Daniel Hemric has a team to call home for the 2021 NASCAR season. That team is Joe Gibbs Racing after it was announced that Hemric will be joining the organization and drive the No. 18 Toyota Supra on a full-time basis in next year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Hemric, a 29-year-old native from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is coming off a part-time season with JR Motorsports, where he recorded seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average result of 16.2 in 21 starts throughout the 33-race schedule. He also earned a pair of runner-up finishes last season and contributed to JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro team finishing in ninth place in the 2020 Xfinity Owners’ standings.
Hemric’s move to JGR next season will mark the third different team he has driven for in the past three seasons. It will also mark his first full-time season in NASCAR since the 2019 Cup Series, where he captured the Rookie-of-the-Year title, and first in the Xfinity Series since 2018.
In two previous full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing (2017 and 2018), Hemric earned a combined 23 top-five results and 39 top-10 results. He also made the Championship 4 round in both seasons, finishing fourth in the 2017 final standings and third in the 2018 final standings.
With a combined 175 starts across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (50 in the Truck Series, 87 in the Xfinity Series and 38 in the Cup Series), Hemric is still pursuing his first victory.
“It’s been quite a roller coaster ride for me over the last few years, but I can’t say how thankful I am for the opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hemric said. “Their reputation speaks for itself. I know they have high expectations for me, as I do as well, and I could not be more excited to chase the Xfinity Series championship with them next season.”
With Hemric set to join JGR, he will be a teammate to Brandon Jones, a three-time race winner of the 2020 Xfinity Series season, and Harrison Burton, the 2020 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year who won his first four races this past season. This also completes JGR’s full-time Xfinity Series lineup for the 2021 season.
We’re excited to have Daniel join our Xfinity Series team,” Steve de Souza, Executive Vice President of Xfinity Series and Development for Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “He has proven the ability to run up front and we believe his experience and consistency will be a benefit to our overall program. We look forward to him competing with Brandon [Jones] and Harrison [Burton] for wins and contending for a championship.”
Riley Herbst, who drove the No. 18 Toyota full-time in 2020, will be departing the organization and pursue another opportunity in racing to be announced.
Sponsorship and crew chief details for Hemric will be announced at a later date.
On Saturday afternoon, Phoenix Raceway hosted the second race of the Championship 4 weekend and this time, the NASCAR Xfinity Series took center stage.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley, and Stewart-Haas Racing and Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe made up the Championship 4 for the Xfinity Series.
While the race looked as though it would go to Chase Briscoe, who had nine wins entering the finale, the outlook began to change during Stage 2 when Cindric began to take control. In fact, the Team Penske driver took the lead on Lap 83 and the lead was just enough to take the Stage 2 victory. When the 200-lap event began to wind down, the battle came down to Allgaier and Cindric in the late laps.
Despite the late caution, Cindric prevailed against Allgaier to win his first Xfinity Series Championship in just 100 starts.
Like we did for the Truck Series Power Rankings this week, we’ll analyze the Power Rankings of the Championship 4 drivers in chronological order based on their finishing positions.
Austin Cindric – Cindric ends the year with a season-best of six wins, 19 top fives and 26 top 10 finishes. Those stats are greater than the last two years where he had just two wins last year and respectable top fives and 10s. Before winning the championship, Cindric led 72 laps, finished second in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. Things got a little hairy when a late caution came out with six laps to go for a spinning Chase Briscoe. While Cindric was rightfully upset with the yellow while leading, the team took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and actually restarted behind race leader Allgaier who was on older tires. With a quick two-lap dash to the finish, Cindric moved around Allgaier and won by .162 seconds to take home the victory and championship. Not a bad year for Cindric who really came into his own in the summer months.
Justin Allgaier – Allgaier was at some points, the highest running of the Championship 4 drivers, leading over Cindric, Briscoe and Haley. The Illinois driver finished third and second in both stages, respectively. At one point, Allgaier took the lead on Lap 98 and led for 32 laps before being passed by competitor Cindric. Before the final round of green-flag pit stops took place, there was some concern on the team radio that a tire could have been coming apart on the No. 7 Chevrolet. Thankfully for Allgaier, he made it to pit road without blowing the tire and shredding the car. However, it would somewhat prove costly as when the yellow flew, Allgaier stayed out on older tires with Cindric pitting for fresh ones. Allgaier did his best to hold off Cindric in hopes of capturing his first title but in the end, he came up short, finishing fifth. The JR Motorsports driver will end the year with three wins, 11 top fives, 19 top 10 finishes and 1,008 laps led.
Justin Haley – 2020 proved to be a great year for Kaulig Racing driver Justin Haley. Haley got into the playoffs based on his three wins, with two coming at Talladega and the other victory at Daytona in the summer. The Indiana native would start fourth based on the qualifying metric system although he had some challenges even before the race started. The No. 11 team which was used by the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing pit crew had one member that tested positive for COVID-19. Kaulig Racing called upon the Truck Series championship crew of Sheldon Creed to replace the crew member. When the race began, Haley ran as high as fourth and averaged a mid-race pace of eighth. He had 44 passes to his credit and placed seventh in both stages. However, the team continued to fight the No. 11 machine and tried to get the car to Haley’s liking to where it could run in the front of the field. Unfortunately for Haley, he ran out of time and finished eighth in the running order for his 21st top 10 of the year. However, he improved significantly from last year when Haley had zero wins and finished 12th in the standings.
Chase Briscoe – Briscoe had quite possibly the most disappointing finish of this year’s Championship 4, finishing last out of the group after placing ninth. Briscoe entered the playoffs with a career-high nine wins. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver first punched his ticket into the playoffs with a win earlier in the year at Las Vegas. Then when racing returned in May, Briscoe went on a tear winning at Darlington, Indianapolis Grand Prix, Pocono, Dover, Bristol and Vegas II. The defining moment came at Kansas last month when he punched his ticket to the Championship 4with a victory at the 1.5-mile speedway. When Phoenix came, the No. 98 team was shockingly nowhere to be found after winning Stage 1. Following the stage victory, Briscoe managed third in Stage 2 but began to fall off after the stages were complete. Despite leading early, the No. 98 car started to struggle with the handling and the race leaders pulled away. Unfortunately for Briscoe, he brought out the caution with six laps to go after spinning out in Turn 4. Even though he pitted for fresh tires, he couldn’t move the No. 98 Ford much higher than ninth as Briscoe settled for his 22nd top 10 of the season.
For a second consecutive night in the desert, a late caution changed the complexity and initial outcome of a race. Like last night’s NASCAR Truck Series finale, pitting for fresh tires was the key element that determined the overall victor. On this occasion, Austin Cindric used four fresh tires to his advantage to overtake Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson in overtime to win the season-finale Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway and clinch the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
In the final laps of the finale, Cindric had an advantage of nearly a second over title contender Justin Allgaier evaporated when Chase Briscoe, another title contender, spun and drew a caution. The deciding factor was under caution when Cindric opted to pit for four fresh tires while Allgaier, who pitted earlier, remained on the track. In overtime, Cindric was able to overtake Allgaier and Noah Gragson in a two-lap dash to claim his sixth checkered flag of the season. Above all, he was able to come back around and celebrate on the frontstretch as NASCAR’s 30th Xfinity champion.
The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, the four championship finale contenders started first through fourth, led by pole-sitter Justin Allgaier and followed by Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley.
For the finale, Haley received a new pit crew, the group that pits Bubba Wallace’s car for Richard Petty Motorsports, due to a crew member of his original team being tested positive for COVID-19.
When the final race of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season commenced under green, Allgaier rocketed away with the lead. Behind, Cindric and Briscoe battled for the runner-up spot with most of the leaders diving down the dogleg turn and entering Turns 1 and 2. When the field cycled back to the start/finish line, Allgaier was able to lead the first lap as he retained the lead over Cindric and Briscoe while Haley was in fifth behind Noah Gragson.
