Saturday, March 23rd, 2024
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas
Kyle Larson was ultimately both patient and smart taking the lead on the final overtime lap to win an aggressive Featured Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the first road course test for the series this year that earned an “A” for high-drama and close competition.
New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill were duking it out for the lead – and pushing each other high off the race line as the field approached the checkered flag. With those two fending each other off, Larson drove his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet low around both and was able to pull away to a 1.215-second victory – the only lap the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ led all day around the 20-turn 3.51-mile road course.
Van Gisbergen finished second in the No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevy but was accessed a 30-second penalty for exceeding track limits in that last lap battle with Hill, which ultimately put him in 27th. So Hill, driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet officially is scored runner-up.
Larson was all smiles climbing out of car, conceding he wasn’t surprised things got so aggressive in the end. He was one of the few cars – and only one among the leaders – to drop into pit lane on the final caution to get gas and had worked his way back up front.
“It feels really special because seems like every time we’ve run the 17-car – any of us four drivers – we’re always fast on track and somehow give it away,’’ Larson said. “Today I was definitely not the fastest, but we were patient. I knew the 21 [Hill] had shoved SVG [Van Gisbergen] through [turn] one and if he got to him it could get dicey.
“I was just trying to be patient. I was thinking when to make my move and when I saw him shoving him through [turns] 15 and 16, I thought this could get good and thankfully I cleared them off in that corner. Pretty crazy. Just wild there. … Really cool, just awesome to win here at COTA.’’
Neither Van Gisbergen nor Austin Hill were too happy with the final outcome – both their cars damaged from the aggressive beating and banging on the final lap. Asked if he would speak to Hill about the racing, Van Gisbergen said, “Yeah, I guess so.’’ But he was mostly positive about having a chance to win in only his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series race of his career.
“It was a crazy race and the car got better and better,’’ Van Gisbergen said. “On that last restart he [Hill] just drove through me in [turn] one. I guess I stood up for myself. But it was pretty awesome racing with [teammate] A.J. [Allmendinger] and in the end just turned into a mess. That’s how it is.
“It was really fun. Wish I could have gotten through to the lead, but the car [Larson] just snuck through there. He was driving really well. A lot of fun.’’
While Van Gisbergen managed a smile for the post-race television interview, he definitely had to battle all afternoon – including with his Kaulig Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger, a two-time winner of this COTA Xfinity Series race and the series’ best active road course driver.
They battled head-to-head for the final laps of the regularly scheduled race only for Allmendinger to get swept up and out in a three-wide attempt for the lead in Turn 1 during the first green-white-checkered flag period. He was running fifth at the time of the final caution that forced a second overtime start and ultimately finished 10th.
John Hunter Nemechek finished third, reigning series champion Cole Custer was fourth and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top five. Rookie Jesse Love, Austin Green, last week’s winner Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer and Allmendinger rounded out the top 10.
It was a particularly impressive day for Green, son of former Xfinity Series champion David Green, finishing eighth in his very first series start.
Big Machine Racing driver Kligerman earned his first stage win of the year claiming the Stage 1 victory. Brandon Jones seemingly won Stage 2 only to receive a penalty for cutting Turn 5 on the last lap of the stage. Second-place Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst was instead awarded the Stage victory – his first of the season.
