Justin Allgaier captured his second win of the season Friday night in the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway. It was his 13th Xfinity Series career win and the 50th win for JR Motorsports.
Justin Haley finished second in his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet followed by Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain to complete the top five finishers.
Brett Moffitt, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Riley Herbst (the highest finishing rookie) placed sixth through 10th, respectively. Annett’s finish earned him enough points to advance to the playoffs.
Allgaier described the race as being one where everything came together after a frustrating season of ups and downs.
“It feels great,” he said. “You know, we’ve had fast Camaros all year long and everybody at JR Motorsports has worked their butts off and put us in position many times. You know, the definition of luck is when opportunity meets preparation and when we’ve been prepared, the opportunity hasn’t come and when we’ve had the opportunity we just haven’t been prepared. And the team today did a fantastic job of executing, just from beginning to end.
“You know, we knew we were a little behind the eight ball when the green flag dropped, just starting as far back as we were. That first cycle on tires was really rough on us. We lost some spots, got a little bit of damage, unfortunately. Just really felt like we were not where we wanted to be at. And the guys rallied, we had unbelievable pit stops tonight. We made great adjustments and you know just ultimately put ourselves in good position at the end.”
Haley was disappointed with his second-place finish but proud of his efforts. He was as far back as 25th after two consecutive pit stops during the Stage 1 caution to repair damage to his car. Haley was able to get back to the front, lead 51 laps and contend for the win in the final laps but fell short.
“Allgaier was just a little bit better. I’m about tired of everyone on social media saying I can’t show up anywhere but superspeedways,” Haley said, smiling. “So I finally showed up somewhere where talent matters.”
Brett Moffitt, Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Riley Herbst (the highest finishing rookie) placed sixth through 10th, respectively. Annett’s finish earned him enough points to advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs will begin in two weeks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with only one spot left to be filled. Brandon Brown currently has the advantage with 43 points over Jeremy Clements for the final transfer position.
The Xfinity Series will race again Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at Richmond Raceway in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 which was realigned from Michigan International Speedway.
Post Inspection Report:
The No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain had one loose lug nut.
The No. 61 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota driven by Chad Finchum was disqualified for failing rear heights and was scored in last place.
Car Chief, Zach Gobble, for the No. 13 Motorsports Business Management Toyota driven by Stephen Leicht, ejected and will miss Saturday’s race for a safety violation: 12.5.2.7.4.e – Any loss or separation of an improperly installed rear axle from the vehicle will result in a one Race suspension of a crew member(s).
Complete Results:
| 1. Justin Allgaier |
| 2. Justin Haley |
| 3. Kyle Busch |
| 4. Austin Cindric |
| 5. Ross Chastain |
| 6. Brett Moffitt |
| 7. Michael Annett |
| 8. Noah Gragson |
| 9. Kaz Grala |
| 10. Riley Herbst |
| 11. Chase Briscoe |
| 12. Ryan Sieg |
| 13. Matt Mills |
| 14. Brandon Jones |
| 15. Tommy Joe Martins |
| 16. Harrison Burton |
| 17. Jeremy Clements |
| 18. Brandon Brown |
| 19. Joe Graf Jr |
| 20. Joey Gase |
| 21. Bayley Currey |
| 22. Josh Williams |
| 23. Alex Labbe |
| 24. Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 25. Jesse Little |
| 26. Kyle Weatherman |
| 27. Mason Massey |
| 28. Kody Vanderwal |
| 29. BJ McLeod |
| 30. Vinnie Miller |
| 31. Dexter Bean |
| 32. Jeb Burton |
| 33. Colby Howard |
| 34. Stephen Leicht |
| 35. Myatt Snider |
| 36. Timmy Hill |
| 37. Chad Finchum |
