The NASCAR Xfinity Series came to Texas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon for the 16th race of the season.
The all-time wins list leader Kyle Busch was back in the field and as expected, he originally won the My Bariatric Solutions 300. Unfortunately, he failed post-race tech inspection due to the ride height rule and had his win taken away. Instead, the win was given to the second-place finisher Austin Cindric, who picked up his third consecutive win of the year. Even though Cindric was given the win, the victory shouldn’t come as a surprise to race fans as he led 44 laps in pursuit of victory.
While Cindric continued to enjoy some late-season momentum, Noah Gragson had his work cut out for him after he made contact with competitor Riley Herbst. The contact sent Herbst out of the race and he was credited with a 36th place position. Gragson would continue on for a few more laps, but coming out of the care center, Herbst noted ‘he (Gragson) has one coming to him.’ When the Playoffs start, Gragson will have to work harder to make it to the Championship 4 since previous drivers he has had run-ins with could make it that much more difficult on him. Gragson’s day would eventually come to end early on Lap 118 when he crashed in Turn 3.
Despite Gragson’s misfortune, we’ll take a look at drivers in this week’s Power Rankings and analyze if any of them capitalized on the race.
- Austin Cindric – Another week, another win, for Cindric who became the eventual race winner. The Team Penske driver has been on fire as of late after securing his first oval wins at Kentucky Speedway the week before. In Saturday’s event, Cindric led 44 laps and finished third in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. After the running, Cindric picked up 57 points overall, which could come in handy when the chase for the championship rolls around.
Previous Week Ranking – First - Chase Briscoe – Briscoe scored a second-place finish after 300 miles. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished fourth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. He did manage to lead 15 laps before having to pit during a green flag pit cycle and gave up track position. But Briscoe caught a lucky break with a late-race caution and had another opportunity to earn a better finish. Ultimately, the top-five finish was Briscoe’s 10th of the year.
Previous Week Ranking – Second - Justin Allgaier – Allgaier stays in the third spot again this week after bringing the No. 7 JR Motorsports machine to a third-place finish. The Illinois native led 98 laps (a race high) and won both of the stages. While Allgaier couldn’t get the win, Saturday’s outing is an example of what will get you through to the Playoffs, being up front, leading laps and winning the stages. It was a great points day for Allgaier.
Previous Week Ranking – Third - Harrison Burton – Burton shined a couple of times before settling in the fourth position. The finish was much needed after Kentucky the week prior to Texas. Burton led 17 laps and earned stage finishes of fifth and sixth, respectively. By placing in the top five, Burton grabbed his eighth top-five of the year. He currently sits seventh in the championship points standings.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked - Noah Gragson – Before Gragson’s day got cut short, he did have a respectable run and finished sixth in Stage 1 and fourth in Stage 2. Though Gragson is not making too many friends out on the track, as it appears he’s having a run in with someone every week. If Gragson can focus on the Playoffs and winning the championship without the contact on track, he could be a threat for the championship. But drivers like Myatt Snider, Riley Herbst, or Harrison Burton could make that tough on him as the season wears on.
Previous Week Ranking – Third
Fell Out
- Anthony Alfredo – He had a 27th place outing after hitting the wall and bringing out the seventh caution of the day. Before that point, Alfredo was running solidly in the top 10 and even finished ninth in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2. It seemed as though the Richard Childress Racing driver would have another strong finish. But Alfredo will have to wait another week to rebound for a good finish.
Previous Week Ranking – Fifth
