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  • Trent Owens to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Trent Owens to call 300th Cup event as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Trent Owens, crew chief for Justin Haley and the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Owens will call his 300th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Davidson, North Carolina, and the nephew of seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty who made select starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Owens made his debut as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Texas Motor Speedway in April for Reed Sorenson and the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota Camry team that campaigned in select Cup events. By then, Owens was also in his fifth season as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Braun Racing. Throughout the 2010 season, the No. 32 entry qualified for six events and notched a season-best 29th-place result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July with Quebec’s Jacques Villenueve.

    Two years later, Owens made his lone appearance as a Cup Series crew chief at Daytona International Speedway in July for the 1988 NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who piloted the No. 50 Chevrolet Impala for Turner Motorsports to a 37th-place result after being involved in a late multi-car wreck.

    In 2014, Owens became a full-time Cup Series crew chief for the first time as he was paired with Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion team. The duo commenced the season with a wreck and a 39th-place result in the 56th running of the Daytona 500, but rallied three races later by posting a third-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. Another 14 races later, Owens and Almirola achieved their first career victory in the Cup Series in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July. The victory occurred on the 30th anniversary where Richard Petty notched his record-breaking 200th victory in NASCAR’s premier series and it marked the first win for Petty’s iconic No. 43 since April 1999. With the victory and a guaranteed spot in the 2014 Cup Playoffs, Owens and Almirola were one of four teams eliminated following the Round of 16 despite finishing as high as sixth during the round. They went on to conclude the season in 16th place in the final standings. 

    The following season, Owens, Almirola and the No. 43 RPM Ford team managed to record three top-five results, one extra than 2014, and six top-10 results, one less than 2014. Despite finishing in fourth place at Richmond Raceway in September, they missed the 2015 Cup Playoffs by 17 points and they went on to finish in 17th place in the final standings.

    Remaining as Almirola’s crew chief for the 2016 Cup season, Owens led the No. 43 team to six top-15 results and a season-best 12th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. Despite surpassing 100 Cup appearances as a crew chief, he was replaced by veteran Drew Blickensderfer for seven of the remaining eight scheduled events.

    The 2017 Cup season marked a new beginning for Owens, who joined JTG-Daugherty Racing as a crew chief for Chris Buescher and the No. 37 Chevrolet SS team. The team’s best results were a pair of sixth-place results at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Kansas Speedway in October. To go along with an additional two top-10 results, Owens guided Buescher to a 25th-place result in the final standings.

    In 2018, Owens and Buescher commenced the season on a strong note by finishing in fifth place in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The remaining 25 regular season events, however, were a struggle for the duo as they managed an additional fifth-place result at Daytona in July and were unable to make the 2018 Cup Playoffs. Following the first Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, JTG-Daugherty Racing swapped the crew chiefs of the team’s two-car lineup that resulted with Owens paired with AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team while Tristan Smith joined forces with Buescher. During the final nine scheduled events, Owens and Allmendinger achieved two top-10 results as the No. 47 team finished in 22nd place in the final standings, two spots ahead of Buescher. 

    In 2019, Owens, who remained at JTG-Daugherty Racing for a third consecutive season, reunited with Buescher as he returned atop the pit box of the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team. Like the previous two seasons, however, the duo struggled with consistency as they only achieved four top-10 results, including a sixth-place result in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, before settling in 25th place in the final standings. By then, Owens surpassed 200 appearances as a Cup crew chief.

    The following season, Owens, who remained at JTG-Daugherty Racing for a fourth consecutive season, was paired with Ryan Preece, who took over the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to make room for the team’s newest competitor, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the No. 47 Chevrolet. Appearing in all but one of the 36-race schedule, Owens and Preece recorded two top-10 results and a season-best result of ninth place at Bristol Motor Speedway Night Race in September before falling back to 29th place in the final standings.

    Owens, Preece and the No. 37 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet team entered the 2021 Cup season without a charter that would guarantee them a spot in every event of the new season. Despite this, they qualified for the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, where Preece finished sixth despite being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap. Preece then backed it up by finishing ninth at the Daytona Road Course. Overall, Owens and Preece recorded two additional top-10 results and a season-best fourth-place result at Daytona in August. Despite earning a starting spot for every scheduled event, they ended up in 27th place in the final standings.

    A month prior to the 2022 Cup Series season, Owens was named crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team that was set to campaign on a full-time basis with Justin Haley serving as the driver. Owens’ first campaign with Haley and Kaulig Racing started off on a rough note when Haley, who was running towards the front, was eliminated in a late accident during the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February. Two weeks later, Owens was suspended for four races after Haley’s No. 31 Chevrolet lost a right-front tire during the early stages of the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Despite Kaulig’s attempts to appeal the suspension, which kept Owens atop the No. 31 pit box for the following three events in the West Coast, the suspension was ultimately upheld in late March as Owens was absent from Atlanta Motor Speedway in March through Martinsville Speedway in April.

    A month later and following a stellar third-place run with Haley at Darlington Raceway, Owens was issued another four-race suspension after the No. 31 Chevrolet lost a left-rear tire upon exiting his pit stall during an early caution period at Kansas Speedway. Since returning atop the No. 31 pit box at Nashville Superspeedway in late June, Owens and Haley are coming off a strong seventh-place run at Atlanta. With two top-10 results during the first 19 scheduled events, the duo are ranked in 22nd place in the drivers’ standings as they trail the top-16 cutline to make the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs by 149 points.

    Through 299 previous Cup appearances, Owens has achieved one victory, nine top-five results and 33 top-10 results while working with 10 different competitors.

    Owens is scheduled to call his 300th Cup Series career event as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 17, with the event’s coverage to commence as 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allmendinger survives to win the inaugural Xfinity Series event at Portland

    Allmendinger survives to win the inaugural Xfinity Series event at Portland

    From last place to Victory Lane, AJ Allmendinger persevered over a four-lap shootout and a battle with Myatt Snider to win the inaugural Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, June 4.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led twice for a total of six of 75 laps and rallied from going off the course and making an unscheduled pit stop to clean his grille, where he eventually lost a lap to the leaders and went off course a few more times throughout the event, to methodically carve his way back to the front and place himself in late contention for the win while a majority of the field endured a series of on-track carnages around the 12-turn circuit amid wet conditions. Then during a four-lap restart to the finish, Allmendinger battled, bumped and overtook Snider to take the lead as he went on to grab the wildest victory of his racing career.

    Following a rain-shortened on-track qualifying session on Friday, Anthony Alfredo notched his first career pole position after notching a pole-winning lap at 93.229 mph in 76.071 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Austin Hill, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 92.973 mph in 76.280 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following competitors that included Ryan Vargas, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Darren Dilley, Ryan Sieg and Mason Filippi dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. In addition, Noah Gragson started at the rear of the field after wrecking his primary car during Friday’s practice session along with Josh Williams, who missed the driver introductions.

    When the green flag waved and the race started amid wet conditions, Daniel Hemric made a three-wide move on both Alfredo and Hill to assume the lead through the first two turns. Through the first two turns, however, Alfredo and Hill missed the turn and went off the course while Sam Mayer was turned and spun as the field stacked up. As the field continued to run under green, AJ Allmendinger, who went off the course while coming to the green flag and got grass over his grille, made an unscheduled pit stop.

    Following the completion of the first lap and through the 12-turn circuit amid the wet conditions, Creed, who overtook Alfredo for the lead, led the first lap followed by Gibbs and Hemric while Alfredo and Hill were in the top five. Connor Mosack, who was making his Xfinity Series debut in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra, was in sixth followed by Brett Moffitt, Riley Herbst, Jeremy Clements and Justin Allgaier.

    During the second lap, Gibbs, who battled Creed throughout the circuit, moved into the lead, where he went on to lead the lap, while Hemric, Hill and Moffitt were in the top five. By then, Allmendinger went off the course in Turn 5 as he lost more ground to the leaders.

    Two laps later, Justin Allgaier spun and went off the course in Turn 5 while running in the top 10, though the race continued to run under green.

    By the fifth lap, Gibbs continued to lead by nearly four seconds over Creed followed by Hill, Moffitt and Hemric while Connor Mosack. Riley Herbst, Jeb Burton, Alfredo and Parker Chase were scored in the top 10.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs remained out in front by more than 12 seconds over Creed followed by Hill, Moffitt and Mosack. By then, Allmendinger was lapped by the field in 32nd place. In addition, Noah Gragson went off the course in Turn 5 while running in the top 15.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to Mayer slowing on the track as he sustained front-end damage after running into the rear of Alex Labbe due to Labbe reducing his pace while trying to avoid a spinning Brandon Jones. The damage was enough to end Mayer’s event on pit road and with a damaged race car.

    When the race restarted on Lap 16, Gibbs rubbed and fended off Creed and Hill to retain the lead through the first two turns. As the field made their way back to the start/finish line, Gibbs was ahead by two seconds over Creed followed by Hill, Moffitt and Riley Herbst while Mosack, Hemric, Cassill, Jeb Burton and Alex Labbe were in the top 10.

    During the following lap, Creed went off course and spun in Turn 4 as he dropped out of the top 10 while Hill, Herbst, Connor Mosack and Hemric moved up the leaderboard behind Gibbs.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Gibbs extended his advantage to more than 10 seconds over Hill while Herbst, Mosack and Hemric remained in the top five. By then, Brandon Jones and Gragson missed the chicane and served a brief “stop and go” penalty on the course before continuing under green.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 25, Gibbs claimed his third stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Hill settled in second followed by Mosack, Hemric, Moffitt, Alex Labbe, Gragson, Cassill, Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier. By then, the on-track carnages under the slick conditions continued as Allgaier, Riley Herbst and Allmendinger had slipped off the course earlier.

    During the stage break, the competitors pitted and the crew members were given three minutes to service the cars with the competitors maintaining their positions from the first stage.

    The second stage started on Lap 26 as Gibbs retained the lead ahead of Hill, Mosack and the field. Through Turns 3 and 4, however, chaos ensued when Riley Herbst got turned by Creed as he was then hit by Gray Gaulding. With Matt Jackal and Darren Dilley also involved, the caution returned.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 31, Gibbs maintained the lead ahead of Hill and Connor Mosack as the field made their way through the first two turns before entering Turns 3 and 4. During the following lap, Hill missed the chicane while running in third place. In the process, Clements went off the course in Turn 4 while Ryan Sieg spun on the course. 

    As the on-track carnage continued with Labbe, Hemric and Moffitt all going off the course in their separate incidents, the caution flew due to mud between Turns 11 and 12 on Lap 39. At the same time, Jesse Iwuji was parked for two laps in his pit stall after turning the leader Gibbs on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 43, another stack-up towards the front resulted with Brandon Jones getting hit and spinning in Turn 1 while Gragson challenged and overtook Gibbs to lead. Then in Turn 5, Gibbs bumped into, and turned, Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro in Turn 5 as Creed took the lead. Shortly after, however, Creed and Gibbs got together in Turn 12 and spun while battling for the lead as the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet Camaro piloted by road-course ringer Andy Lally emerged with the lead. 

