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Shane van Gisbergen scores first Xfinity career victory at Portland

Nearly a year after making his inaugural presence in NASCAR quickly known with his first Cup Series career victory at Chicago, rookie Shane van Gisbergen checked off another accomplishment by clinching his first Xfinity Series career win in the third annual running of the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, June 1.

The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led three times for 12 of 75 scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row and quickly endured a wild start by sending pole-sitter Sam Mayer for a spin. Despite struggling to launch on restarts and after slipping off the course during the second stage period, van Gisbergen managed to keep himself running towards the front in the closing stages. Amid two late-race restarts, van Gisbergen then managed to overtake and fend off Justin Allgaier during a four-lap shootout to the finish to claim his first Xfinity career win in his 13th series start.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Sam Mayer claimed his first Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season and the second of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 96.654 mph in 73.375 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 96.596 mph in 73.419 seconds.

Prior to the event, AJ Allmendinger dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during the event’s qualifying session earlier in the day. The following names that included rookie Jesse Love, Patrick Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Hailie Deegan, ED Jones, Sage Karam, Austin Green, Chandler Smith, Kyle Weatherman and Logan Bearden also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Sam Mayer launched ahead with a brief lead over Shane van Gisbergen as the field fanned out entering the first set of turns. Then in Turn 1, van Gisbergen hit Mayer as Mayer was sent spinning backwards through the course’s first three tight turns. Amid the early contact with the field scattering to avoid Mayer as Mayer plummeted below the leaderboard, Riley Herbst navigated his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang into the lead as Justin Allgaier overtook van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot. As Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed and Parker Kligerman followed suit in the top six while Sammy Smith and Josh Bilicki battled for seventh, Herbst proceeded to lead the first lap.

Over the next four laps, Herbst stabilized his advantage within four-tenths of a second over Allgaier while van Gisbergen trailed by a second in third place. Behind, Custer and Creed continued to trail in the top five along with Kligerman, Bilicki and Sammy Smith while Ryan Truex and Jeb Burton followed suit in the top 10. Meanwhile, Kyle Weatherman was trying to regain his momentum back on the course after he was sideways off the course in Turn 12 while AJ Allmendinger was mired in the top 30.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Herbst was leading by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Allgaier followed by van Gisbergen, Custer and Creed while Kligerman, Bilicki, Sammy Smith, Truex and Burton continued to follow suit in the top 10. Behind, Austin Hill trailed in 11th place ahead of Parker Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo, Josh Williams and Jeremy Clements while Sage Karam, Ryan Sieg, Jesse Love, Chandler Smith and Sam Mayer trailed in the top 20, with AJ Allmendinger and Brandon Jones occupying 21st and 24th, respectively.

Five laps later and as Logan Bearden was trying to rally from getting sideways off the course entering Turn 12, Herbst continued to lead by half a second over van Gisbergen while Allgaier dropped to third place. Behind, Custer and Creed continued to run in the top five while Kligerman was trying to fend off Bilicki for sixth place and with Sammy Smith, Truex and Hill racing in the top 10.

Another lap later, van Gisbergen, who got to Herbst’s rear bumper through the frontstretch, pulled a crossover move on Herbst through three turns to move into the lead. Van Gisbergen would maintain the lead for the following lap while Allgaier was trying to find a way to overtake Herbst for the runner-up spot.

Just past the Lap 20 mark, van Gisbergen stretched his advantage to more than a second and a half over Allgaier while Herbst, Custer, Creed, Kligerman and Bilicki continued to follow suit in the top seven and by within less than five seconds. Behind, Sammy Smith trailed by more than seven seconds in eighth place and ahead of Truex and Hill while Retzlaff, Karam, Chandler Smith, Mayer and Alfredo occupied the top 15.

Then on Lap 22, Custer went for a spin entering the first turn after he locked the brakes and got loose while trying to avoid hitting teammate Herbst. Amid Custer’s issues, the race remained under green flag conditions as Custer proceeded despite dropping to eighth place. Another lap later, van Gisbergen surrendered the lead to pit his No. 97 Quad Lock Chevrolet Camaro under green. This enabled Allgaier to cycle into the lead over Herbst and Creed while Bilicki and Kligerman trailed in the top five and within less than four seconds.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 25, Allgaier, who navigated past a spinning Retzlaff in Turn 12, captured his ninth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Herbst settled in second followed Creed, Bilicki and Kligerman while Sammy Smith, Custer, Truex, Hill and Sage Karam were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, the field led by Allgaier pitted for a unique, competitive pit sequence for this event, where the pit stops were to last a minimum of 63 seconds from the pit road entrance to exit. Amid the pit sequence, all competitors could either gain or lose positions on pit road, with the lineup for the next stage being determined by the order of exit from pit road. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead after he exited pit road first followed by Creed, Bilicki, Custer, Truex, Herbst, Chandler Smith, Hill, Sage Karam and Jesse Love.

The second stage period started on Lap 29 as Allgaier and van Gisbergen occupied the front row. At the start, van Gisbergen struggled to launch and he was being pinned in a three-wide Joe Gibbs Racing sandwich in between Creed and Bilicki while Allgaier launched ahead through the frontstretch. As Allgaier led Creed through the first three turns, van Gisbergen made contact with Custer, which stalled their momentum as Bilicki and Ryan Truex overtook them to move up to third and fourth. As the field navigated through the next turns amid two tight lanes, Chandler Smith then passed van Gisbergen to claim sixth place. Amid the battles over the next sets of turns, Allgaier retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second by the Lap 30 mark.

By Lap 35, Allgaier was out in front by more than a second over Creed and more than three seconds over Bilicki as van Gisbergen and Custer trailed in the top five ahead of Truex. Behind, Chandler Smith trailed in seventh ahead of Herbst and Sage Karam while AJ Allmendinger was scored in 10th.

A lap later, van Gisbergen, who was racing with a damaged left-front fender amid his earlier contact with Custer, slipped off the course after he hopped the curbs in Turns 10 and 11. He then slid sideways and went off the course in Turn 12, all while battling Bilicki for third, but he managed to quickly blend back onto the racing surface as he dropped to seventh place.

At the Lap 40 mark, Allgaier extended his advantage by more than over Creed as Bilicki, Custer and Chandler Smith occupied the top five. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen was mired back in sixth while Herbst, Truex, Karam and Allmendinger were in the top 10.

