NASCAR Xfinity Series Preview For Auto Club

The NASCAR Xfinity Series stays west this week, but only this time it’s California. It also marks the return of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stars like Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Ty Dillon and Corey Lajoie.

In the past four races, there has been four different winners. All of which are cup drivers. 2015- Kevin Harvick, 2014-Kyle Larson, 2013-Kyle Busch and 2012-Joey Logano.

Last year’s winner Kevin Harvick is not scheduled to compete on Saturday.

However, the stats show if you’re going to win, you have to beat a cup driver or be the cup driver that’s racing in it.

Let’s breakdown driver by driver stats that are entered in the Service King 300. 

There are 42 drivers entered on this year’s preliminary list.

Garrett Smithley- Smithley made his at track debut last year, where he started 27^th and finished 23^rd.

Cole Custer- Making track debut.

Harrison Rhodes- Has two starts at Auto Club, with the best finish of 25^th in 2015. Rhodes blew an engine in last year’s race. 

Elliott Sadler- Sadler has 12 starts at this race track dating back to 1997. But recently, Sadler has had strong showing in the no.1 One Main Financial Chevy. In 2014, Sadler started on the pole and finished fifth. He has finished in the top 10 in the last six races. His best finish of fifth (three times, 2016, 2014, and 2011). Also, has four top fives’ and eight top 10’s finishes, 60 laps led.

Paul Menard- If you want to put Menard on your Xfinity fantasy this weekend, don’t. The last time Menard competed in the Xfinity series at Auto Club was 2010, where he finished 19^th driving for Jack Roush. However, on the cup side of things, Menard placed fourth in 2015 and 15^th in 2016.

Ty Dillon- Ty is doing double duty this weekend in Fontana. In three races, Ty finished eighth in 2014, 14^th in 2015 and 17^th in 2016. He has only one top 10 that came in 2014.

Ross Chastain- Chastain has two starts, with a best finish of 17^th coming in 2015.

Michael Annett- The last time Annett competed at this track in Xfinity was 2012 for Richard Petty Motorsports. Annett has one top 10 coming in 2009. 

Darrell Wallace Jr- Wallace Jr, has two starts, with one top 10 and one top five finish. He has a best finish of third that came last year.

Ray Black Jr- Made his track debut last year last year, but crashed early in the going. Black Jr finished 37^th.

Justin Allgaier- Allgaier, who won last week at Phoenix is looking to keep the momentum going and go two-for-two. Allgaier has eight starts at Auto Club, his best finish in 2010 (8^th) driving for Team Penske. Last year, he finished in the top 10 driving for Jr Motorsports.

Jeff Green- Green made a total of 11 starts at Auto Club, but recently has become a start and park driver the last few years. We’ll see if he can turn that around last year.

William Byron- Making track debut.

Blake Koch- Koch’s made six starts, but has two DNF’s. In the 2016 race, Koch placed his best finish of 12^th.

J.J. Yeley- 11 starts for Yeley at Auto Club, but most of these were for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2004-2006. In the previous years, Yeley has a mixed bag of results, with the best one coming in 2014 (19^th).

Carl Long- Long’s got four starts, however, he’s had tough outings recently. The only race Long finished was in 2013 (30^th). 

Ryan Reed- Three starts dating back to 2014 track debut. Reed’s finished 17^th, 11^th and 14^th respectively.

Kyle Busch- Busch is the one to beat not only in the Xfinity Series but at Auto Club in general. Busch has six career wins, 11 top fives’ and 14 top 10’s finishes and 745 laps led. Pretty good, huh?

Matt Tifft- Making track debut, but stats show that if you want to win, be in a Joe Gibbs Racing entry. 

Erik Jones- Jones is impressive at this track. Two starts, one pole (2015), he also placed his best finish that year of third. Expect Jones to be strong again this year.

Daniel Hemric- Making track debut, but a Richard Childress Racing driver won last year in a last lap pass. 

Joey Logano- Another cup regular who is strong at Auto Club. Two wins in eight starts, with six top fives’ and eight top 10 finishes. Logano will sure be a contender this weekend.