    By Lap 45, Clements spun in Turn 11 and Moffitt spun while running in the runner-up spot as Lally continued to lead. Two laps later, however, Myatt Snider moved into the lead over Lally. In the midst of the battle for the lead, Allmendinger and Jeb Burton each went off the course.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 50, Snider claimed his first Xfinity stage victory of the season. Lally settled in second followed by Hill, Cassill, Berry, Alfredo, Allgaier, Allmendinger, Creed and Jade Buford.

    Following another intermission, the final stage started with 23 laps remaining. At the start and as the field fanned out through the first three turns, Snider maintained the lead ahead of Lally while Cassill, Hill and Alfredo were in the top five. It did not take long, however, for the caution to return due to debris spotted in Turn 1. 

    Three laps later, the race restarted under green as Snider retained the lead ahead of Lally, Cassill and Allmendinger. Through the first turn, however, a number of competitors that included Creed, Jeb Burton, Labbe, Hemric, Brandon Jones and Spencer Pumpelly all spun and wrecked despite the race proceeding under green. In the midst of the carnage, the caution returned due to fluid on the course. During the caution period, Creed, whose No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro sustained heavy front nose damage, made an obscene gesture towards Jade Buford to express his displeasure over being bumped and turned by Buford during the previous restart.

    Down to the final 13 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Snider overshot the first turn as Allmendinger assumed command followed by Allgaier before Snider fought back entering Turn 3. Behind, Moffitt got turned sideways through Turns 3 and 4 as Mosack, Spencer Pumpelly, Bayley Currey and pole-sitter Anthony Alfredo were all sent sideways with damage to their respective cars. The caution soon followed due to the carnage between Turns 3 and 4. By then, the rain was also slowly returning near the circuit. 

    Under the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Allmendinger pitted for rain tires while Jade Buford and JJ Yeley remained on the track.

    Down to the final seven laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start and as the field fanned out to multiple lanes, Allgaier, Cassill and Lally spun with Gibbs and Stefan Parsons sustaining damage while Snider and Allmendinger dueled for the lead. Just as Snider fended off Allmendinger to retain the lead, the caution flew yet again due to debris on the course. By then, the rain had dissipated.

    With four laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Snider fended off Allmendinger to lead through the first three turns as the field jostled for positions. Not long after, however, Allmendinger, who was in last place prior to the first lap, emerged with the top spot with Berry, Hill and Hemric in the top five. Behind, Ryan Sieg spun while the race continued to run under green flag conditions.

    During the following lap, Allmendinger was ahead by seven-tenths of a second over Snider followed by Berry, Hill and Hemric while Yeley, Gibbs, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Gragson were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger continued to lead by a second-and-a-half over Snider. With Snider unable to narrow the deficit between himself and the leader, Allmendinger navigated his way through the 12-turn circuit smoothly and cycled his way back to the finish line to grab the first checkered flag and conquer the first Xfinity event in Portland, Oregon.

    With the victory, Allmendinger notched his third consecutive road course victory in the Xfinity circuit, his eighth overall in the series, his second of the season after winning at Circuit of the Americas in March and the 12th of his career in his 74th series start. He also became the fourth Xfinity Series regular to achieve multiple victories in 2022.

    “Oh my god,” Allmendinger, who is pulling double-duty service for Kaulig Racing and is set to compete in Sunday’s Cup Series event at Gateway, said on FS1. “All the men and women at Kaulig Racing deserve that. I was awful. I cannot believe I crashed before we went green. I was off the race track, I think, four times. [I] Made all kinds of mistakes, was all over the place. Just proud of everybody on this Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy.

    “I was melting down in the car, honestly, making so many mistakes, trying so hard. I put so much pressure on myself at these races because I know what everybody expects. I know what I expect out of myself more importantly, but god, what a win. It might be one of the craziest wins I’ve ever had. Most mistakes ever to win a race, for sure, but all the fans at Portland for staying out here. This place is packed. Sixteen years ago, I won, this month, my first Champ Car race and it’s surreal that I get to do this…In these conditions, I knew that if I could get to the lead, I could kind of dictate it. I was fighting hard there, but Myatt [Snider] did a great job. He’s always fast on these road courses. Fun racing, just insanity, but thank everybody at Chevy that allows us to do this. Thank you, everybody.”

    Snider notched his first top-five result of the season by finishing in second place followed by Austin Hill while Berry and Allgaier finished in the top five.

    “I think, just AJ’s experience [beat me],” Snider said. “I could tell he was setting up those exits better than I was. Everywhere else, we were neck-to-neck. To me, that’s good hard racing. It’s not like he dumped me for no reason or spun me out or anything. He just got into me a little bit and all those restarts were extremely rough. For him to just kind of rub my door a little bit, that’s racing to me. It’s what this Xfinity Series is all about. It’s so cool to be disappointed with second. The team that’s only a year and a half old and to get a stage win, it’s the first stage win, probably, first top three [finish] with this car. Just can’t say enough about the boys from Jordan Anderson Racing. It’s a great day to be disappointed with second, but still disappointed.”

    Hemric, Gibbs, Yeley, Gragson and Alex Labbe completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 26 laps. A total of 21 of the 38 starters finished on the lead lap in the first Xfinity event at Portland.

    With 12 races remaining of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 43 points over Ty Gibbs, 44 over Noah Gragson and 64 over Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier.

    Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, 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, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline by 58 points, Jeb Burton trails by 67, Brett Moffit trails by 71, Brandon Brown trails by 72 and Sheldon Creed trails by 73.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, six laps led

    2. Myatt Snider, 19 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Austin Hill

    4. Josh Berry

    5. Justin Allgaier

    6. Daniel Hemric

    7. Ty Gibbs, 42 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. JJ Yeley

    9. Noah Gragson

    10. Alex Labbe

    11. Brandon Jones

    12. Brandon Brown

    13. Scott Heckert

    14. Jade Buford, four laps led

    15. Landon Cassill

    16. Ryan Sieg

    17. Andy Lally, three laps led

    18. Matt Jaskol

    19. Patrick Emerling

    20. Brett Moffitt

    21. Joe Graf Jr.

    22. Josh Williams, one lap down

    23. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    24. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

    25. Mason Filippi, three laps down

    26. Jesse Iwuji, four laps down

    27. Parker Chase – OUT, Accident

    28. Connor Mosack – OUT, Accident

    29. Spencer Pumpelly – OUT, Accident

    30. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    31. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

    32. Sheldon Creed – OUT, one lap led

    33. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

    34. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident

    35. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

    36. Gray Gaulding – OUT, Accident

    37. Darren Dilley – OUT, Accident

    38. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will be taking a two-week break period before returning to action at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, which will mark the network’s debut airing NASCAR Xfinity events.

  • Alex Yontz to call 100th Xfinity event as crew chief at Darlington

    Alex Yontz to call 100th Xfinity event as crew chief at Darlington

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Alex Yontz, crew chief for Daniel Hemric and the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, Yontz will call his 100th career event in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Yontz, who grew up competing in go-karts and made starts in legend cars, late models, the ASA National Series, the ARCA Menards and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief for the 2019 Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. Serving as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s part-time entry, the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro, that was first piloted by Ross Chastain, Yontz led Chastain to a stage victory and a 13th-place result to commence the season. 

    Through the first 15 events of the season, Yontz and Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet team appeared in seven. The North Carolina native also appeared as a crew chief for Justin Haley and the No. 11 Chevrolet team at Michigan International Speedway in June. During the eight-race span, Yontz’s best performances were a fourth-place run with Austin Dillon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and an eighth-place result with Chastain at Chicagoland Speedway in June. 

    When NASCAR returned at Daytona in July, Kaulig Racing expanded to a three-car effort as Yontz served as crew chief for the team’s newly formed No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry piloted by Chastain. During the event, Chastain led teammates Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger to a 1-2-3 finish (though Allmendinger was later disqualified for failing post-race inspection) as both Yontz and Kaulig Racing achieved their first victories in NASCAR while Chastain earned his second Xfinity victory. 

    In late July at Iowa Speedway, Yontz expanded his crew chief responsibilities by working atop the Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet team piloted by Haley after veteran Nick Harrison, who started the season as Haley’s crew chief, died unexpectedly a week earlier. Transitioning between Kaulig Racing’s Nos. 10 and 11 teams for the final 15 events of the season, Yontz’s best on-track results were a third-place result with Allmendinger at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, a fifth-place result with Haley at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September and a fourth-place result with Haley at Dover International Speedway in October during the Playoffs. Yontz also served as Haley’s crew chief during Haley’s contention in the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs, where he was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12 and finished in 12th place in the final standings.

    In 2020, Yontz took over as a full-time crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team piloted by Haley. Through the first 10 scheduled events, Haley and Yontz earned six results inside the top 10. Then at Talladega Superspeedway in June, Yontz achieved his second career victory in NASCAR after Haley received drafting help from teammates Chastain and Allmendinger to beat Jeb Burton and claim his first Xfinity Series career victory. Eleven races later, Haley and Yontz achieved a second victory of 2020 at Daytona after dodging a final lap incident involving teammates Chastain and Allmendinger. Entering the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs as a dark horse candidate, Haley and Yontz achieved their third victory of the season at Talladega in October and transferred from the Round of 12 to 8. The combo were able to reach the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November after earning three consecutive top-12 finishes during the Round of 8. During the finale, however, Haley finished eighth on the track and in third place in the final standings. Nonetheless, the third-place result marked Kaulig Racing’s best points result in the team’s history.

    Remaining as Haley’s crew chief in 2021, Yontz led the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team to 14 top-10 results during the first 22 scheduled events. At Dover International Speedway in May, Yontz worked with Zane Smith, a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor for GMS Racing who filled in for Haley after Haley entered COVID-19 protocols. Following an up-and-down stretch throughout the regular season, Haley and Yontz achieved their first victories of the season at Daytona in August after Haley edged teammate Allmendinger in a photo finish. The Daytona victory guaranteed the No. 11 team a spot in the 2021 Xfinity Playoffs. After capping off the regular season stretch with three consecutive top-10 results, Haley and Yontz posted another trio of top-10 results to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8. Despite finishing seventh at Texas Motor Speedway and fourth at Kansas Speedway in October, their hopes of reaching the Championship Round for a second consecutive season evaporated due to brake issues at Martinsville Speedway in October. Ultimately, they concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings.

    Yontz remained as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team for the 2022 Xfinity Series season. While Haley graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series, Yontz was paired with Daniel Hemric, who was coming off the 2021 Xfinity Series title with Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 10 Xfinity events of the season, Yontz and Hemric have achieved three results in the top 10 with their best result being third place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. They are ranked in 12th place in the drivers’ standings.

