Category: Xfinity

NASCAR celebrates champions and award winners

Friday evening in downtown Charlotte, the NASCAR industry celebrated its heroes, industry inspirations and champions at the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame for the first time in the sport’s modern era. Race teams, drivers and …

Friday evening in downtown Charlotte, the NASCAR industry celebrated its heroes, industry inspirations and champions at the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame for the first time in the sport’s modern era.

Race teams, drivers and fans gathered to watch these 2024 titlists receive their trophies and to see the sport honor those whose careers impacted NASCAR not only this season but for years and even decades.

NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano began the afternoon celebrating his third title with a special solid gold car given to each year’s champion from Goodyear and then later finally being feted by the sport at the tuxedo-and-gown banquet that will be televised on the CW Network, Sunday at 3pm ET.

The 34-year old’s three titles in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford are now most among all active drivers and he is one of only 10 competitors in the history of the sport to have ever earned a trio of championship trophies.

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Logano thanked his team, his team owner Roger Penske and the father of three gave a special nod to his wife Brittany, who he praised for taking care of their young family and home — allowing him to maintain championship focus. He thanked his family, who was also in the audience, “remembering when I was a kid and got a go-kart for Christmas and now I’m sitting here a three-time Cup champion, it’s just truly incredible.’’

“To me, we did get a lot of opportunities and life’s really all about what you do with the opportunities, you don’t know when they are going to come your way but are you ready to take advantage when they do,’’ continued Logano, whose four wins in 2024 give him 36 total.

Logano was sentimental reflecting on his career and season’s accomplishments.

“If you take the opportunity that God’s given us to talk to people, to inspire others to live a life of generosity, that’s when these scenarios of ‘just driving in circles’ aren’t just driving in circles anymore,’’ he said, noting the sport’s huge push to help Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina recently.

“That to me is something I’m most proud of in this industry and being part of that,” added Logano, who has personally helped raise money and deliver supplies to the affected regions. “I’m proud of winning. I’m proud to be part of this team but what I’m probably most proud of is the heart of this sport.’’

Logano’s team owner, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Penske has now earned five NASCAR Cup Series championships including the last three consecutively between Logano (2022 and 2024) and Ryan Blaney (2023).

“From my perspective, Joey Logano was a winner when he came to our team in 2013,’’ Penske said. “We’re so proud of all our teams. Racing is a common thread through our businesses. It’s teamwork. It’s pressure. It’s integrity. It’s transparency. This has built the Penske brand. And we’re thrilled to be here.’’

Beyond the Logano-Penske dominance, it was a night of emphasizing highlights across all NASCAR series — those in supporting roles in the pits and beyond.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and its first-time champion, popular veteran JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier along with Craftsman Truck Series first-time champion Ty Majeski and his ThorSport Raing team were celebrated.

Allgaier’s team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was visibly excited to honor his longtime driver.

“I’m normally not this kind of person but I knew we were going to win it. I’m normally the kind of person who thinks about the odds and wonders how we might lose a race or what are the obstacles in front of us,’’ Earnhardt said. “But for some reason I just felt like the universe owed Justin and we were going to collect when we got to Phoenix.’’

“Man, did he get up on the wheel, all those restarts — those were classic, classic moments and if you just watched that seven-car work all night long you could see how bad Justin wanted it. He carried the whole company on his back that night. Just proud of him and so thankful to be able to see Justin celebrate this tonight.”

The sport also celebrated Earnhardt’s good friend, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who retired from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season and also marked the distinction earned by a former Penske champion as well as Brad Keselowski, who claimed his first victory (at Darlington, S.C.) as a driver-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, was named the sport’s Most Popular Driver for the seventh-consecutive season.

“First and foremost, thank you to the fans,’’ said Elliott, 28, who won at Texas this season. “When I look at this award, regardless if I win it or not … I’ve always viewed it as an opportunity to honor and appreciate the legacy my family has set up for me.’’

Former NASCAR Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion Greg Biffle was recognized as the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award winner. Biffle, an avid pilot, flew rescue missions and dropped supplies to the residents in Western North Carolina following the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in October.

“I thought, if I didn’t go, who’s going to go,’’ said Biffle, who said he received 12,000 messages for help and flew supplies into the area for 14 consecutive days after the storm hit.

“I didn’t do anything any different than anyone in this room would have,’’ a humble Biffle added.

