AJ Allmendinger survives chaos to win four in a row at the Roval

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 08: AJ Allmendinger, driver of the #16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 08, 2022 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

AJ Allmendinger battled Ty Gibbs all day in Charlotte, and it took until double overtime for him to cement a hard-fought victory. But Allmendinger did lead Ty Gibbs across the line by .582 seconds to win Saturday’s Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina and score his fourth win in a row at the Roval.

After chasing him down in the closing laps of the race, Allmendinger pinched Gibbs from the outside at the restart to take the lead in the first overtime restart, and fought to hold on to it in the second.

“We got that one—we stole that one,” Allmendinger said after getting out of his car. “Ty was really good there at the end, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get him. I knew if I could just get to one restart on the outside of him, at least we’d have a chance.”

“I was wanting it pretty bad there,” said of his second straight win in the series. “I didn’t think we had a shot, but I’m always going to put it on my back when it’s time to go. I drove it in as deep as I could, probably used Ty up just a little bit, but I’d expect the same if the roles were reversed.”

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 08: AJ Allmendinger, driver of the #16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 08, 2022 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

As for Ty himself, he was less pleased with the finish, though still diplomatic, having engaged in his share of contact with Allmendinger in the closing laps too.

“I just lost the lead on that one restart and didn’t execute the right way and lost it there,” Gibbs said. “The last one, I caught the fence when I got ran wide, and it just kind of hurt my momentum.”

I feel like I gave it my best run, but I was proud of the effort,” Gibs concluded. “I had a fun out there and learned a lot.”

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 08: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, and AJ Allmendinger, driver of the #16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 08, 2022 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Both Allmendinger and Gibbs will be advancing into the round of 8, and third-place Noah Gragson joins with his win at Texas. Also continuing on in the race for the championship are Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones.

Brandon Jones only made it in by two points as his Playoff hopes came down to the wire, as he secured a seventh-place finish and stage points. He stayed out of trouble throughout a day in which other Playoff drivers faced issues. Jones was left to fend off Ryan Sieg, who tried valiantly to make the pass on the final lap but ultimately finished two places back.

“That’s what we had to do, man,” Jones said. “We did our job today. I mean, like I said, I don’t think we could have played this out any better.”

Riley Herbst, who came in ahead of Jones in the points, was involved in multiple incidents in the closing laps and wound up out of the race. Daniel Hemric slammed the wall on the third lap and could only manage seventeenth, ending his Playoff chances. Jeremy Clements was the final driver eliminated.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns for the opening race of the Round of 8 on October 15th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 08: Josh Berry, driver of the #8 Harrison’s USA Chevrolet, Anthony Alfredo, driver of the #23 Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet, and Daniil Kvyat, driver of the #26 Nemaco Toyota, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 08, 2022 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 41st Annual Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Concord, North Carolina
Saturday, October 8, 2022

1. (1) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 72.
2. (2) Ty Gibbs (P), Toyota, 72.
3. (37) Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, 72.
4. (16) James Davison (P), Toyota, 72.
5. (5) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 72.
6. (12) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 72.
7. (15) Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 72.
8. (14) Josh Berry (P), Chevrolet, 72.
9. (17) Ryan Sieg (P), Ford, 72.
10. (7) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 72.
11. (6) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 72.
12. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 72.
13. (31) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 72.
14. (10) Jeremy Clements (P), Chevrolet, 72.
15. (24) Daniil Kvyat, Toyota, 72.
16. (4) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 72.
17. (3) Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 72.
18. (23) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 72.
19. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 72.
20. (33) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 72.
21. (19) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 72.
22. (26) Scott Heckert, Chevrolet, 72.
23. (27) Brad Perez(i), Toyota, 72.
24. (36) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 72.
25. (13) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 72.
26. (32) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 72.
27. (35) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 72.
28. (34) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 72.
29. (8) Austin Hill # (P), Chevrolet, 70.
30. (9) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 70.
31. (29) Andy Lally, Ford, 69.
32. (11) Riley Herbst (P), Ford, Accident, 67.
33. (28) Patrick Gallagher, Ford, Engine, 67.
34. (20) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 66.
35. (21) Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 59.
36. (30) Marco Andretti, Chevrolet, Accident, 45.
37. (22) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Track Bar, 35.
38. (38) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 7.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 70.771 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 21 Mins, 37 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.582 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 15 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Allmendinger (P) 1-20;T. Gibbs (P) 21;N. Gragson (P) 22;S. Creed # 23-37;B. Jones (P) 38-40;R. Herbst (P) 41;S. Creed # 42-44;T. Gibbs (P) 45-67;A. Allmendinger (P) 68-72.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): AJ Allmendinger (P) 2 times for 25 laps; Ty Gibbs (P) 2 times for 24 laps; Sheldon Creed # 2 times for 18 laps; Brandon Jones (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Noah Gragson (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Riley Herbst (P) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 16,54,1,21,98,7,18,10,8,02
Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,98,1,7,18,11,8,23,2,54

Owen Johnson