    Through 99 previous starts, Yontz has achieved five victories, two poles, 24 top-five results and 58 top-10 results while working with six different competitors.

    Yontz is scheduled to call his 100th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, May 7, with the event’s coverage to start at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Allmendinger grabs a dominant Xfinity victory at COTA

    Allmendinger grabs a dominant Xfinity victory at COTA

    After finishing in the top 10 through the first six scheduled NASCAR Xfinity Series events, AJ Allmendinger broke through the win column for the first time in 2022 after claiming a dominant victory in the Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, March 26.

    The 40-year-old veteran from Los Gatos, California, led for the first time on the fourth lap and went on to lead twice for a race-high 27 of 46-scheduled laps, including the final 14, to muscle away from rookie Austin Hill and the field to become the fifth different winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season and the fourth Xfinity regular through the first six scheduled events.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, Ty Gibbs, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 91.258 mph. Joining him on the front row was Ross Chastain, who was piloting the No. 92 TicketSmarter Chevrolet Camaro for DGM Racing.

    Prior to the event, Brett Moffitt, Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones, Will Rodgers, Ryan Sieg, Josh Bilicki, JJ Yeley and Brandon Brown dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Gibbs launched ahead briefly until Chastain assumed the top spot entering a series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10) while the field scrambled and fanned out behind. In the midst of the early racing, driver Patrick Gallagher was penalized for a restart violation. 

    Through the 3.41-mile, 20-turn circuit, Chastain led the first lap ahead of Gibbs while AJ Allmendinger, Cole Custer and Alex Labbe were in the top five. Rookie Sheldon Creed was in sixth ahead of Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Hemric. Behind, teammates Josh Berry and Miguel Paludo made contact in Turn 14, which resulted with Paludo spinning with Sage Karam and Berry sustaining front nose damage to his No. 8 PUGB Mobile Chevrolet Camaro.

    By the second lap, Chastain was ahead by nearly a second over Gibbs follows by Allmendinger, Custer and Labbe. Meanwhile, Stefan Parsons spun in Turn 6, but proceeded as the race remained under green.

    On the third lap, Allmendinger overtook Gibbs and Chastain through Turns 13 and 14 to assume the lead for the first time. Not long after, trouble ensued in Turn 12 when Justin Allgaier spun following contact with teammate Gragson.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly half a second over Gibbs followed by Chastain, Custer and Labbe while Creed, Wallace, Hemric, rookie Austin Hill and Gragson were in the top 10. Sam Mayer was in 11th ahead of Jade Buford, Preston Padres, Parker Kligerman and Allgaier while Jeb Burton, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Chase, Myatt Snider and Jeremy Clements were in the top 20. Brandon Jones was in 21st, Riley Herbst was in 23rd ahead of Landon Cassill and Brett Moffitt. Following his early incident, Miguel Paludo was in 32nd ahead of Brandon Brown while Josh Berry was mired in 38th, dead last.

    A few laps later, an early battle for the lead ensued as Gibbs pressured Allmendinger to take the lead while Chastain and Custer settled in third and fourth. By the seventh lap, Gibbs rocketed his No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Supra to the lead in Turn 1, but Allmendinger was quick to reassume the lead in his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro while Chastain and Custer started to gain ground on the two leaders.

    By Lap 10, Allmendinger continued to lead by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Gibbs while third-place Custer trailed by more than a second. Chastain trailed in fourth place by four seconds while Labbe and Wallace trailed by more than 10 seconds.

    A few laps later and with pit stops under green flag ensuing, Gibbs pitted along with Custer and Chastain while Allmendinger remained on the track and retained the lead. By then, Wallace, Hill, Mayer, Brandon Jones, Cassill, Jeb Burton and Creed had pitted.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 14, Allmendinger collected his second stage victory of the season. Labbe was scored in second ahead of Hemric, Kligerman, Allgaier, Preston Padres, Jade Buford, Parker Chase, Clements and Gibbs. By then, NASCAR reported possible fluid in Turn 12 that was coming off of Bayley Currey’s car.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 17. At the start, Chastain battled and bumped Gibbs through the first turn, forcing Gibbs wide, to take the lead followed by Sam Mayer and Bubba Wallace while Gibbs fell back to fourth ahead of Custer. 

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Chastain was out in front by nearly a second over Wallace while Gibbs and Custer battled for third. Mayer, who was running towards the front, slipped back to fifth place after missing a gear ahead of teammate Gragson, Hill, Jeb Burton, Creed and Cassill while Allmendinger was in 11th. 

    Through the first 20 laps of the event, Chastain continued to lead by more than two seconds over Wallace follows by Custer, Mayer and Gragson. Allmendinger was up in sixth followed by Creed, Hill, Cassill and Hemric while Jeb Burton, Labbe, Brandon Jones, Allgaier, Buford, Kligerman, Brett Moffitt, Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown and Clements were in the top 20. By then, Gibbs, who had fallen back to sixth place, pitted under green due to a flat right-front tire and a broken valve stem on his No. 54 Toyota. Paludo was in 21st, Berry was in 25th, Herbst was mired in 27th and Snider was in 29th behind Ryan Sieg.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 23, Chastain was leading by more than three seconds over Custer while Wallace trailed in third place by more than four seconds. Mayer was back in fourth ahead of Allmendinger while Gragson, Hill, Creed, Hemric and Labbe were in the top 10. Way behind the leaders, Karam spun in Turns 15 and 16.

    Nearing the Lap 30 mark, another round of pit stops under green struck as Allmendinger pitted along with Wallace, Hill, Hemric, Labbe, Jeb Burton, Cassill, Brandon Jones, Clements, Kligerman, Paludo, Preston Pardus, Parker Chase, Sieg, Parsons, Snider, Alfredo, Brown, Gibbs and Creed while Chastain continued to lead ahead of Custer. By then, Gragson and Josh Bilicki also pitted while Patrick Gallagher spun in Turn 9. Not long after, Chastain pitted along with Custer while Sam Mayer cycled into the lead. Following the pit stops, Preston Pardus, Parker Chase and Custer were penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 30, Mayer captured his first stage victory of this year’s Xfinity season. Buford settled in second followed by Allgaier, Berry, Herbst, Custer, Sage Karam, Chastain, Allmendinger, Gragson and Scott Heckert.

    Under the stage break, some led by Mayer pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. During the pit stops, Wallace pitted again to address a shifter issue to his No. 18 Dr. Pepper Toyota Supra.

    With 14 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Chastain squeaked ahead entering the first turn, but Allmendinger was able to keep his car alongside Chastain’s before Allmendinger moved into the lead entering a series of left and right-hand turns (Turns 3 through Turn 10). As the field scrambled and fanned out behind, Chastain and Allmendinger battled hard for the lead entering Turn 12 while Gragson started to close in on the two leaders. 

    Not long after, however, the caution returned due to debris reported in Turn 9. In addition, Berry and Josh Bilicki spun in Turn 20. 

    Down to the final 11 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start and going up the include prior to the first turn, Allmendinger retained the lead while Gragson muscled his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro alongside Chastain in a brief battle for second before the latter prevailed. 

    Through the series of turns from Turns 3 to 10, the left-hand turn in Turn 11 and the long straightaway prior to Turn 12, Allmendinger continued to lead ahead of Chastain. Behind, Austin Hill overtook Gragson for third place in Turn 16 as Allmendinger continued to lead through a series of turns from Turn 17 to 20 and back to the start/finish line with 10 laps remaining. 

    Then with nine laps remaining, the caution flew due to debris on the backstretch. By then, Brandon Jones sustained right-rear damage to his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra while Stefan Parsons also sustained damage to the right side of his car. Under caution, some like Gibbs, Hemric and Wallace pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allmendinger maintained the lead following a push by Austin Hill while Chastain got bumped and turned by Cassill in Turn 1. With the field scattering to avoid Chastain, Allmendinger was clear out in front followed by Hill, Gragson, Clements, Jeb Burton and Custer.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line for the final five laps, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a second over Hill while Clements challenged Gragson for third place. Jeb Burton settled in fifth ahead of Custer, Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Snider and Buford. Chastain, meanwhile, was all the way back in 31st place.

    Then with three laps remaining, both Jeb Burton and Clements were penalized for having their respective cars running off the course with all four tires near the esses. With both Burton and Clements having to drive through pit road to serve their penalty, Allmendinger continued to lead by a stable margin over Hill while Custer moved up to third place followed by Gragson and Snider.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained in the lead by nearly three seconds over Hill and more than 10 seconds over Custer. With no close competition lurking behind, Allmendinger was able to smoothly navigate his No. 16 Chevrolet through the 20-turn circuit for a final time as he made his way through the final straightaway and streaked across the finish line to claim his first checkered flag of the 2022 season.

    With his first victory at Circuit of the Americas, Allmendinger notched his seventh win on a road course and his 11th overall in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In addition, he recorded the first victory of the season for Kaulig Racing.

    “Man, I was hard on myself yesterday,” Allmendinger said on FS1. “I was not happy with where I put ourselves, the setup that I made for us. This Nutrien Ag Chevy was really good. It was hard to drive. I had to drive it a certain way. Honestly, it’s all these men and women here at Kaulig Racing between the Cup side of it and the Xfinity side to it. They don’t sleep during the week. They’re busting their tails and that’s why I’m so frickin hard on myself sometimes ‘cause they deserve to win more than anybody here, and I just wanna do it for them. So thankfully, we got one done today.”

    Austin Hill finished in second place for the second consecutive week followed by Cole Custer while teammates Gragson and Mayer finished in the top five. 

    “All in all, it was a solid effort for our Global [Industrial] Chevy Camaro,” Hill said. “[Crew chief] Andy [Street] and all the guys at the shop, they did a heck of a job building this piece and bringing it here. I’ve always felt like I could get around road courses. I felt like I proved it last year in the Trucks [Series], winning at Watkins Glen. It just kind of built the confidence, the momentum going forward to this year when we come to road courses that we could get the job done. I guess AJ was just a little bit better than I was ‘cause I felt like we had a really good car. There was certain spots that I thought he was a little better than us, but it just shows that we can run with AJ. Maybe just make the car a little bit better and I think personally as a driver, I need to work on a few things ‘cause he was just doing some things a little bit better than I was inside the cockpit, so we’ll go back, debrief and look it over and just see where I can be better as a driver on these road courses…We’ll go get the job done next time.”

    With their top-five results, Allmendinger, Hill, Gragson and Mayer have qualified for the first Dash 4 Cash event at Richmond Raceway scheduled for next Saturday.

    Myatt Snider, Brett Moffitt, Jade Buford, Miguel Paludo and Sheldon Creed finished in the top 10. Notably, Ty Gibbs finished 15th, Chastain settled in 17th following his late spin, Jeb Burton and Clements fell back to 23rd and 24th, Hemric ended up 25th ahead of Herbst and Berry, Wallace came home in 28th and Allgaier finished 33rd.