In other awards presented on the night, David Wilson, the long-time president of Toyota Racing Development was presented the Bill France Award of Excellence for his contributions to the sport. Wilson is retiring after leading the Toyota racing effort in NASCAR for 30 years — a tenure that included Toyota’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2015 and two more in 2017 and 2019.

Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was named the Comcast Community Champion Award winner for his work in promoting cancer screenings, raising money for breast cancer patients and longtime literacy advocacy, reading books to school children as he travels around the country racing.

The NASCAR Foundation formally announced Judy Simmons, of Axton, Va., as the 2024 winner of the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Simmons received a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to her God’s Pit Crew non-profit organization, which provides disaster relief help to families.

The evening, hosted by Jamie Little, Adam Alexander, Kim Coon concluded shortly after 8pm with the hosts reminding the crowd and fans who will watch on the CW Network on Sunday, that NASCAR racing resumes with the NASCAR Clash exhibition at the venerable Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 2. The Daytona 500 opens the points season Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR confirms 2025 start times, TV networks for Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series

NASCAR has confirmed the full slate of 2025 start times and TV network coverage for its Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Changes and additions to the Cup Series include: 2025 kicks off with night-time action as The Clash at …

NASCAR has confirmed the full slate of 2025 start times and TV network coverage for its Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

Changes and additions to the Cup Series include:

  • 2025 kicks off with night-time action as The Clash at Bowman-Gray Stadium is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
  • The Nashville Cup race returns to action under the lights as it is slated for a 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime. Both Craftsman Truck and Xfinity events will also have evening green-flag times at the Tennessee oval.
  • Two weeks later, the Cup Series heads to Mexico City for a 3 p.m. ET start on Prime at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
  • At the end of June, both the Xfinity and Cup Series return to Atlanta Motor Speedway will run at night, with Cup’s reunion on TNT airing at 7 p.m. ET.
  • Independence Day weekend also sees a slight bump up in start time at the Chicago Street Course as the Cup Series race is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
  • On Sunday, Aug. 3, the NBC portion of the broadcast schedule sees the Cup race at Iowa Speedway move to an afternoon start with a 3:30 p.m. ET slot on USA Network.
  • The Cup Series Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 12 will now be a 5:30 p.m. ET start on USA.

Cup Series schedule:

Xfinity Series schedule:

Craftsman Truck Series schedule:

Allgaier muscles to Xfinity Series title as Herbst roars to Phoenix win

In one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent memory, longtime fan favorite Justin Allgaier at last claimed the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship trophy Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway – coming from a lap-down mid-race in a back-up car to …

In one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent memory, longtime fan favorite Justin Allgaier at last claimed the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship trophy Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway – coming from a lap-down mid-race in a back-up car to hoist the hardware.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Ford passed Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race win on the last lap of double-overtime for his second win of the season and joined the new series champ Allgaier in twin celebratory burnouts on the front stretch of the mile-track.

 

“I said all weekend, I don’t know what the plan is, but HE has a reason for everything and tonight is true of that, this is mind-blowing, it really is,” said Allgaier, his voice already hoarse and strained from screaming in happiness, but the smile unshakable as his young daughters came in for a hug for dad.

“This team never gave up. [Crew chief] Jim Pohlman and his leadership skills are second to none. He told me all weekend that we were going to have a chance and we tried to give it away every way we could.”

It was an emotional outcome for the 38-year old Allgaier, who joked that he was just trying to make the race exciting for the fans. He has qualified for the Championship 4 seven times, finishing runner-up twice including last year.

And now he could finally celebrate. Allgaier’s team owners, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelly Earnhardt Miller joined Allgaier’s longtime sponsor Rick Brandt on pit road. They were overjoyed to congratulate their driver who overcame a weekend of obstacles to finally claim this historic moment – and it came on a night when the sport observed a moment of silence to honor another great champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, who passed away earlier Saturday.

The obstacles Allgaier faced happened well before the race’s green flag. His primary car was destroyed in a crash four laps into Friday’s opening practice session after running over oil on track from another car that ultimately forced four drivers into back-ups for the race. The car swap meant Allgaier started last in the 38th car field Saturday night, but the always-upbeat 14-year veteran of the series moved into the top 10 by lap 26.

Then, after all that work, Allgaier was called for a restart violation on lap 101 and sent down pit road for a penalty … only to be called for speeding on the way out and penalized with another trip down pit road – both penalties served during green flag racing. After the penalties, Allgaier dropped to 35th on track and was a lap down on lap 107 of the scheduled 200-lapper.

