Berry Banks Back to Back at Vegas

nascar.com

LAS VEGAS, NV – RIS – Josh Berry won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and qualified for the final four drivers to run for the championship at Phoenix Raceway next month.  It was his second win at LVMS this season. Right behind him were JRM teammates Noah Gragson in the No. 9 JRM Chevy and Justin Allgaier in the No. 7 Chevrolet. Gragson won Stage 2. Rounding out the top five were playoff contender and Stage 1 winner Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Trevor Bayne in the No. 18 JGR Toyota.

It was the 499th victory for Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series.

AJ Allmendinger, winner of the previous two Xfinity Series races and one of the championship favorites, had to make an unscheduled stop late in the Final Stage to fix a loose wheel and finished 22nd. He now sits below the elimination line.

Jason Allgaier hit the Turn 4 wall on the next-to-last lap. Both he and Gragson appeared to have cars fast enough to challenge Berry, but neither was able to move into position to race for the lead.

“We've had a tough couple weeks, couple months, but we knew that we could do this if we were at our best,” said Berry, who led 65 laps in winning for the third time this season but first since May at Charlotte. “I can't even put into words what this means. When we sat down at the beginning of this year, we knew this was going to be an opportunity for me. My goal is to make the championship four. I think if you do that, it's a successful year, and I can't believe we came here, locked ourselves in.”

The race was free of any bad moves, but the final 35 laps proved to be hard racing with Gragson, Berry, Gibbs, and Allmendinger dicing for the lead.  Berry bounced off the outside wall with 32 laps to go while racing Allgaier and AJ Allmendinger for the lead. Despite the contact, Berry stayed in front.

Allmendinger, the series’ regular season champion, pitted while running fourth with 25 laps to go because the right-side wheels on his car were loose. Allmendinger entered the race with two straight wins but goes to the next race below the cut line.

Berry's win in the opening race of the third round of the playoffs guarantees his Chevrolet will run for the Xfinity title next month in the finale at Phoenix. There are three spots still open with races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway remaining to determine the championship four.

Gibbs won the first stage with ease, building a four-second lead by the stage finish. He led 22 laps in the stage. Gragson led 17.

The Xfinity Series playoffs move on to Homestead-Miami Speedway Oct. 22 for a 4:30 p.m.

Unofficial Results: 5th Annual Alsco Uniforms 302, October 15, 2022 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 12, Josh Berry (P) No. 8 Harrison's USA Chevrolet, 201, 9, 6, 2, 65, 5, 47, Running
2) 4, Noah Gragson (P) No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet, 201, 3, 1, 4, 87, 1, 53, Running
3) 10, Justin Allgaier (P) No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 201, 4, 5, , , , 47, Running
4) 3, Ty Gibbs (P) No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 201, 1, 2, 2, 30, 1, 52, Running
5) 2, Trevor Bayne (P) No. 18 Devotion Nutrition Toyota, 201, , 9, , , , 34, Running
6) 8, Austin Hill # (P) No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet, 201, 2, 4, 1, 2, , 47, Running
7) 5, Sam Mayer (P) No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 201, 6, 7, , , , 39, Running
8) 6, Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet, 201, 10, 8, , , , 33, Running
9) 7, Brandon Jones (P) No. 19 Menards/Nibco Toyota, 201, 5, 3, 1, 5, , 42, Running
10) 21, Anthony Alfredo, No. 23 First Phase Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 15, Landon Cassill, No. 10 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 201, , , 1, 3, , 26, Running
12) 22, Nicholas Sanchez, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet, 201, , , 1, 1, , 25, Running
13) 20, Hailie Deegan(i) No. 07 Pristine Auction Ford, 201, , , , , , 0, Running
14) 26, Kyle Weatherman, No. 34 eRacing Association Chevrolet, 201, , , 1, 1, , 23, Running
15) 14, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 First Pacific Funding Chevrolet, 201, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 11, John Hunter Nemechek(i) No. 26 Berry's Bullets Toyota, 200, 8, , , , , 0, Running
17) 16, Jeb Burton, No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 36, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 200, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 23, Myatt Snider, No. 31 TaxSlayer Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 18, Rajah Caruth(i) No. 44 Market Rebellion Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 0, Running
21) 27, Parker Retzlaff, No. 02 Funkaway Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 1, AJ Allmendinger (P) No. 16 SRS Distribution Chevrolet, 199, 7, 10, 2, 7, , 20, Running
23) 17, Stefan Parsons(i) No. 45 Sokal Digital Advertising Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 0, Running
24) 31, Kris Wright(i) No. 68 First National Bank Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 25, Garrett Smithley, No. 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 38, Kyle Sieg #, No. 28 CMRroofing.com Ford, 197, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 32, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 35 Allsup's Toyota, 197, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 35, Ryan Vargas, No. 6 Swann Security/Best Buy Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 29, Mason Massey, No. 91 Apollo Energy/Power Center Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 34, CJ McLaughlin, No. 38 SciAps Ford, 196, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 37, David Starr, No. 08 Amptricity Ford, 196, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 30, Matt Jaskol(i) No. 13 Auto Parts 4 Less Toyota, 195, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 24, Bayley Currey, No. 4 Alka-Seltzer Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 28, Josh Williams, No. 36 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 33, Matt Mills(i) No. 5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , 0, Running
36) 19, JJ Yeley, No. 66 Diamondback Land Surveying Toyota, 82, , , , , , 1, Engine
37) 9, Sheldon Creed #, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 52, , , , , , 1, Engine
38) 13, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 CMRroofing.com/A-game Ford, 32, , , , , , 1, Steering
(i) Ineligible for driver points. (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 201 Laps - 301.5 Miles
Time: 2 Hrs, 4 Mins, 14 Secs.
Average Speed: 145.613 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.125 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 54, 21, 9, 7, 19, 1, 16, 26, 8, 11
Stage 2 Top 10: 9, 54, 19, 21, 7, 8, 1, 11, 18, 16

