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Tag: NASCAR Xfinity Series

  • Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    Mike Shiplett to reach 150 Cup starts as crew chief at Bristol

    A significant milestone is in the making for Mike Shiplett, crew chief for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and Rookie-of-the-Year recipient Cole Custer. When the Cup Series competes in this weekend’s Playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Shiplett will call his 150th race in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

    A native of Amherst, Ohio, Shiplett grew up working on street stock cars for local short track racing with his uncle before he raced his prepared street stock across Ohio at age 16, eventually moving up to late model stock cars. He went on to attain a degree in diesel technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio in 1992. Afterwards, he joined Liberty Racing as a mechanic in the American Speed Association in 1995, which made the eventual move to the NASCAR Truck Series.

    In 1998, Shiplett moved to North Carolina and worked as a car chief for the No. 75 Butch Mock Motorsports team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Following the 2000 season, Shiplett joined forces with Ultra Motorsports in 2001 and continued to work as a car chief. Two years later, he joined Evernham Motorsports and another four years later, he worked as a crew chief for Evernham’s Xfinity Series program. Working with seven competitors in the 2007 NASCAAR Xfinity season, Shiplett won his first two NASCAR career races as a crew chief with Kasey Kahne.

    In 2008, when Evernham Motorsports became Gillett-Evernham Motorsports, Shiplett was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for the No. 10 Dodge team that started the season with Patrick Carpentier, the 1997 CART Rookie of the Year and Champ Car competitor from LaSalle, Quebec, Canada, behind the wheel. The 2008 season marked Shiplett’s first as a Cup crew chief. From 2008 to 2009, Shiplett worked with five different drivers (Patrick Carpentier, Terry Labonte, Mike Wallace, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger) while remaining with the team that became Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009. In August 2008, Shiplett served as a crew chief for Carpentier for the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he finished 25th. Following the 2009 season, Shiplett called 66 Cup career races.

    In 2010, Shiplett worked as a full-time Cup crew chief with Allmendinger and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team. Together, Allmendinger and Shiplett achieved a pole position at Phoenix Raceway in April, two top-five results and eight top-10 results as Allmendinger concluded the season in 19th place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Shiplett reached 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the first 19 Cup races of the 2011 season, Shiplett remained as crew chief for Allmendinger and the No. 43 RPM Ford team as Allmendinger earned one top-five result, four top-10 results and was ranked in 16th place in the standings following the recent Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. Afterwards, Shiplett was replaced by Greg Erwin for the remainder of the season and Allmendinger went on to conclude the season in a career-best 15th place in the final standings.

    In 2012, Shiplett scaled back to the Xfinity Series and worked at Turner Motorsports. He served as a crew chief for 23 Xfinity races while working with Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet, both of whom split driving roles in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet. He also served as a crew chief for Kahne in the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway in April, where Kahne went on to win.

    From 2013 to 2014, Shiplett rejoined Richard Petty Motorsports and was involved with the team’s research-and-development program. He also served as an Xfinity Series crew chief for Corey LaJoie in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November when LaJoie made his series debut.

    In 2015, Shiplett rejoined the Xfinity Series and worked as a crew chief for HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro team driven between Kyle Larson, Justin Marks and Brennan Poole. Shiplett remained with the organization when the No. 42 car returned only under the Chip Ganassi Racing banner in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, Shiplett won a total of 15 Xfinity races between Larson, Marks, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek.

    After Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity program shut down due to sponsorship woes, Shiplett joined Stewart-Haas Racing to serve as crew chief for Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang team. Together, Custer and Shiplett had great success all season long as they achieved seven victories, six poles, 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average result of 9.0. In the end, however, Custer and Shiplett finished in second place in the final standings behind the champions Tyler Reddick and crew chief Randall Burnett of Richard Childress Racing.

    Following a successful 2019 Xfinity Series season, Stewart-Haas Racing named Shiplett as a full-time crew chief of the No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang driven by Custer for the 2020 season as Custer entered this season as a Rookie-of-the-Year contender. Through the first 16 Cup races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved one top-five result, two top-10 results and were ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings.

    The following race at Kentucky Speedway, however, Custer took advantage on a two-lap shootout and made a bold four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap and against names like Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to achieve his first Cup career victory in his 20th series start. The win was also Shiplett’s first in the Cup level as the victory guaranteed Custer, Shiplett and the No. 41 team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer and Shiplett went on to achieve three additional top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch. By the time the 2020 Cup Playoff field was set following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August, Custer was named the 2020 Cup Rookie of the Year since he was the lone rookie candidate to make the 16-car Playoff field.

    Through the first two Cup Playoff races of this season, Custer and Shiplett achieved 12th- and 14th-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Richmond Raceway. Currently, Custer is eight points below the top-12 cutline and is one of four competitor who are on the brink of elimination from title contention entering this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Catch Shiplett’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Richmond I and II

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Richmond I and II

    With just two races left prior to the 2020 Xfinity Series playoffs, many drivers who are currently in the playoffs by virtue of points were still seeking their first win of the season while some needed a good points day. 

    To no one’s surprise, Justin Allgaier had a dominating race car for the two Richmond races and swept the weekend. The Illinois native seems to be peaking at the right time as he has been on a tear for the last few races by not only sweeping Richmond, but also winning race one of Dover and finishing seventh in the second race. Should Allgaier keep this momentum going throughout the next 13 races, he easily could be a favorite for the Xfinity Series championship. 

    While Allgaier enjoyed success this past weekend at Richmond, Chase Briscoe, who has won six times this year, struggled to earn a top 10 finish. In fact, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver did not score a top 10 at all in either race which is quite uncharacteristic of the No. 98 team who seems to have the car to beat this year and has been dominant throughout the 2020 season.

    There were multiple drivers who had up and down days in the final Xfinity Series doubleheader of the year at Richmond. 

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings. 

