Chastain fought back on the outside lane.

During the following lap, both Chastain and Elliott made contact through Turn 2, but both continued to battle dead even for the top spot. They made contact again during the next lap, but both continued to battle for the lead in a heated battle until the caution returned when Reddick spun and wrecked his No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the backstretch. At the moment of caution, Chastain retained the lead over Elliott.

With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott prevailed on the inside lane to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead while Chastain was left in a battle against Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Following an intense battle for a few laps, Stenhouse took the runner-up spot while Chastain settled in third ahead of Truex and Bell.

Under the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex, Bell, Erik Jones, Larson, Bowman, Buescher and Kyle Busch occupied the top 10.

With 35 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Stenhouse while Chastain, Truex and Bell remained in the top five.

Fifteen laps later, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continued to lead by more than a second over Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger/Frozen Farmer Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, who started to have Chastain and Truex reel in on him for the runner-up spot. With Bell in fifth, Bowman and Kyle Busch were up in sixth and seventh followed by Larson, Erik Jones and Buescher. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammate Briscoe, Haley, Wallace, Suarez and Cole Custer.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Elliott remained the leader by more than two seconds over Stenhouse while Chastain and Truex battled for third place ahead of Bell. By then, 17 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

With five laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Stenhouse while working his way through lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Chastain continued to fend off Truex for third place.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Elliott continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Stenhouse. Having no competition closing in on him for a final circuit, Elliott cycled his way back around to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his first victory of the season as the caution flag flew for a final lap incident involving Chastain and Truex.

With his first victory of the season, Elliott became the ninth different winner through the first 11 events of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Dover victory marked Elliott’s second at the Monster Mile, the 14th of his Cup career, his first since winning at Road America in July 2021 and his first oval victory since winning the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, where he celebrated his first Cup championship.

In addition, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 22nd overall win at Dover Motor Speedway, leaving the team 15 victories shy of reaching 300 Cup career victories, as all four HMS competitors have recorded a victory this season.

“[I] Just had some good circumstances finally,” Elliott said on FS1. “Really appreciate [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and our entire team. We were just sticking with it. We’ve had some tough races over the last four or five months and just great to get NAPA back to Victory Lane. Great to get Hendrick Motorsports back to Victory Lane. Just so proud. This one means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort. Thanks to all the fans for coming out. You are always awesome. Hope to see this big crowd here next year. Just a huge thanks to everybody involved. It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly gonna enjoy it. Like I told [the crew] after the race, they’ve been deserving of one for a while. Glad we could get it across the line first. We’ll enjoy it for a few days and go to work next week.”

Finishing two-and-a-half seconds behind Elliott with a stellar runner-up result was Stenhouse, who notched the first top-five result of the season for himself and JTG-Daugherty Racing following a difficult start to the year.

“It’s been a rough start to the season,” Stenhouse said. “Our short track program’s been off and then all of our other good races that we’ve had good runs going, something always happens. Really good to put this all together. It was a really great day for us. I felt like we had a car capable of winning. The pit crew did a great job keeping us up front all day. This feels good. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum on the big tracks. The tracks we got coming forward are really good tracks for us. That was a lot of fun. Lot of battling. It was tough to pass, but it was fun running through lapped traffic. I really wished we had a 70-lap run to the end there, but all in all, our Kroger team’s doing a great job and looking forward to carrying that momentum on.”

Meanwhile, Chastain came home in third place despite making contact with Truex on the final lap that sent Truex sideways and into the inside wall on the backstretch. The incident dropped Truex to 12th place in the final running order while Bell, who rallied from his early issues, and Bowman finished in the top five.

Following the event, Chastain and Truex met on pit road and exchanged words before Truex walked away.

“[Truex and I] were talking about where we were gonna go finishing next week,” Chastain said. “Super proud of this effort. I thought we were a fifth-place car and a couple of guys had misfortune with the caution coming out. That cycled us to the lead. The pit crew was incredible. They were just picking up spots every stop and got us the lead. I’m racing with champions and I got beat.”

Larson, Kyle Busch, Buescher, Harvick and Erik Jones finished in the top 10 as 15 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

There were 17 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 13 cautions for 75 laps.

With his first victory of the season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by 50 points over Ryan Blaney, 65 over William Byron and Kyle Busch, 69 over Alex Bowman, 80 over Ross Chastain, 82 over Martin Truex Jr. and 83 over Kyle Larson.

Results.

1. Chase Elliott, 73 laps led

2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3. Ross Chastain, 86 laps led

4. Christopher Bell

5. Alex Bowman, two laps led

6. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led

7. Kyle Busch, 103 laps led

8. Chris Buescher, 18 laps led

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Erik Jones

11. Justin Haley, 19 laps led

12. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

13. Chase Briscoe

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Cole Custer

16. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

17. Michael McDowell, one lap down

18. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

19. Aric Almirola, one lap down

20. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

21. Denny Hamlin, one lap down, 67 laps led, Stage 1 winner

22. William Byron, one lap down

23. Austin Dillon, two laps down

24. Harrison Burton, two laps down

25. Ryan Preece, two laps down

26. Ryan Blaney, three laps down, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner

27. Ty Dillon, four laps down

28. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

29. Joey Logano, four laps down

30. Tyler Reddick, 10 laps down

31. Kurt Busch, 12 laps down

32. Josh Bilicki, 19 laps down

33. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Brakes

34. Cody Ware – OUT, Dvp

35. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes

36. Austin Cindric – OUT, Dvp

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Darlington Raceway, the first of two series events at the venue in Darlington, South Carolina, on Sunday, May 8, which marks Mother’s Day and the sport’s annual Official Throwback weekend. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

May 2, 2022