28 Sep 2024; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola (20) celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Kansas Speedway. Mandatory Credits: Images of Amy Kontras-Imagn KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second win of the season in the No. 20 Joe. Gibbs Racing Toyota.
In a Round 12 playoff opener that ended with some unhappy drivers and some post-race chatter between playoff contenders, Almirola took his first win at the 1.5-mile track and the sixth of his career.
Almirola edged Custer to the finish line by 0.660 seconds, with Chandler Smith following in third after raising Custer’s ire by pitting his No. 1 Ford.
To seal the victory, Almirola had to overcome a brush with the outside wall on Lap 124 and a cut tire that forced him to the pits. A proper caution that disrupted the green flag stop cycle on Lap 145 was all Almirola needed to get back on par with the rest of the contenders.
Almirola is the fourth driver to win two races this season in the No. 20 JGR Toyota, joining Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex.
“I’m tired,” said Almirola, who passed Custer for the lead on Lap 197 of 200. “It’s been a tough day at work for the guys in the seat. I’ve had problems on pit road (slow stops), and I’m on the fence and Cut the right rear tire down.
“I know I have to put my head down and go to work after that. We got lucky to get a caution when we did it, and we were out of tires, so the fact that it turned green was for the back (for the final 49 laps) … that is where we are very strong.
After the race, Custer talked to Smith and vowed revenge.
“Everybody wants to try and talk,” Custer said. “At the end of the day, they put me on the fence, and they’re going to pay.”
Smith argued that he did not believe that Custer had any outside position.
“We’re racing for the win and the extra five playoff points,” said Smith, who led 114 laps. “You have a very valid point, I know, but I wouldn’t change what I did either, because I gave myself the best chance to win.”
Non-playoff driver Connor Zilisch finished fourth, followed by Sheldon Creed, who improved his position in the playoff standings by four places with his seventh top five in the last nine races.
Pole winner Brandon Jones, who did not make the postseason, was fifth, followed by playoff drivers Austin Hill, Shane van Gisbergen, Jesse Love and Riley Herbst.
In another post-race conversation, Hill apologized to Herbst for the Lap 90 contact that sent Herbst’s Ford spinning through the infield grass at the end of the second stage. In another tete-a-tete between playoff drivers, Sammy Smith took AJ Allmendinger to task for the early contact that damaged Smith’s Chevrolet.
Smith finished 22nd and heads into next Saturday’s playoff race at Talladega 12th in the standings, 23 points below the cut line for Round 8.
Allmendinger (Saturday 17) and Parker Kligerman (12) are 10 and 11 in the playoff standings, 13 and 15 points below the cutoff, respectively.
The surprising fate that has plagued top seed Justin Allgaier continued Saturday. Racing close behind Creed after the restart on Lap 70, Allgaier No.
After a quick repair, Allgaier tried to get back into the race, but the left side tire cut him into the outside wall and was out of action in 36th place.
Allgaier was out eight days after a series of crashes forced him out of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway and took the regular season championship.
“I don’t know if I’ve had a race like the last three or four weeks,” Allgaier said. “We’re not out of anything. Obviously, that’s why you do all the work to get all the bonus points you can.
“We’ve got a long way to go in the next two weeks. I have a team that can do it. We just have to find our luck.”
Allgaier fell from first to ninth in the standings and trails Herbst by one point in the battle for the final spot at Round 8.
Custer now leads the series with five points over Chandler Smith, with Hill trailing by 15 points. Fourth place went to Sam Mayer, who ran 13th at Kansas, 28 points behind Custer and three points ahead of Creed in fifth.
Van Gisbergen and Love are sixth and seventh in the playoff standings, respectively eight and three points above the cut line for the next round.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Kansas Lottery 300
Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Saturday, September 28, 2024
1. (6) Aric Almirola (P), Toyota, 200.
2. (3) Cole Custer (P), Ford, 200.
3. (2) Chandler Smith (P), Toyota, 200.
4. (4) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (15) Sheldon Creed (P), Toyota, 200.
6. (1) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 200.
7. (10) Austin Hill (P), Chevrolet, 200.
8. (22) Shane Van Gisbergen # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
9. (7) Jesse Love # (P), Chevrolet, 200.
10. (16) Riley Herbst (P), Ford, 200.
11. (18) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (8) Parker Kligerman (P), Chevrolet, 200.
13. (5) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 200.
14. (24) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 200.
15. (20) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (12) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 200.
17. (14) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 199.
18. (28) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
19. (29) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 199.
20. (25) JJ Yeley, Ford, 199.
21. (23) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 199.
22. (13) Sammy Smith (P), Chevrolet, 199.
23. (19) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 198.
24. (21) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 198.
25. (38) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 198.
26. (33) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 197.
27. (26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197.
28. (32) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 197.
29. (36) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 196.
30. (35) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 196.
31. (17) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 195.
32. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 194.
33. (31) Logan Bearden, Ford, 190.
34. (30) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 189.
35. (27) Dawson Cram(i), Chevrolet, Fuel Pressure, 174.
36. (9) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 73.
37. (37) Brad Perez, Chevrolet, Oil Pump, 61.
38. (11) Taylor Gray(i), Toyota, Engine, 45.
Average Race Winner Speed: 121.036 mph.
Race Time: 2 Hours, 28 Minutes, 43 Seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.660 Seconds.
Caution Flag: 6 to 33 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 between 5 drivers.
Lap Leader: C. Smith (P) 1-9;B. Jones 10; C. Smith (P) 11-36; A. Almirola (P) 37-48; C. Smith (P) 49; C. Custer (P) 50-75;S. Mayer (P) 76-93; C. Smith (P) 94-136; C. Custer (P) 137-144; B. Jones 145-147; C. Custer (P) 148-155; C. Smith (P) 156-190; C. Custer (P) 191-196; A. Almirola (P) 197-200.
Summary Leaders (Drivers, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chandler Smith (P) 5 times for 114 laps; Cole Custer (P) 4 times for 48 laps; Sam Mayer (P) 1 time for 18 laps; Aric Almirola (P) 2 times for 16 laps; Brandon Jones 2 times for 4 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,81,00,9,1,18,21,7,98,48
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,20,00,81,88,21,18,9,38,39
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Specially for Field Level Media.
