After a 12 year absence NASCAR returns to “The Rock” – Rockingham Speedway – for a doubleheader weekend. The Xfinity Series will cap off the action on Saturday afternoon with the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. It has been 21 years since the Xfinity Series was last at The Rock.
Forty teams brought cars to Rockingham for 38 starting spots including Kasey Kahnes’ return to NASCAR, Jordan Anderson, and Katherine Legge.
This is also the final race for the Dash-4-Cash race with Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, and Brandon Jones competing for the $100,000 prize. Smith and Jones are “doing the double” and running both the Truck and Xfinity Series races. Justin Allgaier is the only driver to qualify for all four Dash-4-Cash races.
The drivers get a single 50 minute practice session with all 40 drivers on the track before making a qualifying run on Saturday morning. And they get two sets of tires this week for practice.
Six of the drivers on the track today were not even born the last time the Xfinity Series ran at Rockingham.
Sam Mayer’s car is in the garage with power steering issues. Teammate Sheldon Creed spent the first 20 minutes of practice in the garage also with power steering issues.
Jesse Love is in the garage with a flat tire; they “think” they ran over something. Reports are a broken brake line caused the flat tire.
After making a mock qualifying run, Carson Kvapil topped the leaderboard with the fastest lap.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Austin Green who posted a time of 23.304 seconds around the near one mile track. The time sets a new track record after it was repaved a few years ago.
Kasey Kahne was the second driver out and broke the 23 second mark with a time of 22.720 seconds.
Connor Zilisch posted a time of 22.630 seconds…with a flat tire!
With a time of 22.630 seconds Connor Zilisch earns the pole but with the flat tire, he will have to move to the back of the field.
The starting lineup for the North Carolina Lotter 250:
Connor Zilisch
Parker Retzlaff
Nick Sanchez
Kasey Kahne
William Sawalich
Brandon Jones
Jesse Love
Justin Allgaier
Christian Eckes
Austin Hill
Sam Mayer
Ryan Sieg
Sammy Smith
Matt DiBenedetto
Taylor Gray
Jeremy Clements
Sheldon Creed
Dean Thompson
Justin Bonsignore
Thomas Annunziata
Josh Williams
Jeb Burton
Ryan Ellis
Blaine Perkins
Carson Kvapil
Josh Bilicki
Daniel Dye
Brennan Poole
Harrison Burton
Kris Wright
JJ Yeley
Austin Green
Garrett Smithley
Anthony Alfredo
Katherine Legge
Kyle Sieg
Vicente Salas
Dawson Cram
Patrick Emerling
Greg van Alst
Katherine Legge and Dawson Cram failed to qualify for the race.
It’s an “old school” feel to the weekend with many of the new technological advances at many tracks are not available at Rockingham.
Six of the drivers in the field were not even born the last time the Xfinity Series raced at Rockingham.
Stages one and two are 60 laps each with stage three lasting 130 laps for a total of 250 laps around the one mile track.
JJ Yeley qualified the car but Katherine Legge will drive the car after a driver change and will start the race from the back of the field in the 53 car.
On a hot Saturday afternoon, Nick Sanchez brings the field down for the green flag start of the race before a packed house. Sanchez takes the lead with Parker Retzlaff in second; William Sawalich, Jesse Love, and Kasey Kahne round out the top five.
Lap five, drivers get three wide across the track; Kasey Kahne gets loose but saves the car.
Lap seven, Nick Sanchez holds on to the lead by nearly half a second on Parker Retzlaff; William Sawalich, Jesse Love, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five. Connor Zilisch is up to 26th place.
The caution flag comes out on lap 12 after Vicente Salas spins out and gets into the wall. Salas gets the car moving again and takes it down pit road for service. The e-NASCAR champion driver is making his Xfinity Series debut.
A few drivers come down pit road for service.
Daniel Dye was caught speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Nick Sanchez brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 18 with Parker Retzlaff on the outside. Sanchez takes the lead with William Sawalich in second; Jesse Love, Parker Retzlaff, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five as drivers get three wide.
Lap 22, Nick Sanchez has a lead of over half a second on William Sawalich; Jesse Love, Parker Retzlaff, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Lap 24, Connor Zilisch is just outside the top 20 in 21st place.
