The weather that has plagued the south over the past few days has reached Darlington and has washed out practice and qualifying for the Xfinity Series Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200.
Fortunately, no one will go home due to the cancellation; 38 teams brought cars to Darlington for 38 starting spots. Aric Almirola returns to drive the number 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing.
William Byron will be driving the number 17 Hendricks Motorsports car. Unfortunately due to no qualifying, Byron will have to start from the back of the field.
With the cancellation of qualifying, the field has been set the NASCAR’s metric that includes finishing position from the last race and point standings.
Cole Custer will sit on the pole with Chandler Smith alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200:
Cole Custer
Chandler Smith
Sheldon Creed
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Hill
Sam Mayer
Justin Allgaier
Anthony Alfredo
Riley Herbst
Parker Retzlaff
Parker Kligerman
Jesse Love
Carson Kvapil
Brandon Jones
Kyle Weatherman
Jeb Burton
Shane van Gisbergen
Aric Almirola
Jeremy Clements
Ryan Ellis
Brennan Poole
Leland Honeyman
Sammy Smith
Taylor Gray
Josh Williams
Ryan Sieg
David Starr
Patrick Emerling
Kyle Sieg
Josh Bilicki
Matt DiBenedetto
Hailie Deegan
Dawson Cram
John Hunter Nemechek
Garrett Smithley
Blaine Perkins
Chad Finchum
William Byron
Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski join Adam Alexander in the FOX Sports broadcast booth for today’s race.
A throwback weekend, Xfinity Series drivers are representations include Cole Trickle, Harry Gant, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and multiple Kyle Petty’s.
Stages one and two are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 57 laps for a total of 147 laps around the 1.366 mile track. The teams have six sets of tires for today’s race and NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 20.
Cole Custer brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and edges out in front for the lead.
Lap three, Cole Custer has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on AJ Allmendinger; Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, and Sam Mayer round out the top five.
Jeremy Clements reports an issue with the car on race start reporting that “something’s wrong”.
Lap six, after starting last, William Byron has moved up 10 spots.
Lap seven, Cole Custer has pulled out to a lead of over a second on AJ Allmendinger; Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed round out the top five.
Lap nine, Cole Custer continues to lead the race and increase his lead on AJ Allmendinger, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Sam Mayer and Chandler Smith battle for third.
Lap 13, Chandler Smith and Sam Mayer continue to battle for third with Justin Allgaier moving up to make it a three way battle.
Lap 14, after moving through the field, William Byron has fallen to last place with a flat tire after getting into the wall.
Lap 16, Justin Allagaier is up to third.
Lap 17 Cole Custer has a lead of over three second on AJ Allmendinger; Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, and Sam Mayer round out the top five.
William Byron returns to the track three laps down.
Lap 21, NASCAR displays the yellow flag for the competition caution; giving crews a chance to check tire wear and make adjustments after no practice.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Austin Hill winning the race off of pit road; followed by Justin Allgaier.
Despite a lead of other three seconds, Cole Custer is looking for adjustments to the car, reporting that it is too loose.
Cole Custer had a slow stop due to an air gun failure.
Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag restart with Justin Allgaier alongside on lap 26. Allgaier gets out in front from the inside lane.
Lap 27, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer, and AJ Allmendinger.
John Hunter Nemechek reports a power steering issue.
After restarting outside of the top 30, Cole Custer has moved up to 27.
Sheldon Creed, AJ Allmendinger, and Chandler Smith are in a three wide battle.
Lap 31, Justin Allgaier has the lead with Austin Hill in second; Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 32, Jeremy Clements makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.
Lap 33, Cole Custer is back in the top 20 in 18th place.
Lap 37, Cole Custer has advanced 15 spots since the restart.
Lap 38, Justin Allgaier has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Austin Hill; Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Sheldon Creed round out the top five.
Five laps remain in stage one and Jusitn Allgaier now has a lead of over a second on Austin Hill. Parker Kligerman has passed Chandler Smith for fifth.
With a lead of a second and a half, Justin Allgaier wins stage one for his fifth stage win of the season. Allgaier has the most stage wins of any driver this season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Sam Mayer
AJ Allmendinger
Parker Kligerman
Chandler smith
Aric Almirola
Jesse Love
Riley Herbst
Sheldon Creed
Drivers come down pit road for service with Austin Hill beating out Justin Allgaier to win the race off of pit road.
Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Justin Allgaier on the outside lane on lap 52. Austin Hill takes the lead but Justin Allgaier comes up on the outside to get the lead and pulls away.
Lap 54, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Parker Kligerman. Cole Custer is back inside the top 15.
Lap 57, Justin Allgaier leads the race but Austin Hill is staying close with Sam Mayer right behind them.
Jeremy Clements is off the track.
Lap 61, Justin Allgaier is beginning to pull away; he has a lead of nearly a second on Austin Hill.