Spencer Gallagher- One start (2016) where he finished 24^th.

Dakoda Armstrong- Four starts at Auto Club but in the recent outing, Armstrong finished 22^nd. 

Brandon Jones- One start coming last year and finished ninth.

Ryan Sieg- Three starts with a best finish of 20^th in 2015. 

Timmy Hill- Last Xfinity start came in 2011, where he finished 32^nd.

Kyle Larson- If anyone can beat Busch this weekend, its Larson. Larson ran down Busch in the closing laps in 2014 for the race win. Otherwise, Larson has placed a 5.5 average finish with 22 laps led.

Brennan Poole- Poole is still searching for his first career win. Could it come this weekend? In his only start in 2016 at Auto Club, Poole finished 13^th.

Jeremy Clements- Clements made seven starts at Auto Club, however, his best finish came in 2009 (12^th). The last few years, though, Clement finished 24^th and 21^st, respectively. 

Joey Gase- Gase has five starts with the best finish of 23^rd in 2012.

Brendan Gaughan- Gaughan is decent at best. In nine starts, he has one top 5 and five top 5 finishes. His best finish of second in 2015.

John Jackson- Making track debut.

Mike Harmon- Harmon’s got eight starts at Auto Club, but lately, it’s been boom or bust. Five DNF’s and only finished two races (2013 and 2016).

Stephen Leicht- Four starts for Leicht, but his last one came in 2008 where he finished 10^th for Richard Childress Racing. 

B.J. McLeod- One start that came in 2016, where McLeod finished in 38^th.

Mario Gosselin- Gosselin has two starts at Auto Club, with a best finish of 27^th in 2015.

Jordan Anderson- Making track debut.

Josh Bilicki- Making track debut. Bilick announced via twitter today that, "he will not compete this weekend at Auto Club." 

Casey Mears- It’s been a long time since Mears competed in the Xfinity event at Auto Club. In fact, it was back in 2007, where he drove for Rick Hendrick and finished second.

David Starr- In three starts, Starr has the best finish of 15^th in 2015.

On track action starts Friday at 3pm/et for the first practice on FS1. Final practice coming at 5pm/et and qualifying is set for Saturday at 12:30pm/et 

Opinion: My Top 5 NASCAR Xfinity Series Drivers From Today's Race At Phoenix

1. Justin Allgaier- Allgaier was strong throughout the race and remained in the top 5 for most of the going. Only slipping back in the top 10 due to pit stops. Otherwise, Allgaier was a contender and led five times for 85 laps. A strong showing today for Allgaier, who picked up the Dash 4 Cash bonus.

2. Erik Jones- If Allgaier didn't win then it should have been Erik Jones. Jones started second and was up front all day, only to slip back from handling issues late in the going. Jones led four times for 65 laps. We'll see if Jones can carry this momentum for tomorrow's cup race at Phoenix.

3. Ryan Blaney- Blaney was another contender for the win. He was fast throughout all practice sessions on Friday, even set the pace in one of the practices as well. However, Blaney had qualifying tech inspection problems, which didn't allow him to qualify. Although, that didn't stop him from having a great outing in Phoenix. Blaney led once for 15 laps and finished second. Not bad after not getting to qualify.

4. William Byron- Had a decent performance at Phoenix. Started on the pole but slipped back on the initial start. Byron rebounded and came home in the fourth position.

5. Elliott Sadler- Sadler had a quiet day in the desert sun. Was in the top five for most of the day and finished in the top five for all stages. A decent point day for the no.1 crew.

Honorable Mention- Darrell Wallace Jr- After being under the weather last week at Las Vegas, Wallace Jr turned in a impressive sixth place finish.

Justin Allgaier Pursues In Phoenix

On a hot sunny afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway, it was the site of the fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the year. Two young guns set the front row in qualifying for today’s race. Rookie of The Year contender William Byron won the pole, and 20-year old Erik Jones was on the outside pole.

