The Xfinity Series takes to the track at COTA – Circuit of the Americas – just the first of six road course races for the series this year.
Forty teams have brought cars to fill 38 starting spots at COTA including Shane van Gisbergen, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Larson.
The drivers have 20 minutes of practice before they will be divided into two groups for a 15 minute group qualifying session The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
Drivers who go over the line in the esses will have their practice and qualifying times disqualified. During the race any driver who goes over the line will have to serve a penalty.
Rookie driver Shane van Gisbergen put his number 97 car at the top of the leaderboard in practice.
With a time of 132.374 seconds, Kyle Larson sets a new track record in the Xfinity Series.
Group A drivers Kyle Larson, Sam Mayer, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, and Cole Custer will move on to round two of qualifying.
Group B drivers Shane van Gisbergen, Sage Karam, Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, and Sheldon Creed will move on to round two of qualifying.
Preston Pardus and Kaz Grala failed to qualify for the race.
With a time of 132.076 Kyle Larson puts his number 17 car on the pole with Shane van Gisbergen starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Focused Health 250:
Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen
Ty Gibbs
Chandler Smith
AJ Allmendinger
Sage Karam
Sheldon Creed
Cole Custer
(Daniel Hemric) – Josh Williams
Sam Mayer
Austin Hill
Parker Kligerman
Sammy Smith
Jesse Love
Justin Allgaier
Ed Jones
Parker Retzlaff
Brandon Jones
Riley Herbst
John Hunter Nemechek
Jeb Burton
Daniel Kvyat
Josh Bilicki
Jeremy Clements
Austin Green
Alex Labbe
Ryan Sieg
Ty Dillon
Brennan Poole
Anthony Alfredo
Brad Perez
Kyle Weatherman
Patrick Gallagher
Leland Honeyman
Hailie Deegan
Blaine Perkins
RC Enerson
Ryan Ellis
Several drivers will have to start from the back of the field including pole sitter Kyle Larson who had to change some cracked brake rotors (he has a similar issue with his Cup Series car). Anthony Alfredo, Hailie Deegan, Sheldon Creed, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, and Daniil Kvyat all had their crews make unapproved adjustments Josh Williams was not in the car yesterday and will have to start from the back of the field for a driver change. Leland Honeyman will be starting from the back of the field after some inspection issues.
With Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs both moving to the back of the field, it puts teammates AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen on the front row
Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez join Adam Alexander in the FOX broadcast booth for the race.
Stage one is 14 laps, stage two and three are 16 laps each for a total of 46 laps around the 3.4 mile track. Drivers can run around 22 laps on a single load of fuel.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag start of the race but it is Shane van Gisbergen who jumps out in front first. Drivers quicky spread out three and four wide going into turn one.
Chandler Smith spins out after some contact from Sammy Smith, but the track stays green.
Shane van Gisbergen leads his first lap in an Xfinity car.
Lap two, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, Sage Karam, and Justin Allgaier.
After his inspection issues, Leland Honeyman had to serve a passthrough penalty after the start of the race and was caught speeding on pit road. He will have to serve a second passthrough penalty for speeding.
Sage Karam passes Sammy Smith for third.
John Hunter Nemechek has to serve a passthrough penalty for short cutting the esses.
Ty Gibbs has moved up 13 spots since race start after starting at the back of the field.
Daniil Kvyat spins out but the track stays green.
Lap four, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of nearly a second on AJ Allmendinger; Sage Karam, Sammy Smith, and Parker Kligerman round out the top five.
Sheldon Creed is reporting an alternator issues and will have to come down pit road for repairs.
Lap five, Shane van Gisbergen has a near one second lead on AJ Allmendinger; but they are over six seconds out in front of the rest of the field.
COTA was originally built for the open wheel Formula 1 and IndyCar races which features drivers from all over the world. This Xfinity race also has an international feel with four drivers from outside the U.S. – Shane van Gisbergen is from New Zealand, Ed Jones is from the United Arab Emirates, Alex Labbe is from Quebec Canada, and Daniil Kvyat is from Russia. And in the booth is Mexican born driver Daniel Suarez.
