Race Lineup
BetMGM 300
Saturday, May 25th, 2024
Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
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27
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8
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5
- Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
- NASCAR Wire Service -
NASCAR Xfinity Series celebrates Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway
After a week off to regroup, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the BetMGM 300 at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 25 on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
There have been 78 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway dating back to the inaugural event on May 29, 1982, which was won by Harry Grant.
The track has produced 39 different race winners and 50 different pole winners in the Xfinity Series. OF the 78 races, 13 have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Justin Allgaier last season (2023).
As with many tracks the Xfinity Series competes at, Kyle Busch has etched his name in the Charlotte Motor Speedway record books with the most wins (nine), top fives (19), top 10s (22), lead lap finishes (22) and laps led (1,475).
The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ on-track action at the 1.5-mile track will kick off with practice at 3:35 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday, May 24.
Eleven different winners in last 11 Xfinity races at Charlotte
A hot streak of 11 different winners has swept over Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, dating back to 2015.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon was the last repeat winner in the Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sweeping both series events in 2015. Since then, 10 other drivers have added their names to the list bringing the different winners streak to 11 – Dillon (2015), Denny Hamlin (2016), Joey Logano (2016), Ryan Blaney (2017), Alex Bowman (2017), Brad Keselowski (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), Kyle Busch (2020), Ty Gibbs (2021), Josh Berry (2022), and Justin Allgaier (2023).
However, it’s possible the streak will end as three previous winners are entered in this weekend’s BetMGM 300 – Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs and Justin Allgaier.
If Allgaier lands himself in Victory Lane and pulls off the back-to-back win, he will become just the seventh different driver to accomplish feat; joining Harry Gant (1987 sweep), Rob Moroso (1988-1989 sweep), Jeff Gordon (1992 sweep), Mark Martin (1995-1996 sweep), Kyle Busch (2008 sweep, 2009-2010, 2013 sweep), and Austin Dillon (2015 sweep).
Several drivers racing multiple series this weekend at Charlotte
With Charlotte Motor Speedway serving as a “home game” for many drivers, several NASCAR Cup Series regulars will be looking to get some extra seat time in Saturday’s BetMGM 300 (FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Kyle Busch will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for his fifth Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season. Throughout his career, he’s made 26 Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, posting nine wins, 19 top fives, 22 top 10s, and has led 1,475 laps – all of which are a record at the track.
Chase Elliott will be piloting the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for his first Xfinity Series start of the season. He has made five starts in the series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, posting three top-five finishes.
Ty Gibbs will be joining in on the fun behind the wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for his second Xfinity Series start of the season. He’s made three series starts at the Charlotte track, posting three top-five finishes and a win in his debut at the track in 2021.
Noah Gragson will get behind the wheel of the No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford for his first Xfinity Series start of the season. He’s made four series starts at the Charlotte trac
Josh Bilicki to run select races with Joe Gibbs Racing – Josh Bilicki, 29, 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 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.”
Brett Moffitt to join Joe Gibbs Racing at Iowa Speedway – Grimes, Iowa native Brett Moffitt will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway.
He is no stranger to success at the 0.875-mile Iowa track. Moffitt made his Xfinity Series debut at the track in 2012 earning a ninth-place finish. He also has a pair of back-to-back NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins at Iowa in 2018 and 2019.
“We’re excited to have Brett come back to JGR to run in Xfinity,” said Steve DeSouza, EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development at JGR. “He has shown great success at Iowa and will have knowledge of the track that will help our entire Xfinity program as the series makes its return to the track.”
- Charlotte Motor Speedway
- BetMGM 300
- Pole Winner: Ty Gibbs
- Age: 21
- Team : No 20 - He Gets Us Toyota
- Owner: Joe Gibbs
- Crew Chief: Tyler Allen
- Ty Gibbs won the Pole Award for the BetMGM 300 with a lap of 30475 seconds, 177194 mph
- This is his 10th pole in 61 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
- This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2024
- This is his first pole in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Kyle Busch (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2024 and his 18th in 27 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Chandler Smith (third) posted his second top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his ninth in 12 races this season
- Jesse Love (fourth) was the fastest qualifying rookie
- Saturday, May 25th, 2024
- NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Strong strategic move puts Elliott in Victory Lane at Charlotte
With a masterpiece of strategy and modicum of good fortune, Chase Elliott won Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season.
