Category: Xfinity

‘Wish we could have run all the laps,’ Chicago Xfinity winner Custer says

Drenching rain and standing water on the Chicago street course forced NASCAR to declare Cole Custer the winner of The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race three laps short of halfway and five laps short of the completion of Stage 2. Custer had led …

Drenching rain and standing water on the Chicago street course forced NASCAR to declare Cole Custer the winner of The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race three laps short of halfway and five laps short of the completion of Stage 2.

Custer had led all 25 laps of NASCAR’s first-ever street course race before lightning strikes in the area on Saturday caused NASCAR to red flag the race and then to postpone completion until Sunday morning. But the rain persisted, forcing NASCAR’s hand.

“It’s been an awesome weekend overall,” said Custer, who drives the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. “The whole event, the whole thing that NASCAR’s put on here — the whole city — it’s been pretty unreal… The course is such a blast to drive.

“Today, we definitely wish we could have run all the laps. We don’t want to win it this way, but at the end of the day, we had a really fast car. I think everybody knew that.”

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This marks the first time NASCAR has declared a winner short of the halfway point or the end of the second stage, the two benchmarks for an official event (with the second criterion in effect starting in 2020 after the advent of stage racing, which was introduced in 2017).

NASCAR issued a statement explaining the decision to curtail the race:

“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the racetrack and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations. Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend.

“In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”

The victory was Custer’s second of the season, the 12th of his career and his 10th straight top-10 finish this season.

John Hunter Nemechek now leads the Xfinity points after his second-place finish. Rusty Jarrett/Motorsport Images

John Hunter Nemechek finished second and leads the series standings by 16 points over Austin Hill, who was credited with a fifth-place result. Nemechek clearly was impressed with the spectacle of NASCAR’s first street race.

“Racing downtown on the streets of Chicago was pretty amazing,” he said. “The whole experience, the atmosphere and how many fans were here — I give a lot of props to everyone at NASCAR. Everyone involved with the Chicago street course did an amazing job. Riding around under caution yesterday, being able to see all of the fans lined up three or four rows deep along the fence with no open spots was incredible. Probably one of the best attendances we’ve had so far this year in the Xfinity Series.

“The race went OK for us. I ran P2 from the drop of the green flag until lap 25 when they called it (Saturday). We needed a good stop to be able to make an adjustment and have a shot to contend with Cole for the win and just never had that opportunity. We’ll take that second place, and we’ll move on from it.”

Justin Allgaier finished third and Brett Moffitt fourth. Sammy Smith, Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala earned positions six through 10, respectively.

RESULTS:

1. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 25.

2. (3) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 25.

3. (6) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 25.

4. (7) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 25.

5. (5) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 25.

6. (8) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 25.

7. (9) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 25.

8. (16) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 25.

9. (10) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 25.

10. (25) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 25.

11. (2) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 25.

12. (13) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 25.

13. (17) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 25.

14. (32) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 25.

15. (18) Alex Guenette, Chevrolet, 25.

16. (26) Parker Chase, Toyota, 25.

17. (29) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 25.

18. (14) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 25.

19. (31) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 25.

20. (37) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 25.

21. (19) Alex Labbe, Toyota, 25.

22. (11) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 25.

23. (23) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 25.

24. (15) Riley Herbst, Ford, 25.

25. (24) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 25.

26. (33) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 25.

27. (34) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 25.

28. (22) Spencer Pumpelly, Chevrolet, 25.

29. (21) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 25.

30. (30) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 25.

31. (20) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 25.

32. (27) Brad Perez, Chevrolet, 25.

33. (35) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 25.

34. (38) Brent Sherman, Ford, 25.

35. (4) Connor Mosack, Toyota, 25.

36. (36) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 22.

37. (28) Andre Castro, Chevrolet, Accident, 16.

38. (12) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, Engine, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 52.66 mph.

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 2 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags: 3 for 9 laps.

Lead Changes: 0 among 1 driver.

