[autotag]Chandler Smith[/autotag] needed a little bit of luck, but the No. 81 car was the first to take the checkered flag in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Smith held off teammate Sheldon Creed in NASCAR overtime and pulled away. Jesse Love ended up passing Creed on the final lap of the event.
Smith’s victory is his first with Joe Gibbs Racing, but it was Justin Allgaier’s race to lose. Allgaier dominated the Final Stage and blew a tire with under 10 laps to go. Smith was able to inherit the lead after dominating Stage 1. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is the second Xfinity Series regular to win in 2024, joining Austin Hill.
Repost to congratulate Chandler Smith on his NASCAR Xfinity Series WIN at Phoenix Raceway! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/bvNixCU05A
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 10, 2024
A lot will be said about Smith’s wreck earlier in the race and Allgaier’s shocking incident; however, one thing was made clear today. Smith, who has four top-5 finishes to start 2024, will be a force to be reckoned with for the entire year.
Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200 finishing order:
- No. 81 Chandler Smith
- No. 2 Jesse Love
- No. 18 Sheldon Creed
- No. 21 Austin Hill
- No. 00 Cole Custer
- No. 97 Shane van Gisbergen
- No. 9 Brandon Jones
- No. 48 Parker Kligerman
- No. 8 Sammy Smith
- No. 5 Anthony Alfredo
- No. 42 Leland Honeyman
- No. 39 Ryan Sieg
- No. 29 Blaine Perkins
- No. 78 B.J. McLeod
- No. 51 Jeremy Clements
- No. 91 Kyle Weatherman
- No. 92 Nick Leitz
- No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
- No. 14 J.J. Yeley
- No. 44 Brennan Poole
- No. 43 Ryan Ellis
- No. 26 Corey Heim
- No. 17 William Byron
- No. 98 Riley Herbst
- No. 28 Kyle Sieg
- No. 6 Garrett Smithley
- No. 11 Josh Williams
- No. 4 Dawson Cram
- No. 7 Justin Allgaier
- No. 35 Frankie Muniz
- No. 19 Aric Almirola
- No. 20 John Hunter Nemechek
- No. 15 Hailie Deegan
- No. 1 Sam Mayer
- No. 31 Parker Retzlaff
- No. 27 Jeb Burton
- No. 32 Ryan Vargas
- No. 07 Patrick Emerling