    There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured four cautions for eight laps. In addition, 35 of the 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With his top-five result, Noah Gragson continues to lead the regular season standings by a single point over AJ Allmendinger, 31 over Ty Gibbs, 68 over Justin Allgaier and 77 over Josh Berry.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Austin Hill

    3. Cole Custer

    4. Noah Gragson

    5. Sam Mayer, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    6. Myatt Snider

    7. Brett Moffitt

    8. Jade Buford

    9. Miguel Paludo

    10. Sheldon Creed

    11. Ryan Sieg

    12. Parker Kligerman

    13. Anthony Alfredo

    14. Preston Pardus

    15. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    16. Sage Karam

    17. Ross Chastain, 14 laps led

    18. Brandon Jones

    19. Parker Chase

    20. Brandon Brown

    21. Stefan Parsons

    22. Patrick Gallagher

    23. Jeb Burton

    24. Jeremy Clements

    25. Daniel Hemric

    26. Riley Herbst

    27. Josh Berry

    28. Bubba Wallace

    29. JJ Yeley

    30. Ryan Vargas

    31. Landon Cassill

    32. Scott Heckert

    33. Justin Allgaier, one lap led

    34. Joe Graf Jr.

    35. Josh Bilicki

    36. Alex Labbe – OUT, Rear gear

    37. Will Rodgers, 12 laps down

    38. Bayley Currey – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ lone annual visit of this season to Richmond Raceway, where the first of four Dash 4 Cash events will occur. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, April 2, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Hemric set for Daytona 500 return with Kaulig Racing

    Hemric set for Daytona 500 return with Kaulig Racing

    Kaulig Racing took to social media to announce that Daniel Hemric will be driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway scheduled for February 20.

    Hemric, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is coming off his breakout season to date in NASCAR, where he drove the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra to the 2021 Xfinity Series championship and his first career victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series after edging the 2020 Xfinity champion Austin Cindric in a thrilling final lap battle at Phoenix Raceway. He also earned 15 top-five results and 21 top-10 results en route to the title as he became the first competitor to achieve a first victory and championship in the same event.

    This season, he is set to pilot Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor in a quest to defend his series championship. Alex Yontz will be remaining in the Xfinity circuit to serve as Hemric’s crew chief.

    In addition, Hemric will be serving as one of three competitors in Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 “all-star” entry throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season alongside fellow Xfinity competitors AJ Allmendinger and Noah Gragson. Matt Swiderski will be serving as crew chief for the No. 16 team that will be making its first appearance in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 6 with Allmendinger scheduled to compete.

    The No. 16 entry will be one of two full-time Cup entries for Kaulig Racing this upcoming season as Justin Haley will be driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on a full-time basis led by veteran crew chief Trent Owens.

    The 2022 Daytona 500 will mark Hemric’s second career start in NASCAR’s prestigious crown-jewel events to commence a new season of racing. He made his 500 debut in 2019 with Richard Childress Racing, where he finished 34th after being eliminated in a late multi-car incident. The season opener at Daytona will also mark Hemric’s first start in NASCAR’s premier series since the 2019 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Hemric finished 12th in RCR’s No. 8 entry and captured the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Kaulig Racing is coming off one of its successful seasons to date, where the team tallied nine victories in the Xfinity circuit made between AJ Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Justin Haley as Allmendinger made the Championship Round at Phoenix in November before settling in fourth place in the 2021 Xfinity drivers’ standings. In addition, the team achieved its first victory in the Cup Series with Allmendinger at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in August following an overtime, two-lap shootout.

    Hemric is scheduled to make his Daytona 500 return with Kaulig Racing at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 with the race scheduled to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Haley primed for 100th Xfinity career start at Martinsville

    Haley primed for 100th Xfinity career start at Martinsville

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Haley is set to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro will reach 200 career starts in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Winamac, Indiana, Haley made his Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway in June. By then, he was competing in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series for GMS Racing. Driving the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro for GMS, Haley started 13th and finished 12th in his Xfinity debut. 

    During his second series start at Daytona International Speedway in July, Haley completed a three-wide pass on Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler on the final straightaway on the final lap to cross the finish line in first place and score what would have been his first Xfinity career victory. Upon review of the finish, however, Haley was disqualified from the victory after he completed his winning pass below the double yellow lines, an out of bounds zone in superspeedway racing. The move dropped Haley to 18th place, the final car on the lead lap, while Larson was awarded the victory. 

    Haley’s third and final Xfinity start of 2018 occurred at Watkins Glen International August, where he finished 38th after being involved in an early accident with former NASCAR competitor Matt Tifft.

    Following a third-place result in the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series drivers’ standings, Haley joined Kaulig Racing as a full-time driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for the 2019 Xfinity Series season. In his first start with Kaulig Racing, which was the season-opening event at Daytona, Haley won the first stage and led a total of three laps before settling in 17th place. Since then, Haley went on to record four top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average result of 12.3 throughout the 33-race schedule. He made the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the first round as he settled in 12th place in the final standings. 

    Commencing the 2020 Xfinity season with a sixth-place result at Daytona, Haley achieved his first Xfinity Series career win at Talladega Superspeedway in June after receiving a push from teammates Ross Chastain and AJ Allmendinger to overtake future teammate Jeb Burton on the final lap. He went on to claim his second series career victory at Daytona in August after dodging a final lap accident involving teammates Allmendinger and Chastain. Qualifying for the Playoffs, Haley earned his third career victory at Talladega in October and joined Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only competitors to achieve three consecutive superspeedway victories in the Xfinity Series. Along with his victories, Haley earned enough consistent results to earn a spot in the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November with an opportunity to contend for his first NASCAR Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Haley finished eighth on the track and third in the final standings. Despite falling short on the title, the 2020 season was a superb season for Haley, who achieved his first three career victories along with 10 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.3. His third-place result in the final standings is the best to date for Kaulig Racing.

    Through the first 22 events of the 2021 Xfinity season, Haley and the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team earned three top-five results and 14 top-10 results. Despite being absent at Dover International Speedway in May due to COVID-19 protocols, the Indiana native remained in contention to make the Playoffs. Soon after, Haley solidified his spot in the Playoffs after edging teammate Allmendinger by 0.023 seconds to grab his fourth Xfinity career win at Daytona in August and first of the 2021 season.

    Since winning at Daytona and competing in the Playoffs, Haley has notched seven consecutive results in the top 10 and is one of eight competitors still vying for the 2021 Xfinity title in the Round of 8. With a fourth-place result in his most recent series start at Kansas Speedway in October, Haley is ranked in fifth place in the Playoff standings and is seven points below the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway in November and contend for his first NASCAR national touring series title.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Haley has notched four career victories, 22 top-five results, 64 top-10 results, 190 laps led, an average-finishing result of 11.3 and three Playoff appearances.

    Haley is set to make his 100th Xfinity Series career start at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 30, with the event scheduled to occur at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Haley wins a thrilling three-wide photo finish at Daytona

    Haley wins a thrilling three-wide photo finish at Daytona

    Saving their absolute best for the last, Kaulig Racing utilized teamwork to storm to another victory at Daytona International Speedway. On this occasion, Justin Haley edged teammate AJ Allmendinger by a nose and in a three-wide photo finish including their other teammate, Jeb Burton, to win the rain-postponed Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 28.

    The victory was Haley’s first of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, AJ Allmendinger, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Noah Gragson.

    The race started on Friday evening, August 27, and Allmendinger received a push from Justin Allgaier on the outside lane to jump to an early lead and lead the first lap ahead of Noah Gragson and a steaming pack of cars. He went on to lead the following two laps before Gragson peaked ahead during the fourth lap. Allmendinger, however, quickly snatched the lead back the following lap.

    By the ninth lap, Brandon Jones, who was the lead car on the inside lane, encountered early issues when he made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to overheating issues as a result of a piece of debris.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 15, Gragson, who reassumed the lead on Lap 14, was scored the leader ahead of Allmendinger and the field. Under the competition caution, some led by Gragson pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. By then, Jones retired due to his mechanical issue.

    Just as the field was set to restart, rain fell on the track and the field was brought to pit road as the race was red-flagged for a weather delay on Lap 19. Over an hour later, NASCAR declared that the race would be postponed to Saturday afternoon and run prior to the Cup event due to inclement weather continuing throughout Friday evening. At the time of, Allmendinger was leading ahead of Christopher Bell, Myatt Snider, Austin Cindric, Brett Moffitt, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, Jeremy Clements and Caesar Bacarella.

    When the race resumed under green on Lap 21 and on Saturday afternoon, Allmendinger jumped ahead with another strong start on the outside lane followed by Cindric, Haley and Bell while Snider mounted a charge on the inside lane.

    By Lap 25, Allmendinger continued to lead followed by teammate Haley while Cindric challenged as the lead car on the outside lane. Snider and Jeb Burton were in the top five followed by Bell, Michael Annett, Hemric, Allgaier and Moffitt.

    A lap later, the caution flew when a bump from Snider sent Cindric making hard contact into the outside wall in the frontstretch. The incident ignited a chain reaction wreck that involved Snider, rookie Sam Mayer, Hemric and Annett. The wreck was enough to knock Cindric, who won the Xfinity opener at Daytona in February, out of contention.

    With the caution period and cleanup surpassing the first stage’s conclusion on Lap 30, the first stage concluded under caution as Haley, who overtook teammate Allmendinger at the moment of caution, claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammates Allmendinger and Jeb Burton settled in second and third followed by Bell and Allgaier. Scored in the top 10 were Moffitt, Gragson, Bacarella, Brandon Brown and Harrison Burton.

    Under the stage break, everyone pitted except for Brandon Brown, Herbst, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Sieg and Jason White.

    The second stage started on Lap 33 and Herbst jumped ahead with the lead on the outside lane followed by Briscoe as the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstraightaway.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Brown mounted a challenge on the inside lane against Herbst for the lead. As the field continued to battle through Turns 2 and 3, the caution returned due to debris from Michael Annett’s car coming out in Turn 2.

    When the race restarted on Lap 39, Herbst jumped ahead with the lead on the inside lane before he moved up to the outside lane in front of Briscoe and a bevy of cars.

    Two laps later, the inside lane led by Brown mounted a charge for the lead through the tri-oval and entering the first turn. Herbst, however, was able to fight back through the backstraightaway and when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    By Lap 45, Brown took the lead followed by Allmendinger, Allgaier, Gragson, Jeb Burton and Sam Mayer while Herbst fell back to eighth alongside Harrison Burton. A lap later, though, Allmendinger muscled his way back into the lead followed by Allgaier, Gragson and Mayer while Brown got shuffled back to fifth.