It also marked the return of the famous Dash 4 Cash event. The award goes to the highest finishing Xfinity regular throughout the four races this season, with the winner receiving $100,000. If the same driver wins the four races, Xfinity then will pay an additional $600,000 that would equal a million-dollar payout. The four races are Phoenix, Bristol, Dover, and Richmond.

The race was broken into three stages with 60 laps in the stage one, 60 laps in stage two, and 80 laps in the final stage which made up the 200 laps overall. 

Erik Jones took the lead on the initial start as Byron slipped behind and lost several spots. Didn’t take long for contact as Daniel Suarez and Jeremy Clements make contact on lap seven. On lap 11, Suarez’s right rear tire went down and made hard contact with the wall. This brought out the first caution of the day.

The green flag went back out on lap 18 with Justin Allgaier taking the lead in turn three and four. However, (Erik) Jones battled back to have a side-by-side battle with Allgaier for several laps. Jones finally took the lead on lap 28. Allgaier began slipping back as Byron was trying to pass him for third on lap 43. As Byron was able to get around Allgaier, JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler came into the mix. Sadler passed Allgaier for the Dash 4 Cash transfer spot on lap 58. Erik Jones ended winning stage one. 

Austin Dillon and Jones took the restart on lap 70. Dillon maintained the lead, but Allgaier stayed close behind. Allgaier charged hard 10 laps later and took the top spot before turn three. Stage two was clean and green until lap 84, where Matt Tifft and Brendan Gaughan made contact off turn four. Tifft got into Gaughan, which caused Gaughan’s car to stick to Tifft’s splitter.

After a lap 90 restart, Allgaier continued to set the pace until lap 105, where Ryan Blaney started to challenge for the lead on lap 105. Blaney then took the lead on 110. Blaney held on and won stage two with Allgaier and Tyler Reddick getting the final Dash 4 Cash transfer spots.

The green came back out on lap 129 with Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney as the leaders. Dillon got in front and maintained the lead until a caution came out on lap 132. David Starr and Mario Gosselin wrecked going into turn three.

A restart came with 63 laps to go, Dillon and Allgaier battled for the lead until lap 156 where Joey Gase’s right front tire went down in turn three. This brought out another caution and slowed the field one more time.

Matt Tifft stayed out and took the lead on a lap 162 restart. The lead didn’t last long for Tifft, however, as Jones passed him for fist. Not long after that, Allgaier came charging hard and took the lead one lap later. He would hang on until Drew Herring spun out on lap 169 to bring out another caution. 

The race went back green with 29 laps to go. Allgaier and Jones were the class of the field for the moment. Jones took the lead with a stronger car as Blaney and Allgaier battled hard for position. Allgaier rallied back to the lead with 19 laps to go. With just 16 laps to go, Blake Koch and Brandon Jones made contact in turn two to bring out the caution.

Allgaier and Jones led the field to a restart with 11 laps to go. The race went green for two laps until Cole Custer clipped Austin Dillon and sent Dillon into the wall. Dillon retaliated by slowing down and turning into Custer. NASCAR parked Dillon for the rest of the race and was called to the hauler. The red flag came out with 9 laps to go for cleanup.

After a little cleanup, Allgaier came back to the line with four laps remaining. He was able to hold on and win his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Allgaier also won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus. 

This was Justin Allgaier’s fourth career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

There were 7 leaders among 15 lead changes.

There were 10 cautions for 55 laps. 

The next scheduled NASCAR Xfinity Series race is next Saturday March 25th at Auto Club Speedway. 

Get To Know NASCAR Driver Joey Gase

This week’s Q&A is with NASCAR driver Joey Gase. Gase currently drives part time in the Cup series for BK Racing and full time in the Xfinity series for Jimmy Means Racing. Gase made his first NASCAR start in 2011 at Iowa Speedway, where he started 34th and finished 20th. 

1. When did you get an interest in racing? 

Gase: I have been interested in racing ever since I can remember. My dad, Bob Gase, raced at the short track level, so I grew in it and always loved it. 

2. If you weren't racing what would your career choice be? 

Gase: Pilot

3. Do you have a pre-race ritual? 

Gase: Eating a lot of chicken 

4. Name one talent that you have which no one knows about?
Gase: Applying all the graphics to our Xfinity cars. 

5. Favorite Race Track? 

Gase: Hawkeye Downs in my hometown Cedar Rapids, IA. 