    1. Justin Haley – Haley earned a runner-up finish in Friday’s race and a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s event. Haley most likely could have won Friday’s race after leading 51 laps but had to settle for a second-place finish. In Friday’s event, Haley placed a respectable fourth and third in both stages. Meanwhile, in Saturday’s race, he didn’t lead any laps but finished third in Stage 1 and second in the final stage. In the end, Haley gained his eighth top-five and 16th top 10 finishes of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    2. Justin Allgaier – Allgaier swept both Richmond races and led a combined 213 out of 500 laps; that’s a combined 42.6% total, nearly 50% of the laps. He finished fifth in Stage 1 and won Stage 2 in Friday’s outing, while he won Stage 1 and placed eighth in Stage 2 for Saturday. In the end, the Stage 2 finish was somewhat irrelevant as Allgaier took the lead on Lap 172 and led for the final 79 laps.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    3. Ross Chastain – Overall, it was a solid weekend for Chastain and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing team, with finishes of fifth and third, respectively in both races. In addition to the finishes, Chastain led 39 laps in Friday’s race and 58 laps in Saturday’s outing. Despite missing out on two checkered flags, the Floridan clinched a spot in the playoffs based on his points in the standings and his finishes throughout the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    4. Austin Cindric – It was a mix of two different races for Cindric, who finished fourth and 10th on the doubleheader weekend. Looking back, Cindric will probably want at least the Friday race back and another chance at a victory, after he led 64 laps and won Stage 1. Saturday’s race was a different story as Cindric could only manage a Stage 2 finish of sixth before earning his 20th top 10 of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Harrison Burton – Despite finishing 16th, one lap down in Friday’s race, Saturday’s performance where he finished fourth and fifth in both stages was enough to keep Burton in the Power Rankings this week. Though the inconsistency of finishes will be something the No. 20 team needs to work on as the season winds down with Burton finishing both outside the top 10 or inside the top 10 every other week.

      Previous Week Ranking –  Third 

    Fell Out

    1. Ryan Sieg – What a difference a week made for Sieg after having a great run at Darlington the week before. While he did have a respectable finish of 11th in Friday’s race, Sieg finished 15th, the first car one lap down, in Saturday’s outing. The Georgian never placed in either stage in Friday’s race and only finished ninth in Stage 1 on Saturday.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    2. Chase Briscoe – Richmond was definitely a forgettable race weekend in the No. 98 camp. The Indiana native did not manage a top 10 finish in either race, despite leading a combined 20 laps. However, with how strong the team can be on certain race weekends, it would not be shocking to find them back in victory lane at some point in the playoffs.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
    3. Brandon Jones – With no stage finishes inside the top 10 in both races and only one finish inside the top 10 of eighth in Saturday’s race, it was not the weekend Jones was looking for.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth 
  • Cindric clinches 2020 Xfinity Series regular-season title

    Cindric clinches 2020 Xfinity Series regular-season title

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, produced mixed emotions for Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang for Team Penske. Despite struggling to keep pace with the leaders throughout Saturday afternoon’s race, a 10th-place run to cap off an eventful doubleheader weekend of racing at Richmond, Virginia, was enough for the Columbus, Ohio, native to claim this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season championship.

    After finishing in fourth place on Friday night at Richmond, Cindric rolled off the grid in 12th place as the top-14 finishers from Friday night were inverted for Saturday afternoon’s race. When the green flag waved, Cindric showed early speed at the start as he cracked the top five. With the race progressing into a long run, he started to fall off the pace through the turns and he even dropped out the top 10 in the closing laps of the first stage. Having a tire wearing out, Cindric was able to nurse his No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang across the line in 15th place.

    The second stage was an improvement for Cindric, who received adjustments at the start, made his way back into the top 10 on the track and was able to make a late rally on a late restart to finish in sixth place and collect valuable stage points towards the Playoffs and towards his lead in the regular-season standings.

    For the final stage, which started with 93 laps remaining, Cindric remained within the bottom half of the top 10 and was trying to bring his car back home in one piece and with an opportunity to wrap up the regular-season title. Despite a late restart with 13 laps remaining, Cindric was able to cross the line under the checkered flag in 10th place and to cap off an up-and-down weekend at Richmond.

    By virtue of his 10th-place run, the stage points he collected from the second stage and a strong 25-race regular-season stretch, where he notched five victories, 10 stage wins, 16 top-five results and 20 top-10 results, Cindric secured the regular-season title by being 71 points over fellow competitor Chase Briscoe, who achieved six victories throughout this year’s regular season.

    “I had a very frustrating day and I wish we would have been able to do more with our PPG Ford Mustang today,” Cindric said on pit road on NBCSN. “We sat down as a team at the beginning of the year and we all wrote down our top-three goals. I am not a big proponent of setting goals but we put something on paper and my number one was the regular-season championship. From the outside looking in that was maybe a lofty goal but we got a lot of speed and a lot of fight and I am really proud of that effort. We can’t have days like today, especially if we get to make it to the Championship Four. A lot of emotions right now but at the end of the day it is mission accomplished for sure.”

    With his accomplishment, Cindric, currently in his third full-time Xfinity Series season, became the fourth different competitor to claim the Xfinity regular-season title since its inception in 2017, joining names like Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick who have also won the title prior to the Playoffs. In addition, Cindric will be awarded 15 bonus points for the Playoffs, which will commence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 26, as he aims to join Brad Keselowski as the lone Xfinity competitors to win a Drivers’ Xfinity championship while driving for team owner Roger Penske.

    “[The goal to win the regular-season title] was frustrating because it felt so attainable,” Cindric added. “Especially in the months of June, there when we were at Atlanta and Pocono and Homestead, places where we had so much speed. The races just didn’t go our way and it felt like nothing was going our way. Then we go to Indy and had the same thing there. But then, we went on that run and it was really big for our points and the stats and the numbers show our consistency throughout the year. I am looking forward to [Bristol next weekend] and looking forward to pushing hard and seeing what this team is capable of over the next couple of months.”

    Cindric, along with his fellow Xfinity competitors, will cap off this year’s regular-season stretch at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 18, where the race will start at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Allgaier sweeps Richmond in doubleheader weekend

    Allgaier sweeps Richmond in doubleheader weekend

    Coming off his late surge and dominating win on Friday night in Richmond, Virginia, while recording a milestone win for JR Motorsports, Justin Allgaier backed it up by winning the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday afternoon, September 12, for his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season and in the past six races as he also claimed his second victory of the weekend. The win was Allgaier’s 14th of his Xfinity career and 11th while driving JRM’s No. 7 car as JR Motorsports recorded its 51st NASCAR Xfinity career victory.

    The starting lineup was based on the results from Friday night’s race at Richmond, where the top-14 finishers were inverted. With that, Tommy Joe Martins started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Brandon Jones. Chad Finchum started at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Rookie Myatt Snider also started at the rear of the field in a backup car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Martins and Jones battled dead even for the lead before Jones was able to prevail through Turns 3 and 4 and lead the first lap. Behind, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Sieg made a three-wide move on Martins entering Turn 1 before both moved up to second and third behind Jones. Not long after, Kaz Grala also moved up into fourth followed by Michael Annett while Martins continued to fade and lose spots on the track.

