• Wednesday, June 5th, 2024
• NASCAR Wire Service -

Back to the West Coast: Portland International Raceway is up next

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to Portland International Raceway for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, June 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This will be just the third-time the Xfinity Series has competed on the 1.97-mile road course.

The Xfinity Series’ “King of road courses” A.J. Allmendinger won the inaugural event in 2022 while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer claimed the victory last season.

Although Allmendinger did not compete in last year’s race to defend his win, he will be back this year, along with Custer, in hopes of landing himself in Victory Lane once again.

There has only been one other road course on the schedule thus far – Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Both drivers had strong finishes (Custer – fourth and Allmendinger – 10th).

Drivers will kick off their weekend with practice at 11:30 a.m. ET followed by qualifying at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. Practice will not be broadcast but qualifying will be shown on FS1.

Road course racin’ with a twist

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading to Portland International Raceway to make some left and right turns but pit stops may look a tad bit different:

GENERAL PROCEDURE RULES

• The field will be frozen at the time of caution
• All caution periods will be Quickie Yellows (when Pit Road has opened, ALL cars may pit)
• Fuel may only be added during the stage breaks
• Tires may be changed at any time during the event

STAGE BREAK PIT STOPS

• Stage breaks will consist of a THREE-minute break
• NASCAR Officials will announce the start of the THREE-minute break after the last vehicle has stopped in their pit stall
• No crew members on pit road until all cars are stopped and NASCAR has announced the start of the break
• Fuel may not be added, and tires may not be changed at the same time
• Tires must be changed first, then fuel may be added
• The lap in which pit road is open during the stage breaks will not count
• Teams that elect not to pit will stop behind the caution vehicle until the conclusion of the break

GREEN FLAG PIT STOPS

• Green flag pit stops, where tires are changed, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line: 60 seconds minimum
• In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag: If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road

RESTART LINE-UP (During stage breaks and all caution periods)

• Lead lap Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
• Lead lap Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
• Lap(s) down Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
• Lap(s) down Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
• Free Pass, Wave Around, and Penalty Cars (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)

PIT STOP PENALTIES

• Restart Tail End:
• Pit crew members on the hot side of pit wall before the THREE-minute break has started
• Servicing the vehicle after the THREE-minute break has ended
• Vehicles not in the correct restart position when the one to go is given at Turn 8
• Pass-Through:
• Not meeting the green flag minimum time limit on pit road

PIT CREW / PIT EQUIPMENT

• The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
• Road crew roster positions
• Five (5) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle (excluding the stage breaks)
• One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
• All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stops (excluding the stage breaks)
• Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used.

  Competition tightening heading into Portland

  For years, A.J. Allmendinger’s name has been associated with road courses but over the last couple seasons, a few drivers have made a name for themselves on tracks that turn left and right and will be sure to give Allmendinger a run for his money.

  Shane van Gisbergen, who took NASCAR by storm when he won the inaugural Chicago Street Race last season in his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, is a veteran when it comes to road courses given his Supercars background. He’ll be coming into this race looking for redemption as he lost the lead on Lap 48 (out of 50) in his last road course start at COTA, and ultimately finished 27th.

  Sam Mayer is another driver who quickly rose to fame in the Xfinity Series after a standout 2023 season where three of his four wins came on road courses – Road America, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte ROVAL. Although his debut at Portland in 2022 resulted in an incident 12 laps in, he charged from P36 to a third-place finish in last season’s Pacific Office Automation 147.

  Most people know Austin Hill as a three-time consecutive winner at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, but he also has a knack for tracks that turn left and right. Although he has yet to post a win a road course, he had top-10 finishes last season in all but two of the road courses on the schedule – Portland - fifth, Sonoma - eighth, Chicago – fifth, Road America – third, Indianapolis – fourth, Charlotte ROVAL – ninth.

  Playoff Outlook: Who’s in?

  The NASCAR Xfinity Series is now 12 races into the schedule, with five Playoff spots claimed by virtue wins, leaving seven positions still up for grabs this weekend in Portland.

  The five drivers with spots in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, are Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer.

  At the other end of the Playoff projection is Our Motorsport’s Anthony Alfredo, in the 12th and final position on points, just two points ahead of JR Motorsport’s Sammy Smith in 13th.

  Josh Bilicki to make debut with Joe Gibbs Racing –Josh Bilicki will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in multiple races this season.

  He will make his debut with the team this weekend at Portland International Raceway on June 1 and the rest of his schedule will be announced at a later date.

  “This is a huge opportunity for me and my partners,” said Bilicki. “I’ve been blessed to race for a lot of teams but given JGR’s reputation in the Xfinity Series, I’m particularly excited to see what we can accomplish in their equipment.”

  Frankie Muniz returns to Xfinity Series with Joey Gase Motorsports –Former ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ TV star, Frankie Muniz, will be making his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season this weekend at Portland International Raceway.

  Muniz will be piloting the No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports Ford and will be working with crew chief Wayne Carroll Jr. In Muniz’s two previous Xfinity Series career starts he finished 33rd at Daytona and 35th at Phoenix.

• Pacific Office Automation 147
• Pole Winner: Sam Mayer
• Age: 20
• Team : No 1 - RTIC Outdoors Chevrolet
• Owner: LW Miller
• Crew Chief: Mardy Lindley
• Sam Mayer won the Pole Award for the Pacific Office Automation 147 with a lap of 73375 seconds, 96654 mph
• This is his third pole in 97 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
• This is his first pole and sixth top-10 start in 2024
• This is his first pole in three races at Portland International Raceway
• Shane Van Gisbergen (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2024 and his first in one race at Portland International Raceway
• Riley Herbst (third) posted his first top-10 start at Portland International Raceway It is his seventh in 13 races this season
• Shane Van Gisbergen (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Drivers Entered: 39 (1 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 75
• Margin of Victory: 0.941 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 7 Minutes 25 Seconds
• Average Speed: 69.575
• Cautions: 4 for 14 laps
• Lead Changes: 9
• Green Flag Passes: 1,273 (20.9 passes per green flag lap)

• Pacific Office Automation 147
• Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
• Age: 35
• Team : No 97 - Quad Lock Chevrolet
• Owner: Matthew Kaulig
• Crew Chief: Bruce Schlicker
• Shane van Gisbergen won the Pacific Office Automation 147, his first victory in 13 Xfinity Series races
• This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2024
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Portland International Raceway
• Justin Allgaier (second) posted his third top-10 finish in three races at Portland International Raceway It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2024
• Sammy Smith (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Portland International Raceway
• Shane Van Gisbergen (first) was the highest finishing rookie