6. Racing Hero Growing Up? 

Gase: My dad and Kenny Schrader

7. Which driver would you have liked to raced with from the past? 

Gase: Kenny Schrader

8. Day Or Night Races? 

Gase: Night 

9. If you had a chance to design a racetrack somewhere. Where would it be and Why? 

Gase: Colorado. I feel like there are a lot of fans there but no track. It would be an awesome view with the mountains in the background. 

10. Finally, what's one track that you would like to race on that you haven't yet? 

Gase: Five Flags Speedway

Briar's Top 5 From The Xfinity Race At Atlanta

1. Kyle Busch- If Busch is entered in any race especially in the Xfinity Series you expect him to win. While Busch did win the race, it wasn't the normal beat down that he normally does. There three other strong cup-regulars in the field that Busch had to beat. The lead swapped many times between Kevin Harvick (twice for 64 laps), Brad Keselowski (twice for 53 laps) and Kyle Larson (one time for 20 laps). Keselowski tried to give Busch a run for his money in the remaining laps, but came up just a bit short.

2. Kevin Harvick- Harvick was strong in stage two, in fact he dominated. He took the checkered flag in stage two, but in stage three things started to go south for Harvick. His car "plowing tight" and this affected the rest of the race for him. Harvick had to settled for a disappointing fourth place finish after a strong run. Had his car not began to fall off in the final run, then most certainly he would've won this race.

3. Brad Keselowski- Keselowski ran up front for the most of the day. Took the lead away from Busch early in the race and led twice for 53 laps. Almost stole a win away from Busch in the final laps, but failed to do so in the process.

4. Kyle Larson- Larson didn't necessarily have the winning car, but his car started to come to life in the last 20 laps. Tried to challenge for the lead on the restart, though, he eventually slipped back and had to settle for a third place finish.

5. Elliott Sadler- After wrecking out in the final stage last week at Daytona. Sadler rebounded and had a strong points day at Atlanta. He finished 10th in stage one and seventh in stage two. And by the way, Sadler came home a solid top-five finish.

Honorable Mention- Darrell Wallace Jr- Wallace had a tough ending at the Daytona race last Saturday by being involved in a turn three crash, but put all of that to memory instantly. Wallace Jr, had a strong showing on Saturday by placing a sixth place finish. A great turnaround for Wallace Jr.

Christopher Bell Dominates At Atlanta

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series took centered stage on a double-header type day at Atlanta Motor Speedway today. Kyle Busch was looking for a second consecutive win of the day, while Christopher Bell was looking for his third career win.

Both Bell and Busch set the front row in qualifying that took place earlier in the day.

It was a wild first lap at Atlanta as Bell got a great start, but Noah Gragson spun again on the first lap in turn three. Gragson collected Brett Moffit in the process, though, no driver had major damage and was able to keep going.

The race went back to green on lap four, with Bell and Busch as the leaders. Bell was ready to dominate early as he led until the lap 25 caution for Chase Elliott, who cut down a right rear tire in turn four. Parker Kligerman also had troubles with his truck which stalled on the track. Kligerman's day would end early.

After the caution, Bell led the field back to green on lap 31. Bell pulled out as Busch spun his tires on the restart. Matt Crafton went by Busch for the second position. Busch and Crafton raced for second until lap 38, when Busch passed Crafton for second. Bell led all 40 laps in stage one to collect 10 championship points. Chase Briscoe had problems during his pit stop as he cut down a left rear tire.

Cody Coughlin stayed out and the race was back underway on lap 46. Just three laps later, Akinori Ogata blew an engine to bring out another caution. On lap 54, the race went back green with Bell and Crafton at the top of the leaderboard. The race was clean and green until two laps to go in stage two where John Hunter Nemechek blew a right front tire. There would be no caution and this let Christopher Bell take the stage two win.