Lap Leaders: C. Custer 1-25.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Cole Custer 1 time for 25 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 00,20,21,7,19,25,18,11,48,16

Stage #2 Top Ten: 00,20,7,25,21,18,11,16,48,26

Custer declared Chicago Xfinity Series winner with race called off before halfway

NASCAR has called off the remainder of the postponed Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago – scheduled to be run this morning – due to the track conditions. Cole Custer, who led every lap from pole Saturday prior to the race being stopped …

NASCAR has called off the remainder of the postponed Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago — scheduled to be run this morning — due to the track conditions. Cole Custer, who led every lap from pole Saturday prior to the race being stopped just before the halfway mark, has been declared the winner.

The race was paused Saturday night due to the ongoing threat of lightning and slated to resume at 10 a.m. local time this morning. However, heavy and persistent rain left extensive areas of standing water around the track, and after several attempts to push the restart time back while jet dryers worked to clear the track surface, the race was called off. RACER understands that Monday was available as a last-resort option, but that NASCAR elected not to push the race back by another day in order to minimize disruption to the city.

“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race preparations,” read a statement issued by the series.

“Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend. In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ.

“Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”

Sunday’s scheduled concerts at the track have also been canceled, while the green flag time for the Cup Series race has moved up to 4:05pm CT.

RESULTS

NASCAR postpones Xfinity race until Sunday due to lightning

NASCAR has pushed the remainder of the Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago to Sunday morning due to the ongoing threat of lightning. The race went onto a lightning hold with 25 laps completed and 30 still to run, and remained on pause for …

NASCAR has pushed the remainder of the Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago to Sunday morning due to the ongoing threat of lightning.

The race went onto a lightning hold with 25 laps completed and 30 still to run, and remained on pause for well over an hour while the series waited for the danger to clear. However as the clock ticked past 6:30pm local time and the potential for further lighting in the area remained ongoing, the decision was made to complete the race tomorrow morning at 10am central time. A postrace concert featuring The Chainsmokers was canceled.

“Due to the potential for continued lightning strikes and in the interest of public safety and caution, the facility needed to be evacuated,” read a statement issued by the series.

“NASCAR had hoped to resume activities, but not until city officials allowed fans to return to the grandstands. The forecast for lightning extends into the next several hours, forcing NASCAR to postpone the completion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race until tomorrow morning.”

Cole Custer had led the entire race from pole in the No. 00 Stewart Haas Ford Mustang at the time of the stoppage.

Cup drivers set to watch and learn from Xfinity street race

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race will have more eyes on it than usual in the form of interested Cup Series competitors. While both series will be on the Chicago Street Race course for practice and qualifying, the Xfinity Series race is the …

Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race will have more eyes on it than usual in the form of interested Cup Series competitors.

While both series will be on the Chicago Street Race course for practice and qualifying, the Xfinity Series race is the guinea pig for a first look at live competition on the street circuit. Cup Series drivers are not allowed to participate in the event, outlawed by NASCAR officials to prevent any sort of advantage with track time and taking rides.

So, unlike previous weeks, where the Xfinity Series race offers little to carry over to Sunday, there is plenty to learn in Chicago.

Ross Chastain won’t have to look far for information. Trackhouse Racing founder Justin Marks is competing in the Xfinity Series race for Kaulig Racing, and Chastain will be at his window net to hear the feedback Marks gives the team.

“It’ll be radios on and listening,” Chastain said. “I don’t normally do that unless I’m listening to a specific driver that maybe I’m paying attention to more, and I want to listen to how their dialogue is with their crew chief. See if they yell too much or something.

“SMT will be rolling; I’ll have a tablet up watching different cars and seeing their lines and then the race for sure. I’ll have all that up for the race, but practice would have been highly focused for me. The cool part about Justin and adding that in was the sim work … the prep work. Just listening, getting his feedback about how they’re approaching it. It just helps a small silver — a couple of percent is guided by how he’s doing it.”

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The preparation leading into the weekend has been the most significant thing for Chastain. Marks’ work on the simulator and communication with the Kaulig team was transferred to the Trackhouse cars. Chastain likes to take the opinion of others to help form his thoughts on something.