    By the fifth lap, Jones was ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over Briscoe with Sieg trailing by half a second. Five laps later, on Lap 10, Jones stabilized his advantage to nearly three-tenths of a second over Briscoe. Behind, Grala moved into third place over Sieg while Noah Gragson joined the battle. Austin Cindric was in sixth followed by Annett, Justin Haley, teammate Ross Chastain and rookie Riley Herbst. Justin Allgaier, winner of Friday night’s Xfinity race at Richmond, was in 11th ahead of cousins Harrison and Jeb Burton while Tommy Joe Martins fell back to 20th.

    On Lap 17, Briscoe emerged with the lead after passing Jones on the inside lane the previous lap in Turn 1. Behind him. Grala moved into second place followed by Gragson while Jones settled in fourth place ahead of Haley and Cindric. Four laps later, Haley, who finished in second place on Friday night behind Allgaier, continued his march to the front after passing Jones for fourth place. By then, Allgaier cracked the top 10.

    By Lap 25, the top-three competitors on the track led by Briscoe and followed by Grala and Gragson were ahead of fourth-place Haley by a second with Cindric trailing by more than a second and Annett by more than two seconds. Shortly after, Gragson moved into second place over Grala.

    Thirty laps into the event and with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Gragson emerged with the lead after passing Briscoe the previous lap in Turn 1. Briscoe maintained second place over Grala while Haley and Cindric stabilized themselves inside the top five. Behind, Allgaier moved up to sixth place and Ross Chastain moved up to eighth place while Jones fell back to 11th behind teammates Herbst and Harrison Burton.

    While Gragson slowly extended his advantage, Grala and Briscoe battled for second place with Haley joining the party and heavy lapped traffic in front of them. On Lap 37, Haley, Briscoe and Grala went three wide for second place amid the lapped traffic for nearly a full circuit before Haley prevailed and took the spot. Behind, Allgaier rocketed his way into third place while Briscoe and Grala settled in the top five ahead of Cindric. Shortly after, Allgaier moved into second place. 

    With the battling for positions settling down, Gragson was able to maintain the lead just as the competition caution flew on Lap 40. Under caution, few that included Joey Gase and Tommy Joe Martins made a pit stop while the rest remained on track.

    The race resumed under green on Lap 45 as teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for the lead while Briscoe made a three-wide move to move up to third place. At the front, Allgaier emerged with the lead entering Turn 2 and after restarting on the inside lane. Behind, Haley passed Briscoe for third place while teammate Chastain overtook Annett into fifth place in pursuit of more on the track.

    Fifty-five laps into the event, Allgaier was ahead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Gragson while Kaulig Racing teammates Haley and Chastain trailed behind. Annett, teammates to Allgaier and Gragson at JR Motorsports, was back in fifth place while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Herbst and Burton battled with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Briscoe for sixth and seventh. Penske’s Cindric was in ninth while RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg was in 10th. Richard Childress Racing’s Grala was back in 12th behind Sieg.

    Five laps later, on Lap 60, Allgaier continued to lead by half a second over Gragson with Haley trailing by seven-tenths of a second and Chastain trailing by more than a second. Jones was back in 14th while Martins was back in 27th. In addition, Grala overtook Cindric for 10th place. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 75, Allgaier emerged at the front of the field as he claimed his 10th stage victory of the season. Gragson settled in second place behind his teammate followed by Haley, Chastain and Harrison Burton while Annett, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Sieg and Grala settled in the top 10. By then, Briscoe and his No. 98 Go Bowling Ford Mustang dropped back to 11th place ahead of Brandon Jones while Cindric and his No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang also fell back to 15th place. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Allgaier retained the lead following his pit stop ahead of teammate Gragson, Chastain, Haley, Harrison Burton and Jeb Burton. Following the pit stops, Sieg was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage commenced on Lap 82 and Chastain made a bold three-wide move beneath Allgaier and Gragson in Turn 1 to take the lead. Eight laps later, on Lap 90, Chastain stabilized his advantage to a second over teammates Allgaier and Gragson while Jeb Burton moved up to fourth place in front of Haley and Harrison Burton. Behind, Cindric rallied from his late issues near the end of the first stage to run in seventh place followed by Herbst, Briscoe and Brett Moffitt. Annett, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones, Brandon Brown and Grala were running in the top 15.

    Another 10 laps later, on Lap 100, Chastain stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Allgaier, whose car slowly came to life and with speed on long runs like the first stage, with Gragson trailing by more than a second. Behind, Jeb Burton continued to maintain fourth place over Haley. 

    By Lap 110, Allgaier cut his deficit to three-tenths of a second over Chastain as the leaders started to approach heavy lapped traffic. Both Chastain and Allgaier were ahead of third-place Gragson by more than two seconds with Haley in fourth. Behind by more than four seconds were cousins Harrison and Jeb Burton, both battling for fifth place, with Herbst joining the party. Cindric was back in eighth place ahead of Briscoe and Annett.

    Ten laps later, on Lap 120, Allgaier started to pressure Chastain for the lead as they cleared the lapped traffic. He then attempted to gain a run and set up a pass on the outside lane, but Chastain was able to stabilize his narrow lead.

    When the race reached its halfway point on Lap 125, Chastain was still ahead with the lead as Allgaier settled right behind the rear bumper of Chastain’s No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro. Three laps later, Allgaier and his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro moved back into the lead after fending off a challenge by Chastain, who refused to back out of the gas.

    Behind, Harrison Burton made his way to third place after passing Gragson while Herbst moved up to fifth place after passing Haley. Jeb Burton settled in seventh place in front of Cindric, Jones and Briscoe. Shortly after, Herbst muscled his No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Supra into fourth place.

    With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew for an incident involving in Turn 3 involving Colby Howard. By then, Allgaier was leading by more than a second over Chastain with Harrison Burton trailing by less than four seconds. Under caution, some like Chastain, Haley, Harrison Burton, Herbst, Cindric, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones and Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on track. Following the pit stops, Jones was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road.