With 44 laps to go, Busch set the pace as the leader on the restart. Busch then, remained in the lead as Bell slipped behind to fourth. Ben Rhodes started to challenge for the lead with 40 laps to go until a caution came out with 37 laps to go for Tommy Joe Martins. Grant Enfinger and Cody Coughlin tried to outsmart the field by making a pit stop under caution.

Busch and Rhodes had the top spot with 33 laps to go for the restart. Busch pulled in front of Rhodes as he got a bad restart. However, with 27 laps to go Jordan Anderson spun with contact from Korbin Forrister to bring out another caution.

The race restarted with 19 laps to go with Austin Dillon and Enfinger on the top spot. Crafton took the lead from both of them on the restart. Busch had troubles on the start as he cut down a right front tire to end his chances of winning. Bell and Crafton battled hard for the lead, but Bell cleared Crafton with 17 laps to go. Bell had the race all locked up until 6 laps to go, when Austin Cindric went spinning into turn 1 to bring out the last caution of the race.

Bell and Crafton restarted with three laps remaining. Both of them battled all the way down the backstretch until Bell cleared him off turn four. Bell held on for his third career win and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

There were 4 leaders among 6 lead changes.

There were 8 cautions for 38 laps.

Bell led three times for 99 laps.

The next scheduled NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is at Martinsville Speedway on April 1st.

Kyle Busch Wins 87th Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Race

The NASCAR Xfinity Series headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway today after a demolition derby last week at Daytona. 40 laps made up stage one, 80 laps stage two and 83 laps to make up stage three. This equaled to 163 laps total.

Kyle Busch and William Byron set the front row in qualifying, Busch earning his first pole of 2017 in the Xfinity Series.

Busch and Byron led the field to start the race. Busch easily got out in front as Byron spun his tires on the start. It didn’t take long for a caution to come out though as Ty Dillon’s car cut down a left rear tire in turn one. Dillon almost saved it, but Blake Koch plowed right into Dillon. This ended Koch’s day.

Busch and Brad Keselowski restart the race on lap 6. Busch pulled ahead again with a strong car but Keselowski stayed close behind. Keselowski with a stronger car then Busch took the lead on lap 8 down the backstretch. The race was smooth sailing for Keselowski who led the rest of the way in stage one.

Keselowski and Busch led the field to the restart on lap 47. Keselowski got the advantage on the restart as Busch spun the tries on the high side. Busch rebounded however, as both him and Keselowski battled side by side for the lead on lap 53. With both of the leaders battling side by side, this allowed Kevin Harvick to creep into the picture on lap 56. On lap 57, Harvick passed Busch for second one lap later and on lap 61 Harvick took the lead from Keselowski off turn two.

From that point on, Harvick stayed in the lead until the caution came out to end stage two.

Harvick and Keselowski led the field back to the restart on lap 88. Harvick remained in the lead, but Keselowski stayed close behind. The race was clean and green until 60 laps to go came when Denny Hamlin made an unscheduled pit stop. Then things got worse for Hamlin as he cut down a left rear tire to bring out the fourth caution with 47 laps to go.

Harvick and Kyle Busch restarted the race with 41 laps to go. Busch again spun his tires on the restart and this allowed Kyle Larson to take the second position. Larson then took the lead from Harvick with 39 laps to go. Harvick began to have problems as he started to slip back with 37 laps to go. Busch went around for him second. Harvick’s car started to get tight and this caused him to lose track position.

A caution however came with 22 laps to go as Clint King laid fluid down the track. This set up a restart with 17 laps to go. Busch and Larson were the race leaders at the time. Larson got a bad start and this allowed Busch to remain in the lead. Keselowski took advantage of Larson’s bad restart and got the second position late in the race. Larson tried to rebound as he passed Elliott Sadler for third with 12 laps to go.

Brad Keselowski tried to run down Kyle Busch for a late race pass with seven laps to go. Busch however fended off Keselowski’s late race run for his 87^th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. 

There were 5 cautions for 26 laps. 

There were 4 leaders among 6 lead changes. 

Busch led twice for 26 laps.  

The next scheduled NASCAR Xfinity Series race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 11th, 2017.