    Three laps later, the caution returned due to debris coming off of Caesar Bacarella’s car in the frontstretch following contact from Blaine Perkins. Under caution, some including Allmendinger, Allgaier, Gragson, Mayer, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Haley, Sieg and Bell pitted while the rest led by Brown and Herbst remained on the track.

    With eight laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted. At the start, Brown rocketed with the lead followed by Herbst. Through the backstraightaway, though, the field fanned out to multiple lanes and caught Brown through Turns 3 and 4 as Sam Mayer made his way into the lead with drafting help from teammate Gragson.

    By Lap 54, all three Kaulig Racing competitors lined up on the inside lane resulted with Jeb Burton taking the lead ahead of teammates Allmendinger and Haley. They were then quickly pursued by three JR Motorsports competitors featuring Mayer, Gragson and Allgaier, respectively.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, the battle for the lead intensified as Jeb Burton continued to lead by a narrow margin over his Kaulig Racing teammates, a trio of JR Motorsports competitors and the field. By then, Brown pitted as the hood of his car went up.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Jeb Burton, who was blocking all comers through both lanes, managed to claim his first stage victory of the season. Teammates Allmendinger and Haley settled in second and third followed by Herbst and Bell. Gragson, Hemric, Allgaier, Briscoe and Mayer settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Jeb Burton pitted while the rest led by Bell and Gragson remained on the track.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Bell and Gragson battled dead even for the lead as the field fanned out to double lanes and in a pack behind the two leaders.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, the field settled in a long single-file lane as Gragson was leading followed by Bell, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Snider, Allgaier, Mayer, Herbst, Briscoe and Moffitt while Allmendinger and Haley were in 11th and 15th. By then, Hemric was back in 14th.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Colin Garrett spun and wrecked in Turn 4 as he ended up getting his car stuck in the tri-oval muddy grass. Colby Howard also spun to avoid Garrett.

    With 23 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Bell and Gragson battled dead even for the lead through the backstraightaway as the field fanned out to three lanes. 

    Back to the start/finish line, Bell was leading followed by Jeb Burton while Gragson fell back to fourth while battling Snider. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the majority of the field settled in a single-file line as Bell was leading followed by Jeb Burton, Gragson, Allgaier, Herbst, Allmendinger, Snider, Harrison Burton, Hemric, Haley and Mayer while Chase Briscoe was in 13th.

    A few laps later, the caution flew when Caesar Bacarella made contact with Jordan Anderson and hit the outside wall in the backstretch. While trying to straighten his car, Jade Buford and Matt Mills also wrecked to avoid Bacarella.

    Under caution, some including Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

    With 14 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Jeb Burton had drafting help from Gragson to take a narrow lead before Bell fought back on the outside lane.

    The following lap, Bell cleared the field with the lead followed by Allgaier and Allmendinger while the Burton cousins battled for fourth.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Bell continued to lead followed by Allgaier, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Haley, Hemric, Snider, JJ Yeley, Jason White and the field, all running in a single-file line. By then, Joe Graf Jr.’s car was smoking through the frontstretch, but the field continued to run under green as Graf took his car below the apron and out of the racing groove.

    With five laps remaining, Bell continued to lead, but a bevy of cars behind started to fan out to multiple lanes while challenging Bell for the lead. A lap later, Allmendinger stormed to the lead followed by teammates Jeb Burton and Haley while Allgaier also moved up, dropping Bell to fifth.

    A few laps later, all three Kaulig Racing competitors led by Jeb Burton were at the front followed by Bell, Harrison Burton, Allgaier and the field.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger was leading by a narrow margin over teammate Jeb Burton, Bell and the field. Through the backstretch, Jeb Burton peeked to the inside of teammate Allmendinger, who tried to block Burton, for the lead while Bell got shuffled out on the inside lane with no drafting help. In addition, Haley made his move to the outside of Allmendinger, thus placing all three Kaulig Racing competitors in a dead three-wide heat for the win in Turns 3 and 4.

    Entering the tri-oval and with the field fanning out to three lanes, Allmendinger peaked ahead with a push from Allgaier, but Haley started to gain a run on the outside lane as he had Hemric behind him. At the finish line, Haley managed to edge teammate Allmendinger by 0.023 seconds to grab the checkered flag and the win.

    Photo by Andrew Boyd for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    The victory guaranteed Haley a spot in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as he also captured his fourth career victory in the series. All four of Haley’s Xfinity victory have occurred on superspeedway venues (Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway). In addition, Kaulig Racing captured its third win at Daytona.

    “It’s just not been the best season,” Haley said on NBCSN. “It’s been really, really hard on this No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection team all year. We’ve had a lot of bad luck. I was trying to formulate the plan there and obviously, team orders, saw it out of there, they were so good. Hats off to Kaulig Racing. I think we got the teammate thing down. It’s just so special to win here at Daytona. It’s absolutely incredible. That was a close one and getting it to just beat out AJ. It always means a lot, too.”

    Allmendinger settled in second place while Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Hemric finished in the top five.

    “I mean, that was like the perfect photo shoot right there coming across the [finish] line for all the Kaulig Racing Chevys,” Allmendinger said. “Proud of my son, Justin Haley. He might be one of the best we’ve ever seen on superspeedway. Jeb [Burton] did a fantastic job. I was hanging on in the middle [lane] there. I thought we might get it, but proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. The Hyper Ice Chevy was good. I think we led the most laps as well. Finished second, all day, it seemed like, but just proud. It was fantastic.”

    “We led some [laps] today and going down the back, I think I led for a second,” Jeb Burton said. “AJ kind of slid up in front of me. I checked up and gave him a shot and then, I had to take the run. I looked and we were one, two and three, and I was thinking we were gonna come across the line like that, but [Allgaier] got me at the line. Really proud of Kaulig Racing. Thanks to Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for coming on board. We needed this and the Playoffs are coming, so we needed the momentum.”

    Bell settled in sixth followed by Gragson, Snider, Harrison Burton and Herbst.

    With their top-10 results, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Hemric and Harrison Burton have locked themselves into the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs based on points. Including six other competitors that are in based on winning throughout the regular-season stretch (Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider), there are four spots left vacant to the Playoffs with three regular-season races remaining to the schedule.

    There were 17 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 29 laps.

    With his runner-up result, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 17 points over Austin Cindric.

    Results.

    1. Justin Haley, five laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. AJ Allmendinger, 30 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Justin Allgaier

    4. Jeb Burton, eight laps led

    5. Daniel Hemric

    6. Christopher Bell, 23 laps led

    7. Noah Gragson, 16 laps led

    8. Myatt Snider

    9. Harrison Burton

    10. Riley Herbst, nine laps led

    11. Brett Moffitt

    12. Sam Mayer, one lap led

    13. JJ Yeley 

    14. David Starr

    15. Jason White

    16. Ryan Sieg

    17. Josh Williams

    18. Tommy Joe Martins

    19. Chase Briscoe

    20. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    21. Landon Cassill

    22. Jordan Anderson

    23. Blaine Perkins

    24. Jeremy Clements

    25. Mason Massey

    26. Colby Howard

    27. Ryan Vargas

    28. Jade Buford

    29. Tim Viens

    30. Michael Annett

    31. Alex Labbe

    32. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    33. Matt Mills, two laps down

    34. Brandon Brown, three laps down, nine laps led

    35. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    36. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

    37. Colin Garrett – OUT, Accident

    38. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Engine

    39. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    40. Brandon Jones – OUT, Engine

    With the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch nearing its conclusion, the series will next travel to Darlington, South Carolina, and compete at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, September 4, during Labor Day weekend. The event will occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Allmendinger survives three overtime attempts to win at Michigan

    Allmendinger survives three overtime attempts to win at Michigan

    Coming off a thrilling Cup victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, AJ Allmendinger extended his momentum in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The veteran competitor from Los Gatos, California, survived three overtime restarts and a late charge from Brandon Jones to win the New Holland 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 21.

    The victory was Allmendinger’s third of this year’s Xfinity season as he continues his pursuit for his first NASCAR championship.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric, winner of the previous Xfinity event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with AJ Allmendinger.

    Prior to the event, Josh Berry started at the rear of the field due to replacing Michael Annett in the event, with Annett being absent for the fourth time this season as he continues to recover from a leg surgery.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Cindric and Allmendinger battled dead even for the lead until Cindric got dead sideways in the first turn. As Allmendinger pulled ahead with the lead, Cindric got stuck in the middle lane with no cars behind him as a bevy of competitors went by him.

    Following the completion of the first lap, Allmendinger was leading ahead of teammate Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton and the field. The following lap, Allmendinger’s advantage over Gibbs stretched out to nearly two seconds.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Allmendinger was leading by nearly two seconds over Gibbs, with Cindric, Justin Haley and Noah Gragson settling in the top five. Harrison Burton was in sixth followed by Justin Allgaier, Myatt Snider, Brett Moffitt and Daniel Hemric.

    By Lap 10, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a second over Gibbs. While Cindric and Haley remained in the top five, Harrison Burton made his way into fifth place ahead of Gragson and Allgaier. Behind, Josh Berry was up in 21st behind Alex Labbe.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 15, Allmendinger remained as the leader over Gibbs and the field. Under the competition caution, some led by Tyler Reddick pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. During the pit stops, Reddick missed his pit box and returned the following lap. 

    The race restarted on Lap 20 and Allmendinger, the leader, had issues launching at the start, which forced Gibbs and Cindric to place Allmendinger in a four-wide battle for the top spot along with Haley. By the second turn, Cindric made his way into the lead followed by Gibbs while Allmendinger was back in third. Harrison Burton was in fourth ahead of teammate Hemric, Haley, Snider, Gragson and Allgaier.

    A lap later, the caution returned due to Caesar Bacarella wrecking in Turn 4. Under caution, names like Allgaier, Jeb Burton, Tommy Joe Maartins, Bubba Wallace, Brandon Brown and Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Allgaier was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Wallace was penalized for an over-the-wall-too-soon violation.

    When the race restarted with four laps remaining in the first stage, Cindric muscle ahead of the top spot to retain the lead through the first two turns while Gibbs challenged Snider for the runner-up spot. A lap later, both Gibbs and Allmendinger overtook Snider for second and third.

    While the field behind jostled for final opportunities of positions, Cindric cruised ahead to claim the first stage victory on Lap 30, which marked his ninth stage victory of the season. Gibbs settled in second followed by Allmendinger, Snider, Gragson, Hemric, Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones, Berry and Haley.

    Under the stage break, a majority led by Cindric pitted while the rest led by Jeb Burton remained on the track. During the pit stops, rookie Sam Mayer took his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to transmission issues.

    The second stage started on Lap 35 and Jeb Burton rocketed with the lead followed by Tyler Reddick and the field through the first two turns. Just then, the caution flew for a heavy multi-car wreck in Turn 2 that started when Snider slid up the track in Turn 2, made slight contact with Cindric and ran into Brandon Brown before spinning. In the ensuing chaos, Cindric, who was trying to dodge Snider, ran into Hemric and both spun into the outside wall, collecting Bubba Wallace and Brown. Haley and Joe Graf Jr. were also collected in the wreck. 