The first caution of the race flew the following lap when Jeffrey Earnhardt wrecked on the backstretch and sustained damage to the rear end of his No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro.
The race restarted under green on the sixth lap. At the start, Cindric made a low dive three-wide move on the dogleg turn beneath Allgaier and Briscoe. In Turns 1 and 2, however, Allgaier made a crossover move on Cindric, but Briscoe came out on top on the outside lane entering the backstretch to take over the lead. Cindric moved into the runner-up spot while Allgaier, who led the first seven laps, was shuffled back to third.
By Lap 10, Briscoe maintained an advantage less than two-tenths of a second over Cindric with Allgaier in third and Haley in seventh. Gragson was in fourth followed by Ross Chastain and Harrison Burton while Michael Annett, Riley Herbst and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.
Nearly five laps later, Cindric mounted a challenge for the lead on Briscoe. Despite Cindric making several challenges for the lead and Briscoe making contact with the Turn 3 outside wall on Lap 17, Briscoe maintained his narrow advantage over Cindric’s No. 22 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Briscoe was still at the front of the pack and the championship battle over Cindric and Allgaier with Haley mired back in seventh. Gragson, Chastain, Harrison Burton, Annett, Herbst and Brandon Jones were still running in the top 10. At the time of caution, Daniel Hemric made an unscheduled pit stop to diagnose a mechanical issue to his No. 8 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro. Hemric’s crew eventually pushed the car back to the garage due to a carburetor issue.
Under the competition caution, few pitted while the rest, including the final four title contenders, remained on the track.
When the race resumed under green on Lap 26, Allgaier made a low dive through the dogleg turn in an effort for the lead, but Briscoe prevailed entering the backstretch. While Briscoe continued to lead, Cindric battled Allgaier for second while Chastain, Gragson and Haley battled for spots in the top five.
A lap later, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck in Turn 2 that involved C.J. McLaughlin, Donald Theetge, J.J. Yeley and Matt Mills.
The race restarted under green on Lap 34 with Briscoe and Allgaier on the front row followed by Cindric and Gragson. At the start, Briscoe and Allgaier battled dead even while diving low on the dogleg before Briscoe prevailed on the backstretch.
When the field returned back to the start/finish line, Briscoe continued to lead followed by Allgaier and Cindric, both of whom were closing in for the lead. Gragson retained fourth place over Kaulig Racing’s Chastain and Haley while Annett, Harrison Burton, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.
At the front, the battle for the lead continued to ignite between Briscoe and Allgaier with Cindric lurking behind. Though Allgaier had a run beneath Briscoe for the lead, Briscoe mounted a run on the outside lane through Turns 1 and 2 and entering the backstretch to maintain his narrow advantage.
With less than five laps remaining in the first stage, Cindric moved into second place over Allgaier. He went on to challenge Briscoe for the lead.
On the final lap of the first stage, Cindric, who continued to close in on Briscoe’s No. 98 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang, gained a run beneath Briscoe through the backstretch. They split the lapped car of Jesse Iwuji entering Turn 3 before Briscoe gained a run on the outside lane in Turn 4 and edged Cindric to claim the first stage on Lap 45 and for his 13th stage victory of the season, the most recorded by an Xfinity competitor this season. Allgaier settled in third followed by Gragson, Chastain, Annett, Haley, Harrison Burton, Herbst and Brandon Jones.
Under the stage break, nearly all of the leaders pitted and Allgaier emerged with the lead following a four-tire pit stop and exiting in first place over Gragson, Briscoe, Cindric and Chastain. Following the pit stops, Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to improper fueling. At the front, however, Tommy Joe Martins emerged with the lead after remaining on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 53 with Martins and Allgaier on the front row. At the start, Briscoe made a low dive to the dogleg and Allgaier charged ahead on the outside lane while Martins was shuffled back. Allgaier led the following lap by a nose over Briscoe, who challenged Allgaier for the lead with the latter prevailing. Behind, Gragson moved into third place over Cindric while Annett was in fifth. Haley was in sixth ahead of teammate Chastain, Brandon Jones, Harrison Burton and Ryan Sieg.
By Lap 60, Allgaier continued to lead the race and the title standings by more than a second over teammate Gragson. Cindric, the second-highest title contender on the track, was in third place followed by Briscoe, who slipped back and had Annett closing in for position. Haley, racing in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro, was still mired in sixth place in front of Harrison Burton.
Five laps later, Allgaier stabilized his advantage by more than a second over Cindric, who overtook Gragson for the runner-up spot. Briscoe remained in fourth place, trailing the lead by more than two seconds, while Annett was in fifth. Haley fell back to seventh behind Harrison Burton while Brandon Jones, Sieg and Jeremy Clements were in the top 10.
By Lap 70, Allgaier’s advantage decreased to less than two-tenths of a second over Cindric while Briscoe moved back into third place following a dive-bomb move on Gragson entering Turn 2 for position that nearly resulted with Briscoe making contact with the outside wall. Earlier, Chastain made an unscheduled pit stop under green.
Five laps later and while Cindric and Allgaier were engaged in a tight battle for the lead, the caution returned due to smoke and possible fluid coming out of Tommy Joe Martins’ car.
Another five laps later, the race restarted under green with JR Motorsports’ teammates Allgaier and Gragson on the front row. At the start, Allgaier pulled away and retained the lead. Entering Turn 2, Cindric moved into second and Briscoe advanced into third followed by Jones while Gragson slipped back to fifth.
On Lap 83, Cindric prevailed and led for the first time after emerging out in front of Allgaier with Briscoe lurking behind. By then, Sieg made contact with the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2.
With the laps in the second stage winding down, Cindric stabilized his advantage by half a second over Allgaier with Briscoe, Jones and Gragson in the top five. Annett and Harrison Burton were in sixth and seventh while Haley was mired back in eighth. Clements and Myatt Snider rounded out the top 10.
At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Cindric increased his advantage to less than a second over Allgaier with Briscoe closing in for more.
With a number of battles occurring behind, Cindric was able to come back to the start/finish line and win the second stage on Lap 90 for his 11th stage victory of the season. Allgaier held off Briscoe and Brandon Jones for second with teammate Gragson in fifth. Annett, Haley, Harrison Burton, Clements and Snider settled in the top 10. By then, Chastain, who was scored in 24th place and a lap behind, received the free pass to return to the lead lap.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Brandon Jones emerged with the lead following the pit stops. Briscoe exited ahead of Cindric, Allgaier and Gragson with Haley in sixth.
With 102 laps remaining, the final stage started with Jones and Allgaier on the front row followed by Gragson, Briscoe, Mason Diaz and Cindric. At the start, Allgaier and Jones made a low dive down the dogleg before Allgaier prevailed through Turns 1 and 2 and entering the backstretch.
The following lap, Briscoe passed Gragson for third with Cindric and Haley joining the party. At the front, Allgaier was ahead by less than half a second over Jones. Shortly after, Cindric overtook Briscoe for position with Haley mired between the two competitors.
With 95 laps remaining, the final four title contenders were battling in the top six with Allgaier leading by more than a second over Brandon Jones, who started to have Cindric close in for position. Briscoe was in fourth followed by Gragson while Haley was in sixth ahead of Annett, Harrison Burton, Snider and Chastain.
Five laps later, with 90 laps remaining, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second, but Cindric started to close in as he moved into the runner-up spot. Briscoe remained in fourth place behind Jones while Haley continued to battle Gragson for fifth.
Another five laps later, with 85 laps remaining, Allgaier’s advantage decreased to less than half a second with his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro dealing with loose conditions. That all but gave Cindric the time needed to close in back for the lead in the overall race and the championship.
With 80 laps remaining and with the leaders surrounded by lapped traffic, Cindric narrowed the deficit to three-tenths of a second to Allgaier, who continued to lead with a title in sight. Behind, Briscoe went wide entering Turn 4, which allowed Gragson, Haley and Harrison Burton to close in on him for fourth place.