He got a huge break in fortune with a caution period with 45 laps remaining – opting to stay out and get back on the lead lap. He stayed in the top 10 and worked his way forward — moving from sixth place to second on the first overtime restart. He started on the front row of the second overtime restart, but was passed on the final lap by Herbst for the race win. Allgaier’s second place finish was still good enough to land the championship, however.

It marked the third career win for the 25-year old Las Vegas native Herbst, who crossed the line 0.247s ahead of Allgaier and led a dominating 167 of the 213 laps.

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“I knew we were going to have a fast race car. These guys have been working on this race car and I knew we were going to be really, really fast,” said Herbst, whose SHR team is closing at the conclusion of the season. “It’s been a really tough week at the shop, really emotional time. I’m forever grateful to every man and woman at Stewart-Haas Racing; they gave me a really fast car today and I can’t thank everyone enough.”

It was actually fellow championship contender – reigning champ Cole Custer — who mounted the most consistent challenge to Herbst. He ran up front for most of the race, just off the pace of his SHR teammate and ultimately finished eighth in the No. 00 SHR Ford – his effort answered last year’s title with a runner-up in this year’s championship standings.

The other two championship contenders, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished ninth and 10th. As disappointed as the three title contenders were in not claiming the season championship, each conceded the night had a positive ending with their longtime competitor Allgaier finally getting that trophy after 14 years of competition in the series.

“I’m really happy for Justin; that was a long time coming,” said Custer, who will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series full time next season. “He’s definitely a deserving champion and they ran a great race, especially there at the end.”

Hill, making his first Championship 4 appearance, agreed with the sentiment.

“Justin Allgaier has been doing this for a really long time and to see him finally get it done, I’m really happy for him and happy for his family,” he said. “He’s a great guy to be around, a great competitor.

“He’s going to be a great champion for the Xfinity Series. I’ve enjoyed racing that No. 7 team all season long. If I couldn’t have gotten the championship, I’m glad he was the one that got it done.”

RESULTS

Almirola completes Xfinity season sweep at Martinsville

Tickets punched and punches thrown-it was Martinsville after all, and in Saturday’s National Debt Relief 250, Aric Almirola made Martinsville Speedway his personal playground. Leading 150 of 250 laps in a No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that was the …

Tickets punched and punches thrown—it was Martinsville after all, and in Saturday’s National Debt Relief 250, Aric Almirola made Martinsville Speedway his personal playground.

Leading 150 of 250 laps in a No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that was the clear class of the field, Almirola won his second race in his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 0.526-mile short track and earned a spot for his car in the series owners’ Championship 4.

In the process, Almirola denied JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith and JGR’s Chandler Smith a chance to advance to the Championship 4 Race for the drivers’ title.

Pulling away after a restart on lap 235, the part-time Xfinity Series driver beat runner-up Sammy Smith to the finish line by 0.587s, with Chandler Smith trailing in third.

With Almirola winning the race, Justin Allgaier (fifth Saturday) and defending series champion Cole Custer (fourth) qualified for the Nov. 9 Championship 4 Race at Phoenix on points, joining Round of 8 race winners AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill.

Jesse Love (12th Saturday) and Sam Mayer (30th) were eliminated from the Playoffs along with the two Smiths, though Chandler gave a parting shot in the form of a punch to Custer, with whom he had tangled on the race track.

 

For Almirola, who won at Martinsville in April in his first Xfinity attempt, the victory was the third of the season in 13 starts and the seventh of his career.

“We had an amazing car here in the spring, and we made a few tweaks to it,” said Almirola, who also swept the first and second stages. “I wasn’t totally happy with it, honestly, in the spring. And we showed up [Friday] and we were awful. I was like ‘Oh, no, what did we do?’

“They went to work last night and came up with a lot of changes to make to the car, and it was so hooked up today. It would just do everything I wanted it to. This is such a special place. This is by far my favorite race track. I’m just so thankful.”

After Chandler Smith executed a bump-and run on Custer for a pass on lap 220, Custer lined up behind Smith on the outside for a restart on lap 227. In a race that produced 13 cautions for 84 laps, Custer shoved Smith’s Camry toward the wall in Turn 1, perhaps denying the latter a chance to race for the win.

After the race, Smith confronted Custer and threw a punch at the reigning champion.