    Under caution, Snider was held two laps in his pit stall for improper fueling. By then, Hemric and Cindric, who was strong at the start of the race and was trying to continue, retired.

    Following an extensive caution period, the race restarted on Lap 45. At the start, Jeb Burton retained the lead while Allgaier and Allmendinger overtook Tyler Reddick for spots in the top three. 

    By Lap 54, Allmendinger returned to the lead after he overtook teammate Jeb Burton for the top spot. 

    Down to the final five laps of the second stage, Allmendinger was out in front by nearly a second over Gibbs with Allgaier in third while Jeb Burton was back in fourth ahead of his cousin, Harrison. 

    When the final lap of the second stage struck, Allmendinger continued to lead by nearly a second over Gibbs. With no comers closing in behind, Allmendinger came back around and claimed the second stage victory on Lap 60, thus achieving his eighth stage victory of the season. Gibbs settled in second followed by Harrison Burton, Allgaier, Jeb Burton, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Josh Berry, Brett Moffitt and Riley Herbst.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Allmendinger retained the lead after exiting pit road in first place ahead of Harrison Burton, Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Gragson. During the pit stops, Gibbs got blocked by Josh Williams in his pit box and fell from second to 10th.

    With 59 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Allmendinger launched ahead with the top spot on the outside lane through Turn 1 while Allgaier muscled his way into the runner-up spot ahead of cousins Jeb and Harrison Burton.

    While Allmendinger and Allgaier were running first and second, the Burton cousins occupied third and fourth while Josh Berry, who started at the rear of the field, made his way into the top five ahead of Brandon Jones, Gragson, Gibbs and Herbst. A few laps later, Berry muscled into fourth place ahead of Jeb Burton, who was also being intimidated by Brandon Jones for more.

    With 52 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Allgaier. By then, Harrison Burton made an unscheduled two-tire pit stop under green due to vibration concerns while Josh Berry moved up to third place.

    With 40 laps remaining of the event, Allmendinger was leading by a tenth of a second over Allgaier and four-tenths of a second over Berry, with the two JR Motorsports competitors closing and issuing a challenging on Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger for the top spot.

    Two laps later, Allgaier peaked ahead of Allmendinger through Turn 4 to lead for a lap before Allmendinger fought back through Turn 1. Then, when Allmendinger and Allgaier got stalled behind two lapped cars entering Turn 2, Berry zipped by both on the outside lane to take the lead.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Berry was leading by more than a second over teammate Allgaier. 

    Nearing the final 20 laps of the event, pit stops under green occurred as Gragson, who was running in the top 10, pitted. Soon after, Brett Moffitt pitted along with Gibbs, who was then penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Then, Berry and Allmendinger pitted while Allgaier remained on the track for three laps before pitting.

    With approximately 15 laps remaining, Jeb Burton, who had yet to pit, was leading followed by Riley Herbst. A few laps later, however, Burton ran out of fuel as his car was coasting below the banking in Turn 1. Soon after, Herbst also ran out of fuel, but he was able to nurse his car back to pit road and his pit stall while Allgaier reassumed the top spot followed by his hard-charging teammate, Berry.

    With 10 laps remaining, the caution flew when Jeb Burton stalled his car near the pit road entrance after he was unable to nurse his car back to his pit stall. At the time of caution, Allgaier, who was locked into a fierce battle with Berry, managed to retain the lead ahead of his teammate.

    Under caution, Allgaier surrendered the lead to pit while the rest led by Berry remained on the track. Along with Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Herbst, Jeremy Clements and Gibbs pitted.

    Down to the final four laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allmendinger muscled into the lead ahead of Brandon Jones and Berry. Then, the caution flew due to a two-car accident on the backstretch involving Bayley Currey and Jesse Little.

    With the race sent into overtime, the race restarted as Allmendinger and Berry filled in the front row. At the start, Allmendinger retained the lead. The race, however, was sent into another caution period and another overtime attempt when Mason Massey and Colby Howard wrecked.

    In the second overtime attempt, Allmendinger and Berry dueled for the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn. Then through Turns 1 and 2, while Berry slowly slid up the track, Gibbs got loose and hit the outside wall. While trying to straighten his car, Gibbs ended up spinning in the straightaway before making contact with the wall again, though he was dodged by the oncoming field. Gibbs’ spin was enough for NASCAR to draw the caution as the race was still not deemed official. At the time of caution, Allmendinger remained as the leader ahead of Brandon Jones, Berry, Gragson and Herbst. 

    In the third overtime attempt, Allmendinger received a push from Jones to pull ahead with the lead ahead of Gragson. While the field fanned out through the backstretch, Allmendinger slowly started to place a gap between himself and Jones. 

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger was leading by two-tenths of a second over Jones, with Gragson trailing by half a second. Despite a valiant final lap effort from Jones, Allmendinger was able to come back around, retain the top spot and streak across the finis line in first place to claim his third checkered flag of the season.

    The victory at the Irish Hills was Allmendinger’s third of this year’s Xfinity Series season and the eighth of his career, with the Xfinity Series making its return to Michigan International Speedway following a one-year absence. The race was also the 11th Xfinity career victory for Kaulig Racing, which achieved its first Cup career win last weekend at Indianapolis with Allmendinger.

    “Wow, what a hell of a six days. Oh my goodness,” Allmendinger, who led a race-high 70 laps, said on NBCSN. “This is what’s awesome, though, to have all the fans back. Indy, last weekend, was spectacular. Michigan, thank you. You, guys, make it fun. I’m more tired from the celebrations than I am from driving. When you’re restarting on the front row, the outside [lane] was the place to be. The problem is, you just got to hope you got pushed. Brandon Jones, thank you so much because he pushed me every time. Man, I can’t thank all the men and women at Kaulig Racing enough. I don’t wanna wake up from this dream.”

    Brandon Jones finished in the runner-up spot for his eighth top-five result of the season and following three DNFs in the previous four Xfinity races while Noah Gragson settled in third place for his eighth top-five result of the season.

    Berry, who led 24 laps, notched a strong fourth-place result as an interim competitor for Michael Annett while Harrison Burton finished in the top five for the eighth time this season. 

    Allgaier, Herbst, Moffitt, Jade Buford and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 10. Ty Gibbs, who was in position for a strong result following his late incident, came home in 13th.

    There were 13 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 43 laps. 

    Despite his early accident and retirement, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 35 points over AJ Allmendinger as the 2021 Xfinity Series regular-season stretch is four races away from being complete.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 70 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Brandon Jones

    3. Noah Gragson

    4. Josh Berry, 24 laps led

    5. Harrison Burton

    6. Justin Allgaier, nine laps led

    7. Riley Herbst

    8. Brett Moffitt

    9. Jade Buford

    10. Bubba Wallace

    11. Jeremy Clements

    12. Ryan Sieg

    13. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    14. Matt Mills

    15. Jordan Anderson, one lap down

    16. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

    17. Justin Haley, one lap down

    18. Josh Williams, one lap down

    19. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

    20. Colin Garrett, one lap down

    21. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

    22. David Starr, two laps down

    23. Jeffrey Earnhardt, two laps down

    24. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    25. Colby Howard, two laps down

    26. Landon Cassill, two laps down

    27. Gray Gaulding, two laps down

    28. Carson Ware, three laps down

    29. Jeb Burton, four laps down, 23 laps led

    30. Mason Massey – OUT, Accident

    31. Alex Labbe, 16 laps down

    32. Jesse Little – OUT, Accident

    33. Sam Mayer, 25 laps down

    34. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    35. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Dvp

    36. Myatt Snider – OUT, Dvp

    37. Austin Cindric – OUT, Dvp, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    38. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Dvp

    39. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    40. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second event of the season at Daytona International Speedway. The event will occur on Friday, August 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Allmendinger storms to historic Cup victory in the inaugural Indianapolis Road Course event

    Allmendinger storms to historic Cup victory in the inaugural Indianapolis Road Course event

    In a race highlighted with two red flag periods, late chaos and a number of top contenders being taken out of contention, AJ Allmendinger survived the carnage and stole the lead prior to the final lap to win the inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday, August 15.

    The victory, which marked the first NASCAR Cup Series event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, was the first for Kaulig Racing and the second for Allmendinger in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Qualifying occurred on Sunday, August 15, and William Byron achieved his second NASCAR Cup Series pole of the year with a pole-winning speed at 100.044 mph. Joining him on the front row was Chase Briscoe, a rookie Cup competitor who won last year’s Xfinity Indy road course event.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron pulled away from Briscoe and the field entering the first turn and leading through the first four turns. Through Turns 5 and 6, the infield backstretch, the left-hand turn in Turn 7, a series of turns through Turns 8, 9 and 10, and the final round of turns from 11 to 14, Byron rolled back to the frontstretch and led the first lap by half a second over Briscoe, with Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. running in the top five.

    The following lap and with the field continuing to jostle for positions, Briscoe took over the lead after passing Byron in Turn 7.

    Another two laps later, Truex pitted under green to have a tire rub and potential damage addressed on his car.

    By the fifth lap, Briscoe was leading by half a second over Byron while Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott and Larson continued to run in third and fourth. Daniel Suarez was up in fifth followed by AJ Allmendinger, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell and Cole Custer. By then, Tyler Reddick was in 11th ahead of Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Matt DiBenedetto and Denny Hamlin. Austin Cindric, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity event at Indianapolis, was in 16th in front of Austin Dillon, Christopher Bell, Kurt Busch and Corey LaJoie. Alex Bowman was in 22nd in front of Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace and Kevin Harvick. Brad Keselowski was mired back in 28th, Ryan Newman was in 21st and Truex was in 39th.

    Not long after, Cindric spun in Turn 1 after over-braking the turn, but the race proceeded under green.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Briscoe’s No. 14 High Point Ford Mustang continued to lead by nearly half a second over Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. By then, Aric Almirola pitted to have a tire rub and damage assessed to his car following an earlier on-track contact with Corey LaJoie.

    A few laps later, names like Logano, Ross Chastain, Custer, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Harvick, Bubba Wallace, LaJoie and Ryan Newman pitted under green. Shortly after, the leaders led by Briscoe pitted. 

    Back on the track, Tyler Reddick, who has not yet pitted, emerged as the leader after overtaking Michael McDowell in Turn 12. Despite being pressured by McDowell for a full lap around the 14-turn circuit, Reddick was able to cycle back to the start/finish line and claim the first stage victory on Lap 15 along with his second stage victory of this year’s Cup season. McDowell settled in second followed by Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Haley, Briscoe and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, some led by Reddick pitted while the rest led by Keselowski and Briscoe remained on the track. Then, disaster struck for Briscoe, who was penalized and forced to surrender a handful of spots for failing to maintain cautious pace under the stage break.