Ten laps later, with 70 laps remaining, Cindric reassumed the lead in the race and the championship battle over Allgaier as Brandon Jones started to close in the battle for the win in the finale.
Another 10 laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Cindric stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Brandon Jones with Allgaier back in third place. Briscoe and Haley were in fourth and fifth while Harrison Burton, Chastain, Gragson, Annett and Snider were in the top 10. Herbst, who was a lap behind the field earlier, rallied back in 11th ahead of Clements, Brett Moffitt, Josh Williams and Bayley Currey.
Down to the final 50 laps of the race, Cindric continued to lead, but he had Jones, who won at Phoenix in March and racing in his No. 19 Toyota Service Centers Toyota Supra, close in and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic. Behind, Allgaier, who was in third place, radioed concerns about a right-front tire going down, but he continued to run on the track and ahead of Briscoe. Haley, meanwhile, was in sixth in between Harrison Burton and Chastain.
With 45 laps remaining, Briscoe overtook Allgaier for third place while Cindric continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Brandon Jones. Haley was still in sixth.
With approximately 40 laps remaining, pit stops under green commenced as Allgaier made the turn to pit road followed by Harrison Burton and teammate Riley Herbst. Not long after, Haley pitted along with leader Cindric, Briscoe, Jones and Snider, who was then penalized for speeding on pit road.
With less than 35 laps remaining, Chastain, who still needed to pit and who was making his final full-time start with Kaulig Racing, was the leader followed by Gragson, Annett and Josh Williams while Cindric was in fifth place. Allgaier was back in eighth, a lap behind, while Briscoe and Haley were in 10th and 13th.
Five laps later, the caution returned when Joe Graf Jr. made contact with the outside wall in Turn 3. The incident occurred in front of Allgaier, who was battling Jones for position. At the time of caution, Chastain was still leading and among a handful of competitors who had yet to pit. Cindric and Allgaier were on the lead lap while Briscoe was awarded the free pass to return on the lead lap after being scored a lap behind. Haley, meanwhile, was a lap behind the leaders.
Under caution, Allgaier pitted along with teammate Annett and Chastain while Cindric and Jones remained on the track. Briscoe also pitted for adjustment, not for tires. In addition, Haley was among a number of competitors who took the wave around and returned on the lead lap in eighth place with Briscoe in sixth, Allgaier in fifth on fresh tires and Cindric the leader over Brandon Jones and Chastain.
With 23 laps remaining and 10 competitors on the lead lap, the race restarted under green with Cindric and Chastain on the front row followed by Jones and Allgaier. At the start, Chastain received a boost from Allgaier inside the dogleg turn to take the lead. Entering the backstretch, however, Cindric reassumed the lead with Allgaier following behind.
Shortly after, Allgaier mounted a challenge for the lead on fresh tires, but Cindric continued to maintain his position at the front with Chastain shuffled back to third.
With 20 laps remaining, Cindric was out in front by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier, with the battle for the win and the championship coming down to a two man show. Briscoe was back in sixth while Haley was mired back in eighth.
Five laps later, with 15 laps remaining, Cindric, racing on old tires, continued to lead the battle for the win and the title by half a second over Allgaier, racing on fresh tires. Chastain, Annett and Brandon Jones were in the top five with Briscoe in sixth and Haley in ninth.
Down to the final 10 laps of the finale and the 2020 season, Cindric stabilized his advantage for the win and the championship by more than a second over Allgaier, who started to see Cindric pull away on his front windshield. By then, Briscoe moved up to fifth place while Haley was back in ninth place as both competitors were seeing their title hopes coming to an end.
With five laps remaining and the leaders started to catch lapped traffic, Cindric remained at the front with the lead by more than a second over Allgaier with Chastain, Annett and Briscoe in the top five. Haley was back in ninth.
With approximately two laps remaining, the caution returned when Briscoe spun his No. 98 Ford in Turn 4 and made slight contact with the outside wall. The caution all but evaporated Cindric’s on-track advantage over Allgaier, who received an opportunity to pounce and win his first title.
Under caution, however, most of the lead lap competitors led by Cindric pitted while Allgaier remained on the track and emerged with the lead. Chastain also remained on the track in second place.
In overtime, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allgaier took the lead from Chastain entering Turns 1 and 2. Entering the backstretch, however, teammate Gragson and Cindric cleared Chastain and closed in on Allgaier for the lead. Though Allgaier got Cindric boxed in exiting the backstretch, Cindric found his opportunity to win it all entering Turns 3 and 4.
Coming back to the start/finish line for the start of the final lap, Cindric made a three-wide move in between Gragson and Allgaier, who made contact with Cindric at the line as Gragson moved his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/True Timber Camo Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. Following the contact and through the dogleg turn, Gragson emerged with a slight advantage alongside Cindric, who cleared Allgaier and was leading the battle for the title.
In the backstretch, Allgaier lost his momentum and was overtaken by Brandon Jones and Annett while Cindric challenged Gragson for the lead. With fresh tires, Cindric took the lead entering Turns 3 and 4 over Gragson, and it was enough for him to prevail out in front and storm to the checkered flag with the win and the overall championship.
At age 22, Cindric became the fifth-youngest champion in series history as he delivered the second Xfinity Drivers’ championship for team owner Roger Penske. He also became the sixth different Xfinity competitor to win in career start No. 100 as he collected his eighth career victory along with the series title. This marked the 10th consecutive season where the Xfinity champion was 25 years old or younger.
“Well, I watched [2020 Truck Series champion] Sheldon Creed do it last night, so why couldn’t we?” Cindric said. “Amazing effort by this No. 22 team. [Crew chief] Brian Wilson and all the guys. Everybody back at the shop. There was a lot of work put into this race car. Roger Penske. Everyone from Penske Racing. The Menards family, John, Paul, Jim, Jeff — all those guys that put so much support into racing itself. It’s awesome to get them a championship in NASCAR, to be a champion in NASCAR, and do it in front of all these great people cheering us on at championship weekend. Ford Performance, Doug Yates, everybody at Roush Yates Engines. I’m speechless. I can’t believe it. I’m pretty humbled by the effort for sure.”
“I’ve certainly learned how to race a little better,” Cindric added. “The people that have put the support in me and been dedicated — my spotter Coleman Pressley. All the folks that have supported me throughout my career, not just here but the road racing, driving Rallycross cars. My mom and my dad. I can’t forget them. They’re my parents and they’ve put more support behind me than anyone else. My mom has been my rock for my entire racing career. I told you guys that early in the week and I’m so glad she was here to watch.”
In addition to pitting for fresh tires towards the end, Cindric credited his team for the performance of his race car throughout the race that kept him in contention and allowed him to win the championship battle.
“This [car] came to life Lap 1,” Cindric said. “Talk about a relationship between driver and crew chief…we were terrible here in the spring race when I moved up. I asked [Wilson], I told him exactly what I needed and he gave it to me and look where we are. It’s amazing.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Gragson finished in second place behind Cindric followed by Brandon Jones and Annett. Behind, Justin Allgaier finished in fifth place in the finale and in a career-best second place in the overall standings. While Allgaier was disappointed in falling short in winning his first Xfinity title in his 10th full-time season in the series, he remained humble over the defeat and the opportunity of his late surge to compete for the title.
“So close, but so far away,” Allgaier said. “First of all, hats off to Austin [Cindric], the entire Team Penske group. They’ve been strong competitors all year and to have the race they did tonight, they, obviously, were the best car and they deserve to win. Proud of our guys, proud of everybody at JR Motorsports. We had a shot at it at the end and when it’s all said and done, that’s all you can really ask for…We’ll be back next year. Hopefully, one spot better.”