Then on the final lap of the second stage period, Lap 49, the caution flew after Matt DiBenedetto stalled his RSS Racing entry on the course. DiBenedetto’s stalled incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 50 to conclude under caution as Allgaier proceeded to capture his 10th Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and sweep both stages of the event. Creed settled in second followed by Bilicki, Custer and van Gisbergen while Chandler Smith, Herbst, Karam, Mayer and Ed Jones were scored in the top 10.

During the stage break, the field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained lead after exiting ahead of Creed, Bilicki, Chandler Smith, Truex, Herbst, Karam, Ed Jones, Mayer and van Gisbergen.

With 20 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Allgaier and Creed occupied the front row. At the start and as the field fanned out through the frontstretch, Allgaier and Creed dueled for the lead entering the first turn. Then as Bilicki was sent for a spin while three competitors led by Herbst missed the first turn, Creed muscled his No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra ahead of Allgaier to move into the lead. Despite receiving numerous bumps into the rear by Allgaier for a series of turns, Creed retained the top spot when he led Allgaier back to the frontstretch.

A lap later, however, Allgaier and Creed dueled through the frontstretch. Both competitors then proceed to hit and rub fenders against one another past the first three turns, with Allgaier reassuming the lead prior to entering Turn 4. Amid their contact, Chandler Smith tried to close in from third place while Truex and van Gisbergen were in the top five. Meanwhile, Jesse Love pitted with a crumbled hood after he T-boned into the rear of Mayer prior to the latest restart period.

With 15 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading ahead of a side-by-side battle between Creed and van Gisbergen for second place while Mayer and Chandler Smith followed suit in the top five. Behind, Truex was in sixth ahead of Sammy Smith, Herbst, Ed Jones and Kligerman while Williams, Allmendinger, Weatherman, Retzlaff and Hill were in the top 15. With Allgaier maintaining a reasonable advantage of three seconds during the following lap, van Gisbergen bumped, rubbed and overtook Creed for the runner-up spot before Mayer seized third place from Creed during the next lap.

Following another late caution period with 13 laps remaining after Hailie Deegan lost a right front tire in Turn 9, the race restarted under green with nine laps remaining as Allgaier and van Gisbergen occupied the front row for a second time. At the start, Allgaier muscled his No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro ahead of a four-wide battle for second place entering the first turn. With the field tightly navigating through the first three turns, Allgaier maintained the top spot over Creed, who moved back into second place, as van Gisbergen, Mayer and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top five.

As Chandler Smith, who was running sixth, pulled his car off the course in Turn 12 with a damaged front nose, the caution quickly returned during the following lap for a multi-car wreck that ensued in Turn 12 when Brennan Poole and Blaine Perkins got turned sideways separately, with the latter getting spun into the path of Bilicki and Brandon Jones as Jones went head-on into the tire barriers while Andre Castro, Ryan Ellis, Kyle Sieg and Herbst were also involved. By then, Creed was assessed a drive-through penalty through pit road due to being penalized for a restart violation.

During the next restart period with four laps remaining, Allgaier fended off van Gisbergen and teammate Sammy Smith through the frontstretch to retain the lead and through the first three turns. With the field behind navigating through the turns, the battle for the lead ignited as van Gisbergen attempted to make a move beneath Allgaier entering Turn 4. Despite sliding sideways through the next two turns, van Gisbergen managed to keep his car pointing straight while also keeping Allgaier next to him as he avoided spinning Allgaier through the turns. Then as Allgaier also got loose in between Turns 5 and 6, van Gisbergen seized an opportunity to move into the lead. As Allgaier was getting pressured by teammate Mayer for the runner-up spot, van Gisbergen retained the lead through the frontstretch and with three laps remaining.

Then with two laps remaining, Mayer’s strong rally back to the front evaporated after he scrubbed the wall entering the frontstretch, which cut his left-rear tire as Mayer had to keep his No. 1 RTIC Outdoors Chevrolet Camaro running straight while going off the course. Amid Mayer’s incident, the race remained under green flag conditions as Allgaier was slowly closing in on van Gisbergen for the lead through each set of turns.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, van Gisbergen remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Allgaier while third-place Sammy Smith trailed by two seconds. As van Gisbergen retained the lead through the first three turns before he made his way to Turn 4, he started to extend his advantage by more than a second as Allgaier was losing ground. With Allgaier unable to close the deficit for the final nine sets of corners, van Gisbergen was able to keep his car running straight on the course and cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he claimed his first checkered flag of the season and of his career.

With the victory, van Gisbergen, who drifted his race-winning car through the turns while performing his victory burnouts and kicked a rugby ball into the frontstretch’s crowd, became the 178th competitor overall to win in the Xfinity Series as he joined rookie rival Jesse Love as first-time Xfinity race winners of the 2024 season. He also became the seventh foreign-born competitor to win in the Xfinity level and the first since Daniel Suarez made the last accomplishment at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2016. As an added bonus, van Gisbergen notched the first victory of the season for Kaulig Racing.

“Firstly, I’m very sorry to Sam Mayer and the No. 1 team for [hitting them in the] first corner,” van Gisbergen said on FS1. “I just mucked up there and just clipped him. He got back well, but year, Quad Lock Chevy. Thanks Kaulig Racing, Trackhouse [Racing] guys. What a day. It was really cool. Had some great racing. I need to get better at my restarts and learn how to position, but man, that was so much fun. Really cool racing. I love these cars. They’re great.”

Justin Allgaier, who led a race-high 46 laps, settled in the runner-up spot for a second consecutive season in Portland while teammate Sammy Smith, AJ Allmendinger and Ed Jones finished in the top five.

Cole Custer, the winner of last year’s Xfinity event at Portland, rallied for sixth place while Josh Williams, Parker Kligerman, Parker Retzlaff and Riley Herbst finished in the top 10.

Notably, Josh Bilicki piloted the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra to a 12th-place result behind Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed rallied for 13th, Jesse Love ended up 19th, Ryan Truex dropped to 27th after he spun on the final lap and Sam Mayer plummeted to 28th.

There were nine lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 14 laps. In addition, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 13th event of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, Cole Custer leads the regular-season standings by 18 points over both Austin Hill and Chandler Smith, with Justin Allgaier trailing by 23 points and rookie Jesse Love trailing by 73 points.

Results.