    The second stage started on Lap 19 with Keselowski and Elliott starting on the front row. At the start, Keselowski maintained the lead through the first four turns while Byron mounted a charge to the runner-up spot over teammate Elliott. In Turn 7, Byron attempted to overtake Keselowski for the lead, but he was stuck on the outside lane, which allowed Keselowski to remain as the leader. Soon after, Elliott made his way into the runner-up spot in Turn 12. 

    When the field returned to the start/finish line and the frontstretch, Elliott peaked and overtook Keselowski for the lead. Through the infield backstretch, Byron dropped all the way back to ninth after he fell off the pace.

    Through Lap 22 and while the field continued to jostle for positions, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Logano while Larson, Kyle Busch and Cole Custer were in the top five. Byron was in sixth while Briscoe and Keselowski battled for seventh. Suarez and Blaney were in the top 10 ahead of Allmendinger, Hamlin and the field.

    In Turn 12, Bell and DiBenedetto made contact against one another when DiBenedetto slipped into the grass and Bell, who also slipped, made contact with him through the turn. The following lap, Chastain spun in Turn 1 while battling Hamlin for position. In the midst of the on-track chaos, Kurt Busch pitted under green.

    By Lap 25, Elliott extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Larson while Logano, Kyle Busch and Custer continued to run in the top five. By then, Byron and Briscoe were up in sixth and seventh while Keselowski, who had fallen back to 18th, pitted under green after making contact with the wall in Turn 11 and sustaining significant damage to the rear of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. Soon after, Logano spun and went off course in Turn 7 after he ran into the rear of Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE as he dropped from third to 10th.

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Larson while Kyle Busch, Custer and Byron were in the top five. Briscoe continued to run in sixth followed by Allmendinger, Hamlin, Suarez and Blaney. By then, Keselowski was in 39th and three laps behind the leaders while Kurt Busch was in 36th.

    The following lap, names like Cindric, Suarez, Briscoe, Truex, Blaney, Logano, Bowman, Bell, Byron, Wallace, Harvick, McDowell, Chris Buescher, Almirola and Newman pitted under green. Soon after, the leader Elliott pitted along with teammate Larson, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Allmendinger.

    Back on the track, Richard Childress Racing’s Reddick and Austin Dillon were running first and second. Both continued to remain on the track as they started the final lap of the second stage. When the second stage concluded on Lap 35, Reddick was able to grab his third stage victory of the season along with crucial stage points in his quest to make this year’s Playoffs. Teammate Austin Dillon settled in second followed by Ryan Preece, Stenhouse, DiBenedetto, Justin Haley, LaJoie, Andy Lally, Larson and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, some led by Reddick pitted while the rest led by teammates Larson and Elliott remained on the track.

    With 43 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start and with the field fanning out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch, Larson took off with the lead ahead of teammates Elliott and Byron. Briscoe managed to carve his way to fourth ahead of Kyle Busch and the field. Behind, Almirola and Stenhouse spun through the infield backstretch.

    Shortly after, the caution flew due to debris — a radiator pan and splitter — being reported across a curb in Turn 6. Under caution, few like Almirola, Stenhouse and Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    When the race restarted with 39 laps remaining, Larson maintained the lead over teammates Elliott and Byron approaching the first turn while the field fanned out to multiple lanes. Through the infield backstretch, Ryan Newman went off course and lost a bevy of spots as he also sustained rear-end damage. 

    Through the frontstretch on the following lap, Hamlin and Logano nearly made contact as Hamlin made a bold three-wide move, but slipped while battling Logano and Cole Custer. At the front, Larson continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammates Byron and Elliott while Kyle Busch and Briscoe continued to pursue.

    With 35 laps remaining, Larson remained as the leader by more than a second over teammate Byron and more than two seconds over his other teammate, Elliott. Truex was up in fourth followed by teammate Kyle Busch while Briscoe, Logano, Custer, Hamlin and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric were in the top 15 along with Blaney and Harvick. Kurt Busch was in 16th ahead of teammate Ross Chastain, Allmendinger was back in 20th, Reddick was in 22nd and Austin Dillon was in 26th. Keselowski, who was back on the lead lap, was in 34th behind Garrett Smithley.

    Nearing the final 30 laps of the event, Cindric pitted after being spun by Kurt Busch in Turn 7. In addition, Briscoe pitted under green after he flat-spotted a tire. Soon after, Daniel Suarez also pitted.

    A few laps later, names like Elliott, Truex, Bell, Blaney, Harvick and Chastain pitted. Not long after, names like Larson, Kyle Busch, Byron, Logano, Custer, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, LaJoie, Josh Bilicki and James Davison also pitted under green.

    Back on the track, Hamlin was leading by nearly 13 seconds over Bubba Wallace while Kurt Busch, Allmendinger and Reddick were in the top five. Larson, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch and Truex were back from 11th to 15th.

    Not long after, Hamlin locked up his tires and went off the course in Turn 12, though he continued to lead by a large margin over Kurt Busch and Wallace.

    With 20 laps remaining, Hamlin surrendered the lead to Matt DiBenedetto to pit. By then, names like Kurt Busch, Wallace, Buescher, Allmendinger, Stenhouse, Haley, Reddick and Preece had also pitted. 

    A lap later, Larson cycled back into the lead after he overtook DiBenedetto in Turn 4. 

    With 15 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than five seconds over teammate Elliott with his other teammate, Byron, trailing by nearly eight seconds. DiBenedetto, who has yet to pit, was in fourth ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex, Kyle Busch and Hamlin. By then, Briscoe, who was running in the top 15, pitted.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson remained as the leader by more than four seconds over teammate Elliott and nearly nine seconds over teammate Byron while Truex, Kyle Busch and Hamlin were running fourth to sixth. Then, the caution flew due to debris reported in Turn 6. At the time of caution, DiBenedetto pitted.

    Under caution, a majority of the field led by Larson pitted while the rest, including Hamlin, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Briscoe, remained on the track. During the pit stops, Elliott dropped out of the top five and all the way back to 16th due to his car falling off the jack.

    With six laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Hamlin and Kurt Busch filled in the front row. At the start, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch as Hamlin remained as the leader ahead of Briscoe through the first four turns.

    Through Turns 5 and 6, Truex spun and made contact into the tire barriers after getting bumped by teammate Bell just past the curb, but the race remained under green.

    The following lap, the battle for the lead intensified as Hamlin was being pressured by Briscoe for the top spot. While Briscoe gained a run through the frontstretch and the first turn, Hamlin fought back and retained the lead through the following five turns. The battle between Hamlin and Briscoe allowed Larson to close in on the two leaders.

    Then, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck that started when Byron, who ran over the curbs in Turns 5 and 6 and destroyed his splitter, slipped sideways and wrecked along with Kyle Busch and Logano, who made hard head-on contact into the tire barriers. In the ensuing chaos, a number of competitors, including Preece, Reddick, Buescher, Bell, Suarez, Davison, Haley and Harvick, wrecked. In addition, Corey LaJoie caught major air after running over the curbs. The carnage forced NASCAR to display the red flag for minutes to give the on-track safety personnel and crew to clear the carnage.

    More than 19 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the field proceeded under caution. During the caution period, the race was sent into overtime.

    Following an extensive caution period, the first overtime attempt occurred as Hamlin and Larson filled in on the front row. At the start, Hamlin jumped ahead with the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes. Entering the first turn, Larson received a shove from Kurt Busch and was shuffled out of the top five. 

    While Hamlin and Briscoe battled for the lead, the caution returned due to a multi-car wreck that involved Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, McDowell, Reddick, Chastain, LaJoie and Truex. Not long after, the race was red-flagged for four minutes before the field proceeded under caution.

    When the track was cleared, the race resumed for a second overtime attempt. At the start, Hamlin pulled ahead with the lead while Briscoe got forced off the course entering the first turn. Despite getting into the grass in Turn 1, Briscoe came back on the racing surface with the lead until Hamlin took it back through the infield backstretch. Behind, Ryan Newman ran over the curbs while Keselowski spun.

    Back at the front, Briscoe, who continued to battle Hamlin for the lead, was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for driving off the course. Despite the penalty call, Briscoe continued to battle Hamlin for the lead. Then in Turns 9 and 10, Briscoe ran into the rear bumper of Hamlin, sending Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry around. With Hamlin out of contention, Briscoe continued to lead until he locked up the tires in Turn 12 and went off the course. In the midst of the chaos, AJ Allmendinger, driving Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE stormed to the lead.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Blaney while Larson, Elliott and DiBenedetto were in the top five. By then, Briscoe pitted and was parked on pit road to serve his penalty.

    For one final rodeo around the 14-turn road course, Allmendinger, who rebounded from a speeding penalty during the race, was able to stabilize his advantage and extend his advantage to nearly a second over runner-up Blaney as he came back around and streaked across the finish line in first place to grab the biggest victory of his racing career. 

    In addition to winning the first Cup event on Indy’s road course layout, Allmendinger became the 16th competitor to win a stock car event at the Brickyard as he earned his second Cup career victory in his fourth start of this season and first since winning his first Cup race at Watkins Glen International in August 2014. Allmendinger’s Indy victory made him the 134th different competitor to achieve multiple Cup wins, though he is ineligible for this year’s Cup Playoffs since he is competing in the series on a part-time basis but full time in the Xfinity Series.

    In addition, Kaulig Racing achieved its first victory in the Cup Series in its seventh appearance since making its debut in 2020. The team, which competes on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Allmendinger, is set to field two cars in the 2022 Cup season.

    “Oh my god,” Allmendinger said on NBC. “I was so mad yesterday. I wanted to win so bad [in the Xfinity event at Indy]. This is unbelievable. In my wildest dreams, [I] could never have imagined the way that just played out. We had to fight hard…Oh my god. We just won at Indy. It was just survival of the fittest. We probably had like an eighth-, 10th-place car. I sped on pit road, I thought we were gonna finish 12th or 15th. And then, those restarts were just insane. It’s great when you have a car owner that just says go get me trophies. He doesn’t care if that thing’s torn up. We just won at Indy! What’s up?! Thank you, everybody, for coming out! Let’s go!”

    Following the event and their on-track incident, Hamlin and Briscoe, both of whom finished 23rd and 26th, met and exchanged words on pit road. The contact between both eliminated Hamlin’s hopes of grabbing his first victory of the season and locking himself in the Playoffs along with Briscoe, who was within sight of his first Cup career victory.

    “I agree [the contact]’s not on purpose, but my team told me that [Briscoe] had a penalty right away and to me, it’s obvious if you cut to the racetrack and if you end up in the lead, you’re gonna have a penalty,” Hamlin said. “Lack of awareness and then, I just said, ‘Race me for a lap.’ He went right in the back of me. You can’t race that way. I don’t think he did it malicious. I’ve raced with him for a year now. He’s not that kind of person, but it’s just a bad judgement…I thought we were probably in good shape there, but this just turns everything upside down.”

