Allmendinger Wins Fourth Consecutive Xfinity Roval Race
AJ Allmendinger had to resort to a bit of thievery to maintain his unbeaten streak at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
“Allmendinger exclaimed, ‘We got that one—we stole that one,’ after swirling his car in a dervish-like celebratory burnout at the finish line of the 2.32-mile, 17-turn road course.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, specifically the Round of 12 elimination race titled the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, 40-year-old Allmendinger indeed snatched the leading position from Ty Gibbs, a driver half his age, following an overtime restart on Lap 68.
On three prior restarts, Allmendinger had trailed behind Gibbs into Turn 1. However, this time he managed to keep his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet outside Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota through the first corner. Allmendinger then surged forward into Turn 2 and successfully overtook Gibbs from the inside line through Turns 3 and 4.
“Allmendinger, who secured his fourth victory in four starts at the Charlotte ROVAL, expressed disbelief. “Ty was performing exceptionally well towards the end, and I was uncertain if I could surpass him. However, I was sure that if I could just get to one restart on his outside, that would at least give us a fighting chance,” he said.
After taking the lead, Allmendinger managed to endure a second overtime restart, eventually defeating Gibbs by .582 seconds at the finish line. This marked Allmendinger’s consecutive second win in the series, his fifth of the season, and the 15th of his career. Notably, 10 out of his 15 victories have been on road courses.
“Allmendinger expressed, “I had a strong desire for it back then. I didn’t believe we stood a chance, but I always take responsibility when it’s time to step up. We achieved that one. We surprisingly won that one!…
“On the final restart, I drove it in as deep as I could, likely using Ty up a bit. But, I’d anticipate the same if our roles were switched.”
Gibbs gave a diplomatic evaluation of the final two restarts.
“Gibbs said, ‘I lost the lead during that one restart because I didn’t execute properly. On the last one, I hit the fence when I was pushed wide, which slowed my momentum… I think I did my best, and I’m proud of the effort, despite the outcome.'”
“I really enjoyed myself out there and gained a lot of knowledge.”
Allmendinger had already secured his position in the Playoffs’ Round of 8 with his victory at Talladega last Saturday. Similarly, Noah Gragson, who finished third, had also clinched a spot after winning his fourth consecutive race at Texas Motor Speedway the previous week.
Gibbs secured his place in the Round of 8 by coming in second to Allmendinger in the first stage of Saturday’s race. Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill, and Brandon Jones also progressed to the next round. Jones, who finished seventh in the race, managed to claim the final spot by a slim margin of two points over Ryan Sieg.
The four JR Motorsports drivers—Gragson, Allgaier, Berry, and Mayer—are set to compete for spots in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway.
Besides Sieg, the reigning series champion Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst, and Jeremy Clements were also knocked out of the postseason.
Hemric initially qualified third but collided with the outside barrier between Turns 5 and 6 on Lap 3. Despite this, he managed to recover and finish in 17th place. However, after contact from Sieg during a late restart, he ended the round 11 points behind Jones.
“Hemric ruefully admitted, “I made an unforgivable mistake on Lap 3.”
James Davison, a specialist in road courses, came in fourth place, followed by Allgaier, Alex Labbe, Jones, Berry, Sieg, and Landon Cassill.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Roval 250
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Saturday, October 8, 2022
1. (1) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 72.
2. (2) Ty Gibbs (P), Toyota, 72.
3. (37) Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, 72.
4. (16) James Davison (P), Toyota, 72.
5. (5) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 72.
6. (12) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 72.
7. (15) Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 72.
8. (14) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, 72.
9. (17) Ryan Sieg (P), Ford, 72.
10. (7) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 72.
11. (6) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 72.
12. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 72.
13. (31) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 72.
14. (10) Jeremy Clements (P), Chevrolet, 72.
15. (24) Daniil Kvyat, Toyota, 72.
16. (4) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 72.
17. (3) Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 72.
18. (23) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 72.
19. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 72.
20. (33) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 72.
21. (19) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 72.
22. (26) Scott Heckert, Chevrolet, 72.
23. (27) Brad Perez(i), Toyota, 72.
24. (36) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 72.
25. (13) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 72.
26. (32) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 72.
27. (35) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 72.
28. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 72.
29. (8) Austin Hill # (P), Chevrolet, 70.
30. (9) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 70.
31. (29) Andy Lally, Ford, 69.
32. (11) Riley Herbst (P), Ford, Accident, 67.
33. (28) Patrick Gallagher, Ford, Engine, 67.
34. (20) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 66.
35. (21) Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 59.
36. (30) Marco Andretti, Chevrolet, Accident, 45.
37. (22) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Track Bar, 35.
38. (38) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 7.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 70.771 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 21 Mins, 37 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.582 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 15 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Allmendinger (P) 1-20;T. Gibbs (P) 21;N. Gragson (P) 22;S. Creed # 23-37;B. Jones (P) 38-40;R. Herbst (P) 41;S. Creed # 42-44;T. Gibbs (P) 45-67;A. Allmendinger (P) 68-72.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): AJ Allmendinger (P) 2 times for 25 laps; Ty Gibbs (P) 2 times for 24 laps; Sheldon Creed # 2 times for 18 laps; Brandon Jones (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Noah Gragson (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Riley Herbst (P) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 16,54,1,21,98,7,18,10,8,02
Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,98,1,7,18,11,8,23,2,54
Updated Xfinity Series Playoff Grid
Three Races Left in Round of 8
1. Noah Gragson
2. AJ Allmendinger _22
3. Ty Gibbs +16
4. Justin Allgaier +11
—
5. Josh Berry -11
6. Austin Hill -15
7. Brandon Jones -22
8. Sam Mayer -28