“I was planning to do a lot more than that, to be completely frank with you,” Smith said. “I was extremely [expletive] off. I gave him five laps before that caution came out (for Brandon Jones’ spin on lap 220). I beat his bumper off and never shipped him or anything. The laps were winding down, and I was in a must-win. The No. 20 (Almirola) started to drive away—he was really good all day—I can’t waste any more time with him.

“I finally had a good enough run and pushed him up the race track and went on our way. But I gave him a chance for five laps before that. I think he was the first guy all day that chose the outside lane from third place (for the lap 227 restart). That was very interesting, and he didn’t even give me a chance to make the corner when we got to Turn 1.”

Custer thought that made the drivers all-square, though Smith disagreed.

“Obviously he wasn’t happy, but what goes around comes around,” Custer said. “He put us in the wall a few times this year. He used the bump-and-run on me. I used the bump-and-run on him…

“I don’t know how we’re not even. And then he punched me in the face. I couldn’t really tell if he even punched me in the face, it was so soft.”

Along with Almirola, Hill and Allmendinger, Allgaier put his No. 7 Chevrolet in the Championship 4 for the owners’ title.

RESULTS

Hill roars to Xfinity Championship 4 with win at Homestead

An emotional Austin Hill climbed out of his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch to celebrate one of the most significant race wins of his burgeoning career – claiming the Credit One NASCAR AMEX …

An emotional Austin Hill climbed out of his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch to celebrate one of the most significant race wins of his burgeoning career – claiming the Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 trophy Saturday and securing one of four positions to race for a trophy in the Nov. 9 series championship finale.

Hill – who also swept both of the race’s stage wins — took the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer with 11 laps remaining Saturday evening at the 1.5-mile South Florida track and raced off to a healthy 3.045s win over the fellow Playoff driver and reigning series champion Custer.

It was the fourth win of the season for Hill and 10th of this career. But importantly, it is the first time the 30-year-old Georgia native will have a chance to race for the championship trophy after multi-win seasons the last three years.

 

“I worked so hard for this. A lot of people doubt me but I wake up every day to prove them wrong,” Hill said. “I deserve to be here and I deserve to race for a championship. This No. 21 team deserves it just as much as I do. They work their [butts] off each and every day just like I do. I’ve got to give it up to those guys. They gave me a hell of a car.

“I can honestly say I’ve never cried coming to the start-finish line, but I had to get my emotions together going into Turn 1 after the checkered. All the hard work and dedication that goes into this. I don’t think everyone’s going to understand what this means for me, for my family and for [sponsor] Bennett. … I had to be on it today.

Pausing to take it in, he added, “This is amazing. To be able to go the Final Four. I’ve worked so hard at this and my dreams came true.”

With his win and A.J. Allmendinger’s victory last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, now only two positions remain for the title chase with one more race remaining – at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway half-miler next week – to establish the championship foursome.

JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier – who only had three previous top-10 finishes at Homestead – took the checkered flag in eighth place which was good enough to keep the driver of the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet with the points lead in third place should he need that to advance to the championship race.

Custer, whose No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford led a race best 87 of the 200 laps, is now on that fourth-place cutoff line with a 28-point advantage over Saturday’s race pole-winner Chandler Smith. Smith, finished 13th and as with the bottom four ranked drivers is essentially in a must-win situation next weekend.

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Hill’s rookie teammate Jesse Love ran up front much of the day and finished fourth. He’s now sixth in the points standings – 35 points below Custer.

“It just shows you how good you have to be to get in the Championship Four,” Love said, noting of the Phoenix finale, “I feel like if we could get there we have a shot to win.”

JR Motorsports teammates Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith finished ninth and 22nd, respectively and find themselves in a similar must-win situation to Chandler Smith and Love next week at Martinsville.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Aric Almirola finished third Saturday behind the Playoff drivers, with Love and JGR’s Sheldon Creed rounding out the top five. Custer’s SHR teammate Riley Herbst, RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Mayer and last week’s race winner Allmendinger completed the top 10.

Of note, 18-year-old William Sawalich finished 24th in his much-anticipated Xfinity Series debut.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway half-miler next week for Saturday’s National Debt Relief 200 (4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Allgaier is the defending race winner. Almirola won at the track this Spring.