“I knew that [Cindric and his team] were gonna be good on tires,” Allgaier added. “I was hoping that there would be a few more cars in our rearview mirror when we took the green…Just didn’t have the speed at the end. We were off a little bit all night. The hard part is our balance is so good. That’s the frustrating part. We brought a fantastic race car and the balance was so good. It’s disappointing to be in the situation that we’re in, but again, hats off to these guys, everybody back at the shop. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Justin Haley finished in eighth place on the track behind Harrison Burton and teammate Chastain, with the Winamac, Indiana, native notching a career-best third place in the final standings.
“We were not too good there at the start,” Haley said. “We actually took a little time on one of the pit stops. We started running in the top five. It’s super hard to pass. Just super fast race track. This is an awesome P3. It’s the farthest that Kaulig Racing’s ever gone. Still really proud of all of my guys. It’s not exactly what we wanted, but I think if we wouldn’t gotten trapped a lap there, that strategy’s really what played in to it at the end,…just too far back to make anything happen on that green-white-checkered…Super excited, super blessed to have another year, another shot at [the title].”
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
Following his late incident that evaporated his championship hopes, Chase Briscoe salvaged a ninth-place result in the finale as he concluded his final full-time season in the Xfinity circuit in fourth place in the final standings and in a season where he won a season-high nine races.
“It was just a frustrating day,” Briscoe said. “This is by far not my best racetrack. We started the race and, for me, just leading laps here I was like, ‘Wow, this is different.’ I was just so loose at the beginning of the race and as the night came, I was just getting freer and freer. I don’t know how many times I about wrecked into [Turn] 1 and would end up hitting the wall. I’ve got to do a lot better job coming here. There’s something about this place that I just really struggle at, so I’ve got a lot of homework to do. It’s definitely frustrating to finish fourth in the championship after the year we had, but, overall, to win nine races it’s been a phenomenal year. I’m happy that we were able to just make the final four with our HighPoint.com Mustang. I’m just thankful to be driving in NASCAR honestly. I’m obviously looking forward to next year, but this one obviously hurts. Anytime you can win nine races and finish fourth in the championship isn’t what you wanted, but we’ll keep our heads high and, like I said, just proud of the whole team. To be able to work with me these last two and a half years from where we started to where we are now has been a huge difference, so just thankful to be driving for Stewart-Haas Racing and come back next year.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
While Cindric became the fifth Ford competitor to win the Xfinity title, Chevrolet clinched the Bill France Performance Cup, the Manufacturers’ title, for the 22nd time. In addition, Roger Penske won his fifth Owners’ championship in eight years.
In a season where he achieved his first four career victories, 15 top-five results, 22 top-10 results, an average result of 10th place and a final points result of eighth place, Harrison Burton claimed the 2020 Xfinity Rookie-of-the-Year title.
There were 16 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 47 laps.
Results.
1. Austin Cindric, Stage 2 winner, 72 laps led
2. Noah Gragson, one lap led
3. Brandon Jones, three laps led
4. Michael Annett
5. Justin Allgaier, 76 laps led
6. Harrison Burton
7. Ross Chastain, 10 laps led
8. Justin Haley
9. Chase Briscoe, Stage 1 winner, 41 laps led
10. Jeremy Clements
11. Riley Herbst
12. Brandon Brown, one lap down
13. Josh Williams, one lap down
14. B.J. McLeod, one lap down
15. Bayley Currey, one lap down
16. David Starr, one lap down
17. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down
18. Myatt Snider, two laps down
19. Brett Moffitt, two laps down
20. Colby Howard, two laps down
21. Alex Labbe, three laps down
22. Kody Vanderwal, three laps down
23. Timmy Hill, three laps down
24. Mason Diaz, four laps down
25. Daniel Hemric, five laps down
26. J.J. Yeley, six laps down
27. Joe Graf Jr., seven laps down
28. Stan Mullis, eight laps down
29. Jesse Little, eight laps down
30. Jesse Iwuji, nine laps down
31. Ryan Sieg, 10 laps down
32. Jeffrey Earnhardt, 21 laps down
33. Ryan Vargas, 82 laps down
34. Tommy Joe Martins – OUT, Engine, three laps led
35. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident
36. Donald Theetge – OUT, Accident
37. C.J. McLaughlin – OUT, Accident
Final standings.
1. Austin Cindric
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Justin Haley
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Noah Gragson
6. Brandon Jones
7. Ross Chastain
8. Harrison Burton
9. Michael Annett
10. Ryan Sieg
11. Brandon Brown
12. Riley Herbst
Bold indicates Championship finale contenders
The NASCAR Xfinity Series enters its off-season period before returning for the 2021 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway scheduled on Saturday, February 13.
The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series all head to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the 2020 championship season finale.
Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin will be competing for the Cup Series Championship while Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley vie for the Xfinity Series title.
Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith will contend for the Truck Series 2020 championship.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, November 6 8 p.m.: Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 race (Stages 45/90/150 Laps = 150 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Grant Enfinger
Saturday, November 7 2 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Arizona Lottery 100 race (100 Laps, 100 Miles) Trackpass/MRN 5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 race (Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 200 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Justin Allgaier
Sunday, November 8 3 p.m.: Cup Series Season Finale 500 race (Stages 75/190/312 Laps = 312 Miles) NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Chase Elliott
While Austin Cindric is set to contend for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, he is also set to achieve a milestone start in his third full-time season in the series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Xfinity season finale at Phoenix, Cindric will reach 100 starts in the Xfinity level.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Cindric made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Road America in August 2017. By then, he was a full-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor for Brad Keselowski Racing. Driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Team Penske, Cindric started on pole position and he finished in 16th place after making a late pit stop under green due to cutting a left-rear tire.
Three months later and three days after Cindric concluded the 2017 Truck Series season in third place in the final standings, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Cindric will be splitting driving duties of the No. 60 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing along with Chase Briscoe and Ty Majeski for the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
In February, nearly a week before the 2018 season commenced, Cindric’s racing schedule became a full-time schedule when it was announced that he will be driving the Nos. 12 and 22 Ford Mustangs for Team Penske along with his part-time racing role with Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford, thus making him eligible for the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs and the Dash 4 Cash events.
Cindric’s 2018 season started off on a low note when he was involved in an early multi-car wreck at Daytona International Speedway and finished in last place of the 40-car field while driving Roush’s No. 60 Ford. He rallied the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway by collecting his first top-10 result, seventh place, while driving the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske.
Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Cindric recorded a total of three top-five results, eight top-10 results and his first two career poles. By then, his best on-track result was second place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he started on pole position, led a race-high 59 of 75 laps and was leading in the closing laps before being overtaken by eventual winner Justin Allgaier. Despite being involved in a rollover accident at Daytona in July, losing 35 points following Bristol in August due to a lug nut infraction and posting three consecutive DNFs near the conclusion of the regular season that dropped him to 12th place in the standings, Cindric was able to claim a spot in the Playoffs. By then, his part-time stint with Roush Fenway Racing concluded as he transitioned to the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang for the Playoffs.
In the first round of the Playoffs, spanning three races, Cindric posted results of 13th, third and eighth to advance into the second round. In the first Playoff race of the second round at Kansas Speedway, he was involved in a multi-car wreck at the start of the race and finished in 39th place. Despite finishing third and fourth the following two races, he was one of four competitors who were eliminated from title contention. He went on to finish fifth in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and conclude his first full-time Xfinity season in eighth place in the standings.
A week before the 2018 season concluded, Team Penske announced that Cindric will be remaining in the Xfinity Series for the 2019 season and drive the No. 22 Ford Mustang on a full-time basis with MoneyLion to sponsor him for 18 races and Brian Wilson to serve as his crew chief. It was all in part of a new multi-year deal.
Cindric started the 2019 Xfinity season on a strong note at Daytona by finishing in fifth place. Through the first 19 races of the season, he posted one pole, five top-five results, 13 top-10 results and 30 laps led, with a best on-track result of second place at Richmond Raceway in April behind Cole Custer. By then, he was in fifth place in the regular-season standings.
