How They Started
After a weekend off, the NASCAR Xfinity Series looked to race the first road course on the schedule. A beautiful day was had in Austin, Texas for the Focused Health 250. The stage lengths being 14 for stage one, and 16 laps for both stage two and the final stage. A number of cars were sent to the rear after qualifying including pole sitter, Kyle Larson, and Ty Gibbs. Shane van Gisbergen qualified second. With Larson and Gibbs sent to the rear, AJ Allmendinger assumed the first starting spot alongside his teammate.
Exit Stage Left
As they drove up the hill into turn one, SVG flew out in front on the green flag drop. Chandler Smith slid into second but was quickly passed by Allmendinger. Sammy Smith spun on the first lap but was able to keep it going. Side by side racing was all over the track early in the race.
With COTA being so long and windy, there was a lot of space for passes and runs. John Hunter Nemechek was hit with a pass-through penalty for short cutting the track. Larson started from the rear but surged early. He showed speed in practice and qualifying so his early race pace was no surprise. Former Formula One driver, Daniil Kvyat, spun on lap four, while Parker Kligerman made moves early and got up to the fifth spot. Sheldon Creed reported an alternator issue after starting from the rear of the field for under the hood issues.Â
Meanwhile, the Kaulig Racing boys pulled ahead of Sage Karam by over seven seconds. Ultimately, Creed was pushed to the garage on lap six. Gibbs got a pass-through penalty for corner cutting and Allmendinger passed his teammate with five to go in the stage.
The Pits
Larson was able to slice and dice all the way to eleventh, but went into the pits before the end of the stage. Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier all but hit each other exiting the pits. SVG and Allmendinger pitted right before the pits closed with two to go in the stage. SVG stalled his car on the way out of the pits, then Allgaier got dinged with a pass-through penalty. Kligerman won stage one but will had to pit, while Larson finished the stage in eleventh.
It was worth noting, Allgaier had some choice words for NASCAR following the stage for their inconsistent race calls.
Runaway Train
The Kaulig teammates started the second stage in first and second with Larson in third. Jesse Love squeezed his way into third and Larson settled for fourth while SVG fell to fifth. On-track batles from second through fifth allowed Allmendinger to scamper away. Then, SVG passed Love for fourth.
The penalties continued as Sam Mayer was slapped with a pass-through penalty. Cole Custer spun out off of the nose of S. Smith, but Custer got it spun around and pointed in the right direction. Then, Love lost his bumper somewhere on the track.
SVG dove under Gibbs and made the pass to third. The top three cars drove away from forth and continued to charge ahead, separating themselves from the rest of the field. The field stretched out thin during stage two. The top three got into each other battling for the lead. SVG passed Larson on the front stretch to be passed again in turn one. Then he passed Larson right back.
All this battling allowed Gibbs in fourth to catch up. Pit stops began with four to go in the stage. Love and Nemechek were issued a penalty for exiting pit road too fast. The top four dove into the pits with two to go in the stage. Larson, Allmendinger, and SVG came out of the pits together.
At the front of the field, Brandon Jones won the second stage with Riley Herbst and Custer in second and third respectively. Josh Williams had to retire his car for mechanical issues.
Shortly after the stage end, Jones was issued a penalty for track limits on the last lap of the stage. However, he kept the stage win and points, but was forced to restart the final stage from the rear of the field.
Drama Late in Austin
The final stage began with Allmendinger, Larson, and SVG in the front three spots. Turn one went smoothly for the field as they lined up for the esses. SVG got by Larson and set his sights on his teammate in first. Ryan Sieg got off track but kept it moving, then S. Smith got spun by C. Smith.
The Kaulig boys flexed their muscle running away early in stage three. SVG passed Allmendinger with nine to go in the stage. They separated themselves from the rest of the field. Then, with clean air, SVG was able to open his lead over Allmendinger.
The trouble continued as Anthony Alfredo got spun but kept his car going and Larson complained of a flat spot on one of his tires. Austin Hill avoided the trouble and bounced back from a penalty in the second stage to remain in the top five. Then, Kyle Weatherman spun Ed Jones to bring out the caution with three laps to go.
Overtime in Austin
Larson pitted for tires to remedy his flat spot. SVG and Gibbs restarted from the front row, with Allmendinger behind his teammate. SVG ran Allmendinger wide at turn one and Hill snatches second place. The caution came out for several smashed cars. A cluster of cars sent Herbst into another ending his day.
There were “extra curriculars” under the caution as Gibbs bumped Allmendinger to express his displeasure. Allmendinger got hit with a late-race double overtime penalty, this time for corner cutting. Track dry was put down for fluids dropped.
Once back green, Hill shoved SVG through turn one to assume the lead. SVG paid Hill back and moved them both out of the way for Larson to take the lead and the win! Larson came back from pitting before the first overtime.
Post-race, SVG was issued a thirty second penalty for cutting the course on the last lap. Hill finished second and SVG in third.
Marvin’s Thoughts
Track limits on some portions of the track, but not all, was the talk of the Xfinity race. All these pass-through penalties would be curbed by using the actual track as the limits. NASCAR needs to stop allowing these drivers to drive up and over the curbs. Formula One does it just fine. These penalties must stop. Enforce the track limits.