RESULTS

Allmendinger locks into Xfinity Championship 4 with Vegas win

It was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series trophy of the season for A.J. Allmendinger but the timing was on point. His Playoff win in Saturday’s Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punched his ticket into next month’s season finale …

It was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series trophy of the season for A.J. Allmendinger but the timing was on point. His Playoff win in Saturday’s Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punched his ticket into next month’s season finale Championship race.

The 42-year old Californian held off a hard-charging Ryan Sieg by a mere 0.156s to claim his 18th career win – leading a race best 102 of the 201 laps in his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger had to out-run and out-negotiate Sieg in the closing laps, ultimately getting the best of the field on a final re-start at the 1.5-miler with two laps remaining.

An exuberant Allmendinger – who is moving to the NASCAR Cup Series next year — climbed out of his Chevrolet, raising his arms to urge the crowd cheer and shouting congratulations to his team and his team owner Matt Kaulig, whose birthday was Saturday.

“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing. It’s been such up-and-down but what I love about them is we stick together, we keep fighting,’’ Allmendinger said before turning toward his team and shouting, “Happy Birthday Matt Kaulig. The boss’s birthday — I told you I was getting you a trophy. I love you.’’

“What a way to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship!”

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For Sieg – who is still looking for his first win in 364 Xfinity Series starts – Saturday’s near-miss marked the fifth runner-up showing of his career and second in just the last three races. He challenged Allmendinger mightily in the final 30 laps – passing him with nine laps to go, only to get passed right back the following lap.

“We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a long run and we were getting there,’’ the RSS Racing driver Sieg said afterward. “I just overdrove [Turn] 1 and lost some of our track position, but I was able to gain it back. Just sucks to finish second again with a great car. One of these days it’s going to go our way.’’

Allmendinger’s fellow Playoff drivers, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith finished third and fourth. Parker Kligerman, who was eliminated from the Playoffs just last week, finished fifth.

Allgaier had a strong No. 7 Chevrolet, winning Stage 2 and leading 42 laps – second best to Allmendinger. His work didn’t get him the automatic Championship 4 berth but does put him atop the championship standings 32 points to the good with races at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week and then at the half-mile Martinsville, Va. track to formally decide which four drivers move to the Nov. 9 season finale eligible to compete for the trophy.

“He did a great job and hats off to those guys to get a Chevrolet in victory lane,’’ Allgaier said of Allmendinger. “Ryan [Sieg] did a great job too.

“Really proud of this team. Yesterday in practice we weren’t as good as we wanted to be, but they went to work and made good adjustments all day to put us in a good position.’’

“At the end there, just not able to get into dirty air like I wanted to,’’ he said, adding, “Great start to the next round and obviously got some good stage points so we’ll move on to next week.’’

 

Richard Childress Racing rookie driver Jesse Love – a Playoff contender — was sixth, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, defending race winner Riley Herbst and Playoff driver Cole Custer. JGR’s Sheldon Creed – also eliminated from Playoff contention last week – was 10th.

Playoff contenders RCR’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer were 13th and 14th, respectively, with JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith getting involved in an early race accident and finishing 32nd – last among the Playoff eight.

The reigning series champion Custer sits just behind Allgaier in the points standings – 16 points to the good with Chandler Smith in that fourth position, eight points to the good.

Hill (-8) is fifth followed by Love (-13), Mayer (-23) and Smith (-53).

The series moves to the Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-miler for next Saturday’s Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 (4 p.m. ET, CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Mayer is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Deegan prioritizing NASCAR comeback despite off-road foray

Before embarking on her NASCAR journey, Hailie Deegan followed in her father’s footsteps by competing in off-road. She returned to that world at the start of the month, racing in the Side-by-Side class of Nitrocross at Utah Motorsports Campus, where …

Before embarking on her NASCAR journey, Hailie Deegan followed in her father’s footsteps by competing in off-road.

She returned to that world at the start of the month, racing in the Side-by-Side class of Nitrocross at Utah Motorsports Campus, where she raced alongside Mika and Kira Block, and Travis Pastrana, invoking memories of the X Games Rally Car Racing days when Brian Deegan, Ken Block, and Travis Pastrana were among the stars of the show.

“It’s definitely cool,” Deegan told RACER of her homecoming. “The Block kids are racing and they’re all great kids. We’re all here having fun, having a blast, and it’s a great time.

“It’s been really cool because I like coming here and racing UTVs, Can-Ams are great fun to drive, I drive them all the time at my house, so I haven’t really got away from dirt, but I’d say (I have) the racing side, so it’s good to be back.”