Saving a set of new tries for the final run in the 200-lap event at the 1.5-mile track, Elliott grabbed the lead after a Lap 183 restart and held it the rest of the way.
Driving a No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a paint scheme reminiscent of the signature look of the late Ricky Hendrick’s car, Elliott crossed the finish line 0.500 ahead of Brandon Jones, who recovered from early brake problems to finish second after pressing Elliott in the closing laps.
The victory was Elliott’s first at Charlotte and the sixth of his career. Jones finished ahead of two of his JR Motorsports teammates, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer, in third and fourth, respectively.
Elliott started 30thafter a lackluster qualifying effort. After Riley Herbst crashed hard on the backstretch to cause the first of eight cautions, Elliott, Jesse Love, Anthony Alfredo and Kyle Sieg stayed on the track on old tires, saving a set of stickers for later in the race.
That call by crew chief Greg Ives proved to be the winning move. Though Elliott pitted on Lap 48 and fell to 26thin the running order for a restart on Lap 53, he regained the lost track position on new tires and was a factor near the front the rest of the way. An opportune caution on Lap 169 gave Elliott the chance to make full use of his final set of new tires.
“Greg made a good call, and I think ultimately that’s what won us the race,” Elliott said. “I felt like I needed a little bit with my balance to make as much pace as the 7 (Justin Allgaier) and a couple of those guys.
“Hats off to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Super special to win with the 17 on the car for the boss (Rick Hendrick) and (wife) Linda. It’s a great honor here with the Ricky Hendrick scheme. It means a lot to all of us to be a part of this whenever it runs.”
One by one, other contenders for the win fell by the wayside. Justin Allgaier won the first two stages in perhaps the fastest car in the race, but he sped on pit road during the Stage 2 break.
Allgaier’s race came to an end when he and pole winner Ty Gibbs crashed off Turn 4 after a restart on Lap 176. Reigning series champion Cole Custer and current Xfinity Series leader Austin Hill wrecked on the backstretch on Lap 184 after door-to-door contact a half-lap earlier.
A slow pit stop on Lap 170 cost Kyle Busch track position and relegated him to a sixth-place result behind fifth-place finisher AJ Allmendinger, who made a late-race charge on one-lap scuffed tires.
That left Jones to put the pressure on Elliott at the end, but the race ended before Jones could get closer than a half-second back.
“Talk about an up-and-down day and coming back from it,” said Jones, who had to replace brake fluid in his No. 9 Chevrolet during a long pit stop on Lap 76. “That was really fun to come from the back to the front, I think three or four times there.”
Ryan Sieg, Josh Williams, Gibbs and Noah Gragson completed the top 10. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen was 15thin his first run on a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway.
- Drivers Entered: 40 (2 drivers will not make the race)
- Laps Scheduled: 200
- Margin of Victory: 0.500 Seconds
- Time of Race: 2 Hours 36 Minutes 27 Seconds
- Average Speed: 115.053
- Cautions: 8 for 45 laps
- Lead Changes: 23
- Green Flag Passes: 3,202 (20.7 passes per green flag lap)
- BetMGM 300
- Race Winner: Chase Elliott
- Age: 28
- Team : No 17 - HendrickCarscom Chevrolet
- Owner: Rick Hendrick
- Crew Chief: Greg Ives
- Chase Elliott won the BetMGM 300, his sixth victory in 84 Xfinity Series races
- This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2024
- This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in six races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Brandon Jones (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 11 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2024
- Sammy Smith (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Shane Van Gisbergen (15th) was the highest finishing rookie
- Austin Hill leads the point standings by 4 points over Chandler Smith
Race weekend links appear as data becomes available.