Teammates Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier make contact on the track, causing some damage to Mayer’s car.
Lap eight, Shane van Gisbergen leads the race with AJ Allmendinger in second; they are over eight seconds in front of the remainder of the field.
Lap nine, Sheldon Creed in the garage for mechanical repairs is the only car not on the lead lap.
The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Parker Kligerman, Sage Karam, and Sammy Smith.
Ty Gibbs has been charged with short cutting the esses and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 10, AJ Allmendinger has caught up to teammate Shane van Gisbergen and passes for the lead.
Lap eleven, AJ Allmendinger leads the race with Shane van Gisbergen in second; the remainder of the field is over 10 seconds.
Lap 12, drivers begin making pit stops; short pitting the end of stage one. Leaders stay out.
Austin Hill has to serve a passthrough penalty for short cutting the eeses. With just three laps remaining in stage one, he has the option of waiting to serve the penalty and start stage two from the back of the field.
Lap 12, leaders come down pit road; Parker Kligerman is the new leader.
Shane van Gisbergen stalled the car but gets it moving again.
Sheldon Creed returns to the track six laps down.
Justin Allgaier was charged with short cutting the esses. Pit road is closed, he will have to start stage two from the back of the field.
Parker Kligerman wins stage one for his second career stage win.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Parker Kligerman
Sammy Smith
Sage Karam
Parker Retzlaff
Riley Herbst
Austin Hill
Alex Labbe
AJ Allmendinger
Josh Bilicki
Shane van Gisbergen
Drivers who stayed out on the track come down pit road for service.
AJ Allmendinger is the new leader with Shane van Gisbergen in second; Kyle Larson is in third place after starting the race from the back of the field.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Shane van Gisbergen alongside on lap 17. Drivers are three and four wide across the track with AJ Allmendinger gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 18, the top five are AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, Jesse Love, Ty Gibbs, and Shane van Gisbergen.
AJ Allmendinger has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Kyle Larson. Shane van Gisbergen passes Jesse Love for fourth.
Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson battle for second.
Sam Mayer has a passthrough penalty for short cutting the esses.
Lap 20, AJ Allmeninger has a two second lead on Kyle Larson; Ty Gibbs, Shane van Gisbergen, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
Lap 21, Cole Custer spins out but the track says green. Jesse Love has some damage to his car – the bumper cover is missing.
The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, and Sammy Smith.
Lap 22,AJ Allmendinger has a lead of over two seconds on Kyle Larson; third place driver Shane van Gisbergen is over four seconds back.
Seven laps remain in stage two; AJ Allmendinger has a two second lead on Kyle Larson; Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.
Lap 23, Josh Williams is charged with short cutting the esses and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 24, Josh Williams comes down pit road for service and is caught for speeding. Under green flag conditions, a speeding penalty is a passthrough
Lap 26, Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson battle for second.
Lap 28 drivers are beginning to make green flag pit stops short of the end of stage two.
Jesse Love and John Hunter Nemechek were caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Leaders come down pit road with two laps remaining in the stage.
Brandon Jones is the new leader.
With a lead of nearly five seconds, Brandon Jones wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Brandon Jones
Riley Herbst
Cole Custer
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Larson
Shae van Gisbergen
Alex Labbe
Ryan Sieg
Josh Bilicki
Ty Gibbs
Jeremy Clements short cuts the esses and will restart the race from the back of the field.
After further review, NASCAR has charged Brandon Jones with short cutting the esses and has awarded the stage win to Riley Herbst.
Drivers who stayed out on the track now come down pit road for service. Cole Custer wins the race off of pit road.
AJ Allmendinger retakes the lead and brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with 12 laps remaining in the race. Allmendinger takes the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen passes Kyle Larson for second.
Josh Williams is out of the race. He was not at the track on Friday due to the birth of his first child.
