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Allmendinger wins wild Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Roval

A.J. Allmendinger returned to a NASCAR Victory Lane on Saturday for the first time in five years.

Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro

Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro

Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

 A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Death Wish Coffee
Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro

Allmendinger got a good jump on Austin Cindric on a restart with three of 67 laps remaining and easily held off Tyler Reddick to win Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 on the Charlotte Roval.

The win is the first in a NASCAR national series for Allmendinger since his lone Cup Series victory in 2014 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.). It’s the third Xfinity Series win of his career.

 

“Whooo! Damn, I’m tired – thank you everybody!” Allmendinger said after exiting his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. “I can’t thank Matt Kaulig enough, first of all. He put his belief in me, wanting me to come here and help build this team.

“I have to thank Tyler Reddick – he’s phenomenal. He told me when I got here I needed to get better on the road courses because he out-qualified me in every race lately and even beat me in a couple. 

“I knew with him behind me, I could be defensive on the right-side and give myself an angle and Tyler wouldn’t shove down in there. I appreciate that. I tried to change the restarts up enough each time but you can only do so much. I knew once we got into clear air this thing was good. In traffic, it was a struggle.”

Cindric ended up third, Justin Allgaier was fourth and Noah Gragson – who started the race from the rear of the field in a backup car – ended up fifth.

Rounding out the top-10 were Alex Labbe, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Truex.

On Lap 48, Allmendinger went to the inside of Christopher Bell exiting Turn 8 and moved into the lead for the first time.

With 13 laps remaining in the race, Allmendinger had opened up an almost 2-second lead over Bell as Cindric ran third.

On Lap 55, Briscoe got around Cindric in Turn 10 to move into the third position.

Shortly after Briscoe and Bell ran side-by-side on the exit of the frontstretch chicane on Lap 58, Bell went off course. Then as the two raced into Turn 2, Bell spun Briscoe to bring out a caution.

 

Bell was penalized for missing the chicane and had to restart the race from the rear of the field. On the restart on Lap 61, Allmendinger remained in the lead followed by Cindric and Reddick.

Stage 2 

Custer inherited the lead when several drivers elected to pit before the end of the stage and held off Briscoe to take the Stage 2 win.

Reddick finished third, Allgaier was fourth and Gragson completed the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, those drivers who had not yet pit did so, which allowed Custer to stay out and inherit the lead.

The race returned to green on Lap 25 with Custer out front followed by Bell, Harrison Burton, Allmendinger and Reddick.

Bell got around Custer in Turn 3 to take the lead for the first time in the race.

With 10 laps to go in the second stage, Bell held about a 1-second lead over Allmendinger with Custer running in third.

On Lap 32, both Nemechek and Preston Pardus drove through the frontstretch chicane and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty.

After 35 laps, Bell was able to expand his lead slightly on Allmendinger. Custer remained third, Cindric was fourth and Briscoe was fifth.

Cindric elected to pit on Lap 37 as did Truex and Will Rodgers. Burton pit on Lap 38 as well.

Both Bell and Allmendinger decided to pit on Lap 38, which turned the lead back over to Custer with two laps remaining.

Stage 1 

Briscoe held off Cindric on his way to leading every lap and winning Stage 1.

Allgaier was third, Labbe fourth and Jeremy Clements completed the top-five.

Briscoe started on the pole and managed to keep the lead on the first lap despite a pile-up at the backstretch chicane. 

Reddick missed both the backstretch and frontstretch chicane and had to serve penalties for both, which send him back to 22nd.

 

Caution was displayed on Lap 3 as David Starr’s No. 52 Chevrolet came to a stop on the track. The race returned to green on Lap 6 with Briscoe continuing to lead the way followed by Cindric and Custer.

Playoff contender Justin Haley had to take his No. 11 Chevrolet to the garage after suffering a broken sway-bar.

With 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Briscoe had built up about a 1-second lead over Cindric while Custer remained in third. Haley returned to the track after making repairs, but six laps down.

On Lap 16, Burton had to make a stop-and-go penalty on the track for blowing through the backstretch chicane. Allmendinger had to do the same one lap later.

Several drivers elected to pit on Lap 18 for new tires and fuel, including Bell, Reddick, Allmendinger and Rodgers.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Laps Led Retirement Points Bonus
1 10 United States A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 67   20      
2 2 United States Tyler Reddick  Chevrolet 67 2.386 1      
3 22 United States Austin Cindric  Ford 67 2.967 1      
4 7 United States Justin Allgaier  Chevrolet 67 3.169        
5 9 United States Noah Gragson  Chevrolet 67 3.701        
6 90 Canada Alex Labbé  Chevrolet 67 4.248        
7 23 United States John Hunter Nemechek  Chevrolet 67 4.612        
8 00 United States Cole Custer  Ford 67 4.960 5      
9 98 United States Chase Briscoe  Ford 67 5.528 21      
10 8 United States Ryan Truex  Chevrolet 67 8.065        
11 51 United States Jeremy Clements  Chevrolet 67 10.949        
12 20 United States Christopher Bell  Toyota 67 11.619 19      
13 18 United States Harrison Burton  Toyota 67 12.410        
14 0 Lawason Aschenbach  Chevrolet 67 13.143        
15 1 United States Michael Annett  Chevrolet 67 13.775        
16 19 United States Brandon Jones  Toyota 67 14.203        
17 68 United States Brandon Brown  Chevrolet 67 14.939        
18 66 United States Timmy Hill  Toyota 67 15.490        
19 01 United States Stephen Leicht  Chevrolet 67 16.399        
20 36 United States Josh Williams  Chevrolet 67 18.853        
21 35 United States Joey Gase  Toyota 67 19.513        
22 74 United States Joe Nemechek  Chevrolet 67 20.481        
23 15 United States B.J. McLeod  Chevrolet 67 21.134        
24 99 United States Cody Ware  Toyota 67 21.806        
25 5 United States Vinnie Miller  Toyota 67 26.457        
26 93 United States Josh Bilicki  Chevrolet 67 31.786        
27 43 Preston Pardus  Chevrolet 67 40.536        
28 86 United States Will Rodgers  Chevrolet 67 49.966        
29 08 United States Gray Gaulding  Chevrolet 67 1'35.694        
30 39 United States Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 65 2 laps        
31 11 United States Justin Haley  Chevrolet 61 6 laps        
32 07 United States Ray Black Jr.  Chevrolet 60 7 laps        
33 4 United States Garrett Smithley  Chevrolet 54 13 laps        
34 52 United States David Starr  Chevrolet 28 39 laps        
35 61 Tommy Joe  Toyota 26 41 laps        
36 13 United States Chad Finchum  Toyota 26 41 laps        
37 38 United States Bayley Currey  Chevrolet 10 57 laps        
38 78 United States J.J. Yeley  Toyota 5 62 laps        
 

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