The NASCAR Xfinity Series continued their fluid schedule this week, visiting the historic Charlotte Motor Speedway after last week’s events at Darlington Raceway on Thursday.
While the theme of no practice and qualifying continued this week, there was most certainly some thrilling race action during the race, especially toward the end of the 300-miler. Thankfully, unlike Sunday night and last Tuesday night, the Xfinity Series did not have to deal with any weather delay.
There was a familiar face in the field as there was in last week’s race at Darlington. And that name was Kyle Busch, who tops the all-time wins list. Busch was sporting an Appalachian State University scheme to honor the class of 2020.
Busch started 18th thanks to a random draw but the Las Vegas native did not take long to get to the front, as he won both Stage 1 and Stage 2. He ultimately took home the checkered flag, the 97th of his Xfinity Series career, after leading a race-high of 94 laps.
Despite the fact that Busch put on another clinic, there were other regular Xfinity Series drivers who flew under the radar in the Alsco 300 at Charlotte.
Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the sixth event of the 2020 season.
- Ross Chastain – Chastain had a great advantage of starting on the pole, due to the random draw that took place earlier in the week. And while random draws can be lucky or unlucky, Chastain managed to use that draw to his advantage. He led the first 31 laps and had an opportunity to win both stages before being passed by Kyle Busch late in the stage, as Chastain would end up one spot short by finishing second in both stages. Troubles would arise late in the race as the Kaulig driver was penalized and caught up in an incident, and slapped the wall. However, Chastain rebounded to a fourth-place finish after leading 68 laps.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR_Xfinity/status/1265113941778235392 - Austin Cindric – Cindric came very close to scoring his first Xfinity Series oval win Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He started sixth, finished fifth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. A late-race caution ensued with less than five to go that allowed Cindric to have a shot at the win. Unfortunately, the Team Penske driver fell short and finished third for his fourth top-five of the season. Cindric did manage to lead 30-laps in the event.
https://twitter.com/AustinCindric/status/1265120989807087617 - Daniel Hemric – While Hemric is a part-time driver in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, he has certainly made the most of each opportunity in every race he has competed in this season. Previously, Darlington was Hemric’s best finish of the 2020 season, where he finished sixth in the outing. At Charlotte, he started 12th, finished ninth in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2. Hemric was never able to get out front to lead any laps, but had a late surge in the end and briefly challenged Busch for the win. He came home second in the running order, the first-time since Kansas two years ago.
https://twitter.com/XfinityRacing/status/1265118109729304576 - Brandon Brown – Speaking of someone who flew under the radar, Team-Owner and driver, Brandon Brown was quiet all night but was there went it counted the most. While he unfortunately did not secure any stage points, Brown had 27 quality passes and spent 111 laps in the top-15. Despite that being down from the previous week at Darlington (120-laps), Brown solidly earned a top-10 finish by finishing eighth, his third top-10 in his Xfinity Series career. Needless to say, Brown was pumped about the finish.
https://twitter.com/brandonbrown_68/status/1265116691924684800? - Michael Annett – Annett’s 2020 Xfinity Series season has been a mixed bag of results so far, opening Daytona by finishing 11th and seventh at Las Vegas, but had three finishes outside the top-10, including a 25th-place finish last week at Darlington. Coming into Charlotte, the Des Moines, Iowa driver was hoping for a rebound after last week’s dismal outing. The No. 1 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet rolled off in the ninth position, unable to score any stage finishes, but finished seventh for his second top-10 of the 2020 season, the 65th of his career.