    With five laps remaining, the short dash to the conclusion of the second stage started under green and with Allgaier and Grala restarting on the front row followed by teammates Gragson and Annett. At the start, Allgaier retained the lead while Chastain rocketed his way on the outside lane to move all the way up to second place in two laps and on fresh tires than Allgaier. All this occurred as the field scrambled for positions between those on fresh tires versus those on old tires. 

    A lap later, teammates Chastain and Haley made a three-wide move on Allgaier for the lead with Chastain reassuming the lead while Allgaier was overtaken by a handful of cars on fresh tires and dropped back to the top 10. By the time the second stage concluded on Lap 150 and with the scrambling for positions still ongoing through every turn and straightaway, Chastain emerged out in front and claimed his second stage victory of the season. Teammate Haley and his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro settled in second followed by Jeb Burton, Briscoe and Harrison Burton while Cindric, Herbst, Allgaier, Gragson and Grala settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some like Allgaier, Gragson, Jeb Burton, Grala, Clements and Brandon Brown pitted while the rest led by teammates Chastain and Haley remained on track. 

    The final stage commenced under green with 93 laps remaining and with Chastain and Haley on the front row. At the start, Chastain took off with the lead followed by Briscoe and Jeb Burton while Haley got shuffled out of the top five entering Turn 2. In one lap, Allgaier moved up to sixth place on fresh tires. 

    At the front, Jeb Burton made a move beneath Chastain to take the lead with 90 laps remaining. Shortly after, Allgaier rocketed into third place after passing Cindric while Briscoe settled in fifth place in front of Harrison Burton.

    With 87 laps remaining, Allgaier overtook Chastain for second place as Jeb Burton continued to lead by a second. Seven laps later, with 80 laps remaining, Allgaier cut his deficit to Jeb Burton down to less than three-tenths of a second. Behind, Chastain trailed by two seconds in third place followed by Gragson and Cindric while Harrison Burton and Haley battled for sixth place.

    Two laps later, Allgaier made his way back into the lead after passing teammate Jeb Burton. Another five laps later, with 73 laps remaining, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over Jeb Burton’s No. 8 LS Tractor Chevrolet Camaro.

    As the green-flag run progressed and with Allgaier ahead by more than two seconds, Chastain took second place over Jeb Burton with Gragson and Haley in the top five. Cindric was in sixth place followed by Harrison Burton, Annett, Grala and Herbst while Briscoe was back in 12th place in front of Jones, Clements and Brown.

    With 60 laps remaining, Allgaier stabilized his lead to three seconds over Chastain. Ten laps later, with 50 laps remaining, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than five seconds over Chastain with Jeb Burton trailing by less than six seconds.

    Another 10 laps later and with 40 laps remaining, Allgaier continued to extend his advantage by seven seconds over Chastain with Jeb Burton trailing by more than eight seconds. Fourth-place Haley was trailing by 10 seconds while Gragson and Harrison Burton trailed by more than 12 seconds. By then, names like Ryan Sieg, Brett Moffitt and Chase Briscoe were lapped.

    Under 30 laps remaining, Allgaier’s lead expanded to eight seconds over Chastain with Jeb Burton trailing by nine seconds, Haley by less than 11 seconds and Harrison Burton by less than 15 seconds. Gragson retained sixth place ahead of teammate Annett and Grala while Cindric and Jones were scored in the top 10. Behind, Alex Labbe was in 11th place ahead of Herbst, Clements, Brandon Brown and Matt Mills. Jeffrey Earnhardt was in 16th place, a lap down, while Sieg and Briscoe were back in 17th and 19th. 

    With approximately 20 laps remaining, the caution flew after contact from Brandon Brown sent Herbst hard into the Turn 1 outside wall and with significant damage sustained to the rear end of Herbst’s No. 18 Toyota that knocked Herbst out of contention in the closing laps of the race. The caution erased a nearly nine-second advantage for Allgaier. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first ahead of Jeb Burton and Chastain.

    The race restarted under green with 13 laps remaining and with teammates Allgaier and Burton on the front row while Chastain and Harrison Burton lined up on the second row. At the start, Allgaier withstood a challenge from Jeb Burton to retain the lead, 

    With 10 laps remaining, Allgaier stabilized his advantage to nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate Jeb Burton with Chastain trailing behind and the pack behind jostling for late positions. Two laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to six-tenths of a second.

    With five laps remaining and Allgaier leading by more than a second, Jeb Burton continued to maintain second place ahead of Chastain and Harrison Burton with Haley in fifth place ahead of Gragson.

    With the leaders encountering lapped traffic, Chastain started to challenge Jeb Burton for second place followed by Harrison Burton and his No. 20 Dex Imaging Toyota Supra. Despite encountering lapped traffic in front of him, Allgaier was able to stabilize his advantage and navigate his way through one final circuit and come back around to win by two seconds and for his second checkered flag of the weekend.

    Through the first 19 regular-season races of this year, Allgaier had yet to fill in the win column to his stats in 2020. Since recording his first victory at Dover International Speedway in August, Allgaier’s pair of victories this weekend at Richmond allowed him to join Cindric, Briscoe and Brandon Jones as the lone Xfinity competitors to achieve three or more victories throughout the regular-season stretch. In addition, Allgaier joined Cindric as the lone Xfinity competitors to achieve two victories in a doubleheader weekend at a track, when Cindric made his accomplishment at Kentucky Speedway in July.

    “I knew how good our car was all day,” Allgaier said in Victory Lane on NBCSN. “It seems like lately, we haven’t been able to get [BRANDT] to Victory Lane. It wasn’t for lack of effort. I knew at the end there, I knew we had speed. I knew when we needed to go we could. I just didn’t know how fast. My teammate, Jeb Burton, did a fantastic job today on that last restart. I’m just so proud of these guys.”

    In addition, Allgaier, who won on Friday night at Richmond, spent time afterwards working with his crew to install a new front nose on his No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro prior to Saturday afternoon’s race, where he went on to win.

    “I have to thank the Man upstairs,” Allgaier added. “Tonight was definitely a push to the end, but we just had the luck we needed. I say luck, but luck is opportunities and preparation. We were prepared and the opportunities came tonight and we did a good job. I’m really proud of these guys.”

    Behind, Jeb Burton settled in a career-best second place in his 40th series start followed by Chastain, who racked up his 12th top-five result of this season. Harrison Burton rallied from a 16th-place result on Friday night to finish in fourth place while Haley recorded a fifth-place run for his second top-five result in two days and for his eighth top-five finish of this season. Gragson finished in sixth place while Annett, Brandon Jones, Grala and Cindric rounded out the top 10. By finishing in 10th place, Cindric clinched this year’s regular-season championship and he will be awarded 15 bonus points for this year’s Playoffs.