Lap 27, Nick Sanchez has a near one second lead on Jesse Love; William Sawalich, Jusitn Allgaier, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
Lap 31, Connor Zilisch has entered the top 20!
Lap 35, Jesse Love is closing the gap on leader Nick Sanchez with a lead of just a quarter of a second; William Sawalich, Justin Allgaier, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
Lap 41, Nick Sanchez has led every lap so far but is getting a challenge from Jesse Love; William Sawalich, Justin Allgaier, and Kasey Kahne round out the top five.
It is a hot afternoon with temperatures pushing 90 degrees; the hottest race of the year, the drivers are looking for ways to cool off.
Lap 45, Jesse Love nearly spins out Nick Sanchez as he passes for the lead.
Lap 48, the top five are Jesse Love, Nick Sanchez, Justin Allgaier, William Sawalich, and Kasey Kahne.
The caution flag comes out on lap 52 after William Sawalich hit Katherine Legge from behind; sending her spinning and into the wall. Legge’s out of control car hit Kasey Kahne as he tried to pass.
Justin Allgaier has passed Nick Sanchez for second.
Kasey Kahne comes down pit road for repairs.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Justin Allgaier winning the race off of pit road. Jesse Love gets hit by the 70 car of Thomas Annunziata on his way out of his pit box.
After staying out on the track, Nick Sanchez brings the field down for the green flag shootout to the end of stage one.
Nick Sanchez leads the race with Parker Retzlaff in second; Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, and Anthony Alfredo round out the top five.
Nick Sanchez wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Nick Sanchez
Parker Retzlaff
Ryan Sieg
Anthony Alfredo
Jeb Burton
Kyle Sieg
Carson Kvapil
Matt DiBenedetto
Jeremy Clements
Brandon Jones
There are 33 cars on the lead lap.
Drivers who stayed out on the track come down pit road for service with Nick Sanchez winning the race off of pit road.
Greg van Alst and Kasey Kahne take the wave around to get back on the lead lap to put 36 cars on the lead lap.
Nick Sanchez had to make a second trip down pit road after not all of the lug nuts were properly tightened.
Justin Allgaier came down pit road and made a tire change; leaving him only one set of tires for stage three. He will restart the race from 29th place.
Carson Kvapil is the leader with Brandon Jones in second and will bring the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 71. Kvapil takes the lead; Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray, Christian Eckes, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
Taylor Gray passes Brandon Jones for second; Jesse Love and Sammy Smith pass Christian Eckes.
Lap 74, the top five are Carson Kvapil, Taylor Gray, Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith.
Kris Wright “kisses” the wall but the track stays green.
Lap 77, Justin Allgaier is up to 25th place.
Lap 78, Ryan Sieg makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with reports of a vibration.
Lap 80, Carson Kvapil leads the race with a lead of over half a second on Jesse Love in second; Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
Lap 88, Justin Allgaier has entered the top 20 in 19th place.
Lap 90, Carson Kvapil has a lead of less than two tenths of a second on Jesse Love; Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith round out the top five. Justin Allgaier is now in 16th place.
Lap 94, Jesse Love battles Carson Kvapil for the lead; Kvapil holds him off…for now.
Lap 96, Jesse Love passes Carson Kvapil but Kvapil comes back to retake the lead.
Lap 98, the battle continues for the lead between Carson Kvapil and Jesse Love.
Lap 99, coming up on the outside Jesse Love tries to pass for the lead.
Lap 100, Carson Kvapil leads the race with Jesse Love in second; Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
Lap 103, leaders have encountered slower traffic..
Lap 104, Jesse Love gets alongside Carson Kvapil but Kvapil holds on to the lead.
Lap 107, Brandon Jones comes up to battle with Jesse Love for second.
Connor Zilisch is slowed on the track and smoking.
The caution flag comes out on lap 109. Sheldon Creed was hit by the 19 car of Justin Bonsignore; sending Creed into the wall. Connor Zilisch has a flat tire and is smoking heavily.
Justin Allgaier is just outside the top 10 in eleventh place.
Pit road is open and very busy with Brandon Jones winning the race off of pit road. Seven drivers stayed out on the track.