“Everybody has their philosophies, and we’re all going to ultimately put our best piece of paper on come Saturday and Sunday,” Chastain said.

RFK Racing no longer fields cars in the Xfinity Series, but its two drivers will also be tuned in during the race. A former Xfinity Series champion, Chris Buescher is interested in seeing where the spotter locations are and understanding how they’ll see things on the track.

“It’s about the restart zone and it being in a different place, how that’s going to play out, and how it’s going to be enforced,” Buescher said of his Saturday interest. “The nuances of something completely new that you have a lot of questions about, and you don’t have any answers until it actually plays out in front of you. Going to be paying attention to a lot of that.”

The course was closed Friday evening, making for an early Saturday morning for drivers and teams to walk the course and see it in its entirety. There is also weather in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, adding another variable to the equation of learning a new and unique course.

“Most weeks, I don’t feel like there’s a lot to take away from the Xfinity cars,” said Brad Keselowski, the 2010 champion of what was then the Nationwide Series. “I think the rules, the way the cars drive, and the drivers in that series really dictate the ebbs and flows being so much different that there’s not a lot to learn from watching those races. This particular weekend, it’s obviously a different dynamic for that. I think a lot of the questions that we have are more car-track and integration related than just other things that we’d look at during a weekend.

“So, I think there will be a lot of questions for us: How does the track change? Do the walls move if someone hits them? Are there techniques or tactics that are going to come together? There are sections of the track that are paved, so are they going to have more grip; things of that nature that are significantly more dynamic given this weekend than normal weekends that lend themselves to watching other series and trying to learn from it.”

Herbst targeting Windy City Xfinity Series windfall

Saturday afternoon will see the NASCAR Xfinity Series take to the 2.14-mile, 12-turn Chicago street course for the premiere edition of the Loop 121 Chicago Street Race. Roaring down South Columbus Drive adjacent to Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park …

Saturday afternoon will see the NASCAR Xfinity Series take to the 2.14-mile, 12-turn Chicago street course for the premiere edition of the Loop 121 Chicago Street Race. Roaring down South Columbus Drive adjacent to Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park will be Stewart-Haas Racing wheelman Riley Herbst.

“It’s electric here!” beamed the Las Vegas native on Saturday morning ahead of practice “I can’t explain this enough, how excited I am to get to do this. In all global racing every schedule has a street race and now we finally have a street race in NASCAR.

“I walked the track this morning and it looks awesome. The skyscrapers are there and coming around. In the final corner and over the bridges and next to the lake. There are a lot of tight and squared-off corners, but I guess that’s normal for street racing. If I have any bone to pick, I would say that the exits and the straightaways were very narrow, so it’s going to be tight racing, for sure. Racing here, it is going to be way different than a typical road course just because it’s new to everybody. That’s the most exciting thing about this event — nobody’s done anything like this.”

Herbst explained how the attributes of the circuit will create a unique set of racing circumstances.

“With the ling straights and 90-degree turns, there will be a bunch of drag racing, for sure. The fastest area, from turn five to turn six, will probably be north of 160mph, I’d say — maybe around 170. Whoever gets the braking down the best I think will have good chance at winning because it is just straight aways to 90-degree corners, so whoever’s the most efficient breaking will be the best. It looks a lot of fun.”

Herbst and the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford are coming off a runner-up finish that he and new crew chief Devin Restivo left Nashville with last Sunday afternoon.

“Nashville was fun,” related Herbst of his best result of the season to date. “We battled all day long. We had some pit road penalties, which we battled back from and we were able to finish. We had a shot at the win and that’s kind of all you can ask for.”

Of the crew chief change, Herbst said, “It’s been real good so far, but it definitely caught me by surprise. It was definitely an unforeseen change that the company Stewart-Haas Racing had to make. So far, so good. We’ll see how the rest of the year goes.”

After beginning 2023 with six consecutive top-10 finishes, at Richmond Herbst placed 23rd and launched a streak of eight off-key finishes before the Nashville turnaround.

“It was just like a slump,” said Herbst. “We were fast, but we’d be breaking parts just getting into bad situations so we wouldn’t finish well, so it was good to get out of that slump and now we are on the upward swing for sure.