1. Shane van Gisbergen, 12 laps led

2. Justin Allgaier, 45 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

3. Sammy Smith

4. AJ Allmendinger

5. Ed Jones

6. Cole Custer

7. Josh Williams

8. Parker Kligerman

9. Parker Retzlaff

10. Riley Herbst, 15 laps led

11. Austin Hill

12. Josh Bilicki

13. Sheldon Creed, two laps led

14. Ryan Sieg

15. Austin Green

16. Brennan Poole

17. Ryan Ellis

18. Kyle Sieg

19. Jesse Love

20. Blaine Perkins

21. Nathan Byrd

22. Garrett Smithley

23. Andre Castro

24. Patrick Gallagher

25. Kyle Weatherman

26. Leland Honeyman

27. Ryan Truex

28. Sam Mayer, one lap down

29. Logan Bearden, one lap down

30. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

31. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down

32. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down

33. Hailie Deegan, four laps down

34. Sage Karam, six laps down

35. Chandler Smith – OUT, Accident

36. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

37. Jeb Burton, 14 laps down

38. Preston Pardus – OUT, Track Bar

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second annual event at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 8, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 1, 2024
Scott McLaughlin to make 50th IndyCar career start at Portland

Embarking in his third full-time season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Scott McLaughlin is within reach of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway, the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet will be making his 50th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

A native of Hamilton, New Zealand, McLaughlin made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in October 2020, which served as the final event of the 2020 campaign. McLaughlin’s IndyCar debut occurred nine months after testing an IndyCar for Team Penske at Sebring International Raceway before turning in his first laps on an oval circuit at Texas Motor Speedway in February. His debut also occurred eight months after Penske initially planned for McLaughlin to make his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course before the COVID-19 pandemic hindered the plans. Driving the No. 3 Penske Dallara-Chevrolet, McLaughlin started 21st and finished 22nd in his series debut after being involved in a two-car wreck with Rinus VeeKay nearing the halfway mark.

A few days prior to his IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg, McLaughlin was named a full-time IndyCar competitor for Team Penske for the 2021 season. The news occurred as Team Penske also announced its transition from the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship following a six-year run. McLaughlin’s first full-time entrance in the IndyCar Series also occurred as he contended against former Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

Assuming full control of Penske’s No. 3 Chevrolet, McLaughlin commenced his rookie IndyCar campaign by finishing 14th at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. After finishing 11th during the following scheduled event at St. Petersburg, he then excelled in the first of a Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader feature by finishing a career-best second place behind fellow New Zealander and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. He then notched back-to-back eighth-place results before finishing 20th in his first career start in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a result, McLaughlin was named the 2021 Indy 500 Rooke of the Year, joining Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves as previous Penske competitors to achieve the award.

As the 2021 season progressed, McLaughlin finished no higher than 12th during the following six scheduled events before notching a strong fourth-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway in August. He then proceeded to finish ninth, 12th and 11th, respectively, in the final three events on the schedule before capping off his first IndyCar Series season in 14th place and with 305 points in the driver’s standings. At the conclusion of the season, McLaughlin was named the 2021 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year.

McLaughlin commenced the 2022 IndyCar season on a high note by claiming his maiden career pole position and race victory at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in February after leading a race-high 49 of 100-scheduled laps and fending off a late charge from the reigning series champion Alex Palou. He was then beaten in a photo finish over teammate Josef Newgarden on the final lap during the following scheduled event at Texas despite leading a race-high 186 of 248-scheduled laps, but he managed to retain the series points lead for two consecutive weeks. McLaughlin would then lose the points lead after finishing 14th during the following event at the Streets of Long Beach, California. By the time the first eight events on the schedule were complete, however, McLaughlin and the No. 3 Penske team had dropped to ninth place in the standings after posting only two top-10 results during a five-race span between April and June.

McLaughlin then ignited a late charge to the championship battle by collecting his second career victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early July. Despite finishing ninth at the Exhibition Place in Toronto and 22nd in the first of a Iowa Speedway doubleheader feature during the following two scheduled events, he rallied by notching respective finishes of third, fourth, second and third from the second Iowa event in July through World Wide Technology Raceway in August. After scoring his third IndyCar career victory at Portland in September, where he led all but six of 110-scheduled laps, McLaughlin had climbed back up to fifth place in the standings and trailed the points lead by 41 points, which made him championship eligible entering the season-finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. During the finale, McLaughlin ended up sixth on the track, which was enough for him to conclude the season in fourth place in the final standings despite falling 50 points shy of winning his first IndyCar title. Overall, McLaughlin capped off his sophomore IndyCar season on a high note by notching a total of three victories, three poles, seven podiums, 433 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.8.

Four days prior to competing for his first IndyCar title, McLaughlin had inked a multi-year contract extension to remain at Team Penske. He commenced this season by finishing 13th at the Streets of St. Petersburg before notching respective results of sixth and 10th at Texas and the Streets of Long Beach, respectively. He then notched his first IndyCar victory of the season and the fourth of his career at Barber Motorsports Park after leading the final 19 laps and prevailing in a late battle against Grosjean. Despite finishing 16th in the GMR Grand Prix and 14th in the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, McLaughlin has notched nine consecutive finishes inside the top eight, including two runner-up results at Iowa Speedway in July and at Nashville Street Circuit in August. Coming off a fifth-place result at World Wide Technology Raceway, he is currently situated in fifth place in the driver’s standings and trailing the points lead by 140 points with two scheduled events remaining.

Photo by Joe Skibinski (Penske Entertainment).

Through 49 previous starts in the IndyCar Series, McLaughlin has achieved four victories, four poles, 11 podiums, 555 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.0.

McLaughlin is primed to make his 50th NTT INDYCAR Series career start at Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, September 3, during Labor Day weekend at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

August 30, 2023
Custer grabs dramatic Xfinity victory in overtime at Portland

From starting at the rear of the field to muscling his way to the front, Cole Custer found himself at the right spot at the right time to steal the spotlight and drive to an overwhelming victory in the second annual running of the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, June 3.

The 25-year-old Custer from Ladera Ranch, California, led two times for five of 77 over-scheduled laps as he methodically carved his way to the front despite starting at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments to his car. Then after spending the majority of the event running towards the front, where he claimed the second stage victory in a photo finish, Custer seized an opportunity during an overtime shootout when Parker Kligerman collided against the leaders Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed entering the first turn. This caused Kligerman to lose his momentum as both Allgaier and Creed took the chicane before blending back onto the circuit while Custer muscled into the lead. Once he had the lead, the Californian spent the final two laps fending off a late charge from Allgaier to claim his first Xfinity victory of the 2023 season.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Sheldon Creed notched his first career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 95.694 mph in 74.111 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Cole Custer, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 95.398 mph in 74.341 seconds.