    By finishing 15th and 34th, Ryan Sieg and Riley Herbst clinched their spots for this year’s Xfinity Playoffs, thus joining Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Ross Chastain and Michael Annett for this year’s championship battle.

    Brandon Brown finished in 11th place and he holds sole possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by 49 points over Clements, who finished 17th, and 88 over Snider, who finished 31st, as the series makes its way to the regular-season finale next Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 29 laps.

    Results.

    1. Justin Allgaier, 135 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Jeb Burton, 12 laps led

    3. Ross Chastain, 58 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Harrison Burton

    5. Noah Gragson, 16 laps led 

    6. Justin Haley

    7. Michael Annett

    8. Brandon Jones, 16 laps led

    9. Kaz Grala

    10. Austin Cindric

    11. Brandon Brown

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Matt Mills

    14. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    15. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

    16. Chase Briscoe, one lap down, 13 laps led

    17. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    18. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

    19. Bayley Currey, one lap down

    20. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

    21. Mason Massey, two laps down

    22. Stephen Leicht, three laps down

    23. Joey Gase, three laps down

    24. B.J. McLeod, three laps down

    25. Josh Williams, three laps down

    26. Tommy Joe Martins, three laps down

    27. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

    28. Chad Finchum, four laps down

    29. Kody Vanderwal, four laps down

    30. Dexter Bean, four laps down

    31. Myatt Snider, four laps down

    32. Vinnie Miller, five laps down

    33. Jesse Little, six laps down

    34. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

    35. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

    36. Timmy Hill – OUT, Fuel pump

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season finale will occur at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300, which will occur on Friday, September 18, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. 

  • Justin Allgaier earns his second win of the season at Richmond

    Justin Allgaier earns his second win of the season at Richmond

    Justin Allgaier captured his second win of the season Friday night in the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway. It was his 13th Xfinity Series career win and the 50th win for JR Motorsports.

    Justin Haley finished second in his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet followed by Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain to complete the top five finishers.

    Brett Moffitt, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Riley Herbst (the highest finishing rookie) placed sixth through 10th, respectively. Annett’s finish earned him enough points to advance to the playoffs.

    Allgaier described the race as being one where everything came together after a frustrating season of ups and downs.

    “It feels great,” he said. “You know, we’ve had fast Camaros all year long and everybody at JR Motorsports has worked their butts off and put us in position many times. You know, the definition of luck is when opportunity meets preparation and when we’ve been prepared, the opportunity hasn’t come and when we’ve had the opportunity we just haven’t been prepared. And the team today did a fantastic job of executing, just from beginning to end.

    “You know, we knew we were a little behind the eight ball when the green flag dropped, just starting as far back as we were. That first cycle on tires was really rough on us. We lost some spots, got a little bit of damage, unfortunately. Just really felt like we were not where we wanted to be at. And the guys rallied, we had unbelievable pit stops tonight. We made great adjustments and you know just ultimately put ourselves in good position at the end.”

    Haley was disappointed with his second-place finish but proud of his efforts. He was as far back as 25th after two consecutive pit stops during the Stage 1 caution to repair damage to his car. Haley was able to get back to the front, lead 51 laps and contend for the win in the final laps but fell short.  

    “Allgaier was just a little bit better. I’m about tired of everyone on social media saying I can’t show up anywhere but superspeedways,” Haley said, smiling. “So I finally showed up somewhere where talent matters.”

    Brett Moffitt, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Riley Herbst (the highest finishing rookie) placed sixth through 10th, respectively. Annett’s finish earned him enough points to advance to the playoffs.

    The playoffs will begin in two weeks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with only one spot left to be filled. Brandon Brown currently has the advantage with 43 points over Jeremy Clements for the final transfer position.

    The Xfinity Series will race again Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at Richmond Raceway in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 which was realigned from Michigan International Speedway.

    Post Inspection Report:

    The No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain had one loose lug nut.

    The No. 61 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota driven by Chad Finchum was disqualified for failing rear heights and was scored in last place.

    Car Chief, Zach Gobble, for the No. 13 Motorsports Business Management Toyota driven by Stephen Leicht, ejected and will miss Saturday’s race for a safety violation: 12.5.2.7.4.e – Any loss or separation of an improperly installed rear axle from the vehicle will result in a one Race suspension of a crew member(s).

    Complete Results:
    1. Justin Allgaier
    2. Justin Haley
    3. Kyle Busch
    4. Austin Cindric
    5. Ross Chastain
    6. Brett Moffitt
    7. Michael Annett
    8. Noah Gragson
    9. Kaz Grala
    10. Riley Herbst
    11. Chase Briscoe
    12. Ryan Sieg
    13. Matt Mills
    14. Brandon Jones
    15. Tommy Joe Martins
    16. Harrison Burton
    17. Jeremy Clements
    18. Brandon Brown
    19. Joe Graf Jr
    20. Joey Gase
    21. Bayley Currey
    22. Josh Williams
    23. Alex Labbe
    24. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    25. Jesse Little
    26. Kyle Weatherman
    27. Mason Massey
    28. Kody Vanderwal
    29. BJ McLeod
    30. Vinnie Miller
    31. Dexter Bean
    32. Jeb Burton
    33. Colby Howard
    34. Stephen Leicht
    35. Myatt Snider
    36. Timmy Hill
    37. Chad Finchum
  • Weekend schedule for Richmond

    Weekend schedule for Richmond

    NASCAR travels to Richmond Raceway this weekend. The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is first up Thursday night for their regular season finale while the Xfinity Series will feature a doubleheader, competing Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Saturday will mark the second race in the Playoffs for the Cup Series Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

    Kevin Harvick remains the points leader after earning his eighth win of the season last week at Darlington Raceway and will start from the pole.

    Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer will have substitute crew chiefs after both teams were penalized for missing two lug nuts in post-race inspection at Darlington Raceway, resulting in $20,000 fines for each team. Also, Adam Stevens, crew chief for Busch, and Johnny Klausmeier (Bowyer), were suspended for one race. Jacob Canter will fill in as interim crew chief for Busch and Greg Zipadelli will crew chief for Bowyer.  