“Our first six weeks of this season were awesome We were leading the points and we were doing everything well and then the next seven races in a row with back-to-back bad finishes hurt us. We are looking to turn that around and get back to the points.

“Some of the results were self-inflicted. Some of it was just racing. It was give and take. Sometimes you have to give a little bit more than you can take and I had to learn that.”

Following Chicago, Herbst and crew will look to a series of oval races including Atlanta, New Hampshire and Pocono before heading back to the road course for Road America.

“It’s good with these tracks,” said Herbst. “We like Atlanta. We’re fast there. We finished fourth there in the spring, so hopefully we can repeat.”

But for now it’s all about Chicago, which Herbst sees shaping up to be an extraordinary 55-lap race and one he and all of his Xfinity competitors want to call their own.

“You’re going to have to definitely send it here just because of how small the margins are,” said Herbst who sits ninth in the Xfinity Series point standings. “Everybody wants to go win the pole and be the fastest qualifier, so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we can be the inaugural winner of Chicago. I love road racing and hopefully I’ll love street racing, too!”

That would be a first for his six-year Xfinity Series career, and it is something he desperately wants and needs.

“I need that race win as bad as I need oxygen. So hopefully we can get it today.”

Allmendinger heads back to Xfinity victory lane at Nashville

Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger held off an especially spirited field in double overtime to claim his first oval race victory of the season in a dramatic Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon. The popular veteran led …

Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger held off an especially spirited field in double overtime to claim his first oval race victory of the season in a dramatic Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon.

The popular veteran led the final 20 laps and got an impressive final restart to launch his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet from the pack and drive off to a 1.323s win over runner-up Riley Herbst in a race that included a record-tying 11 caution periods and 17 lead changes among 11 different drivers.

The caution-punctuated ending was perhaps suitable for a race that saw three yellow flags within the first 20 laps. Fifteen cars in the 38-car field had been involved in incidents before the Stage 2 break.

Yet ultimately it came down a veteran’s purposeful, patient afternoon-long pursuit. And the 41-year old Californian Allmendinger was up for the challenge, claiming his 17th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and second of the season.

“I love winning on ovals because I know a lot of people doubt me on an oval,” a smiling Allmendinger said, a nod to his former open-wheel days and his reputation as one of the best road course drivers in the history of the sport.

Certainly his experience paid off on Saturday with an especially active day. Ty Gibbs, the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and now a NASCAR Cup Series rookie, won the first Stage and showed himself among the class of the field. But on the next restart his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was hit while racing for the lead with one of this year’s championship favorites, Austin Hill, who was restarting up front on older tires. Allmendinger’s Chevy also suffered a little damage in the five-car melee near the front of the pack, but he – and Hill – were able to continue, while Gibbs’ car suffered too much damage.

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Chandler Smith, Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate won the race’s second stage and kept the lead pack honest for most of the day. He and Allmendinger exchanged the lead and ran 1-2 for much of the second half of the race around the 1.333-mile oval.

After a series of final scheduled pit stops, Parker Kligerman settled in for the biggest strategic gamble of the day. While the lead cars were making their way back through the field following stops, Kligerman kept his No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet out front willing to take a chance on a fuel-saving strategy. But with 12 laps remaining, Kligerman’s team told him to drop in line behind Allmendinger to start conserving and Allmendinger passed him for the lead with 11 laps of regulation to go.

JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer finished third with Hill fourth and JR Motorsports’ – and Tennessee native — Josh Berry rounding out the top five.

“That was the most up and down day I’ve ever had in racing,” Mayer said, managing a smile on pit road afterward.

John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth in the No. 20 JGR Toyota. Although he never led a lap his rally forward after a 21st starting position was good enough for him to hold onto the championship lead by nine points over Hill.

Reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Zane Smith turned in an impressive seventh-place finish in the No. 28 Ford. Allmendinger’s Kaulig teammate Daniel Hemric was eighth. Herbst’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer was ninth followed by rookie Parker Retzlaff.