Prior to the event, however, Custer joined Blaine Perkins, Sam Mayer, Garrett Smithley, Brandon Jones, Joe Graf Jr., Parker Kligerman, Jeremy Clements, Patrick Emerling, Anthony Alfredo and Josh Williams as a host of competitors who started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Stefan Parsons also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change made to his car.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Creed and John Hunter Nemechek, who moved up to the front row, dueled for the lead entering the first two sets of sharp turns. Then as Creed fended off an early challenge from Nemechek, where Nemechek bumped Creed through the first two turns, rookie Chandler Smith spun in the middle of the turn after getting hit by Connor Mosack while running in the top 10. This caused the rest of the field to scatter and fan out across the chicane and the turns while Creed maintained the lead. After navigating his way through the 12-turn circuit, Creed proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Nemechek as Jordan Taylor, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill followed suit.

During the second lap, rookie Sammy Smith pitted to address a shifter issue to his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra that was stuck in second gear. Amid Smith’s issues, Creed retained the top spot with a steady advantage over Nemechek while Jordan Taylor retained third.

Through the first five scheduled laps, Creed was leading by half a second over Nemechek followed by Taylor, Berry and Allgaier while Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric, Myatt Snider, Kaz Grala and Jeb Burton in the top 10. By then, Connor Mosack was in 11th ahead of Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Brett Moffitt and Dylan Lupton while Cole Custer, Anthony Alfredo, Leland Honeyman, rookie Parker Retzlaff and Ryan Sieg occupied the top 20. Two laps earlier, Parker Chase, who was running towards the rear of the field, had plummeted below the leaderboard after spinning in Turn 1.

Just past the Lap 10 mark, Creed continued to lead by more than eight-tenths over Nemechek while Allgaier, Taylor and Berry were in the top five. By then, Custer had cracked the top 15 after starting at the rear of the field. A lap later, Ryan Sieg and Leland Honeyman spun in Turn 4 after making contact and going off the course.

On Lap 16 and while Creed retained the lead by more than a second over Nemechek, Brennan Poole ran into early issues after he went off the course in Turn 11. He would then take his JD Motorsports entry to the garage without drawing a caution.

Nearing the Lap 20 mark, however, the first caution of the event flew when Stefan Parsons came to a stop in Turn 3 Then prior to a restart with five laps remaining in the first stage, Hemric, who was in the top 10, pulled his No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro that was on fire off the course as his event came to an early end.

With the restart occurring with two laps remaining in the first stage, Creed and Nemechek dueled for the lead entering the first turn as Myatt Snider, who restarted in the top 10, fanned out in an attempt to gain spots. In spite of the bumps that were ongoing amid the front runners, the field navigated smoothly through the first two tight turns as Creed retained the lead over Nemechek and Berry while Allgaier, Hill and Taylor were in the top six.

Prior to the final lap, Nemechek made his move beneath Creed entering the frontstretch as he assumed the lead entering the first two turns. Creed quickly responded back through Turns 4 and 5 before Nemechek fended off Creed’s run and maintained the top spot. Then after fending off Creed’s attacks through Turns 5 to 7, Nemechek appeared to pull away through Turns 8 to 10. In Turn 11, however, Nemechek went wide, which allowed Creed to draw beneath him and lightly rub fenders with Nemechek before he reassumed the lead. With the lead back in his grasp, Creed managed to pull away and conclude the first stage scheduled on Lap 25 with his second stage victory of the season. Nemechek ended up second followed by Allgaier, Hill and Berry while Taylor, Custer, Snider, Parker Kligerman and Herbst were scored in the top 10. With the rest of the field making its way to the start/finish line, Joe Graf Jr. spun off the course in Turn 11.

During the first stage break, all competitors pitted for non-competitive pit stops, with each given three minutes to make any changes. Amid the pit stops, Brad Perez replaced Leland Honeyman as Honeyman had been under the weather.

The second stage started on Lap 27 as Creed and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Creed launched ahead with the top spot over Allgaier and Nemechek while Custer, who restarted seventh, fanned out to three lanes as he managed to move up to fourth entering the first turn. As the field navigated its way through the first two sharp turns, trouble struck for Berry as Hill hit and sent Berry’s No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet Camaro for a spin. With Berry spinning his car off the course, the event remained under green flag conditions as Creed retained the lead while the field behind scrambled and jostled for positions.

Then on Lap 33, Allgaier gained a run and battled dead even with Nemechek, who briefly lost his momentum while challenging Creed for the lead, through Turns 7 and 8 before gaining second place. In the process, Creed managed to maintain the top spot by nearly half a second. During the following lap, the battle for the lead became a six-car battle as Custer, Kligerman and Jordan Taylor closed in for the battle of the lead.

By Lap 40, Creed continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Allgaier followed by Nemechek, Custer and Kligerman while Taylor, Myatt Snider, Hill, Herbst and Sam Mayer were in the top 10. Behind, Alex Labbe was scored in 11th over Jeb Burton, Chandler Smith, Connor Mosack and Brett Moffitt while Anthony Alfredo, Retzlaff, Kaz Grala, Brandon Jones and Josh Williams were running in the top 20.

Two laps later, trouble struck for Preston Pardus, who spun in Turn 10 and briefly stalled his car before he limped it back to pit road. With the event remaining under green, Creed maintained the lead as Allgaier, Nemechek and Custer engaged in a fierce battle for second place. Kligerman would close in to join the battle as the top-five competitors were separated by less than two seconds.

Another four laps later, Chandler Smith, who served an early pass-through penalty for missing the chicane, spun in Turn 11 while running within the top 15, but he continued despite plummeting to 20th. Not long after, Snider spun his No. 19 Tree Top Toyota Supra in between Turns 8 and 9 while running in the top 10, but he also continued as he dropped to 12th. In the process, the battle for the lead ignited between the top six as Creed remained out in front ahead of Allgaier, Nemechek, Custer, Kligerman and Taylor.

Prior to the final lap of the second stage, Nemechek made his move beneath Allgaier through Turns 10 and 11 as he overtook him for second. Custer would then follow suit and move up to third entering Turn 1 as Allgaier slipped to fourth while Creed retained the lead. Then after trailing Creed for nearly the entire final lap, Nemechek put the front bumper to Creed’s rear bumper and sent Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro spinning off the course in Turn 11. This allowed Custer to draw even beneath Nemechek entering the frontstretch as he and Nemechek dueled for the stage victory. At the start/finish line, Custer managed to peek ahead and edge Nemechek in a photo finish to capture the second stage victory on Lap 50, which also marked Custer’s third stage victory of the season. Nemechek ended up in second followed by Allgaier, Kligerman and Taylor while Creed was able to salvage sixth. Mayer, Herbst, Hill and Jeb Burton were scored in the top 10.