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, Sept. 10

    8 p.m.: Truck Series ToyotaCare 250 (Stages 70/140/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) FS1/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Austin Hill

    Friday, Sept. 11

    7 p.m.: Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Ross Chastain
    2019 Winner: Christopher Bell

    Saturday, Sept. 12

    2 p.m.: Xfinity Series Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 (Stages 75/150/250 Laps = 187.5 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Replaces race originally scheduled for Michigan)

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (Stages 80/235/400 Laps = 300 Miles) NBCSN/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
    Pole: Kevin Harvick
    2019 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

  • Greg Erwin to make 350th Cup start as crew chief at Richmond

    Greg Erwin to make 350th Cup start as crew chief at Richmond

    A significant milestone is the making for Greg Erwin, a veteran crew chief who is atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang team driven by 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender Matt DiBenedetto. When the green flag waves this upcoming race weekend at Richmond Raceway, Erwin will reach 350 Cup races as a crew chief.

    A native of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, Erwin graduated from Clemson University in 1992 with an engineering degree and he attained a motorsports engineering scholarship the following year in graduate school while volunteering to work with teams that included TriStar Motorsports. In 1995, his career in NASCAR started with Diamond Ridge Motorsports as an engineer while he worked with names like Jeff Green, Steve Grissom and Elliott Sadler. Following the 1995 season, Erwin transitioned to Team SABCO Racing as an engineer, where the team was eventually purchased and expanded by Chip Ganassi in 2001. In 2003, Erwin joined forces with Richard Childress Racing and worked as the team’s seven-post research and development program.

    Entering the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series season, Erwin was promoted to crew chief for Robby Gordon and the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet team. Erwin and Gordon failed to qualify for the 2005 Daytona 500, but they made their first start of the season the following race at Fontana’s California Speedway in February, where Gordon finished 35th due to an engine failure. Erwin and Gordon competed in 23 races throughout the 2005 season, where Gordon achieved one top-five result and two top-10 results before he concluded the season in 37th place in the final standings. The following season, Erwin completed his first full-time season in the Cup Series with Gordon, where he achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results before he finished in 30th place in the final standings.

    For the first 12 races of the 2007 Cup season, Erwin remained with Robby Gordon and Gordon’s No. 7 team. Through the one-third segment of the season, Gordon finished no higher than 15th place. Afterwards, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 16 Ford team owned by car owner Jack Roush and driven by Greg Biffle for the following race at Dover International Speedway in June. From Dover in June through Dover in September, Erwin and Biffle achieved two top-five results and six top-10 results, though Biffle failed to make the 2007 Playoffs. The following race at Kansas Speedway, Biffle was able to survive on fuel and coast across the finish line to achieve his first victory of the season as Erwin achieved his first Cup win as a crew chief. They went on to achieve two additional top-10 results and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    In 2008, Erwin served as Biffle’s crew chief in all but one of the entire 36-race schedule (Auto Club Speedway in February). Following a consistent 26-race regular-season stretch, they achieved their first victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the first Playoff race of the season. They backed it up the following week by winning at Dover. Overall, Erwin achieved two victories, two poles, 12 top-five results and 17 top-10 results with Biffle, who concluded the season in third place in the final standings. Prior to the conclusion of the 2008 Cup season, Erwin surpassed 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    In 2009, Biffle and Erwin went winless, but they achieved 10 top-five results and 16 top-10 results as Biffle made the Playoffs and concluded the season in seventh place in the final standings. They rebounded the following season by recording two wins, nine top-five results and 19 top-10 results, with Biffle finishing the season in sixth place in the final standings. Following the 2010 season, Erwin surpassed 200 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the first half of the 2011 Cup season, Erwin remained as Biffle’s crew chief in the Cup circuit, but they only achieved one top-five result and five top-10 results. Following Kentucky Speedway in July, Erwin was replaced by Matt Puccia as Biffle’s crew chief for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, Erwin was then named crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team driven by A.J. Allmendinger for the remainder of the season. In Erwin’s first race with the team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Allmendinger finished 22nd. Erwin and Allmendinger went on to record six top-10 results for the remainder of the season as Allmendinger finished in 15th place in the final standings.

    Erwin remained as crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford team piloted by Aric Almirola. Following the first nine Cup races with Almirola, where he only achieved one top-10 result, Erwin, however, was replaced by veteran Mike Ford.

    For the 2013 season, Erwin was named a full-time crew chief for Penske’s No. 12 Ford Mustang team driven by Sam Hornish Jr. in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as Hornish competed for the series title. Erwin and Hornish made a one-race appearance in the Cup Series at Kansas in April, where Hornish finished 37th due to being involved in a late multi-car accident. Erwin and Hornish went on to finish in second place in the final Xfinity Series standings as they missed the title by three points to Austin Dillon, crew chief Danny Stockton and Richard Childress Racing.

    In 2014, Erwin was named competition director for Team Penske’s Xfinity Series program. Throughout the season, he served as a Cup interim crew chief for Brad Keselowski at Phoenix in March and he worked with Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 12 Ford team in two Cup races. He spent the 2015 season as an Xfinity crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team, where he notched seven victories and recorded Penske’s third consecutive owner’s title with Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Alex Tagliani piloting the No. 22 car throughout the season. The following season, he was named Penske’s Xfinity Series team manager while Brian Wilson served as the No. 22 team’s crew chief. He returned as crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford team in the 2017 Xfinity season.

    In August 2017, Erwin was named crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford team and Paul Menard for the 2018 Cup season. In Erwin’s first race with Menard, the combo finished in sixth place in the 2018 Daytona 500 in February. Ultimately, they achieved one pole, one top-five result and seven top-10 results throughout the 36-race schedule as Menard finished in 19th place in the final standings.

    The following season, Erwin and Menard achieved only four top-10 results as Menard concluded his second season with the Wood Brothers Racing in 19th place in the final standings. Earlier in the season, Menard dominated and was in race-winning position in the Clash at Daytona International Speedway in February until contact from eventual winner Jimmie Johnson knocked Menard out of contention as he was involved in a multi-car accident. Following the 2019 season, Erwin surpassed 300 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    This season, Erwin remained as a crew chief for the Wood Brothers Racing team and driver Matt DiBenedetto, who joined the team following Menard’s departure from full-time racing. In Erwin’s first race with DiBenedetto, the combo finished 19th in the 2020 Daytona 500. The following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, DiBenedetto made a late rally to finish in second place behind Joey Logano. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, DiBenedetto achieved two top-five results and seven top-10 results. After finishing in 12th place at Daytona International Speedway in August, DiBenedetto claimed the 16th and final transfer spot to the 2020 Cup Playoffs. DiBenedetto’s accomplishment marked his first Cup postseason appearance as a title contender, Erwin’s third as a title contender and the Wood Brothers Racing’s second as a Playoff team.