“We got a little fortunate there, when the accident happened, it didn’t really do anything too bad to the quarter panels … and the guys did a good job of fixing it there,” Allmendinger said of the early damage, noting that the rash of early cautions actually helped his team have time to restore his car competitively.

“I will be honest, I was shocked on the initial start, I went down and made it three wide and thought nothing on it, didn’t even drive my car that hard and started wrecking so that kind of raised my eyebrows, it’s a lot slicker than I expected,” Allmendinger said. “So the next couple starts, just tried to chill and get into the rhythm of the race.

“I just knew more than anything I needed a good re-start and to get in Turn 1 clean,’’ he said of the final restart and ultimate winning move.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the Midwest next week for Saturday’s inaugural The Loop 121 on the Chicago Street Race course (5 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RESULTS

Almirola grabs opportunistic NASCAR Xfinity win at Sonoma

Aric Almirola knew Sonoma Raceway is a track that wouldn’t make him look like a “wanker.” Far from it. Holding off the dominant car of Kyle Larson – until Larson made a critical mistake – and then outrunning road course ace AJ Allmendinger over the …

Aric Almirola knew Sonoma Raceway is a track that wouldn’t make him look like a “wanker.”

Far from it. Holding off the dominant car of Kyle Larson — until Larson made a critical mistake — and then outrunning road course ace AJ Allmendinger over the final laps, Almirola won Saturday’s DoorDash 250 at the 1.99-mile road course.

The victory was Almirola’s fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and his first since 2017, when he won at Talladega for owner Fred Biagi.

The win also was the first-ever for Georgia-based RSS Racing, which fields cars for brothers Ryan and Kyle Sieg. The Stewart-Haas Racing shop prepared the car for Almirola.

Driving the No. 28 Ford, Almirola took the checkered flag 1.868s ahead of runner-up Allmendinger, with Larson running third 3.329s back. Almirola had taken the lead from the fifth position on a lap 65 restart, an advantage he held the rest of the way.

“Oh, man, this is so special,” said Almirola, who was making his second Xfinity start of the season after a 24th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas in April. “It’s hard to explain. I know it’s an Xfinity win — it’s not a Cup win, but after COTA (I said) I don’t think I should run any more road course races in an Xfinity car.

“It makes me look like a wanker, and I lose self-confidence going into Sunday. But I knew that this racetrack, this is one I that can run good at. I’ve run good here my whole career. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love racing here.”

Larson swept the first two stages and held a lead of more than 13 seconds over Allmendinger when Jeffrey Earnhardt backed into the barrier in Turn 10 on Lap 60 and caused the race’s second caution.

If the subsequent restart on lap 65 was crucial to Almirola’s victory, Larson’s mistake on lap 72 was even more so. On lap 72 of 79, Larson drove hard into the Turn 11 hairpin within inches of Almirola’s back bumper and clipped one of the stacks of tires defining the corner.

Larson’s Chevrolet shot to the left of the racing line, and by the time he had righted the car, Allmendinger had passed him for second.

“I just got too greedy,” said Larson, who led a race-high 53 laps to Almirola’s 17. “I was kind of tucked up right behind him, clipped the tires, and it knocked the wheel out of my hands. After that the toe was off. I was really tight in the left and really loose in the right, so I couldn’t make runs at it…

“I’m really mad at myself right now, but I’m really proud of the car they (Hendrick Motorsports) brought. Congrats to Aric, too. He did a really good job out in front of me, hitting his marks. He could kind of get away from me in a couple of important areas and would make me have to work hard behind him. So hats off to him and that team.”

Ty Gibbs ran fourth, as full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers claimed the top four finishing positions. Parker Kligerman led the Xfinity regulars in fifth, followed by Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer.

RESULTS

Custer fends off Allgaier for fiery Portland Xfinity win

Taking advantage of a melee in Turn 1 after an overtime restart, Cole Custer held off charging Justin Allgaier to win Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway. After a lap 73 caution for …

Taking advantage of a melee in Turn 1 after an overtime restart, Cole Custer held off charging Justin Allgaier to win Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway.

