With the threat of rain becoming an increasing factor during Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250, the cars got wide, the action got wild and the closing laps were even sprinkled in with some drama.
In the end, Mother Nature held off and Cole Custer and Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi picked up their second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the year. For Custer, the win was also his first on a short track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after picking up his previous wins at Homestead-Miami, Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway.
Let’s breakdown the top-10 finishers and a few notables in this Xfinity edition of “Skippy Says.”
1st: Cole Custer: Without a doubt, Custer and his Mike Shiplett led team is probably the strongest NASCAR Xfinity Series team right now. Now, I know that many would argue this point, but Custer has been able to face adversity and quickly bounce back.
After eight races, Custer has two wins, five top-five and six top-10 finishes but sits third in the Xfinity Series standings. With the $100,000 Dash4Cash bonus from Richmond, Custer heads to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in two weeks and looks for his first superspeedway win.
2nd Austin Cindric: Often showing a fast No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang throughout the season, Cindric hasn’t been able to deliver the finishes he has needed to become a weekly threat for not only the championship but his first career win.
On Friday night, however, Cindric stood up and almost stole Cole Custer’s thunder. Cindric caught Custer sleeping on a late race restart and with a strong No. 22 LTi Printing Ford Mustang in his hands, Cindric took the lead. And while Custer eventually caught him back down and passed him, the effort on Friday was the boost that Cindric needed to put himself back on the map.
Make no mistake about, Cindric is likely your next first-time winner in Xfinity Series competition.
3rd Justin Allgaier: After a ruthless start to the season where bad luck has plagued one of the most respected drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier left Richmond Raceway Friday night with something to smile about.
At times, Allgaier looked he had the stoutest car on the track. With rain approaching, crew chief Jason Burdett elected to keep Allgaier on the track – while others headed to pit road for fresh tires. Allgaier was eaten up on the restart – but later recovered. In the closing laps, Allgaier looked like again he would be chase Custer down for the win but couldn’t get it done.
After two races outside the top-10, Allgaier earned his third top-five of 2019 and leaped back inside the top-five in the Xfinity Series standings.
4th Tyler Reddick: The reigning Xfinity Series champion sure had a night full of ups and downs. An ill-handling car in the early stages of the race left much to be desired for Reddick but after adjustments, Reddick returned to his quick form and went to the front.
Unfortunately, a power steering issue overwhelmed the Richard Childress Racing driver for much of the night. Still, Reddick fought and fought hard and earned his seventh top-10 of the 2019 Xfinity Series season.
5th Ryan Sieg: Where did he come from? OK, so not literally, but you get the idea. RSS Racing driver Ryan Sieg earned his second top-five finish of 2019 on Friday night and for a while, it looked like that Sieg could challenge for the lead if he found the track position.
While the circumstances never worked out to put him in contention for the win, Sieg is showing that determination equals success. And no doubt the addition of Shane Wilson as crew chief of the No. 39 Larry’s Hard Lemonade Chevrolet
Remarkably in the first eight races of 2019, Sieg and his Georgia-based team have to finish outside the top-12. While he still sits ninth in the championship standings after earning his firth top-10 run of 2019 – Sieg is on everyone’s radar and for good reason.
Not only is the thought he and Wilson can potentially win races, but they are doing so with teams that have the budget nearly three times that of RSS Racing owned by Sieg’s father Rod.
6th Zane Smith: In his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start for JR Motorsports, Zane Smith finally had the finish that showcased his potential. Of course, Smith, the reigning ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year had strong runs at Las Vegas and Bristol, the score box didn’t show that.
On Friday night, it did. Smith ran a majority of the race inside the top-five but faded to sixth late. Still, Smith and crew chief Taylor Moyer are finding their groove, and many expect even better results in his next Xfinity Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May.
7th John Hunter Nemechek: Firm and steady has been the position for John Hunter Nemechek this season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Quietly he’s sixth in points but don’t expect JHN and GMS Racing to stay in the shadows for long. They will peek at the right time and when he does, no one will be surprised.
8th Chase Briscoe: In practice on Friday, it appeared that Chase Briscoe was as strong as teammate Cole Custer for the ToyotaCare 250. For Briscoe and crew chief Richard Boswell, the team fought the exact opposite than what they have all season.
Throughout the year, Briscoe has struggled early in the race but rose to the occasion during Stage 3 and propelled them forward. Briscoe earned his sixth consecutive top-10 on Friday night and stands eighth in the championship standings – but Briscoe knows his team still has work to do and is determined to put in the work to put him back in Victory Lane and make Stewart-Haas Racing’s second full-time championship caliber.
9th Riley Herbst: Nothing like pressure in your first Xfinity Series race of the season and find yourself on the pole after qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. Herbst had an admiral performance on Friday night. He led laps and held his own and even overcame a pit road penalty to wrestle his way back from the back of the field to second career top-10 finish.
10th Justin Haley: Like last week, Kaulig Racing and Justin Haley continue to muster solid results in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – but people are ready for the team to break through the barrier and put the Richard Childress Racing-affiliate team inside the top-five consistently where many feel they belong.
They should do that next at Talladega and hopefully, that becomes more of the norm.
Notables:
12th Elliott Sadler: In his NASCAR Xfinity Series return Elliott Sadler has a solid showing in a second car for Kaulig Racing. Sadler was mired back in traffic after having to start the race 27th based on the team’s owner points. Sadler will return to the No. 10 Chevrolet seat in September at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway where Sadler says it will be likely his last race behind the wheel of a race car.
14th Kaz Grala: You Scream, We Scream We All Scream For Hot Scream. Kaz Grala made his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season for Richard Childress Racing. Having to work out a deal with Morgan Shepherd to get into the race with little owner points, Grala started shotgun on the field but did maneuver himself into the top-10.
A late race scuffle with Noah Gragson caused from friction and late-race pit strategy worked against Grala but he still delivered a noteworthy effort of 14th. Talladega is next on the docket for Grala and some say it could be the last race for him at RCR unless further sponsorship develops.
16th Christopher Bell: What happened in the closing laps? Of course, Bell probably felt like a ping-pong ball late in the race – but after motoring back inside the top-five deep into the race, Bell plummeted late and never had time to recover. Yes, Bell has won two races, but he and Jason Ratcliff will be working hard to rejuvenate the consistency that all have come to know and expect.
20th Brandon Brown: In a third RSS Racing entry, Brandon Brown earned a solid top-20 finish. Brown ended up in the No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet Camaro trying to keep his NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff eligibility alive in the event he gets to Victory Lane before the Playoffs begin. For a last minute decision and unfamiliar surroundings, a top-20 finish is noteworthy.
Hometown up and comer Mason Diaz drove Brown’s No. 86 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet and ran extremely well early in the race but succumbed to engine failure and finished 36th.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
