NXS Race Recap: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship

Four contenders were vying for the season long trophy in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Justin Allgaier tried to earn his second championship. Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, and Carson Kvapil tried for their first. Zilisch qualified in fourth. Allgaier managed to qualify in fifth, with Love next to him in sixth. Kvapil began the finale in 14th. Brandon Jones got the pole with Taylor Gray joining him on the front row. The stage lengths were 45 laps for the first and second stages, with the final stage being 110 laps.

Seeing Gray

Gray got a better launch at the start. Jones powered by him on the outside to take the lead out of turn two. Sheldon Creed began to challenge Zilisch for third. He got to the left rear of Zilisch and was able to get around him to take third.

Aric Almirola battled Love side by side for sixth. They went back and forth for the spot.

Allgaier got alongside Zilisch and drove underneath and by him in turns one and two to take fourth.

Gray continued his speed from last week. He drove to the rear bumper of Jones. Gray was able to take the lead after easily passing Jones. He immediately built his lead to almost a second.

Nick Sanchez worked his way to the rear bumper of Love. He tried to complete the pass for several laps. They drove side by side. Sanchez finally completed the pass on lap 30 to take seventh.

Creed was the quickest car on the track. He caught the leader and began to challenge for the lead.

Jeb Burton smacked the wall and began to slow down. He limped his car to the pits, and the race stayed green.

Creed shrank the gap to Gray to under half a second.

Kvapil drove forward, while Love fell out of the top ten.

Gray would take the field to the green white checkered flag to win stage one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. Allgaier finished the stage in third, Zilisch in fourth, Kvapil in sixth, while Love fell to the 12th position.

Allgaier Shows his Experience

Gray and Zilisch restarted on the front row. Gray got the better jump, but Zilisch did not give up. Zilisch drove deep into turn one and snatched the lead out of two. Creed and Allgaier began to hound Gray for second. A blanket could have covered the top six cars.

Allgaier passed Creed and Gray to move into second behind his teammate. He began to push Zilisch for the lead. He used turn two to get alongside Zilisch. Allgaier took the lead into turn three on lap 63.

Corey Day hit the wall on lap 67, but he kept it straight, and the race stayed green.

Almirola drove to the rear bumper of Creed. He followed Creed for several laps before getting to the inside out of turn two. He completed the pass out of turn four with a run on the front stretch.

Allgaier was out front when the green white checkered flag waved, winning stage two in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship! Zilisch, Almirola, Creed, and Love rounded out the top five.

Teammates Battling

Allgaier and Love restarted on the front row. Allgaier got a great jump and cut the dogleg on the front stretch to take the lead out of turn two. The top six settled in behind the leader. Zilisch was stuck in fifth.

Love kept Allgaier in his sights, staying about half a second behind the leader.

The third caution of the night came out when Leland Honeyman got turned around. He had some help from Daniel Dye. He was able to keep it off the wall and straightened it out to stay in the race.

Allgaier and Love brought the field back to green. Allgaier spun his tires, but did not give up. He retook his lead out of turn two. Love fought back but could not get around Allgaier for the lead. Almirola got alongside Love, but could not make the pass.

Love caught the leader and began challenging Allgaier. He got the rear of Allgaier but could not get beside him. Love stayed within three-tenths of a second of Allgaier.

The fourth caution came out when Christian Eckes ran over Ryan Sieg. Sieg got turned around and backed his car into the outside wall. Sieg hit the wall hard. All of the championship drivers pitted for fresh tires. Love won the race off of pit road with Zilisch following him out.

Who doesn’t Love Love?

Love and Zilisch brought the green back out on the front row. They got equal restarts, but Zilisch drove deeper into turn one and took the lead. Love, Almirola, and Allgaier drove into turn three side by side. Almirola took second out of the corner.

Love used the outside line to pass Allgaier for third. Allgaier did not lay over. He powered his way back alongside of Love. Love got a huge run off of turn two to take the position outright. Love began to challenge Almirola for the runner-up position. He got to the outside and powered around to take second.

With 30 to go, Zilisch had a lead of about half a second. He and Love pulled away from Almirola in third. The leaders caught lapped traffic, but it did not slow them down.

Love got to the inside of Zilisch with 25 to go. He took the lead out of turn four. Zilisch did not give up and stayed within half a second of Love. Love was too quick, not allowing Zilisch to close the gap. Love began to slowly pull away from Zilisch.

Zilisch, with nothing to lose, began to drive deep into the turns. He tried to close the gap but could not. Love built his lead to a second over the runner-up.

With nine to go, Almirola got to the rear of Zilisch and made the pass for second.

Jesse Love took the field to the checkered flag, winning the race and his first NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship! Almirola, Zilisch, Jones, and Allgaier rounded out the top five.

Marvin’s Minute

Jesse Love did not falter when the lights were the brightest. He put his car in the right spot to get it done. Bookending the season with wins, he had a great run throughout his championship run. He ran a great race from start to finish, having to be patient for most of it. Now, he is a NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion.

Connor Zilisch was emotional after the race. With such a great season, he felt he let his team down. He will take this defeat and move into the NASCAR Cup Series next year. He should not hang his head, and probably won’t.

That was a great season of Xfinity Series racing. From beginning to the end, it had some ups and downs. I will be with PPN next season, so stay tuned for it!