Deegan raced in Nitrocross’ Side-by-Side class at Utah Motorsports Campus. Qnigan/Nitrocross

Deegan these days is of course known for her stints in NASCAR’s Truck and Xfinity series, but that didn’t mean her return to the dirt put her totally out of joint. Driving similar cars in her spare time stood her in good stead.

“I drive Can-Ams at the house, we have a track at our house so I feel like more so getting used to the Maverick R because it’s a little bit more new to me,” she said. “I usually drive an X, so I’m definitely getting used to that, the shifting, even though it’s automatic shifting, so kind of timing it all and all the different inputs.”

Deegan finished the first day of racing in Utah in fourth, but didn’t advance to the eight-car final on the second day, highlighting the highly-competitive nature of the SxS class which, as well as the Blocks and Pastrana, also includes the likes of rising off-road talents Kainan Baker, Gray Leadbetter, Cash LeCroy, and Mia Chapman.

“The cream always rises to the top. There’s always a fast couple of guys and I think it’s like that in all series,” Deegan said.

Deegan’s NASCAR journey has been on pause since the summer. Matthew T. Thacker/Motorsport Images

“This one’s pretty competitive too, especially since everyone’s been racing all year and I haven’t been here at all, so everyone’s got it all figured out.”

While Deegan is currently without a NASCAR seat after splitting with AM Racing in July, a full-time return to off-road is unlikely. And a move to Nitrocross’ premier Group E class, where her father raced four times last season is almost definitely not on the cards.

“I don’t think so, I’m not into electric stuff so I don’t know if I’d want to do that,” she said of the potential of racing in Nitrocross’ main game. “Plus I’ve never been into rallycross cars, that was always my Dad’s thing. I’ve never taken an interest in it, it’s just not my forte.”

As for NASCAR, that remains her main goal. Plans are in the works. “We’re working on stuff,” she says. “Just can’t say a whole lot right now.”

Mayer snatches Xfinity win away from Kligerman at Charlotte Roval

As Sam Mayer celebrated his drama-filled victory in Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Parker Kligerman watched a replay of the whisker-close circumstance that …

As Sam Mayer celebrated his drama-filled victory in Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Parker Kligerman watched a replay of the whisker-close circumstance that knocked him out of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

In overtime, Mayer passed Kligerman in Turn 7 of the 2.280-mile, 17-turn circuit and pulled away to claim the victory that propelled him into the Playoffs’ Round of 8.

But Mayer’s win was devastation for Kligerman, who has never won an Xfinity Series race. Kligerman was leading, with the white flag waving, when NASCAR called a caution for Leland Honeyman’s spin into the barrier in Turn 3.

 

Had the caution call come a fraction of a second later, Kligerman would have been the winner under yellow. The overtime, however, gave Mayer another shot in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet—arguably the class of the field—and the 21-year-old from Franklin, Wis., took full advantage.

“We were all crossed up getting up in there (Turn 7),” Mayer said of the winning pass. “I was loose getting into [Turn] 6, and I knew that was my only shot, if I got a good angle into that corner.

“He blocked the bottom, which was good for me in that it gave me a better angle up off the corner and got this Chevrolet hooked up, and we were gone from there. Now I get to celebrate.”

Both Mayer and Kligerman needed to win to advance in the Playoffs, but it was Mayer who got his third win of the season, his second straight at the Roval and the seventh of his career, beating runner-up A.J. Allmendinger to the finish line by 1.474s.

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He joins JR Motorsports teammates Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier in the Round of 8, along with Chandler Smith (fifth), Austin Hill (fourth), defending series champion Cole Custer (13th), Allmendinger and Jesse Love (19th), who earned the final transfer spot by two points over Saturday’s pole winner and third-place finisher Shane van Gisbergen.

Kligerman left Charlotte 12th in the standings, a distant 24 points shy of the Round of 8 after fading to sixth on the final lap.

“I’ve done this interview from that side,” said Kligerman, who has combined careers of broadcasting and racing—and who will retire from full-time competition at the end of the season. “It’s really tough from this side.

“I teared up when I thought we got it there at the white flag, then the caution comes out, and we had to re-focus… I thought I cut off Turn 7 enough, but he (Mayer) somehow got below me, and then it was on from there.

