Our Motorsports teammates Brett Moffitt and Andy Lally competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ inaugural visit to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, scoring 12th and 18th place finishes, respectively. During a soaked qualifying session early Saturday morning, Moffitt qualified 21st in the No. 02 Sokal Chevy. Lally qualified 13th in his No. 23 Chevy sponsored by The A-Team, falling just below the cutoff to advance to Round 2 of qualifying to compete for the pole position.
In the opening laps of the 156-mile contest, Lally settled into 12th while Moffitt was scored 17th on lap seven. During the 1st stage Lally moved up to 11th during a caution on lap 11. Under the yellow flag, Moffitt told his No. 02 crew that he needed front turn and pitted for service in preparation for the restart. Lally, who did not pit, restarted third and Moffitt took the green in 26th for the short sprint to the end of Stage 1. Lally held on to cross the stripe in 4th while teammate Moffitt rallied to a 20th-place finish in the opening segment.
Lally took his first pit stop during the stage break to get fresh tires and fuel. During his appearance on pit road, he was hit with a speeding penalty and had to start at the rear in 32nd. Moffitt restarted in the 15th position. During a lap-19 caution, The A-Team driver Lally reported to his team that his car was “lacking a little more drive off” while Moffitt continued to run steady inside the top-15. The duo returned to the 3.41-mile track’s pit road on lap 27 for four tires and fuel just short of the green-and-white checkered flag for Stage 2, where Moffitt eventually finished 20th and Lally finished 21st. Having just received service, Moffitt and Lally stayed out during the stage break and took the green flag in 10th and 11th for the third and final stage.
With 10 laps to go, Moffitt showed speed in the No. 02, charging up to ninth place on the leaderboard. As the laps clicked away, Moffitt lost a few positions slipping to 12th while Lally held the 18th spot. When the checkered flag flew, Moffitt crossed the finish line in the 12th position with Lally behind him in 18th. During the race the No. 23 gained stage points, which helped gain four spots and up to 23rd in the owner’s points battle. The No. 02 Chevy driven by Moffit is currently 14th for owner points.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The Alsco 300 is set for Saturday, May 29 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.