During the second stage break, all competitors led by Custer pitted for non-competitive pit stops as they all retained their respective spots from the second stage’s conclusion.

With 23 laps remaining, the final stage started as Custer and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Custer had appeared to pull ahead from the field until he went wide and missed the first turn as he was forced to take the chicane. With Custer off the track and pulling a stop-and-go move to avoid a penalty, Allgaier assumed the lead followed by Nemechek, Kligerman and Creed through the first three turns and entering a series of right and left-hand turns in Turns 4 and 5. As the field behind jostled, Allgaier managed to maintain the top spot by a steady margin over Nemechek while Creed battled Kligerman for third.

A few laps later, Sam Mayer carved his way to the front as he battled and overtook Kligerman for fourth while Allgaier remained as the leader over Nemechek and Creed.

With 20 laps remaining, Allgaier was leading by six-tenths of a second over Nemechek followed by Creed, Mayer and Kligerman while Taylor, Hill, Custer, Snider and Herbst were in the top 10. Behind, Mosack was in 11th ahead of Brett Moffitt, JEb Burton, Labbe and Alfredo while Jones, Berry, Retzlaff, Chandler Smith and Dylan Lupton were mired in the top 20.

Then approaching the final 19 laps of the event, Creed delivered payback to Nemechek as he tapped and sent Nemechek’s No. 20 Red Bird Farms Toyota Supra for a spin in Turn 11 while the rest of the field scattered to avoid hitting Nemechek. With the race remaining under green and as Nemechek continued, Kligerman overtook Creed for second as Hill, Taylor, Custer and Mayer joined the battle for second. In the process, Allgaier retained the lead by nearly three seconds.

Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Allgaier maintained the lead by more than two seconds over Creed and more than three seconds over third-place Kligerman while Hill and Custer were scored in the top five. Meanwhile, more trouble struck for Nemechek as he got slammed by teammate Sammy Smith, who overshot the first turn and had to take the chicane. Shortly after continuing, Nemechek ran into the side of Smith to express his displeasure as both sustained tire rub and damage to their cars. Both Joe Gibbs Racing teammates would pit simultaneously for repairs.

With 10 laps remaining, Allgaier continued to lead by more than four seconds over Kligerman while Creed, Hill, Custer and Mayer occupied the top six on the track. Behind, Taylor was in seventh followed by Snider, Mosack and Labbe. By then, Nemechek, who returned to the track, was lapped by the leaders.

Two laps later, the caution flew when Herbst, who was running a lap down in the top 30 amid overheating issues, pulled his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang off the course in Turn 9 as the car went up in smoke and flames. The caution erased Allgaier’s advantage of more than four seconds over Kligerman.

Down to the final five laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, Allgaier and Kligerman dueled for the lead entering the first turn. Then entering the first sharp turn, Allgaier managed to pull ahead while Creed quickly followed suit in second. Meanwhile, Kligerman locked up the tires and slipped to battle with Custer for third while Mayer and Snider pursued. Through Turns 4 to 7, Allgaier maintained the lead over Creed while Custer and Kligerman battled for third.

As the field returned to the frontstretch to hit the final four-lap mark, Alfredo and Retzlaff spun in Turn 11, but the race remained under green as the field scrambled and jostled for spots. Shortly after, Jeb Burton spun in Turn 4 after getting hit by Chandler Smith whom he had a run-in with through the frontstretch. Then with three laps remaining, the caution returned for debris on the backstretch. The caution period was enough to send the event into overtime.

At the start of the first overtime attempt, Allgaier peeked ahead of Creed while receiving a push from Kligerman before Kligerman tried to make his move beneath Allgaier entering Turn 1. Through the turn, however, Kligerman locked up the front tires and could not steer his No. 48 Big Machine Racing entry to make the turn as he collided against Allgaier and Creed, sending both into the chicane while Kligerman was trying to regain his momentum on the track. Amid the chaos, Custer came out on top in his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang with the lead while Allgaier and Creed managed to blend back onto the track in second and third with Mayer joining the battle. With the field behind jostling for late positions through Turns 4 to 7, Custer ran away from the field as Allgaier, Mayer and Creed continued to battle for second. Through Turns 8 and 9, Allgaier claimed second while Mayer dueled Creed for third.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Custer remained as the leader ahead of a hard-charging Allgaier. By then, Mayer had shoved Creed off the course in Turn 11 as Creed fell back to seventh behind Hill, Snider and Berry while Mayer moved up to third. Back at the front, Allgaier narrowed the deficit to six-tenths of a second as Custer retained the lead through the first three turns and entering Turn 4. Then after fending off Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro through Turn 9, Allgaier gained more momentum into Turn 10 and got to Custer’s rear bumper approaching the final set of turns. He then tried to bump and overtake Custer entering the frontstretch, but it was not enough as Custer managed to fend off Allgaier by 0.142 seconds to grab his first checkered flag of the 2023 season in dramatic fashion.

With the victory, Custer claimed his 11th career win in the Xfinity Series, his first since winning at Auto Club Speedway in February 2022 and his first on a road course venue. He also recorded the first Xfinity victory for Stewart-Haas Racing since Chase Briscoe won at Kansas Speedway in October 2020, the first NASCAR victory for crew chief Jonathan Toney and he became the seventh Xfinity regular to win and be guaranteed a spot for the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

Ironically, Custer’s Portland victory occurred as the Californian achieved his seventh consecutive top-seven finish in recent weeks. This occurred after Custer finished no higher than ninth during the first six-scheduled events on this year’s schedule.

“[I was telling myself] Just try and not make mistakes [on the restarts],” Custer said on FS1. “I saw [Kligerman] drive in there so deep. I did the same thing like two restarts ago. Man, I’m just so happy. I’ve never won a road course race before. I’ve been so close so many times and it’s just awesome to win this. I can’t thank Haas Automation, everybody at Stewart-Haas [Racing] in the Xfinity program and the Cup program. This is just a great day. It’s awesome to get this trophy and get that out of the way. I’m pumped for the rest of the year. We got fast cars and we’re starting to put it all together.”

Allgaier, coming off last week’s victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finished second after leading 23 laps while Mayer, Berry and Hill finished in the top five. Myatt Snider came home in sixth place in his second start of the season while Creed, who led a race-high 47 laps ended up seventh. Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith and Nemechek completed the top 10 on the track.