Several fans took advantage of the Amtrak train service that stopped right outside of the track.
After staying out on the track, Dean Thompson brings the field down for the green flag restart for a three lap shootout to the end of stage two. Thompson gets out in front for the lead as drivers get three wide.
The top five are Dean Thompson, Jeb Burton, Jeremy Clements, Matt DiBenedetto, and Anthony Alfredo.
Dean Thompson wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Dean Thompson
Jeb Burton
Jeremy Clements
Matt DiBenedetto
Anthony Alfredo
Brandon Jones
Jesse Love
Carson Kvapil
Kyle Sieg
Taylor Gray
Both of the stage winners today are first time winners.
Drivers who stayed out on the track come down pit road for service with Dean Thompson winning the race off of pit road.
Just over halfway through the race, Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Brandon Jones alongside. Jones and Love go side by side with 122 laps to go before Love gets out in front for the lead.
The caution flag comes out after William Sawalich and Josh Williams makes contact to send Sawalich into the wall in a three wide battle.
Kasey Kahne is the “lucky dog”.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with Brandon Jones alongside with 116 laps remaining in the race. Love gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray, Carson Kvapil, and Sammy Smith. Justin Allgaier is in 10th place.
With 114 to go, Carson Kvapil passes Taylor Gray for third.
The seventh caution flag comes out with 113 to go when Greg van Alstspins out. Kris Wright was high up against the wall.
Two laps down, Connor Zilisch is the “lucky dog” and gets one of his laps back.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with Brandon Jones alongside with 107 laps remaining in the race. Jesse Love gets out in front as Brandon Jones and Carson Kvapil battle for second; Taylor Gray and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
With 104 laps to go, Jesse Love has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Carson Kvapil.
Parker Retzlaff gets into the wall to bring out the caution flag. Just before the caution, Retzlaff reported a bad vibration. Patrick Emerling gets into the wall after some on track contact.
Connor Zilisch is the “lucky dog” and back on the lead lap.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service, but most stay out on the track.
With 97 laps to go, Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with Carson Kvapil alongside. Drivers are side-by-side through the field. Jesse Love gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, and Taylor Gray.
The ninth caution flag comes out with 92 laps to go when Jsutin Bonsignore spins out and hits the inside wall hard.
Drivers come down pit road for service with 90 to go. Carson Kvapil wins the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Six drivers stayed out on the track.
With fuel loads of 80 to 85 laps, the drivers are in fuel conservation mode.
There have been 56 laps of caution flags so far today, the record is 66 laps.
After staying out on the track, Ryan Sieg brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Green alongside with 86 laps to go. Ryan Sieg takes the lead as drivers get three wide through the field.
The top five are Ryan Sieg, Christian Eckes, Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, and Austin Green.
Jesse Love passes Austin Green for fifth.
Eighty to go, Ryan Sieg has a lead of over a second on Christian Eckes; Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
The beating and banging has begun as drivers get more aggressive.
After starting from the back of the field, flat tires, and laps down, Connor Zilisch is back on the lead lap and in the top 10 in seventh place.
With 76 laps to go, Ryan Sieg has pulled out to a near two second lead on Christian Eckes; Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, and Jesse Love round out the top five.
There are 31 cars on the lead lap.
Seventy to go, Ryan Sieg holds a near two second lead on Christian Eckes; Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, and Jesse Love continue to round out the top five.
With 69 laps to go, the 10th caution flag of the race comes out when Kyle Sieg and Ryan Ellis spin out with Ellis getting into the wall.
Leader Ryan Sieg’s crew reports that they do not know how close they are on fuel.
Ryan Sieg brings the field down for the green flag restart with 62 laps remaining in the race. Drivers spread out immediately after crossing the start/finish line. Ryan Sieg takes the lead with Jesse Love in second; Parker Retzlaff, Christian Eckes, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
Sammy Smith passes Parker Retzlaff for fourth.
With 57 laps to go, Ryan Sieg has a third of a second lead on Jesse Love; Christian Eckes, Sammy Smith, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
Kasey Kahne gets into the wall but the track stays green.