    Erwin and DiBenedetto are coming off a 21st-place result in the first Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway. They are ranked in 15th place in the Playoff standings and are 17 points below the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

    Catch crew chief Greg Erwin’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Kyle Busch to move into fifth place on all-time combined national series starts in NASCAR at Richmond

    Kyle Busch to move into fifth place on all-time combined national series starts in NASCAR at Richmond

    A significant milestone is in the making for Kyle Busch, a 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender and driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. By the time Busch completes his two scheduled starts this weekend at Richmond Raceway between the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series, he will surpass Michael Waltrip and move into fifth place on NASCAR’s all-time combined national series starts with 1,174 starts between the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series.

    A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Kyle Busch made his first appearance within NASCAR’s three major division series in 2001 in the Truck Series, where he drove the No. 99 Ford for car owner Jack Roush at age 16. His first start was at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, where he started 23rd and finished ninth place. He competed in five additional Truck races with Roush and was set to compete at Fontana’s California Speedway in November when he was prohibited from competing since he was under 18 years of age in racing in events sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes. Shortly after, NASCAR imposed a rule where developing competitors were not allowed to compete within the sport until reaching the minimum age of 18, which began in 2002.

    By 2003, Busch was a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports and competing in the ARCA Series, where he won his first two career races. In May, after turning 18 years of age, Busch made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway while driving the No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet under an alliance between Hendrick Motorsports and NEMCO Motorsports. In his first run in the series, Busch posted an impressive second-place result behind Matt Kenseth and received congrats from his older brother and current NASCAR star, Kurt. He competed in six additional starts in the Xfinity Series, where he posted another second-place result at Darlington Raceway in August and a seventh-place result at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway in November.

    The 2004 NASCAR season was an eventful season for Busch, who competed the entire 34 Xfinity Series schedule with Hendrick Motorsports as a rookie candidate, made a one-race return in the Truck Series with team owner Rob Morgan and made his first six Cup career starts with HMS. In the Xfinity circuit, where he drove the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet led by veteran Lance McGrew, Busch achieved five victories, five poles, 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results before he concluded the season as the Rookie-of-the-Year winner and in second place behind Martin Truex Jr. In the Cup circuit, where he drove the No. 84 Carquest Chevrolet led by crew chief Gary DeHart, Busch’s best result was 24th place at California Speedway in September. In his one-race Truck start at Indianapolis Raceway Park in August, Busch finished 11th.

    Busch’s career would skyrocket the following season as he was named a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet as a rookie candidate led by crew chief Alan Gustafson. During the season, he achieved his first two Cup career victories, one pole, seven top-five results and nine top-10 results before he was named the Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. He also won one race in 14 Xfinity Series starts and he claimed his first three Truck career victories in 11 starts throughout the season.

    Through September 2020, Busch has made 155 career starts in the NASCAR Truck Series. He is the all-time Truck wins leader with 59 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports, and he is a seven-time Truck owner’s champion with KBM. He has also achieved 22 poles, 102 top-five results, 123 top-10 results and over 7,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 6.8.

    In addition, he has made 356 starts in the Xfinity Series and is also the all-time Xfinity wins leader with 97 career victories, which he achieved while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Braun Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2009 Xfinity Series champion and holds the record for the most victories in a single Xfinity season (13 in 2010). He has achieved 10 or more victories in four Xfinity seasons. He has also achieved 68 poles, 219 top-five results, 257 top-10 results and over 19,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 9.1.

    Finally, he has made 561 starts in the Cup Series and has achieved 56 career victories, all while driving for HMS and JGR. He is the reigning two-time Cup Series champion and a two-time Cup regular-season champion who has achieved major victories like the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, the 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race, two Brickyard 400s, the 2012 Clash at Daytona International Speedway and the 2008 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He has also achieved 32 poles, 211 top-five results, 310 top-10 results and over 17,000 laps led in 18 years in the series. His current average result in the series is 13.7.

    To this day, Busch is the lone competitor to achieve a win across NASCAR’s three major division series in one weekend and to achieve a victory at every active NASCAR Cup Series track on the schedule.

    This season, Busch has completed the first 27 Cup races and has also made four starts in the Xfinity Series and five starts in the Truck Series. He has achieved three Truck wins and one Xfinity win, but he is winless in the Cup circuit despite recording one stage win, 11 top-five results and 14 top-10 results. He is coming off a seventh-place result in the first Cup Playoff race of this season at Darlington Raceway and is in 10th place in the Playoff standings, seven points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the second round of the Playoffs.

    In addition to competing in the Cup Series on a full-time basis with Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch is also scheduled to make his fifth and final Xfinity Series start this season with JGR in the first of a series doubleheader feature at Richmond Raceway.

    Prior to this season, Kyle Busch made 1,136 across NASCAR’s three major division series. Once he surpasses Michael Waltrip this weekend at Richmond, Busch will trail Joe Nemechek (1195), Richard Petty (1185), Kevin Harvick (1178) and Mark Martin (1143) for the most starts between NASCAR’s three major division series (Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    Catch Kyle Busch’s milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, where he will extend his streak of starts between NASCAR’s three major division series the following day for the Cup Series Playoff race on Saturday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Darlington

    NASCAR Xfinity Series Power Rankings – Darlington

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Darlington Raceway Saturday afternoon on Labor Day weekend for race No. 23 of the 2020 Xfinity Series season. 

    All eyes were on Ross Chastain and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing entry, after the incident the week before at Daytona when he made contact with his teammate A.J. Allmendinger in the final turn of the final lap.

    It was almost a repeat story at Darlington but this time it was just hard racing and two veterans going for the victory. Inside 20 laps to go, Denny Hamlin, who makes one Xfinity Series start a year, and Chastain, were racing each other for the top spot. Both drivers were beating and banging off one another, and not one letting the other get ahead. It seemed as though no one could contend with these two with no other driver in sight. 

    However, Hamlin and Chastain made contact with each other with about two laps to go. Due to the contact, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones was able to go right on by and pick up his third victory of the season. When the battle was said and done, Chastain held on to finish second, while Hamlin limped his damaged No. 54 Sports Clips machine home to a sixth-place finish. 