There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 10 laps. In total, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

With the 2023 Xfinity Series regular-season stretch reaching its halfway mark, John Hunter Nemechek leads the regular-season standings by 14 points over Austin Hill, 44 over Justin Allgaier, 65 over Cole Custer and 91 over Josh Berry.

Results.

1. Cole Custer, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Justin Allgaier, 23 laps led

3. Sam Mayer

4. Josh Berry

5. Austin Hill

6. Myatt Snider

7. Sheldon Creed, 47 laps led, Stage 1 winner

8. Connor Mosack

9. Chandler Smith

10. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps led

11. Alex Labbe

12. Brett Moffitt

13. Brandon Jones

14. Parker Kligerman

15. Blaine Perkins

16. Josh Williams

17. Parker Retzlaff

18. Ryan Sieg

19. Jeffrey Earnhardt

20. Patrick Emerling

21. Anthony Alfredo

22. Jeremy Clements

23. Joe Graf Jr.

24. Garrett Smithley

25. Jeb Burton

26. Kaz Grala

27. Jordan Taylor

28. Leland Honeyman – OUT, Accident

29. Dylan Lupton, one lap down

30. Sammy Smith, two laps down

31. Preston Pardus, five laps down

32. Riley Herbst – OUT, Engine

33. Daniel Hemric, 30 laps down

34. Kyle Sieg – OUT, Rear gear

35. Parker Chase – OUT, Tie rod

36. Mason Maggio – OUT, Transmission

37. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Overheating

38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ inaugural event at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 10, at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

June 3, 2023
Weekend schedule for Gateway and Portland

This weekend the NASCAR Cup and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams head to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West travel to Portland International Raceway for a full weekend of racing.

The battle for the Cup Series Playoffs is heating up as 10 different drivers have already secured a spot in the postseason. The list of winners includes Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.

This will be the second time the Xfinity Series will compete at the Portland road course. AJ Allmendinger won the inaugural event but is not entered in this year’s race. Of the current eligible drivers, Austin Hill leads the series with three wins while John Hunter Nemechek (the points leader) has been to victory lane twice. The remaining eligible drivers, with one win each, are Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton and Justin Allgaier.

Six Truck Series drivers have won this season and are locked into the Playoffs – Zane Smith (Daytona, COTA), Christian Eckes (Atlanta, Darlington), Carson Hocevar (Texas), Corey Heim (Martinsville), Grant Enfinger (Kansas), and Ben Rhodes (Charlotte).

NASCAR PressPass will be available throughout the weekend.

All times are Eastern.

Friday, June 2
5 p.m.: ARCA Practice (Portland) No TV
6:10 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying (Portland) No TV
8 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112 – FloRacing/MRN

6 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (Gateway) FS1
6:30 p.m. Truck Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1

Saturday, June 3
10 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
10:45 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Gateway) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (Portland-No TV)
12 Noon: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Portland) FS1

1:30 p.m.: Truck Series Toyota 200 (Gateway)
Distance: 200 miles (160 Laps)
Stages end on Lap 35, Lap 70, Lap 160
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $738,514

4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 (Portland)
Distance: 147.75 miles (75 Laps)
Stages end on Lap 25, Lap 50, Lap 75
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $1,376,231

Sunday, June 4
3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 (Gateway)
Distance: 300 miles (240 laps)
Stages end on Lap 45, Lap 140, Lap 240)
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
The Purse: $7,425,976

May 31, 2023
McLaughlin retains championship hopes with dominant IndyCar victory at Portland

Faced with a long shot but not out of the picture, Scott McLaughlin kept his 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship hopes alive with a dominant win in the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, September 4.

The 29-year-old McLaughlin from Hamilton, New Zealand, commenced his dominant weekend by qualifying on pole position on Saturday. During the main event on Sunday, he led a race-high 104 of the 110-scheduled laps and prevailed during a restart with 22 laps remaining to fend off teammate Will Power and Scott Dixon to capture the third IndyCar career victory of his career and of this season. The victory decreased McLaughlin’s deficit to teammate and points leader Will Power from 54 to 41 as he will be one of five competitors entering next weekend’s season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a mathematical opportunity to contend for the title.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Scott McLaughlin claimed his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 121.412 mph in 58.2349 seconds. Teammate Josef Newgarden initially posted the second-best qualifying lap at 121.249 mph in 58.3129 seconds, but he dropped six spots on the starting grid to eighth for an unapproved engine change stemming from the previous IndyCar event at World Wide Technology Raceway. As a result, teammate and points leader Will Power started on the front row alongside McLaughlin after posting his best qualifying lap at 121.016 mph in 58.4482 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, McLaughlin muscled ahead with an early advantage through the first three turns while rookie Christian Lundgaard made a move to overtake Will Power for the runner-up spot. As the field proceeded through the twists and turns around Portland for a full lap and while Romain Grosjean went off the track, McLaughlin led the first lap ahead of Lundgaard, Power, Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou.

Through the first five scheduled laps, McLaughlin was leading by more than two seconds over Lundgaard followed by Power, O’Ward and Palou while David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden was back in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, rookie Callum Ilott, Scott Dixon and rookie Kyle Kirkwood. Jack Harvey was in 16th followed by Conor Daly, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco while Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, Romain Grosjean, Dalton Kellett and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the 25-car field.

Five laps later and 10 laps into the event, McLaughlin continued to lead by three seconds over Lundgaard while Power, O’Ward and Palou retained their spots in the top five. By then, Simon Pagenaud pitted for a new set of alternate Firestone tires to his No. 60 SiriusXM Dallara-Honda. Another two laps later, Grosjean pitted for alternate tires to his No. 28 DHL Dallara-Honda.

By Lap 15, names like Dixon, Kirkwood, Jack Harvey, Newgarden, Helio Castroneves and Jimmie Johnson pitted for alternate tires as the cycle of tire strategies proceeded. During the following lap, Palou and VeeKay also pitted followed by David Malukas, Colton Herta, Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly.

At the Lap 20 mark, McLaughlin remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Lundgaard followed by Graham Rahal, Ilott and Ericsson. By then, O’Ward pitted his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet under green. Another lap later, McLaughlin surrendered the lead to pit his No. 3 Freightliner Dallara-Chevrolet.