Comments: Josh Berry won the fifth running of the Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his fifth victory in the NASCAR Xfinty Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field: Nos. 6, 08, 28, 91, 98 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 3 for 15 laps;

Laps: 47-51 (Stage 1 Conclusion [23]);
92-96 (Stage 2 Conclusion [02]);
162-166 (No. 19 Spin Turn 2 [23]).

Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers;
A. Allmendinger (P) 1-6;
N. Gragson (P) 7-23;
T. Gibbs (P) 24-51;
N. Gragson (P) 52-93;
A. Hill # (P) 94-95;
B. Jones (P) 96-100;
J. Berry (P) 101-131;
N. Gragson (P) 132-143;
T. Gibbs (P) 144-145;
N. Sanchez 146;
K. Weatherman 147;
N. Gragson (P) 148-163;
L. Cassill 164-166;
A. Allmendinger (P) 167;
J. Berry (P) 168-201.

Unofficial Points: 5th Annual Alsco Uniforms 302 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Noah Gragson (P) 9, 30, 0, 3109, 0, 0, 7, 14, 56
2) Ty Gibbs (P) 54, 30, 1, 3090, -19, 19, 5, 7, 38
3) Justin Allgaier (P) 7, 30, 1, 3080, -29, 10, 3, 8, 33
4) Josh Berry (P) 8, 30, 1, 3069, -40, 11, 3, 6, 22
5) Austin Hill # (P) 21, 30, 1, 3065, -44, 4, 2, 3, 18
6) AJ Allmendinger (P) 16, 30, -4, 3064, -45, 1, 5, 4, 44
7) Brandon Jones (P) 19, 30, 0, 3053, -56, 11, 1, 2, 11
8) Sam Mayer (P) 1, 30, 0, 3044, -65, 9, 0, 2, 5
9) Daniel Hemric, 11, 30, 1, 2122, -987, 922, 0, 3, 3
10) Riley Herbst, 98, 30, 1, 2099, -1010, 23, 0, 0, 2
11) Ryan Sieg, 39, 30, -2, 2099, -1010, 0, 0, 1, 1
12) Jeremy Clements, 51, 30, 0, 2068, -1041, 31, 1, 0, 5
13) Landon Cassill, 10, 30, 0, 695, -2414, 1373, 0, 0, 0
14) Sheldon Creed #, 2, 30, 0, 654, -2455, 41, 0, 0, 0
15) Anthony Alfredo, 23, 30, 0, 595, -2514, 59, 0, 0, 0
16) Brandon Brown, , 29, 0, 519, -2590, 76, 0, 0, 0
17) Jeb Burton, 27, 30, 0, 492, -2617, 27, 0, 0, 0
18) Myatt Snider, 31, 30, 0, 477, -2632, 15, 0, 1, 0
19) Alex Labbe, , 24, 0, 418, -2691, 59, 0, 0, 0
20) Brett Moffitt, , 21, 0, 416, -2693, 2, 0, 0, 0
21) Bayley Currey, 4, 30, 0, 385, -2724, 31, 0, 0, 0
22) JJ Yeley, 66, 27, 0, 334, -2775, 51, 0, 0, 0
23) Kyle Weatherman, 34, 20, 0, 320, -2789, 14, 0, 0, 0
24) Trevor Bayne (P) 18, 8, 1, 312, -2797, 8, 0, 2, 0
25) Ryan Vargas, 6, 25, -1, 295, -2814, 17, 0, 0, 0
26) Josh Williams, 36, 25, 0, 270, -2839, 25, 0, 0, 0