Fifty-three to go, Ryan Sieg has a lead of over half a second on Jesse Love; Christian Eckes, Sammy Smith, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
There are 48 laps remaining in the race with Ryan Sieg nearly a second out in front of Jesse Love; Christian Eckes, Sammy Smith, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
Sam Mayer’s crew reports that they are five laps short of making it to the end of the race on fuel.
The top six drivers are all from different teams; seventh place driver Justin Allgaier is the first repeat as a member of JR Motorsports with Sammy Smith. Teammates Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil are also in the top 10.
Three of the top five drivers have yet to earn a race win.
Justin Allgaier has passes Sam Mayer for sixth.
Reports are that Jesse Love in second place is seven laps short on fuel.
With 34 laps to go, Jesse Love has caught leaderThirty Ryan Sieg and begins to challenge Sieg.
Jesse Love battles with Ryan Sieg for the lead with 33 to go.
Thirty to go, Ryan Sieg holds on to the lead with Jesse Love in second; Christian Eckes, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Christian Eckes’ team reports that he is “good to go” on fuel.
With 25 laps to go, Jesse Love is on leader Ryan Sieg’s bumper and is looking to take the lead.
The eleventh caution flag comes out when Blain Perkins is stopped on the track with a flat tire after getting into the wall.
There are 27 cars on the lead lap.
Several drivers come down pit road for fuel; leaders stay out.
Jesse Love’s team reports that he is good on fuel.
Ryan Sieg brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 18 laps remaining in the race with Jesse Love on the outside lane. Sieg jumps out in front for the lead.
The top five are Ryan Sieg, Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, Christian Eckes, and Brandon Jones.
Jesse Love has caught leader Ryan Sieg and begins to battle for the lead.
The 12th caution flag comes out for Daniel Dye who spins out Kasey Kahne and Josh Bilicki were caught up in the wreck.
Ryan Sieg and Jesse Love were side by side when the caution came out; NASCAR says that Sieg is the leader.
Ryan Sieg is back in seventh after not maintaining speed; he may be short on fuel. Jesse Love brings the field down for the restart with 10 laps to go. Caution comes out for a big melee taking up several cars. Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Nick Sanchez, Austin Green, Thomas Annunziata, and Jeremy Clements were all involved after Christian Eckes failed to get moving on the restart and caused the pile up.
NASCAR has red flagged the race with eight laps remaining in the race to get the track cleaned up.
The drivers are moving again after a short delay with Jesse Love leading the race; Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Taylor Gray, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Jesse Love brings the field down for the green flag restart with Sammy Smith alongside with just four laps remaining in the race. Sammy Smith takes the lead with Taylor Gray in second; Jesse Love, Sam Mayer in third.
The caution flag comes out with a big wreck as more cars run out of fuel. The race goes into overtime. Sam Mayer, and Connor Zilisch were among those involved.
The race has been red flagged for a second time.
The drivers are moving once again as they prepare for an overtime finish.
Fuel may be an issue for some of the drivers; but there is another issue looming…sunset and darkness!
Sammy Smith brings the field down for the green flag overtime finish with Taylor Gray alongside. Sammy Smith takes the lead but Jesse Love comes up to take the lead.
Jesse Love takes the white flag as he pulls away from the field.
Jesse Love wins the race with second place driver Sammy Smith winning the final Dash-4-Cash $100,000 prize.
As Jesse Love went to collect the checkered flag, his car slid down the track and into the grass.
The unofficial results of the NC Lottery 250:
Jesse Love
Sammy Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Harrison Burton
Brennan Poole
Taylor Gray
Austin Hill
Josh Williams
Jeb Burton
Daniel Dye
Jeremy Clements
Dean Thompson
Brandon Jones
Connor Zilisch
Kasey Kahne
Anthony Alfredo
Carson Kvapil
Josh Bilicki
Ryan Sieg
Patrick Emerling
Kyle Sieg
Justin Allgaier
Garrett Smithley
Christian Eckes
Vicente Salas
William Sawalich
Sam Mayer
Matt DiBenedetto
Kris Wright
Thomas Annunziata
Austin Green
Nick Sanchez
Blaine Perkins
Ryan Ellis
Greg van Alst
Justin Bonsignore
Sheldon Creed
Katherine Legge