The following race at Watkins Glen International, Cindric made a late charge on fresh tires and outlasted a late battle against road course ringer A.J. Allmendinger to score his first Xfinity Series career victory in his 54th series start. He backed it up the following race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, his home track, by leading a race-high 46 laps and running away from the field to claim his second consecutive victory of the season and of his career.
Following his first two career victories in the Xfinity Series, Cindric posted two additional top-five results, including a runner-up finish at Road America behind race winner Christopher Bell, and three additional top-10 results for the remaining five regular-season races before entering the Playoffs and with another opportunity to win his first Xfinity title.
In the first round of the 2019 Playoffs, Cindric recorded podium results in all three races and advanced into the Round of 8. Like last season, Cindric ran into on-track issues during the first Round of 8 Playoff event at Kansas. Starting third, he fell behind early due to a loose wheel. Near the halfway point, he suffered a pair of cut tires on the right side of his No. 22 Ford Mustang, which cost him six laps behind the leaders. When the checkered flag flew, he finished in 25th place, six laps down, and was scored 77 points below the top-four cutline.
Cindric and the No. 22 Penske team rallied the following two Playoffs races by finishing third and sixth. The results, however, were not enough for him to transfer into the Championship 4 round for the second consecutive season. After finishing in seventh place in the season finale at Homestead, Cindric concluded his sophomore Xfinity Series season in sixth place in the final standings.
Returning for a second full-time season with Team Penske, Cindric started the 2020 season on a low note at Daytona by being involved in a late multi-car accident and finishing in 25th place. He rallied with three consecutive top-10 results the following three races, with a best result of second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February behind race winner and former teammate Chase Briscoe.
When NASCAR returned to on-track racing at Darlington Raceway in May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Cindric finished fourth. The following race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he led 30 laps and was leading on the final lap when he was overtaken by Kyle Busch on the final corner. He ended the race in third place after being overtaken by runner-up Daniel Hemric.
Since Darlington Raceway in May through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit, Cindric and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford team achieved five top-five results and were ranked in fourth place in the regular-season standings.
The following two races at Kentucky Speedway, Cindric claimed his first elusive pair of victories of the season. It all started on Thursday, July 9, when he emerged with the lead in the late stages. Leading a total of 41 laps, Cindric pulled away from Chase Briscoe on an overtime restart and under caution on the final lap to collect his third series career win and first on an oval-shaped venue. For the second Kentucky event on Friday, July 10, he led a race-high 130 of 200 laps and beat Briscoe by more than two seconds to score his second victory of the season and to sweep both Kentucky races.
Cindric’s momentum throughout the summer months continued as he was awarded his third consecutive victory of the season the following race at Texas Motor Speedway when initial winner Kyle Busch was disqualified due to his car failing post-race technical inspection. After leading 131 laps and finishing second the following race at Kansas, Cindric notched back-to-back victories for the second time this season after winning at Road America and NASCAR’s first event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.
Cindric went on to post four additional top-five results and six additional top-10 results for the remainder of the regular-season stretch. When the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs started, he finished in sixth place at Las Vegas. He was involved in a late accident the following week at Talladega, where he finished 34th, but he collected a bevy of stage points prior to the wreck, which kept him above the top-12 cutline entering the first Playoff elimination event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. For that event, he finished sixth and transferred into the Round of 8.
Cindric’s title hopes were put on jeopardy during the first Round of 8 event at Kansas when he was involved in an early multi-car incident involving Playoff contenders Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson. Despite sustaining substantial damage, Cindric’s crew repaired the car and the driver was able to maintain minimum speed to continue. When the checkered flag flew, he finished in 28th place, 27 laps behind the leaders. Nonetheless, he remained above the top-four cutline to the finale by two points.
After finishing fourth the following Playoff race at Texas, he remained 14 points above the cutline to the finale entering the final elimination event at Martinsville Speedway, which occurred last weekend. At Martinsville, he started on pole position and led the first 42 laps before he got shuffled out of race-winning contention. While racing conservatively around the pack, he finished in 10th place and locked himself a spot to the Championship 4 round for the first time in his career, where he will contend for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title against Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, the season finale.
In 99 Xfinity Series career starts, Cindric has won seven races. He has also achieved seven poles, 39 top-five results, 62 top-10 results, three Playoff appearances, over 1,200 laps led and an average result of 11.7.
Cindric is set to return for his fourth full-time season in the Xfinity Series in 2021 with Team Penske. In addition, he plans to compete in select NASCAR Cup Series races with Penske next season before driving in the premier series full-time and in the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 2022.
Catch Cindric’s milestone start and pursuit of his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway, the site of the finale, on Saturday, November 7. The event will start at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Veteran Justin Allgaier will start on pole position for the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 7.
Allgaier, who finished in the runner-up spot in last weekend’s Xfinity Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway, was awarded the pole for Phoenix based on four stats: current owner points standings, the driver’s results from a previous Xfinity race, the owner’s results from a previous Xfinity race and the fastest lap established from a previous Xfinity race.
This marks the second time this season where Allgaier will start on pole position. In addition, Allgaier enters the finale as one of the final four Playoff contenders who will compete for this year’s Xfinity Series championship. Allgaier, who is in his 10th full-time season in the Xfinity level and in his fourth appearance in the Championship 4 round, is set to return to JR Motorsports in 2021.
Chase Briscoe, who has won nine races this season and is set to graduate to the NASCAR Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021, will start alongside Allgaier on the front row. Austin Cindric and Justin Haley will start in third and fourth, with the final four title contenders occupying the top-four starting spots.
Rookie Harrison Burton, who won last weekend’s event at Martinsville, will start in fifth place. Noah Gragson, Ross Chastain, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Michael Annett will start in the top 10.
Starting in positions 11-24 are Ryan Sieg, Brett Moffitt, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Brown, Myatt Snider, Josh Williams, Tommy Joe Martins, Daniel Hemric, Timmy Hill, Jesse Little, Alex Labbe, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joe Graf Jr. and Mason Diaz.
Starting in positions 25-37 are Colby Howard, Donald Theetge, B.J. McLeod, Ryan Vargas, David Starr, Kody Vanderwal, Kyle Weatherman, Matt Mills, Bayley Currey, J.J. Yeley, C.J. McLaughlin, Jesse Iwuji and Stan Mullis.
The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway will occur on Saturday, November 7, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
With the NASCAR Xfinity Series returning to Martinsville Speedway for the first time since 2006 and three spots to the Championship 4 round up for grabs at the start, rookie Harrison Burton knocked another one out of the park after holding off Justin Allgaier to win the Draft Top 250 at the Paperclip circuit. The victory was Burton’s fourth of this season and of his career as he also claimed back-to-back victories for the first time in his NASCAR national touring series career.
The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Xfinity race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Xfinity race. With that, Austin Cindric started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Noah Gragson.
Kyle Weatherman and Josh Reaume started at the rear of the field due to driver changes. In addition, Reaume’s No. 93 Chevrolet team have been docked a pit selection for next weekend’s finale event at Phoenix Raceway due to the car failing pre-race inspection twice.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Cindric jumped ahead with the lead and he was able to come back around the start/finish line to lead the first lap. Behind, Gragson retained second place ahead of Kaulig Racing teammates Justin Haley and Ross Chastain. Justin Allgaier closed in in fifth place while Jeb Burton settled in sixth ahead of Brandon Jones.
The first caution of the race flew on the fourth lap when Gray Gaulding fell off the pace and was nearly rammed by leader Cindric and the oncoming leaders when his No. 07 Panini Chevrolet Camaro continued to stall before it came to a rest in Turn 1.
The race restarted on the eighth lap with Cindric and Gragson on the front row followed by Haley, Allgaier, Chastain and Jeb Burton. At the start, Cindric retained the lead following a strong start while Haley mounted a challenge on the inside lane for second place. Behind, Allgaier and Chastain were in the top five while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones moved into sixth and seventh.