    “Obviously, [Hamlin]’s upset,” Briscoe said. “I would’ve been, too. He just came down there and asked what I was doing. I don’t think he realized that I didn’t even know I had a penalty until we got to Turn 10…Denny’s been in my situation, where you’re trying to go for your first win. He asked why I didn’t wait. Well, I felt like that was my best opportunity to win the race if I could get under him there…I had to try to get going all I could. I’m sorry that it ruined his day. That was never my intention. I get why he’s upset. Like I said, I would’ve been, too. I didn’t know I had a penalty until I got to Turn 10. As far as I knew, at that moment in time, I was going for the win. That’s what I’m paid to do and that’s what I was trying to do.”

    Blaney came home in the runner-up spot followed by Larson, who won the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday and has taken sole possession of the regular-season points lead. Elliott rallied from his late pit road miscue to finish fourth while Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top five.

    Kurt Busch rebounded for a sixth-place effort followed by Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Austin Cindric and Newman. 

    Bubba Wallace settled in 13th ahead of Harvick and Truex, Kyle Busch fell back to 20th ahead of Reddick and Keselowski ended his long day in 24th. 

    There were 13 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 23 laps. 

    With two races remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by 22 points over Denny Hamlin. Currently, 13 competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell) have clinched Playoff spots based on winning at least once throughout the regular season. Despite finishing 23rd and having a potential first victory slip away, Denny Hamlin clinched his spot for the Playoffs based on points. As a result, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick occupy the final two spots to the Playoffs on points, with Reddick ahead by 28 points over teammate Austin Dillon, 145 over Matt DiBenedetto, 146 over Chris Buescher, 176 over Ross Chastain, 187 over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 202 over Bubba Wallace, 242 over Chase Briscoe and 258 over Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led

    2. Ryan Blaney

    3. Kyle Larson, 28 laps led

    4. Chase Elliott, 14 laps led

    5. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led

    6. Kurt Busch

    7. Erik Jones

    8. Justin Haley

    9. Austin Cindric

    10. Ryan Newman

    11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    12. Chris Buescher

    13. Bubba Wallace

    14. Kevin Harvick

    15. Martin Truex Jr.

    16. Corey LaJoie

    17. Alex Bowman

    18. Josh Bilicki

    19. Aric Almirola

    20. Kyle Busch

    21. Tyler Reddick, six laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    22. Quin Houff

    23. Denny Hamlin, 27 laps led

    24. Brad Keselowski, two laps led

    25. Cole Custer

    26. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Parked, 12 laps led

    27. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    28. Garrett Smithley, one lap down

    29. Ross Chastain, two laps down

    30. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident

    31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    32. James Davison – OUT, Accident

    33. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    34. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident

    35. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    37. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    38. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Suspension

    39. Andy Lally – OUT, Rear gear

    40. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    With the regular-season stretch nearing its completion and the start of the Playoffs looming, the NASCAR Cup Series will be making its annual visit to Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 22. The event is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    Allmendinger rallies from late penalty to win at Mid-Ohio

    From a late penalty to victory, AJ Allmendinger became the first repeat winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the Los Gatos, California, native fended off teammate Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and the field in overtime to win the B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, June 5, as he also claimed his second victory of this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Ty Gibbs, winner of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at Mid-Ohio and last weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Prior to the event, Kris Wright and Ryan Ellis dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns.

    It did not take long, however, for the first caution of the event to fly when Noah Gragson drove off the track and through the grass, where he destroyed the front nose from his car that was also leaking fluid and smoke. Behind, Cody Ware spun in Turn 2. While Ware continued, Gragson parked his battered car between Turns 2 and 3 as his race came to an early end.

    Following the incident, the race restarted on the fifth lap. At the start, Cindric maintained the lead followed by Gibbs, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier and the field.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Tommy Joe Martins due to fluid on the course when the engine from Tommy Joe Martins’ machine expired.

    Another four laps later, the race restarted, with Cindric and Gibbs retaining the front row. At the start, Gibbs made his move beneath Cindric’s No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang to take the lead. Cindric, though, was quick to reassume the advantage in Turn 4, where he continued to fend off Gibbs and lead when the field returned to the start/finish line.

    On Lap 15, AJ Allmendinger muscled his No. 16 Ramco Specialties Chevrolet Camaro into the lead over Cindric. 

    Three laps later and with Allmendinger still leading, Harrison Burton damaged the front nose and splitter from his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra after going off-course in Turn 1. Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green.

    In the final laps of the first stage, names like Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Andy Lally and Myatt Snider pitted for fuel. Back on the track, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Cindric. 

    In Turn 9, Miguel Paludo spun in the gravel trap, but the race continued to run under green. With a healthy advantage over the field, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way back to the start/finish line and win the first stage on Lap 25. Cindric was scored in second place followed by Haley, Jeb Burton, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gibbs, Snider, Hemric, Ryan Sieg and Lally remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 30 with Gibbs and Hemric on the front row. At the start, Gibbs maintained the lead over Hemric, Snider and the field. Cindric, meanwhile, was back in seventh while Allmendinger was in fifth behind Andy Lally. By then, Justin Allgaier took his car to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark and with Gibbs still leading, the caution flew due to Jeremy Clements stalling his car in the Acura Bridge.

    Four laps later, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger, who restarted alongside Gibbs, made his move to take the lead in Turn 2. By Turn 5, teammate Justin Haley moved into the runner-up spot while Gibbs was shuffled back in third in front of Brandon Jones, Hemric and Jeb Burton.

    On Lap 46, trouble ignited for Daniel Hemric, who limped back to pit road after he blew a left-rear tire, which damaged the left-rear side of Hemric’s No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. He was able to limp back to pit road and keep the race running under green.

    Not long after, Allmendinger pitted along with Gibbs, Lally, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Miguel Paludo. During the pit stops, however, Allmendinger was penalized for failing to meet minimum pit stop time and was required to start at the rear of the field for the final stage.

    Back on the track, Haley assumed the lead in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. With the clean air, Haley was able to claim the second stage victory on Lap 50 by nearly two seconds over Brandon Jones. Jones settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Herbst, Cindric, Labbe, Snider, Brandon Brown, Annett and Ryan Ellis.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for tires with some opting to pit again for fuel. During the stops, Andy Lally was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With 20 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ryan Sieg and Cindric started on the front row. At the start, Cindric muscled to the lead on the outside lane in Turn 1 while the field behind scrambled for positions.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, Cindric was leading by nearly 11 seconds over Gibbs while Allmendinger, following his penalty, was in third place, trailing by 13 seconds. Moffitt was in fourth followed by Michael Annett and Haley.

    Then, the caution flew when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 4 and was stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, the leaders remained on the track.

    With five laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Allmendinger quickly made his move beneath Gibbs and Cindric entering Turn 1. With all three competitors making contact against one another in a three-wide battle, Allmendinger returned to the lead past the first turn. As Brett Moffitt moved into the runner-up spot, contact from Gibbs Annett and Haley resulted with Cindric getting hit and spinning in the grass, which ended Cindric’s hopes of winning.

    Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green as Allmendinger retained the lead. Not long after, however, the caution flew due to a multi-car incident in Turn 6 that involved Kris Wright, Alex Labbe and Kyle Weatherman with everyone else scattering around the circuit to avoid the incident.

    Under caution, Moffitt, who was running in the runner-up spot, lost power as a result of a fuel pump issue and stalled on the track, effectively ending his hopes of battling for the win.

    With the race sent into overtime, Allmendinger received a strong start through the first turn to maintain the lead over teammate Haley and Gibbs while everyone else scattered and scrambled for positions through the first two turns.

    When the final lap started, Allmendinger maintained a decent advantage over Haley and Gibbs. With the leaders clearly out in front, chaos ensued behind, starting with Riley Herbst getting into Miguel Paludo in Turn 1 as Paludo spun. Shortly after, Andy Lally bumped into Herbst and sent Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang spinning in Turn 2.

    Back to the front, Allmendinger continued to lead Haley and Gibbs through Turns 4 and 5. Having the lead in his sole possession, Allmendinger was able to navigate his way through the 13-turn circuit for a final time to claim the checkered flag and win.

    With his second victory of the season, Allmendinger became the first multi-winner of the Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio since its inception in 2013. He also claimed his seventh Xfinity career victory, his fifth on a road course and the 10th career win for Kaulig Racing.

    “I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little upset,” Allmendinger said on FS1 when mentioning about the penalty. “But we win and lose as a team so I was gonna fight until the checkered flag flew. I knew we had the best car…This Ramco Specialties Chevrolet had some massive rear grip. I lost the restart, [Gibbs] opened up a gap and I know these guys will do it to me, so I barreled in there when I saw a gap and I was gonna come out on the other side clean. That’s all I got there.”

    Haley settled in second place for his first top-five result of the season while Ty Gibbs came home in third place and notched his sixth top-five result in seven Xfinity starts this season.

    “First of all, congrats to AJ,” Haley said. “That’s amazing. This is LeafFilter’s home, this is [team owner] Matt Kaulig’s home. To finish one-two here is really special. Obviously, you want the LeafFilter car to go to Victory Lane, but I thought we were a little better than AJ there at the end, but I had so much damage. I was just on the splitter so hard…Really, really special day here.”

    Brandon Jones finished in fourth place followed by Andy Lally. Brandon Brown finished in sixth place followed by Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams.

    Hemric settled in 12th while Cindric ended his race in 14th after leading a race-high 30 laps. Riley Herbst and Paludo finished 21st and 27th following their spins on the final lap.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 23 laps.

    Cindric continues to lead the regular-season standings by 96 points over Allmendinger.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Justin Haley, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Ty Gibbs, 16 laps led

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Andy Lally

    6. Brandon Brown

    7. Michael Annett

    8. Josh Berry

    9. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    10. Josh Williams

    11. Alex Labbe

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Jade Buford

    14. Austin Cindric, 30 laps led

    15. Cody Ware

    16. Jeb Burton

    17. Gray Gaulding

    18. Ryan Vargas

    19. Matt Jaskol

    20. Landon Cassill

    21. Riley Herbst

    22. Colby Howard

    23. Matt Mills

    24. Jesse Little

    25. Preston Pardus

    26. Kyle Weatherman

    27. Miguel Paludo

    28. Ryan Ellis

    29. Myatt Snider

    30. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    31. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Fuel pump

    32. Kris Wright – OUT, Accident

    33. Jeremy Clements, 10 laps down

    34. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 10 laps down

    35. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps down

    36. David Starr, 12 laps down

    37. Bayley Currey – OUT, Electrical

    38. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    39. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Engine 

    40. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident 

    Next on the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a trip to the Lone Star state for a 250-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.