Once the remaining competitors who had yet to pit pitted, among which included Lundgaard, Rahal and Ilott, McLaughlin cycled his way back to the lead on Lap 24. By then, Ericsson was in second while Power, Lundgaard and O’Ward were in the top five. Palou carved his No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Dallara-Honda to sixth followed by Newgarden, Rahal, Herta, Rossi and Ilott, who was stalling Scott Dixon and VeeKay while running in the final top-10 spot.

Through the first 35 scheduled laps, McLaughlin was leading by more than eight seconds over teammate Power followed by Lundgaard, O’Ward and Palou while Newgarden, Rahal, Herta, Rossi and Dixon were in the top 10. By then, Ericsson pitted his No. 8 PNC Bank Dallara-Honda three laps earlier for alternative tires. Meanwhile, Grosjean, who was in 22nd, was given a penalty for shorcutting the course.

Ten laps later, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to more than six seconds over teammate Power. While Lundgaard and O’Ward were in third and fourth, Newgarden navigated his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet into the top five as he was in fifth followed by Rahal, Herta, Rossi, Dixon and VeeKay. By then, Palou, who was initially battling for sixth with Rahal, pitted along with Pagenaud, Grosjean, Rosenqvist, Jack Harvey and Kirkwood. Newgarden would pit during Laps 46 along with Dixon, Castroneves, Jimmie Johnson, Lundgaard and VeeKay.

Nearing the Lap 50 mark, McLaughlin surrendered the lead to pit for a second time followed by O’Ward while Rahal emerged with the lead. By then, Herta, Malukas, Conor Daly and David Malukas also pitted. Once Lap 50 struck, McLaughlin cycled his way back to the lead after Rahal pitted his No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda under green.

At the halfway mark on Lap 55, McLaughlin was the leader by six seconds over teammate Power followed by O’Ward and a tight battle for fourth place between Newgarden and Lundgaard. Rahal was in sixth ahead of Rossi, Dixon and Herta while VeeKay battled and overtook Palou for 10th place. Meanwhile, Ericsson and DeFrancesco made a pit stop under green along with Sato.

With 40 laps remaining, McLaughlin retained the lead by four seconds over teammate Power, who had O’Ward closing in in a bid for the runner-up spot as Power was also catching the lapped No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda driven by Jimmie Johnson. Newgarden remained in fourth as he started to catch teammate Power and O’Ward while Lundgaard, Rahal, Rossi, Dixon, Herta and VeeKay occupied the top 10. Behind, Palou retained 11th ahead of Callum Ilott while Kirkwood, Rosenqvist and Malukas were in the top 15.

Two laps later, Conor Daly was the first retiree of the event after his No. 20 BitNile Dallara-Chevrolet caught on fire while trying to exit his pit stall upon a completed service.

Another five laps later and with 32 laps remaining, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over teammate Power, who was able to pull away from O’Ward and Newgarden with no lapped traffic interfering in his charge towards teammate McLaughlin. By then, names like Rossi, Lundgaard, Dixon, VeeKay, Palou, Kirkwood, Jack Harvey and Castroneves pitted. During the pit stops, Lundgaard stalled his No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda in his pit lane.

During the following lap, McLaughlin led teammates Power and Newgarden along with O’Ward, Rahal, Herta, Ilott and Malukas to pit road for service. Once the pit stops were complete with less than 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin, who despite endured a slow pit stop while trying to navigate his way around Rosenqvist, was back ahead by a second over teammate Power while third-place O’Ward trailed by two seconds. Ericsson, who has yet to pit, was in fourth while Newgarden was mired in fifth.

Then with 27 laps remaining, the first caution of the event flew when VeeKay turned to the left and sent Jimmie Johnson into the outside wall in Turn 1 as Johnson’s long afternoon came to an end with a wrecked No. 48 Honda.

Down to the final 22 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as McLaughlin retained the lead. Entering the first turn, O’Ward made a bold move beneath Power as both made contact, but Power fended off O’Ward to remain in second as the field jumbled up through the first three turns. In the midst of the scramble, Dixon moved his No. 9 PNC Bank Dallara-Honda to fourth place after overtaking both Newgarden and Rossi.

A lap later, O’Ward, who continued with minimal damage to his No. 5 Chevrolet, was penalized and forced to surrender third place to Dixon for blocking Dixon while making his move and eventual contact with Power during the restart.

With less than 20 laps remaining, McLaughlin was the leader by less than two seconds over teammate Power while third-place Dixon trailed by nearly three seconds. O’Ward and Rahal were in the top five while Herta, Rossi and Lundgaard overtook Newgarden, who was on the black Firestone tires, for spots in the top 10.

Shortly after, Lundgaard’s strong run was spoiled after he got loose and ran into a sponsor signage in Turn 1, which remained lodged in front of his car as he plummeted below the leaderboard and went a full lap with the barrier before pitting.

With 10 laps remaining, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Power and more than two seconds over Dixon, all of whom broke away from the field led by fourth-place O’Ward, who trailed by more than seven seconds. Rahal was in fifth while Herta, Rossi, Newgarden, Ilott and Rosenqvist, who overtook Palou, were in the top 10.

Down to the final five laps of the event, the top-three competitors led by McLaughlin followed by teammate Power and Dixon were nine seconds ahead of fourth-place O’Ward, who was starting to be intimidated by Rahal for fourth place while Andretti Autosport teammates Herta and Rossi battled for sixth in front of Newgarden.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin remained as the leader by more than a second over teammate Power, who had Dixon closing in as he made a final bid for the runner-up spot. With Power unable to close the gap for a final lap through the circuit, McLaughlin was able to navigate his way back to the frontstretch and claim his third checkered flag of the 2022 season.

With the victory, McLaughlin, who made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit less than two years ago, notched his third career victory in the IndyCar Series along with his third of the season as he added Portland with the Streets of St. Petersburg and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to his race-winning resume in IndyCars. He also recorded the ninth victory of the season for Team Penske and the 11th for Chevrolet, which is within striking distance of sealing the manufacturer title over Honda.

The Portland victory also kept McLaughlin’s championship hopes of this season alive as he now trails teammate Power by 41 points after jumping from sixth to fifth in the standings.

“I don’t think the car felt really good in that first stint,” McLaughlin said on NBC. “As the race went on, it got a little bit worse.[I] Just had to really concentrate on where I wanted the strengths in the car and work with those, and then the weaknesses are just trying to make the best of them. The Freightliner Chevy, all weekend, has been fast. It’s been right there where we needed it and the team, the Thristy Threes [pit crew], got the job done in the pits. I’m really proud of them. We did exactly what we needed to do this weekend, and that was win and get max points and keep ourselves in the [championship] fight. Yeah, we’re in a long shot. I don’t care, but we’re a shot. I’m looking forward to it.”