Shortly after, Harrison Burton moved into fifth place and teammate Jones followed suit while Chastain slipped back to seventh place while stuck on the outside lane. In addition, Michael Annett joined the party as he started to challenge Chastain for more.
By Lap 15, Cindric continued to lead by more than half a second over Haley with Gragson trailing by more than a second. Allgaier and Harrison Burton were in the top five followed by Brandon Jones, Chastain, Jeb Burton, Annett and Brett Moffitt. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Sieg were in 11th and 12th while A.J. Allmendinger was in 19th place behind Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements.
Five laps later, on Lap 20, Cindric stabilized his advantage by more than half a second over Haley while Gragson, Allgaier and Harrison Burton continued to run in the top five.
A few laps later, Bayley Currey made contact with the wall after sustaining a flat tire, but he was able to nurse his car back to pit road with a tire rub and the race continued under green.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Cindric was still at the front as the leader followed by Haley, Gragson, Allgaier and Harrison Burton while Brandon Jones, Chastain, Jeb Burton, Annett and Moffitt were in the top 10.
Under caution, some like Sieg, Myatt Snider, Ryan Vargas and Brandon Brown pitted while the rest led by Cindric remained on the track.
When the race restarted on Lap 31, Cindric retained the lead following another strong start while Gragson retained second place on the outside lane. Behind, Haley and Harrison Burton battled for third place while Allgaier was in fifth place ahead of Chastain. Behind, Allmendinger used the outside lane to move up to 11th place.
By Lap 35, Cindric and Gragson were at the front followed by Harrison Burton, Haley, Allgaier and Chastain. Not long after, the caution returned when Gaulding spun in Turn 1 while he was engaged in a three-wide battle with Stefan Parsons and Colby Howard.
The race restarted on Lap 42 with Cindric and Gragson on the front row. At the start, Gragson mounted a challenge for the lead on the outside lane next to Cindric. Back at the start/finish line, Gragson led a lap for himself as he and Cindric made contact in Turn 1 before battling hard through Turns 2 and 3. Entering Turn 4, Gragson cleared Cindric for the lead as Harrison Burton mounted a challenge for second place on Cindric.
By Lap 46, Harrison Burton moved into second place over Cindric while Gragson continued to lead. Shortly after, Jeb Burton wheel hopped and got loose entering Turn 3 as he slid towards the outside wall and got shuffled out of the top 10, though he was able to continue and the race remained under green.
Back towards the front, Harrison Burton started to close in on Gragson for the lead. Behind, Cindric retained third place followed by Haley and Allgaier while Chastain, Jones, Annett, Allmendinger and Moffitt were in the top 10 with Briscoe just outside of the top-10 mark on the track.
While Gragson and Harrison Burton battled for the lead, Allmendinger continued to carve his way toward the front as he overtook Allgaier for sixth place. Behind, Briscoe, a 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender, cracked the top 10 in 10th place.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, Gragson retained a narrow lead over Harrison Burton and Cindric while Kaulig Racing’s Haley, Chastain and Allmendinger pursued behind.
With one lap remaining in the first stage, the leaders started to approach lapped traffic. Despite encountering lapped traffic and being challenged by Harrison Burton, Gragson was able to retain the lead and win the first stage on Lap 60 for his ninth stage victory of the season. Burton settled in second place followed by Cindric, Chastain and Haley while Allmendinger, Jones, Allgaier, Annett and Briscoe were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, most of the leaders pitted and Harrison Burton exited with the lead over Gragson followed by Cindric, Allgaier and Allmendinger, who was hit by Brandon Jones as Jones was exiting his pit stall. Back on the track, J.J. Yeley, Stefan Parsons and Sieg remained on the track. Shortly after, Parsons surrendered his position towards the front by pitting.
The second stage started on Lap 68 with Yeley and Harrison Burton on the front row followed by Sieg and Gragson. At the front, Yeley retained the lead while Harrison Burton mounted a challenge behind.
On Lap 70, Harrison Burton emerged with the lead for the first time after passing Yeley. Not long after, Gragson moved into second place over Yeley while Cindric, Haley, Chastain, Sieg and Allgaier battled behind.
Three laps later, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck in Turn 3 that involved Donald Theetge, B.J. McLeod and Parsons. Not long after, the race was red-flagged for more than seven minutes due to mud and dirt on the track that was kicked on the racing surface from the incident.
When the red flag was lifted and the race resumed under green on Lap 80, the battle for the lead ignited between Harrison Burton and Gragson with Gragson prevailing the following lap. Behind, Cindric was in third place in front of Kaulig Racing’s Chastain and Haley while Allgaier and Sieg battled for sixth.
On Lap 83, Harrison Burton reassumed the lead following a lengthy battle with Gragson. A lap later, Chastain overtook Cindric for third place as teammate Haley started to mount a challenge for more along with Allgaier. Behind, Allmendinger moved into seventh place while Jones, Sieg and Herbst were in the top 10. Briscoe, meanwhile, was back in 13th place.
By Lap 90, Harrison Burton was still leading while Chastain, who moved into second place, started to close in for the lead. Gragson fell back to third place while Haley and Allgaier were in the top five. Allmendinger moved up to sixth followed by Jones, Cindric, Herbst and Sieg while Briscoe was in 12th behind Annett.
On Lap 92, Chastain muscled his way below Harrison Burton to take the lead. While Chastain settled into an advantage of half a second over Harrison Burton, Gragson retained third place followed by Haley, Allgaier, Allmendinger and Cindric.
At the Lap 100 mark, Chastain, who was approaching lapped traffic, extended his advantage by more than a second over Harrison Burton with Gragson, Haley and Allgaier pursuing behind. By then, the remaining eight Playoff contenders were running in the top 13 with Briscoe still mired back outside the top 10.
Five laps later, the caution returned when fire erupted out of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Matt Mills, who parked and exited his car on the backstretch. Under caution, some like Harrison Burton, Annett, Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Sieg, Herbst, Snider, Briscoe, Brandon Brown, Jesse Little and others pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.
With six laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted with Chastain and Gragson on the front row. At the start, Chastain was able to clear Gragson for the lead entering Turn 1 while Gragson was able to fend off Haley for second. Allgaier and Cindric were in the top five followed by Jones, who overtook Moffitt for position.
Down to the final laps of the second stage, Chastain continued to lead with Gragson remaining in pursuit. With clean air being key, Chastain was able to hold on and win the second stage on Lap 120 and for his third stage victory of the season. Gragson settled in second followed by Haley, Allgaier and Cindric while Jones, Moffitt, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Timmy Hill rounded out the top 10.
Under the stage break, some of the leaders pitted with Chastain exiting pit road ahead of Gragson, Jones, Allgaier, Cindric and Haley. Back on the track, Allmendinger, who pitted prior to the conclusion of the second stage, remained on the track and assumed the lead followed by Harrison Burton, teammate Herbst, Jeb Burton, Sieg and Briscoe.
With 123 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Allmendinger retained the lead and Harrison Burton fended off teammate Herbst for second. Behind, Jeb Burton muscled his way into third place while Myatt Snider, who overtook Briscoe and Herbst for position, went to work on Sieg for fourth.
With 118 laps remaining and the pack behind the leaders bumping and battling hard for position, the caution returned when contact from Allgaier in Turn 4 and a bump from Haley entering Turn 1 sent Yeley spinning as everyone behind scattered to avoid hitting Yeley.
Under caution, the No. 61 Toyota Supra driven by Chad Finchum was towed back to the garage due to mechanical issues.
When the race restarted under green with 112 laps remaining, Allmendinger retained the lead following a strong start while cousins Harrison and Jeb Burton battled for second. Behind, Snider and Sieg battled in the top five while Herbst was in sixth ahead of Briscoe. Behind, Chastain and Jones battled for a top-10 spot while Allgaier was in 13th. Gragson, Cindric and Haley were mired back in 16th, 17th and 18th.
With 105 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Harrison Burton while Jeb Burton was in front of a bevy of competitors in third place. By then, Chastain carved his way into eighth place as he went to work on Briscoe for more.
