LAS VEGAS, Nev.: Chandler Smith saw his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win flash before his eyes.
Literally.
After earning his first Xfinity Series pole on Friday afternoon at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Smith carried the speed from his Kaulig Racing team to Saturday afternoon’s Alsco Uniforms 300.
From Stage 1 to a caution-free Stage 3, Smith appeared to have his first win in the bag before a pair of Chevrolet drivers in Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier hunted him down in the closing laps of the race.
With a lead at one point stretching more than three-seconds, Hill and Allgaier were able to chop that deficit down as the lap count approached Lap 200 – with Hill finding himself on the back bumper of Smith’s No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro with the white flag waiving in the distance as the cars screamed off Turn 4.
A tight race car for Smith forced his car to above the fastest grove around Las Vegas, where Hill dove his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beneath him as the cars headed down the frontstretch and towards Turn 1.
Hill cleared for the lead and kept Allgaier at bay to win his second Xfinity Series race of the season. The Daytona Xfinity winner finished 0.268 seconds ahead of Allgaier and 0.650 seconds in front of Smith.
After the race, Smith was relatively upbeat. “It is what it is,” he said. “That’s a tough pill to swallow. There are some things I could have done inside before we started going tight (to) get my lead a little bigger and to have a bigger buffer.
“Just the last 10 laps started a little snug, I wasn’t getting much help with lapped traffic. All in all, I can’t be too disappointed. This is my sixth start and third start with Kaulig Racing and we had a really, really fast No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet Camaro.”
Even though Smith did not capture his first Xfinity Series win in Sin City, the Talking Rock, Ga. native believes he is going to win a few races this year.
“I am really appreciative of everybody with Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, everyone at Kaulig Racing for bringing me on board and believing in me,” sounded Smith. “We’ve got a lot to build off of and looking forward to the future. We’re really close to say the least.
“We are going to win a few races this year for sure.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected].
