It was a fantastic battle to close out the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway this weekend, but it ended with a Cup Series veteran overcoming a rising star and the defending series champion.
The last restart of the race came with 49 laps to go. Chandler Smith was able to work his way around Cole Custer for the lead a few laps into the run and began to run off for about 10-15 laps.
Custer, however, would make up the gap and spent a good 15 laps throwing everything and the kitchen sink to get back around Smith. But it wasn’t enough until he finally got back past on lap 191.
This allowed Aric Almirola to catch back up. Almirola had hit the wall back on lap 123 and pitted due to a flat tire, but caught a break when the last caution came out due to a tire rolling onto the track during green flag pit stops.
Almirola cut through the field on his second chance and made up a three-second gap during the Custer and Smith battle. Almirola would take advantage of Custer’s pass on Smith to get around his fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Almirola then struck with four laps to go, taking the lead from Custer and securing the win. It’s the start to a long playoff season for Almirola, who will be competing in all seven playoff races in this car.
Custer was not happy following the race, confronting Smith and saying that he raced him “like a clown”.
The Winners
The win by Almirola may seem to just be that, but in reality, it’s a big step in the Xfinity Series Owner’s Playoffs.
The No. 20 car is now locked into the next round, meaning that Almirola will be driving these next two races much differently from the rest of the field. It would be surprising if he doesn’t flip the stages at both races.
It was another great race for Connor Zilisch, but it almost ended on the very first lap.
Zilisch’s massive save led to the young driver spending the next stage or so riding in the teens and just learning, before moving up in the final stage.
He ended up finishing fourth, highest of the JRM cars and proof he isn’t just a road course wizard.
Speaking of road course wizards, I’m pretty sure Shane van Gisbergen has to be the first playoff driver in NASCAR history to have never even seen a facility before they raced there in the playoffs.
It was a very prototypical van Gisbergen oval day. He started off racing in the 20s, then into the teens by mid-race, and suddenly he crossed under the checkered flag in eighth under everybody’s noses.
It was just the day SVG needed, as he should be in a much better position in the other two races in this round.
The Losers
Justin Allgaier completely flipped the championship picture midway through stage two.
On lap 70 restart, Allgaier spun out into the inside wall and took a hard hit.
JRM was able to get the car back out there in time, but the car lost brakes on the next restart and hit the wall again, ending his day.
Allgaier wasn’t the only JRM driver to find trouble in the race. Sammy Smith spun out early after slamming into the wall, then during the stage one caution, had to stay in the pits for a couple of laps for major repairs.
Smith gained a lap back, but struggled to move up the running order and finished 22nd, the second lowest playoff driver after Allgaier.
Taylor Gray spent the first stage running solidly in fifth, but in the last half of stage one, lost a cylinder and fell to ninth. Then, on the last lap of stage one, the engine went and Gray was the first driver on the jet back home.
The Playoff Pit
The misfortune for Allgaier and Smith has reshaped the playoff field.
No drivers are locked into the next round thanks to Almirola’s win. Of particular note on this chart would be Custer and Chandler Smith’s cushion from the cut line, which may prove helpful as anybody can have a bad day at the other two races in this round.
Van Gisbergen is also eight points ahead in a round that does have a road course, which means it would be a massive surprise if he doesn’t advance into the next round.
Paint Scheme of the Race
The Snapchat car returned this weekend, in a two-race deal that also includes Las Vegas Motor Speedway next month.
What’s great about this car is that it’s very flashy, but it also doesn’t look as obnoxious as a lot of cars that try to go at this angle.
Ryan Ellis, for his part, was able to bring the car home in 19th, four spots higher than his average finish on the year.
Fuel for Thought
It’s pretty incredible to see the glow-up Kansas has received the last few years.
For a very long time, Kansas was seen as the cookie cutter to end all cookie cutter racetracks. It served as essentially the middle ground configuration-wise between its sister track Chicagoland Speedway (which is no longer in use by NASCAR) and Las Vegas.
Unlike Chicagoland, which produced a few great races near the end of its run, Kansas was a track where moments happened but not so much great racing. It’s the track where Carl Edwards tried to do a proto-Hail Melon at back in 2008, or where the Clint Bowyer–Greg Biffle controversy erupted back in 2007.
Now, Kansas can produce great racing regardless of the series. That 20-lap battle between the top three today was absolutely fantastic, and it also goes to show once again that great racing isn’t wreck-restart-wreck-restart-wreck.
Where to Next?
It’s time once again for Talladega Superspeedway, a racetrack that’s going to shake the playoff field up like a bingo ball cage.
The chief question on everybody’s mind will be if Austin Hill can continue his run of drafting success and punch his ticket into the next round of the playoffs.
It all goes down on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 3:30 pm ET, with coverage on The CW.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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