Ryan Truex finally got his long-awaited first Xfinity Series win, and it came in dominating fashion. Truex swept the stages and led 124 of the 200 laps en route to victory in Saturday’s A-GAME 200 at Dover Motor Speedway.
It’s his first win after 188 starts throughout all three national series since 2010. He’s competed in the Xfinity Series, primarily part time, for nine of those seasons. This season, he’s been competing part-time in the 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, in which he’s already finished second and third.
Truex said the win means “that I belong here, and I just proved that. I’ve known it for a while. People around me have known it for a while, now everybody in this garage area knows it. My goal is to drive one of these cars full time next year and hopefully we can make it happen.”
“I’m so proud to drive for this team. Huge thanks to Joe Gibbs Racing, Coach [Joe Gibbs], Toyota. I knew I had two more shots at this, and I had to make one count, and I did today.”
“I’m speechless,” he said after the race. “I thought I would be more emotional right now, but when I crossed the flag, I couldn’t even talk on the radio. I’m not an emotional guy, but this is for everyone that doubted me.”
Older brother Martin Truex went to his car on the frontstretch to congratulate Ryan. Martin’s first Cup Series win came at the track in 2007. Ryan said that it was a big deal to win at Dover, which both New Jersey-native drivers consider their home track.
“It’s really cool,” Ryan said. “I think when [Martin] won that day, he dominated that race too, from what I remember. It is cool to do it like that – make a statement like that at one the hardest tracks on the circuit. It’s nicknamed the Monster for a reason. It is a tough track. A lot of people struggle to figure it out. I’ve had my moments of trying to figure out how to get around this place. I’ve learned a lot from Martin as well. That has been a huge help.”
JR Motorsports secured second and third with Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier respectively. It continues an impressive streak for Berry, who will also be racing in the Cup Series on Sunday: he’s finished either first or second in all three of his Xfinity Series starts at Dover.
“It’s a fun day, I love this racetrack,” Berry said. Hate we didn’t get the win, but it was a great rebound and great day for us.”
“We made some good adjustments in the second half of the race, the pit crew executed well the last couple stops and had a good green flag cycle and got up to second but the 19 was just too far out and it seemed like he was the best car all day,” he added.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished fourth with Joe Gibbs Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek rounding out the top five.
Seventh-place Cole Custer secured the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the second week in a row. It’s the last time the bonus will be awarded this season.
“This Dash 4 Cash win is huge for our team,” Custer said. “It’s a big accomplishment to win two checks back-to-back. We’ve been solid these past few weeks, and we’re starting to put it together. Ultimately, we want more. We want to go win, and I think we’re capable of that. I think it’s just a matter of everything coming together.”
The Xfinity Series returns at Darlington Raceway on May 13th (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Results A-GAME 200
Dover Motor Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Saturday, April 29, 2023
- (12) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 200.
2. (19) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (18) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (6) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (22) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 200.
6. (28) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 200.
7. (2) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.
8. (8) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200.
9. (24) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (16) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (3) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 199.
12. (26) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 199.
13. (10) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 199.
14. (35) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 199.
15. (14) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 199.
16. (20) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 199.
17. (5) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (4) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 198.
19. (15) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198.
20. (13) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 198.
21. (11) Riley Herbst, Ford, 198.
22. (21) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 198.
23. (7) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 198.
24. (9) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 197.
25. (29) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 197.
26. (30) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, 196.
27. (17) Gray Gaulding, Ford, 196.
28. (38) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 196.
29. (25) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 195.
30. (37) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 195.
31. (27) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 195.
32. (34) Chad Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 193.
33. (32) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 192.
34. (23) CJ McLaughlin, Ford, 192.
35. (36) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, Engine, 170.
36. (31) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Brakes, 123.
37. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Engine, 119.
38. (1) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, Accident, 62.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 107.191 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 51 Mins, 57 Secs. Margin of Victory: 4.820 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 33 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: P. Kligerman 0;C. Custer 1-9;S. Creed 10-33;R. Truex 34-49;K. Weatherman 50-53;R. Truex 54-94;A. Hill 95-111;R. Truex 112-167;A. Hill 168;C. Custer 169-172;S. Creed 173-189;R. Truex 190-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ryan Truex 4 times for 124 laps; Sheldon Creed 2 times for 41 laps; Austin Hill 2 times for 18 laps; Cole Custer 2 times for 13 laps; Kyle Weatherman 1 time for 4 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 19,20,2,21,8,9,18,00,11,16
Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,21,20,7,00,16,2,18,1,8
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