Lap 68, Justin Allgaier now has a lead of over a second and a half on Austin Hill; Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Parker Kligerman round out the top five. Cole Custer is still mired in traffic, back in 15th.
Lap 71, Justin Allgaier’s lead is now over two seconds on Austin Hill.
Sheldon Creed reports that the front tires won’t turn.
Lap 73, Justin Allgaier continues to increase his lead and is now two and a half seconds out in front of Austin Hill.
Lap 76, Austin Hill is closing the gap on leader Justin Allgaier and is now just two seconds behind the leader.
Ryan Ellis is of the track. William Byron remains the only driver on the track not on the lead lap.
Lap 78, Justin Allgaier has encountered slower traffic and is beginning to lap slower traffic. His lead is back up to over two seconds.
Lap 85, Justin Allgaier’s led is now under two seconds on Austin Hill’ Sam Mayer Parker Kligerman, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
Carson Kvapil has a radio issue; apparently there is a channel open and he can’t hear the crew.
There are 28 cars on the lead lap.
Several drivers are reporting power steering issues.
Justin Allgaier wins stage two for the stage sweep. This is the 12th time Allgaier has swept both stages.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Parker Kligerman
Sam Mayer
Aric Almirola
AJ Allmendinger
Jesse Love
Brandon Jones
Riley Herbst
Chandler Smith
Drivers come down pit road for service with Justin Allgaier getting off of pit road first.
Chandler Smith was charged with leaving pit road with equipment when he left his pit stall with the fuel tank still attached.
Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three from the outside lane on lap 98. Allgaier holds on to the lead.
The top five are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, and Brandon Jones.
Austin Hill is pressuring leader Justin Allgaier.
Hailie Deegan brings out the first caution flag for an on track incident with a blown left rear tire. The left rear quarter panel is blown out.
At the time of the caution flag, Austin Hill had begun to battle with Justin Allgaier for the lead.
William Byron is finally the “lucky dog”.
A few drivers come down pit road for fresh tires but most of the field stays out on the track.
AJ Allmendinger is having power issues.
Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Hill alongside with Allgaier on the outside lane with 39 laps remaining in the race.
Allgaier edges out for the lead with Austin Hill on his bumper. Drivers are two and three wide through the field.
The top five are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, and Brandon Jones.
With 35 laps to go, Cole Custer is back in the top 10.
Thirty to go and Jusitn Allgaier holds on to the lead with a lead of nearly a second on Austin Hill; Aric Almirola, Sam Mayer, and Brandon Jones round out the top five. Since getting back on the lead lap, William Bron is inside the top 15.
Justin Allgaier holds on to the lead but Austin Hill has dropped to fourth place.
Lap 124, Justin Allgaier has dominated the race.
The caution flag comes out with 25 laps to go when Parker Retzlaff drops fluid on the track and Kyle Sieg gets sideways, sliding down the track.
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Allgaier getting out in front.
With just 17 laps to go, Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green flag restart with teammate Sam Mayer alongside. Cole Custer and Austin Hill are in row two. Allgaier edges out to take the lead. Sam Mayer and Austin Hill battle to second with Cole Custer on their bumper.
Fifteen to go, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, and Aric Almirola.
With 13 laps to go, Justin Allgaier has a lead of over a second on Austin Hill. Sammy Smith brings his car down pit road for an unscheduled trip with a flat tire.
Hailie Deegan and Ryan Ellis are out of the race with 30 cars on the lead lap.
Nine laps remain in the race with Justin Allgaier nearly two seconds out in front of Austin Hill.
Six to go, Justin Allgaier has pulled out to a lead of over two second over Austin Hill; Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.
Three to go, Justin Allgaier’s lead is nearly three seconds on Austin Hill.
With a three second lead, Justin Allgaier takes the white flag!
After dominating much of the race, Justin Allgaier earns his first win of the season. This is Allgaier’s third Darlington win.
The unofficial results of the Crown Royal Purple Bag 200:
Justin Allgaier
Austin Hill
Cole Custer
Sam Mayer
Aric Almirola
Parker Kligerman
Riley Herbst
Jesse Love
Sheldon Creed
Brandon Jones
William Byron
Chandler Smith
Ryan Sieg
Anthony Alfredo
Shane van Gisbergen
Jeb Burton
Kyle Weatherman
Taylor Gray
Carson Kvapil
Brennan Poole
Josh Williams
Josh Bilicki
John Hunte Nemechek
David Starr
Matt DiBenedetto
Chad Finchum
Blaine Perkins
Dawson Cram
Garrett Smithley
Leland Honeyman
Parker Retzlaff
Kyle Sieg
Patrick Emerling
Sammy Smith
AJ Allmendinger
Hailie Deegan
Jeremy Clements
Ryan Ellis