Five laps remaining and with 100 laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage by more than a second over Harrison Burton with Jeb Burton trailing by more than three seconds. Sieg, Snider and Herbst were in the top six while Chastain, a Playoff contender trying to fight his way into the Championship 4 finale round, moved into seventh place ahead of Briscoe.
Meanwhile, Allgaier, Gragson and Cindric were in 10th, 11th and 12th while Haley and Jones were in 14th and 15th behind Brandon Brown.
Fifteen laps later, with 85 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead followed by Harrison and Jeb Burton. Sieg, Snider and Herbst continued to run in fourth through sixth while Chastain started having JR Motorsports’ Allgaier, Annett and Gragson close in for seventh place.
Nearly five laps later, Chastain attempted to push Herbst beneath Snider for position to move forward on the track, but it did not work as Chastain lost his momentum and Allgaier was able to overtake him for position and continue to move up on fresh tires.
With 75 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead over Harrison and Jeb Burton followed by Sieg and Allgaier, who overtook Herbst for position. Behind, Chastain slipped back to 10th place while Gragson and Annett moved up to eighth and ninth.
Down to the final 70 laps of the race, the battle for the lead between Allmendinger and Harrison Burton started to heat up as they were mired in lapped traffic. A few laps later, the caution flew when Bayley Currey made hard contact into the outside wall entering Turn 2.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Harrison Burton was able to reassume the lead after exiting pit road ahead of Allmendinger with Jeb Burton, Sieg and Allgaier exiting in the top five.
With 61 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harrison Burton and Allmendinger on the front row. At the start, Burton and Allmendinger battled dead even for the lead and continued to do so for the next four laps before Burton made contact and got loose entering Turn 4 with Allmendinger with the latter prevailing on the outside lane.
Behind, Allgaier overtook teammate Jeb Burton for third place while Gragson passed Sieg for fifth place. Behind Sieg and Herbst was Chastain, mired in eighth place and still scored outside of the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings.
With 52 laps remaining, Harrison Burton reassumed the lead while Allmendinger fell off the pace and made a pit stop under green due to cutting a left-rear tire as a result of his on-track battle and contact with Burton for the lead.
Back on the track and down to the final 50 laps, Allgaier moved into second place behind Harrison Burton while Gragson, Jeb Burton and Herbst were in the top five. Chastain was in sixth ahead of Sieg, Cindric, Briscoe and Haley with Jones in 11th place.
With 45 laps remaining, Harrison Burton continued to lead by a narrow margin over Allgaier with Gragson, Jeb Burton and Chastain in the top five. By then, Cindric, Allgaier and Haley were above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings and in position of transferring to the Championship 4 round with Chastain, Jones, Gragson and Sieg trailing on the outside of the cutoff mark.
Under 40 laps remaining, Harrison Burton stabilized his advantage by nearly a second over Allgaier, who continued to pressure the rookie for the lead. Gragson retained third place while Chastain overtook Jeb Burton for fourth place.
Four laps later, the caution returned when Snider spun following contact with Brandon Brown. Under caution, some like Sieg, Briscoe, Brandon Jones, Annett and others pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton remained on the track.
With 30 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Harrison Burton and Allgaier on the front row. At the start, Burton and Allgaier battled dead even for the lead with the former prevailing the following lap. Allgaier settled in second while teammate Gragson, facing a “must-win” situation, moved into third place. Jeb Burton was in fourth while Chastain was in fifth ahead of teammate Haley, Herbst and Cindric.
Down to the final 20 laps of the race, Harrison Burton was still leading, though JRM teammates Allgaier and Gragson kept Burton within their sights. Behind, Chastain overtook Jeb Burton for fourth place while Haley, clinging onto the final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round, battled Herbst to retain sixth place. Cindric was in eighth while Jones was in 10th ahead of Briscoe.
With less than 15 laps remaining and with Harrison Burton still leading Allgaier by more than half a second, Haley was shuffled back to 12th place while teammate Chastain was in fourth place as both Kaulig Racing teammates were left in a battle with one another for a championship finale spot.
Down to the final 10 laps of the race, Harrison Burton continued to lead by nearly a second over Allgaier with teammate Gragson trailing by nearly two seconds. Chastain settled in fourth ahead of Jeb Burton while Herbst, Briscoe, Jones, Annett and Cindric were in the top 10. Haley was in 12th and holding onto the final transfer spot by four points over teammate Chastain.
With five laps remaining, leader Harrison Burton started to catch lapped traffic as he continued to lead by less than a second over Allgaier with Gragson trailing behind by more than a second and Chastain trailing by four seconds.
Despite the lapped traffic, Harrison Burton continued to stabilize his advantage over Allgaier, who continued to close in. At the final lap, Burton continued to lead by half a second. Coming back around to the checkered flag, Burton was able to hold on and win by approximately three-tenths of a second over Allgaier.
At 20 years and 22 days old, Harrison Burton became the youngest winner at Martinsville Speedway, eclipsing his father Jeff’s previous record at 23 years, two months and 24 days old.
During his cool-down lap and victory burnout, Harrison received congrats from his father Jeff, who interviewed his son during the on-track celebration.
“What’s up, dad? That was pretty awesome!” Burton exclaimed. “Great race car. I got the best team in the garage. That’s pretty fun!”
“I heard my old man get on the radio, which was pretty special,” Burton added during a post-race interview. “He’s funny on the TV. He was probably hating that because he tries to stay as non-biased as possible and avoids talking about me as much as he can. When they told him to do that, he was probably excited to talk to me but probably, he was a little bit nervous. That was awesome to have my dad talk to me. The amount of stuff that my dad and my mom have done for me, sacrificing time together, sacrificing time with my sister,…To give back to them by winning these races and, hopefully, proving that all that time spent away was worth it, racing all over the country with my mom, that means a lot.”
Allgaier finished in second place and raced his way into the Championship 4 round while teammate Gragson failed to advance to the Championship 4 round despite finishing in third place.
“I’m just proud of our team, everybody at JR Motorsports,” Allgaier said. “We had four really fast Camaros today. We came in today with the idea of just managing the stages as best we could, managing the race as best we could. At the end there, I really wanted to be able to get up there and pass Harrison, but hats off to those guys. They did a great job. I just didn’t do a good job on getting off the corner. I struggled all day to get my rhythm down. Once we finally did that, I felt like we had a really fast Camaro. Proud to get Unilever a good finish. Most importantly, proud to get all of our partners an opportunity to go for a championship next week. That’s what this is all about. Just got to get after it next week…We just got to go all week and work as hard as we can, and be there whenever it comes time.”
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
“I definitely thought our Bass Pro Shops/True Timber was pretty good,” Gragson said. “I was saving my tires a little bit the run before that…We put on one hell of a stretch in the Playoffs. Overall, we can’t hang our heads over this stretch. We did the best we could do. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go fight hard next weekend at Phoenix. I like that track. I wish I was competing in the Final Four. Congrats to all the guys who made it happen. I’m hungry to win one. It sucks finishing second and third. I wanna go win.”
Jeb Burton recorded a strong fourth-place run while Chastain finished in fifth place and failed to advance to the Championship 4 round by four points.
“I made too many mistakes the two races leading up to this,” Chastain said. “I know that. It was a tough week coming here knowing the hole I put us in. Today though, the fight was awesome. I just wanted to win Martinsville. I knew how fast our car was, especially in clean air. Proud of the fight, proud of the effort from everybody. I’ve got great owners. Can’t wait to go to Phoenix and put all the effort after Phoenix into 2021.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Herbst, Briscoe, Annett, Jones and Cindric rounded out the top 10 on the track. Cindric and Haley, who finished 12th, secured the final two spots to the Championship 4 round, joining Allgaier and Chase Briscoe.
