STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today
Date: March 25, 2023
Event: Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today (Round 6 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas (3.426-mile, 20-turn road course)
Format: 46 laps, broken into three stages (14 laps/16 laps/16 laps)
Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Sheldon Creed of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
SHR Race Finish:
● Riley Herbst (Started 7th / Finished 10th, completed 46 of 46 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 10th / Finished 32nd, completed 45 of 46 laps)
SHR Points:
● Riley Herbst (2nd with 234 points, 15 out of first)
● Cole Custer (12th with 152 points, 97 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Herbst earned his sixth straight top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at COTA.
● Since an eighth-place finish on Oct. 22, 2022 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Herbst has scored nine straight top-10 finishes in the Xfinity Series.
● Herbst is the only Xfinity Series driver to finish in the top-10 in every race so far this season.
● Herbst’s 10th-place finish bettered his previous best finish at COTA – 16th, earned in the inaugural Xfinity Series race at COTA in 2021.
● Herbst finished sixth in Stage 1 to earn five bonus points.
Race Notes:
● AJ Allmendinger won the Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today to score his 16th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season and his second at COTA. His margin over second-place William Byron was .853 of a second.
● There were five caution periods for a total of seven laps.
● Thirty-one of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Austin Hill remains the championship leader after COTA with a 15-point advantage over second-place Riley Herbst.
Sound Bites:
“Man, that was a wild ride. I still feel like we struggled today trying to figure out COTA, but there’s improvement. We’re just continuing to build on our program and this team. It’s exciting to see the progress, and I’m proud that we were able to come back up through the field to finish in the top-10. It’s a testament to how this team never gives up. Now, I’m excited to change it up and head to one of my favorite tracks, Richmond.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
“I feel like we started off so strong, and we just got into trouble there. Our No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang was fast, and we ran up near the front during that second stage. I hate it for this team, but that’s road course racing. We’ll learn from this weekend and move on to Richmond, where we’ve had success in the past.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Richmond 250 on Saturday, April 1 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