Eleven to go, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of over half a second on Shane van Gisbergen; Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Sammy Smith spins out with a little help from Chandler Smith.
Chandler Smith has a smoking car.
Ten to go, AJ Allmendinger has a lead of nearly a second on teammate Shane van Gisbergen; third place driver Kyle Larson is over two seconds back.
Kyle Larson and Ty Gibbs battle for third with Gibbs taking the spot.
Just nine laps remain in the race; AJ Allmendinger has the lead but Shane van Gisbergen comes up to battle for the spot.
New Leader! Shane van Gisbergen takes the lead but AJ Allmendinger is on his bumper and continues to challenge for the lead.
Eight to go, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on AJ Allmendinger; Ty Gibbs is in third nearly three seconds back with Kyle Larson and Austin Hill rounding out the top five.
Teammates Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer battle for seventh.
Seven to go, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a one second lead on AJ Allmendinger.
Ty Dillon is out of the race. Sammy Smith is off the track.
Anthony Alfredo spins out but gets the car moving again and the track stays green.
Six to go, Shane van Gisbergen continues to increase his lead on AJ Allmendinger.
Patrick Gallagher gets stuck off the track but gets it moving again and the track stays green.
Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of a second and a half on AJ Allmendinger; Ty Gibbs is in third nearly four seconds back with Austin Hill and Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.
Sammy Smith is out of the race.
Kyle Larson reports that he has flat spotted a tire.
Five to go, Shane van Gisbergen now has a two second lead on AJ Allmendinger.
Just four laps remain in the race, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over two seconds on AJ Allmendinger; Ty Gibbs, Austin Hill, and Kyle Larson rounds out the top five.
Ed Jones is stopped on the track and leaking fluid with just four laps remaining and brings out the caution flag.
A few drivers come down pit road as the race goes into overtime.
In the choose, AJ Allmendinger chose to restart behind leader Shane van Gisbergen; Ty Gibbs is on the outside lane alongside Gisbergen.
In a three wide battle Shane van Gisbergen edges out Allmendinger and Gibbs for the lead but nearly loses it to Austin Hill.
The caution flag comes out for a crash involving Daniil Kvyat, Riley Herbst, Ryan Ellis, and Leland Honeyman. The race will go into a second overtime.
AJ Allmendinger was charged with short cutting the esses and has to serve a penalty.
During the caution, Ty Gibbs moved up a hit AJ Allmendinger’s bumper.
Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the second overtime shootout with Sam Mayer alongside. Drivers are three and four wide event before getting to turn one. Austin Hill takes the lead on turn one.
Going into turn eleven, Austin Hill has a half second lead on Shane van Gisbergen but van Gisbergen moves up on his bumper.
Austin Hill takes the white flag with Shane van Gisbergen on his bumper.
Kyle Larson is in third and has moved up on Shane van Gisbergen’s bumper.
Shane van Gisbergen made his move but Kyle Larson came up one the inside to pass for the lead…and the win. Larson started the race from the back of the field.
This is the first win for the number 17 car in the Xfinity Series.
The unofficial results of the Forced Health 250:
Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen
Austin Hill
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Parker Kligerman
Jesse Love
Austin Green
Chandler Smith
Sam Mayer
AJ Allmendinger
Parker Retzlaff
Anthony Alfredo
Justin Allgaier
Ryan Sieg
Brennan Poole
Brandon Jones
Sage Karam
Brad Perez
RC Emerson
Jeremy Clements
Leland Honeyman
Daniil Kvyat
Blaine Perkins
Hailie Deegan
Ty Gibbs
Patrick Gallagher
Alex Labbe
Kyle Weatherman
Jeb Burton
Josh Bilicki
Sheldon Creed
Ryan Ellis
Riley Herbst
Ed Jones
Sammy Smith
Ty Dillon
Josh Williams
After the race it was announced that the 97 car of Shane van Gisbergen was charged with short cutting the esses and will be assessed a 30 second penalty.