FIN | ST | # | DRIVER | MAKE | TOT PTS | FIN PTS | STG PTS | PO PTS | LAPS | LED | X LED | S1 | S2 | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | 5 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 38 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 50 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 3 | Running |
13 | 15 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
1 | 1 | 17 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Running |
5 | 12 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Chevrolet | 43 | 32 | 10 | 1 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Running |
37 | 28 | 6 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Suspension |
30 | 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Chevrolet | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
33 | 38 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
14 | 27 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Ford | 27 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Running |
29 | 32 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | Chevrolet | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
15 | 29 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
4 | 8 | 00 | Cole Custer | Ford | 42 | 33 | 9 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Running |
31 | 23 | 92 | Josh Bilicki | Chevrolet | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | Suspension |
3 | 20 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Toyota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
26 | 26 | 35 | Alex Labbe | Toyota | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | Running |
2 | 11 | 21 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet | 40 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | Running |
16 | 18 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Chevrolet | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
19 | 24 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
38 | 9 | 11 | Josh Williams | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Overheating |
34 | 19 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Ford | 20 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 45 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Accident |
12 | 30 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Chevrolet | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
28 | 37 | 14 | RC Enerson | Chevrolet | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
25 | 33 | 4 | Patrick Gallagher | Chevrolet | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
32 | 7 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Toyota | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
24 | 3 | 19 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | Running |
22 | 36 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | Ford | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
9 | 10 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Chevrolet | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
17 | 6 | 26 | Sage Karam | Toyota | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | Running |
8 | 4 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Toyota | 30 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Running |
23 | 35 | 15 | Hailie Deegan | Ford | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
11 | 17 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Chevrolet | 33 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Running |
18 | 31 | 45 | Brad Perez | Chevrolet | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
36 | 13 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Chevrolet | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Accident |
21 | 22 | 07 | Daniil Kvyat | Chevrolet | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
20 | 34 | 42 | Leland Honeyman Jr | Chevrolet | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
35 | 16 | 24 | Ed Jones | Toyota | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
6 | 14 | 2 | Jesse Love | Chevrolet | 31 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
27 | 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 50 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 5 | Running |
7 | 25 | 32 | Austin Green | Chevrolet | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
Penalties imposed prior to or during the race.
Driver | Infraction | Penalty | Lap | Lap Assessed | Flag |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Alfredo | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Hailie Deegan | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Kyle Larson | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Sheldon Creed | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Ty Gibbs | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
John Hunter Nemechek | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Justin Allgaier | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Daniel Hemric | Pre-Race to the Rear Driver Change | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Leland Honeyman Jr | Pre-Race to the Rear Inspection Failure | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Leland Honeyman Jr | Pre-Race to the Rear Inspection Failure | Pass Thru | 0 | 1 | White |
Leland Honeyman Jr | Speeding on pit road | Pass Thru | 1 | 2 | Green |
Ty Dillon | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 2 | 3 | Green |
John Hunter Nemechek | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 2 | 3 | Green |
Jeremy Clements | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Pass Thru | 5 | 5 | Green |
Ty Gibbs | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Pass Thru | 9 | 9 | Green |
Austin Hill | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Pass Thru | 11 | 12 | Green |
Austin Green | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 11 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Ed Jones | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Tail End | 12 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Ed Jones | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 12 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Austin Green | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 12 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Austin Green | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 12 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Justin Allgaier | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Tail End | 13 | 17 | Green/Yellow |
Sam Mayer | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 19 | 19 | Green |
Jeremy Clements | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 21 | 21 | Green |
Daniel Hemric | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 23 | 23 | Green |
Daniel Hemric | Speeding on pit road Garage | Pass Thru | 23 | 0 | Green |
Jesse Love | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 27 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
John Hunter Nemechek | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 27 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
Blaine Perkins | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 27 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
Jesse Love | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 28 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
Jeremy Clements | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Tail End | 28 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
Brandon Jones | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 5 | Tail End | 30 | 34 | Green/Yellow |
Justin Allgaier | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 31 | 34 | Yellow |
Jeb Burton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 31 | 34 | Yellow |
Jeb Burton | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Pass Thru | 36 | 36 | Green |
Sammy Smith | Speeding on pit road Garage | Pass Thru | 36 | 0 | Green |
AJ Allmendinger | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Tail End | 46 | 48 | Green/Yellow |
Leland Honeyman Jr | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 46 | 48 | Yellow |
Leland Honeyman Jr | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 46 | 48 | Yellow |
Shane van Gisbergen | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 - 30 Second Post Race Penalty | Other - See Notes | 49 | 50 | Green |
RC Enerson | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 - 30 Second Post Race Penalty | Other - See Notes | 50 | 50 | Green |