“It was full contact. Sam didn’t do anything egregious. It was hard racing, but as close as you could be to the line. Now I want to cry—I’m not going to cry, but I really love this game, and it would’ve meant the world.”

For Mayer, it was no cakewalk. On lap three, he served a pass-through penalty for jumping the start from the second grid position, and in the late going, Mayer had a problem getting into third gear through the first two corners on the NASCAR oval.

He persevered, as did Allgaier, who finished seventh after finishing third in Stage 1 and winning Stage 2—his 15th stage win of the season.

Exiting the Playoffs with Kligerman and Van Gisbergen were Riley Herbst and Sheldon Creed, victims of a pileup in Turn 17 on Lap 34. Herbst finished 32nd and Creed 35th.

RESULTS

Smith clinches spot in Xfinity’s Round of 8 with Talladega win

A last lap pass for the win is a recurring theme at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and that’s exactly what landed JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith in Victory Lane on Saturday. It was the only lap he led all day but it was good enough to win …

A last lap pass for the win is a recurring theme at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and that’s exactly what landed JR Motorsports driver Sammy Smith in Victory Lane on Saturday. It was the only lap he led all day but it was good enough to win Saturday’s United Rentals 250 overtime thriller and earn Smith an automatic berth into the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

It was a huge turn of fortune for the 20-year old Iowa native, who came into the race ranked last among the 12 Playoff drivers and winless on the season. He started his No. 8 JRM Chevrolet 27th in Saturday’s 38-car field, but moved forward rapidly from the fall of the green flag, running near the front most of the day, avoiding multiple multi-car accidents and making the move to the checkered flag when it counted most.

 

“It’s been a really tough year,’’ said Smith. “It’s been a while and it’s been a struggle, but I’m very happy to be here and looking forward to getting better on these ovals and road courses.”

It was high-stakes performance for the young talent, whose only other victory came last April at the Phoenix Raceway one-miler. Just this week with Playoff elimination a possibility, he piqued his team owner’s brain for tips on racing on the Talladega 2.66-mile high banks — his team owner being Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won six NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega including an unprecedented four in a row.

“We sat down Wednesday,’’ Smith said. “It wasn’t a whole lot, but asking him what he would do in certain situations [on the big track]. Feels really good to win again.”

Smith beat RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg to the line by a slight 0.177s with a three-wide battle on track right behind featuring Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith who rounded out the top five.

Herbst was leading with a lap remaining only to get passed in a massive push forward that included a run by Chandler Smith – ultimately both losing out to Sammy Smith and Ryan Sieg. Frustrated, after the race Herbst immediately walked over to Chandler Smith’s car and had words with the young driver.

“I was just telling him, he had his teammate behind him and was in the best spot you want to be in and I told him he made a right move but in the wrong place,’’ Herbst said. “He would have won the race and all he did was kill his run, my run and his teammate’s run and let the No. 8 [Sammy Smith] get away.”

Polesitter, rookie Jesse Love led a race best 28 of the 98 laps in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet finishing sixth in a race marked with six cautions, a brief red flag, 11 race leaders and 28 lead changes.

Although relatively calm through the early goings – Chandler Smith won the opening stage and RCR’s Austin Hill won the second stage – the final laps lived up to Talladega expectation. Only three of the 12 Playoff drivers managed to avoid being caught up – to varying degrees – in accidents on the afternoon.

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Two perennial championship favorites and current Playoff drivers, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier were among those that led laps – as expected – but were also collected in multi-car accidents.

Allmendinger still rallied to an 11th place showing after his No. 16 Chevy suffered minor damage in a 12-car accident with three laps remaining that triggered a nearly 10-minute red flag stoppage and forced overtime. Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered more damage in the crash and he finished 26th.

Reigning series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer was also caught up in the accident and finished 27th. Fellow Playoff competitor, Kaulig Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen – a three-race winner this season — was a part of a multi-car accident earlier, with 18 laps remaining, and finished 36th.

Jeb Burton finished seventh with David Starr, Brennan Poole and Kyle Sieg rounding out the top 10.

Next week’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL will decide which eight drivers advance in the Playoffs. With Smith’s win today, three positions will be decided next weekend. Chandler Smith now holds a strong 57-point edge on the cutoff points position with Hill, Custer, Creed, Love, Herbst and Sam Mayer rounding out the top eight.

Mayer holds a slim 10-point advantage in the final transfer position over Allmendinger and he’s 18 points up on his JRM teammate Allgaier.