Teammate Power, who came into Portland with a three-point advantage in the championship standings, held off Dixon to finish in the runner-up spot and leaves Portland with a 20-point lead in the standings over both teammate Newgarden and Dixon. Power will only need to finish in the top three next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to clinch his second IndyCar championship. Ericsson, who salvaged an 11th-place run at Portland, trails Power by 39 points while McLaughlin trails by 41, all of whom remain mathematically eligible to contend for the 2022 IndyCar title.

“The red [tires] was a lot better for us,” Power said. “The black [tires] just never really came on. [I] Never even really got a good balance with it. It was a tough decision because those reds had a lot of laps on them, but I still feel like we would’ve been quicker over the stint. It was the right move. [It] Would’ve been real tough on those restarts without it. Good call by the guys. Good strategy all day. It’s another day. We just did everything we could. I just want to win this championship for the guys that have been with me for more than a decade. It’s a lot less selfish for me this time around because [the crew] deserve it. I feel their pain over the years of losing so many. I would love to win it for them. [The points lead is] still very tough. Ganassi’s tested [at Laguna Seca]. We’re sin the best position. We got the best shot, so we’ll do everything we can.”

“We got to stop getting these Most Improved [accolade] through races,” Dixon said. “It’s definitely frustrating. Starting 16th with the competition we have now and no real cautions, man, we had to drive through the field. We’re still in the fight. Twenty points back. Tied with Josef [Newgarden] there. It was definitely an interesting race. We tried as hard as possible on that last run, but a huge weekend for PNC Bank. Honda, kudos to them for the super-easy fuel mileage that we had to get, so that was definitely a positive…Anything is possible. We’ve seen it. We’ve won [the championship] on tie-breakers before. We’re in it and we will never give up as a team until it’s over. It’s gonna be an interesting [finale]. Ultimately, if we can be in it, we’re gonna throw everything that we can do.”

O’Ward, who has been eliminated from the title battle, nursed his wounded No. 5 Chevrolet to a fourth-place result ahead of Rahal while Herta, Rossi, Newgarden, Callum Ilott and Felix Rosenqvist finished in the top 10 on the track. Alex Palou was also eliminated from title contention with a 12th-place run as he will not defend his series title.

There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured one caution for four laps.

Results.

1. Scott McLaughlin, 104 laps led

2. Will Power, two laps led

3. Scott Dixon

4. Pato O’Ward

5. Graham Rahal, two laps led

6. Colton Herta

7. Alexander Rossi

8. Josef Newgarden

9. Callum Ilott, one lap led

10. Felix Rosenqvist

11. Marcus Ericsson

12. Alex Palou

13. Kyle Kirkwood

14. David Malukas

15. Jack Harvey

16. Devlin DeFrancesco

17. Helio Castroneves

18. Takuma Sato

19. Romain Grosjean

20. Rinus VeeKay

21. Christian Lundgaard, one lap led

22. Dalton Kellett, one lap down

23. Simon Pagenaud, 10 laps down

24. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Contact

25. Conor Daly – OUT, Mechanical

The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season is set to conclude next weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey and where a champion will be crowned. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 11, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

September 4, 2022
Allmendinger survives to win the inaugural Xfinity Series event at Portland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline by 58 points, Jeb Burton trails by 67, Brett Moffit trails by 71, Brandon Brown trails by 72 and Sheldon Creed trails by 73.

Results.

1. AJ Allmendinger, six laps led

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

3. Austin Hill

4. Josh Berry

5. Justin Allgaier

6. Daniel Hemric

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

8. JJ Yeley

9. Noah Gragson

10. Alex Labbe

11. Brandon Jones

12. Brandon Brown

13. Scott Heckert

14. Jade Buford, four laps led

15. Landon Cassill

16. Ryan Sieg

17. Andy Lally, three laps led

18. Matt Jaskol

19. Patrick Emerling

20. Brett Moffitt

21. Joe Graf Jr.

22. Josh Williams, one lap down

23. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

24. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

25. Mason Filippi, three laps down

26. Jesse Iwuji, four laps down

27. Parker Chase – OUT, Accident

28. Connor Mosack – OUT, Accident

29. Spencer Pumpelly – OUT, Accident

30. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

31. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

32. Sheldon Creed – OUT, one lap led

33. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

34. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident

35. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

36. Gray Gaulding – OUT, Accident

37. Darren Dilley – OUT, Accident

38. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

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

June 4, 2022
Will Power wins the NTT IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland

When Will Power starts winning, he becomes really hard to beat; first at Pocono, then the IndyCar race at Portland International Raceway where he earned his second win in three races.

Power led the most laps of the day with 59 and seemed to have the race under control once Scott Dixon had a battery issue on lap 52, even a late Caution with Santino Ferrucci did not slow down Power, he was able to pull away on the final restart, and cruise to victory. Felix Rosenqvist finished second, with Alexander Rossi finishing third and early leader Colton Herta finishing fourth.

“It was a pretty tough race,” Power said. “I had constant pressure from Rosenqvist at the end, we could pull away and I thought ‘oh this is going to be good’, and then the yellow flew and I thought, ‘oh come on, man’. Stoked to get in victory lane. Awesome, man. I’m exhausted. Mentally exhausted.”

“I’ve had enough rough luck in races, I’ll take them anywhere I can get them,” when asked whether he could have caught Scott Dixon.

After the first caution, there was a second caution right after, Ryan Hunter-Reay trying to keep his teammate Alexander Rossi back he overshot turn one and slammed right into Jack Harvey, taking out Harvey and putting himself several laps down. Then the race calmed down with Herta leading the field until lap 37 when his tires gave out and Scott Dixon and several other cars got past him. Dixon led until lap 52 when he had a battery issue and his car just stopped on pit road, costing him three laps. From there Will Power led the rest of the laps outside of cycling pit stops. Santino Ferrucci’s mechanical failure on lap 98 caused a quick caution which bunched up the field but did not change the overall outcome. As a whole the race had five leaders, eight lead changes, three cautions for 16 laps, and 16 cars finishing the race.

The championship now only has three drivers left in contention, Josef Newgarden leading with 593 points, Alexander Rossi in second with 552 points and Simon Pagenaud in third with 551 points.

The season finale for IndyCar will be on September 22 on NBC at 2:30 pm EST at Weathertech Raceway at Laguna Seca, with double points at it can be any of the three’s title to win.

September 2, 2019