“Yeah, obviously, coming to a race track with a brand new set-up and a car that hasn’t been here, I’m sure [crew chief Brian Wilson] was pretty nervous but obviously, he did a great job,” Cindric said. “Our guys worked incredibly hard on this Pirtek Ford Mustang for this race. Really proud of that. I don’t think we really got to show its capability today. I took the easy way out and picked a lot of bottom lane restarts, which were a lot safer. I hate playing the points game, but we have done that the entire Playoffs. I’m happy we’re in the final four…We get to go to Phoenix and have a lot of fun. I’m excited to go fight for a championship…We got to beat everyone, that’s the thing. You can’t just be better. You have to be the best.”
“The motor’s actually blown up,” Haley said. “From about halfway through the race, the motor started letting go. Just so thankful for everyone at Kaulig Racing. When I first signed on, Chris Rice [President of Kaulig Racing] was like, ‘Hey man, this is a 12th-place car. You got to get it. We gotta work together, we got to get it in the Final Four, we gotta win races and we can do it.’ I believed him. It’s just so awesome to get this thing in the Final Four. If you told a lot of people at the start of the year that the No. 11 car out of Kaulig Racing was gonna be in the Final Four, I’m sure they’d probably say you’re wrong. So, so thankful. Sigh of relief. Matt Kaulig, have a drink for me.”
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley will contend for this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series championship next weekend at Phoenix Raceway. In addition to the drivers’ championship, all four will battle for this year’s owners’ championship.
Ross Chastain, Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson and Ryan Sieg, who finished 11th, have been eliminated from title contention.
“I wanted to go to Phoenix and have a shot to [win the title],” Jones said. “Luckily, we announced that we’re coming back next year and we’re gonna have a shot at it again. Pretty cool to see Harrison get a couple more wins before the year’s over. I think these guys still need to watch out. We’re gonna be really good at Phoenix when we get there. I think we still could be better for next year.”
There were 11 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 63 laps.
Results.
1. Harrison Burton, 81 laps led
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Noah Gragson, 23 laps led, Stage 1 winner
4. Jeb Burton
5. Ross Chastain, 31 laps led, Stage 2 winner
6. Riley Herbst
7. Chase Briscoe
8. Michael Annett
9. Brandon Jones
10. Austin Cindric, 42 laps led
11. Ryan Sieg
12. Justin Haley
13. Brett Moffitt
14. J.J. Yeley, five laps led
15. Jeremy Clements
16. Tommy Joe Martins
17. Timmy Hill
18. Brandon Brown
19. Josh Williams
20. Mason Diaz
21. Joe Graf Jr.
22. Jesse Little, one lap down
23. Myatt Snider, one lap down
24. Stefan Parsons, one lap down
25. Colby Howard, two laps down
26. A.J. Allmendinger, two laps down, 68 laps led
27. Alex Labbe, three laps down
28. Jeffrey Earnhardt, four laps down
29. Kody Vanderwal, four laps down
30. Kyle Weatherman, four laps down
31. Donald Theetge, five laps down
32. Carl Long, six laps down
33. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down
34. Ryan Vargas, 17 laps down
35. Gray Gaulding – OUT, Electrical
36. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident
37. Chad Finchum – OUT, Engine
38. Matt Mills – OUT, Oil line
39. Josh Reaume – OUT, Suspension
Bold indicates Championship finale contenders
Standings
1. Chase Briscoe – Advanced
2. Austin Cindric – Advanced
3. Justin Allgaier – Advanced
4. Justin Haley – Advanced
5. Ross Chastain – Eliminated
6. Brandon Jones – Eliminated
7. Noah Gragson – Eliminated
8. Ryan Sieg – Eliminated
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will travel to Phoenix Raceway for the 2020 season finale and where a champion will be crowned. The race will occur on Saturday, November 7, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NASCAR heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend to determine who will advance to the Championship 4 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Joey Logano is the only Cup Series driver already locked into the Playoffs, leaving three open spots. In the Xfinity Series Chase Briscoe is the only driver that has clinched a spot with his win at Kansas Speedway. Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt have secured their place in the Truck Series, leaving two available spots for the Playoffs.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, Oct. 30
8 p.m.: NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 Race (Stages 60/120/200 Laps = 175 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Sheldon Creed
Saturday, Oct. 31
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Draft Top 250 race (Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 131.5 Miles) NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Austin Cindric
Sunday, Nov. 1
2 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 (Stages 125/250/500 Laps = 266.5 Miles) NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Pole: Brad Keselowski
Racing for a championship spot is not the only task at hand for Kevin Harvick for this upcoming weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway. By taking the green flag at Martinsville on Sunday, November 1, the 2014 Cup champion is set to achieve another major accomplishment to his racing resume. That accomplishment is moving into second place on NASCAR’s national series starts list with his 1,186th career start.
Following Wednesday night’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished 16th, Harvick reached 1,185 career starts between NASCAR’s top three national series (Truck: 123, Xfinity: 346, Cup: 716). He also moved into a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, who made all of his 1,185 career starts in the Cup level, for second place on the all-time national series starts list.
Through 1,185 career starts, Harvick has amassed 119 wins, 60 poles, 459 top-five results, 709 top-10 results and over 27,000 laps led between NASCAR’s top three division series. He has also achieved two Xfinity Series championships (2001 and 2006) and one Cup championship (2014). Other accomplishments include the 2007 Daytona 500, three Brickyard 400 victories, two Coca-Cola 600 wins, two NASCAR All-Star Race wins, two Southern 500 victories and the 2001 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Once Harvick surpasses Petty’s mark in national career starts, veteran Joe Nemechek will be next on Harvick’s radar. Nemechek holds the all-time record for starts between NASCAR’s top three national series with 1,197 career starts. He has made eight Xfinity starts and one Truck start throughout the 2020 season.
This season, which marks his seventh season driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has claimed a career-high nine victories, 20 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and the 2020 Cup regular-season championship through 34 of the 36-race schedule. He also became the 17th competitor to reach 700 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, a feat he made at Texas Motor Speedway in July 2020.
Harvick enters this weekend’s Playoff event at Martinsville with a 42-point cushion for the finale at Phoenix Raceway scheduled on Sunday, November 8, as he attempts to qualify for the Championship 4 round and contend for his second Cup title.
Catch Harvick’s milestone start at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series held their race at Texas Motor Speedway today and for the third time in his career, Harrison Burton brought home the trophy. Burton, in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, made a last-lap pass to drive by Noah Gragson for the win.
“We had such a fast race car, I’ve never driven anything harder than that last corner in my life,” Burton said. “! don’t know how it stuck! I lost my voice screaming. Gosh, that was special.” He added, ” I’ve never spun out and came back to win so that was kinda cool.”
A disappointed Gragson, in his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, would come home in second place.
“I thought we had a fast car there, just a little tight all day,” he said. “I am just frustrated with myself, I don’t know. I was pretty tight there at the end and seen Alfredo holding Harrison off and thought we were getting away. Then I saw the 20 pass the 21 and ran me down in like, two laps. I knew he was coming, I just didn’t expect him to get there.”
Finishing third in his No.21 RCR Chevrolet was Anthony Alfredo.
Austin Cindric and Brandon Brown would round out the top five. Michael Annett, Justin Haley, Ryan Vargas, Josh Williams, and Tommy Joe Martins finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Stage 1 had only one minor caution and Brandon Jones won the first stage.
Stage 2 went flag to flag without any cautions and H. Burton won that stage.
Stage 3 saw several cautions fly with the majority having only one car involved. The last caution of the race saw four top cars involved including Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, and Brandon Jones. That set up for a crazy finish as Harrison flew by Gragson coming out of turn four to take the checkered flag.
The Playoff picture shows Briscoe in with his win, then Cindric at +14 points, Allgaier +8 points, and Haley with +4 points.
Below the cut line are B. Jones -4, Ross Chastain -15, Gragson -24, and Sieg with -43.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ next race is Saturday, Oct. 31 at Martinsville Speedway.