    With the thrilling battle over in what was quite possibly the best Xfinity Series race to date, there are now three races left before the Playoffs start. And with three races left, many had a solid outing at Darlington and hope to carry that momentum to the Richmond doubleheader this weekend. 

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Sports Clips Haircuts 200 at Darlington Raceway. 

    1. Ryan Sieg – Sieg avoided what could have been a disastrous day at Darlington. It started early on Lap 3 when the Georgia native got involved in an accident on the backstretch after trying to avoid it. But he had nowhere to go and received some damage to the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevy. Despite the incident, Sieg worked the entire race to put his team back in position for a top-five finish. However, when Hamlin and Chastain were battling with each other, Sieg, at one point, was in the third position. Had both of those drivers wrecked, Sieg could have capitalized and brought home his second career win. Sieg remained in the third position and gained his fourth top-five of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    2. Chase Briscoe – Looking for his seventh win of the year and that magic goal of eight wins this season, the Indiana native would, unfortunately, spin while leading the race. Up until that point, Briscoe had led most of the laps with 55, and placed fourth and third respectively in both stages. Even with the help of the late-race caution, Briscoe narrowly missed out on the top 10 by finishing 11th. Still, it was a disappointing finish after what could have been another victory for the No. 98 camp.

      Previous Week Ranking – First
    3. Harrison Burton – It was a sixth-place finish for Burton after earning a Stage 2 finish of fifth. Burton was quiet for most of the day but was in contention for the win if a late-race caution had occurred. The late-race caution did fly with 21 to go, but Burton was still mired in mid-pack. Nonetheless, Burton continued his strong 2020 season by picking up his 16th top-10 of the year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
    4. Brandon Jones – It only took two laps for Brandon Jones to get the victory in Saturday’s race. But before taking the lead after the Hamlin/Chastain battle, Jones had a consistent race throughout the 147- lap event. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver placed sixth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. The victory marked Jones’s third of the season and his first since Kansas in July. The 2020 season has been up and down for Jones, who has three wins, eight top five’s and 12 top-10 finishes, along with five DNFs. If Jones can keep the top five and 10 finishes going, and of course the victories, he’ll be an easy pick for the Xfinity Series championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Ross Chastain – Chastain had the race in his hands inside not only 20 laps to go, but also five to go. However, a hard-charging Denny Hamlin kept Chastain from stretching out the lead and running away with the victory. Unfortunately, after leading 43 laps, Chastain once again came one spot short of gaining his first victory of the season and ending his one-year plus winless streak in the Xfinity Series. His last victory was in July at Daytona last year. With the help of finishing second in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2, Chastain has now clinched a spot in the 2020 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked 

    Fell Out 

    1. Riley Herbst – Herbst placed in the fourth position and overall had a quiet day without making too much noise, which sometimes is a good thing. He is still winless through 23 races and will need a win in the regular season or a win in the Playoffs if Herbst wants to be a threat for the championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second
    2. Austin Cindric – It has been a whirlwind of a week for Austin Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske entry and it all started on social media. Twitter began to light up Wednesday night when race fans quickly assumed Cindric was out of a ride after what looked like his merchandise was pulled from every website, including the NASCAR.com website. Though Cindric posted a video the day after and cleared the air. He let everyone know that he is still racing with Penske through the end of the year and that they were only temporarily sold out of merchandise. Switching to the race, Cindric disappointingly finished 12th after being strong early in the stages, where he finished third and seventh, respectively.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third
    3. Justin Haley – One week after his Daytona victory, Justin Haley was looking forward to carrying that race winning momentum to Darlington on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately for Haley, his race was pretty much forgettable after he made slight contact with Justin Allgaier off Turn 4, which gave Haley right-front damage on his No. 11 Chevrolet. Ultimately, the damage ruined a good race car and the Indiana native could only manage a 13th place result after leading seven laps. In addition, Haley did not earn any stage points for his efforts. Certainly, a forgettable Darlington outing following his big Daytona victory just a week ago.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth 
  • 2020 Xfinity Playoff outlook after Darlington

    2020 Xfinity Playoff outlook after Darlington

    It all comes down to the final three NASCAR Xfinity Series races through the upcoming two weekends until the 2020 Xfinity Playoff field is set.

    With this year’s series regular season reaching its conclusion, the time for the competitors on the outside of the cutline and vying for the final spots to the 12-car postseason field is running out while those currently inside the cutline on points have stabilized themselves into the postseason battle for the title.

    Following a thrilling finish to last Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on September 5, Brandon Jones joins Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric as the lone Xfinity competitors to achieve three or more victories through the first 23 races of the regular-season stretch as the Atlanta native also collected his fourth career series win.

    They, along with Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, rookie Harrison Burton and Justin Allgaier, remain the only competitors to be guaranteed a spot in this year’s Playoffs based on winning throughout the regular season.

    For Ross Chastain, Saturday’s race at Darlington produced a good and bad news outcome. The bad news for Chastain was that he fell short of claiming his first victory of the season following a late battle with Cup veteran Denny Hamlin, where he made contact with Hamlin approaching the final lap and limped home in second place and after leading in the closing laps. The good news for Chastain and his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team is that with his career-high 10th top-five result (fourth runner-up result in 2020), the Floridian is guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs based on points as he will make his second series postseason appearance as a title contender. In addition, Chastain’s result places both Kaulig Racing competitors into the Playoffs.

    Like Chastain, the Darlington event produced strong outcomes for Michael Annett, rookie Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg, all of whom recorded top-10 results, are 120 points or more above the top-12 cutline and have an opportunity to secure their spots for the postseason following next weekend’s doubleheader events at Richmond Raceway.

    Despite starting and finishing in 17th place while rallying from being involved in a multi-car wreck past the opening two laps, Brandon Brown extended his cushion with the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by 45 points over Jeremy Clements, who finished 32nd due to electrical issues, and 51 over rookie Myatt Snider, who finished 10th and rallied from a three-race stretch of finishing outside the top 15.

    Other competitors who continue to trail the cutline by 84 or more points include Josh Williams, rookie Jesse Little, B.J. McLeod, Tommy Joe Martins and rookie Joe Graf Jr.

    The battle for the final spots to this year’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at Richmond Raceway for a doubleheader series weekend. The first Richmond race will occur on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN while the second Richmond race will occur on Saturday, September 12, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.