Van Gisbergen, who has won three road course races already this year, goes into the Charlotte road course-oval hybrid 21 points back. Parker Kligerman, who finished 12th Saturday despite being collected in multiple wrecks, is 26 points off Mayer for that final transfer position.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next week at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (4 p.m. ET, CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Mayer is the defending the race winner.

RESULTS

Playoff spoiler Almirola beats Xfinity contenders to win at Kansas

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down Playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second victory of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing …

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down Playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second victory of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

In a Round of 12 Playoff opener that ended with several unhappy drivers and a handful of post-race conversations between Playoff contenders, Almirola picked up his first win at the 1.5-mile track and the sixth of his career.

Almirola beat Custer to the finish line by 0.660s, with Chandler Smith trailing in third after raising Custer’s ire by squeezing the No. 00 Ford into the outside wall as Custer chased Smith for the lead—before Almirola made his late-race run.

 

To seal the win, Almirola had to overcome a brush with the outside wall on Lap 124 and a resulting cut tire that forced him to the pits. An opportune caution that interrupted a cycle of green flag stops on lap 145 was all Almirola needed to get back on equal footing with the other contenders.

Almirola is the fourth driver to win two races this season in the No. 20 JGR Toyota, joining Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex.

“I’m wore out,” said Almirola, who passed Custer for the lead on lap 197 of 200. “That was a hard day at the office for a guy that’s been sitting on the couch. I just pushed too hard there when we had the issue on pit road (a slow stop), and I got in the fence and cut the right-rear tire down.

“Knew I had to put my head down and go to work after that. We got lucky to get the caution when we did, and we were out of tires, so the fact that it went green there to the end [for the final 49 laps]… that’s where we were strong. We were really strong on the long runs.”

After the race, Custer had a brief conversation with Smith and vowed revenge.

“Everybody wants to try and talk afterwards,” Custer said. “At the end of the day, he put me in the fence, and he’s going to pay for it.”

Smith countered that he didn’t believe Custer ever had position to his outside.

“We’re racing for the win and five extra Playoff points,” said Smith, who led 114 laps. “You’ve got a very, very valid statement, I understand, but I also wouldn’t change what I did, because I was giving myself the best shot to win.”

Non-Playoff driver Connor Zilisch finished fourth, followed by Sheldon Creed, who improved his position in the Playoff standings by four spots with his seventh top five in the last nine races.

Pole winner Brandon Jones, who didn’t make the postseason, was fifth, followed by Playoff drivers Austin Hill, Shane van Gisbergen, Jesse Love and Riley Herbst.

In another post-race conversation, Hill apologized to Herbst for lap 90 contact that sent Herbst’s Ford spinning through the infield grass at the end of the second stage. In yet another tete a tete between Playoff drivers, Sammy Smith took AJ Allmendinger to task for early contact that damaged Smith’s Chevrolet.

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Smith finished 22nd and heads to next Saturday’s Playoff race at Talladega 12th in the standings, 23 points below the cut line for the Round of 8.

Allmendinger (17th Saturday) and Parker Kligerman (12th) are 10th and 11th in the Playoff standings, 13 and 15 points below the cutoff, respectively.

The shockingly bad luck haunting top-seeded Justin Allgaier continued in force on Saturday. Racing in close quarters with Creed after a restart on lap 70, Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet broke loose, slid across traffic and nosed into the inside wall on the backstretch.

After frantic repairs, Allgaier attempted to return to the race, but a cut left-front tire sent him into the outside wall and out of action in 36th place.

Allgaier’s exit came eight days after a series of accidents knocked him out of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway and cost him the regular-season championship.

“I don’t know if I’ve had a stretch of races that have been like these last three or four weeks,” said Allgaier. “We’re not out of it by any stretch. Obviously, that’s why you do all the work to get all the bonus points you can.

“We’ve got a long road the next two weeks. I’ve got the team that can do it. We’ve just got to go have some luck on our side.”

Allgaier fell from first to ninth in the standings and trails Herbst by one point in the battle for the final berth in the Round of 8.

Custer now leads the series by five points over Chandler Smith, with Hill 15 points back. Fourth-place Sam Mayer, who ran 13th at Kansas, is 28 points behind Custer and three points ahead of Creed in fifth.

Van Gisbergen and Love are sixth and seventh in the Playoff standings, respectively eight and three points above cut line for the next round.

RESULTS