After a lap 73 caution for debris on the track, Allgaier held the lead for the overtime restart on lap 76. Restarting behind Allgaier, Parker Kligerman steered to the inside and charged the first corner, carrying Allgaier wide and knocking second place Sheldon Creed, the pole winner, off the track.

From the inside lane, Custer shot into the lead through Turn 1.

Allgaier negotiated the barriers in the Turn 1 chicane and retained second place, and though he got to Custer’s bumper on the final lap, he couldn’t make a clean pass for the win. Custer won the drag race to the finish line by 0.142s to score his first victory of the season in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

“I was just trying not to make mistakes,” Custer said of the final restart. “I did the exact same thing (that Kligerman did). I saw him drive in so deep, and I did the same thing 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 so awesome to win this… I’m pumped for the rest of the year. We’ve got fast cars.”

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Custer, who won the second stage in a drag race against John Hunter Nemechek, led five laps to claim his 11th career victory. Allgaier led 23 and held a comfortable 4s advantage when Riley Herbst pulled off the track in Turn 9 with flames shooting from his front wheel wells.

That incident caused the fourth caution on lap 68, but a strong restart kept Allgaier in the lead until the final debris caution and subsequent overtime.

Allgaier was philosophical about Kligerman’s charge into the first corner.

“I saw a guy that decided he wanted to win his first race and just missed the braking zone,” said Allgaier, who picked up his first victory of the season in Monday’s rain-delayed Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I understand it. I don’t blame him for being aggressive. I just hate it for everybody on this team.

“I felt like we did everything we needed to do today. These guys put an absolutely incredible Camaro underneath me. We were able to get up there and mind our business and not make anybody mad and have good, solid laps. And then there at the end, to have it taken away like that and finish second is really tough.

“Hats off to Cole. He did what he needed to do—he made Turn 1.”

Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammates, Sam Mayer and Josh Berry, finished third and fourth, respectively. Austin Hill was fifth, followed by Myatt Snider, Creed, Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith and Nemechek.

RESULTS

Allgaier gets breakthrough NASCAR Xfinity win at Charlotte

Saving fuel throughout a 66-lap green-flag run to the finish, Justin Allgaier collected his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season – and the first this year for JR Motorsports – in Monday’s twice-rain-delayed Alsco Uniforms 300 at …

Saving fuel throughout a 66-lap green-flag run to the finish, Justin Allgaier collected his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season — and the first this year for JR Motorsports — in Monday’s twice-rain-delayed Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Allgaier, the pole winner, beat runner-up John Hunter Nemechek to the finish line by 7.829s, as the top three finishers — including third-place Cole Custer — stretched their fuel mileage from a lap 135 restart to the end of the race.

Austin Hill and Ty Gibbs, both of whom pitted for fuel in the closing stages, claimed the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

“I’m speechless, man,” said Allgaier, who led a race-high 83 laps. “I didn’t know how much to save. Just lucky we had enough… I just cannot say enough about (crew chief) Jim Pohlman, everybody on the No. 7 team.

“It’s not been for lack of speed this year. We’ve battled. Tonight, was kind of the opposite. We had to go slow to go fast.”

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Nemechek led 57 laps, but Allgaier build a substantial lead at the end while conserving enough fuel to finish the race — and to do a celebratory burnout.

“We were racing each other pretty hard, and I burned my stuff up trying to get to him — and get around him,” Nemechek said. “I should have been a little more patient, I guess. But overall, really solid day. Good points day for us. I think that extends our points lead.”

In fact, Nemechek collected his fifth top-two finish of the season (with wins at Fontana and Martinsville) and holds a 10-point lead over Hill in the series standings.

But Allgaier and Nemechek might not have been left to battle for the win, had a radio issue not adversely affected Gibbs’ winning chances.

The driver of the No. 19 Toyota, who won last year’s Xfinity championship before graduating to the NASCAR Cup Series, led 52 laps and swept the first two stages of the race. But an extended pit stop, during which Gibbs’ crew changed his steering wheel (which housed a faulty radio button) dropped him to the rear of the field for a restart on lap 98. That ended Gibbs’ challenge for the win.

Parker Retzlaff ran sixth, followed by Jeb Burton, Carson Hocevar, Jeb Burton and Sammy Smith.

The race was delayed from Saturday by rain and restarted on Monday morning. But rain intervened again after the completion of the first stage, delaying the finish until after the running of the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race, won by Ryan Blaney.

RESULTS

Gibbs looks ahead to double duty at Charlotte

Ty Gibbs was slated to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the rains came and washed out the Alsco Uniforms 300. The reigning champion in the Xfinity Series, where he rolled into victory lane seven times …

Ty Gibbs was slated to compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the rains came and washed out the Alsco Uniforms 300. The reigning champion in the Xfinity Series, where he rolled into victory lane seven times in 2022, Gibbs will have to wait until Monday afternoon at Charlotte to climb back into the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Gibbs will now change his mindset to focus on today’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile speedway. Currently in a holding pattern as rain still continues to fall in Charlotte, Gibbs took the time to talk about his current place in the grand scheme of all things Charlotte during the next 24 hours.

“It should be a good couple of days,” he said. “I think our cars will be really fast. I’m racing the Xfinity car and the Cup car, so there will be a lot of seat time there.”

Gibbs comes off a ninth place finish at last weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.

“I actually really enjoyed that race,” related Gibbs. “Hopefully, they leave the track the same and we can go back and race there. I really enjoyed racing on that old surface. It was fun and I think there was a lot of character in it.”

Gibbs is also keen to climb back into an Xfinity Series car, something he has not done since racing to a third-place finish at Circuit of The Americas last March.

“Yeah, I think it’s been eight months now since the last time I’ve been in an Xfinity car on an oval,” noted Gibbs, who last ran in an Xfinity oval race at Phoenix last November (which he won). “I’m really excited about it for Monday. It should be a good time and hopefully we can have a good run and go win it. That would be awesome.”

How different are the feelings Gibbs experiences in both cars? Do they compare?

“Yeah, it’s like a moped to a 450 supercross bike,” mused Gibbs. “They’re different. There’s so much difference in the cars and the way that they are. And the horsepower is so much different. I mean, it’s like a hockey swing compared to a golf swing. It’s just so different.

“And with racecraft, the Cup series is definitely a lot different. People are a lot more mature and understanding in the Cup Series than the Xfinity series. The Xfinity Series is more aggressive. It’s like everybody is racing for their job and also racing against a top level, so I feel like there is a lot to prove and that usually makes everybody race more aggressively in the Xfinity Series. It’s been really fun. I’ve really enjoyed my Cup experience. I’ve been able to go to Cup with Monster Energy and that is super-special and it’s just a great time.

“I’ve enjoyed my run in Cup so far. I think we’ve been really fast and it will definitely be nice to get a win. We’ve been close and we’ll just keep rolling. We’ve had a couple good runs. Dover and Kansas were probably going to be pretty good runs and we had some issues and then I’ve taken myself out with some mistakes, so it is just learning and working at getting better and better.”

Gibbs and crew chief Chris Gayle are pleased with the speed of the No. 54 car, but need to focus on race execution.

“That’s 100-percent correct,” said Gibbs. “This teamwork is consistent and disciplined and they are making the right decisions when I need to make the right decisions. That’s the biggest thing. It definitely has its challenges. I’ve enjoyed my experience so far and being in the Cup series is awesome. We just want to keep doing the best that we can.”

And Gibbs believes that he is still very early on in what is the trajectory arc of his NASCAR Cup learning curve.

“It is a learning process We’ll just keep knocking on the door and I’m sure that we’ll have a shot to win. I feel like our cars are good enough, I just have to do my job. 1oo-percent I enjoy this. I’m a racer and more time in the car is better for me. I’m definitely going to have my rest periods, but being able to race more and more is awesome.

“I’m really excited about all this Cup stuff. I just want to jeep working hard and going after it. I want to keep trying to win every weekend and I think that’s the process to be the best. I want to try and eliminate mistakes and go as fast as I can and work as hard as I can.”