27) Joe Graf, , 25, 0, 260, -2849, 10, 0, 0, 0
28) Mason Massey, 91, 21, 0, 239, -2870, 21, 0, 0, 0
29) Kyle Sieg #, 28, 15, 0, 215, -2894, 24, 0, 0, 0
30) Jeffrey Earnhardt, 35, 13, 0, 200, -2909, 15, 0, 0, 0
31) David Starr, 08, 18, 0, 183, -2926, 17, 0, 0, 0
32) Sammy Smith, , 7, 0, 168, -2941, 15, 0, 1, 0
33) Ryan Truex, , 6, 0, 162, -2947, 6, 0, 0, 0
34) Ryan Ellis, , 11, 0, 155, -2954, 7, 0, 0, 0
35) Sage Karam, , 9, 0, 152, -2957, 3, 0, 0, 0
36) Parker Retzlaff, 02, 7, 2, 135, -2974, 17, 0, 0, 0
37) Joey Gase, , 10, -1, 134, -2975, 1, 0, 0, 0
38) Jade Buford, , 9, -1, 127, -2982, 7, 0, 0, 0
39) CJ McLaughlin, 38, 11, 0, 124, -2985, 3, 0, 0, 0
40) Patrick Emerling, , 9, 0, 106, -3003, 18, 0, 0, 0
41) Preston Pardus, , 5, 0, 100, -3009, 6, 0, 0, 0
42) Jesse Iwuji, , 11, 0, 94, -3015, 6, 0, 0, 0
43) Andy Lally, , 5, 0, 89, -3020, 5, 0, 0, 0
44) Tommy Joe Martins, , 6, 0, 87, -3022, 2, 0, 0, 0
45) Nicholas Sanchez, 48, 5, 3, 79, -3030, 8, 0, 0, 0
46) Shane Lee, , 5, -1, 71, -3038, 8, 0, 0, 0
47) Derek Griffith, , 5, -1, 70, -3039, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Scott Heckert, , 5, -1, 65, -3044, 5, 0, 0, 0
49) Miguel Paludo, , 3, 0, 52, -3057, 13, 0, 0, 0
50) Patrick Gallagher, , 5, 0, 48, -3061, 4, 0, 0, 0
51) Garrett Smithley, 78, 4, 3, 47, -3062, 1, 0, 0, 0
52) James Davison, , 1, -1, 43, -3066, 4, 0, 0, 0
53) Caesar Bacarella, , 5, -1, 37, -3072, 6, 0, 0, 0
54) Howie Disavino, , 4, -1, 35, -3074, 2, 0, 0, 0
55) Parker Chase, , 2, 0, 31, -3078, 4, 0, 0, 0
56) Drew Dollar, , 2, 0, 30, -3079, 1, 0, 0, 0
57) Dale Earnhardt, , 1, 0, 26, -3083, 4, 0, 0, 0
58) Bj Mcleod, , 3, 0, 23, -3086, 3, 0, 0, 0
59) Daniil Kvyat(i) , 1, 0, 22, -3087, 1, 0, 0, 0
60) Santino Ferrucci, , 2, 0, 22, -3087, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Dillon Bassett, , 3, 0, 18, -3091, 4, 0, 0, 0
62) Gray Gaulding, , 2, 0, 17, -3092, 1, 0, 0, 0
63) Natalie Decker(i) , 3, 0, 17, -3092, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Ronnie Bassett, , 2, 0, 10, -3099, 7, 0, 0, 0
65) Chris Dyson, , 1, 0, 9, -3100, 1, 0, 0, 0
66) Spencer Pumpelly, , 1, 0, 8, -3101, 1, 0, 0, 0
67) Dawson Cram, , 1, 0, 7, -3102, 1, 0, 0, 0
68) Bobby Mccarty, , 1, 0, 6, -3103, 1, 0, 0, 0
69) Chad Finchum, , 1, 0, 5, -3104, 1, 0, 0, 0
70) Will Rodgers, , 2, 0, 2, -3107, 3, 0, 0, 0
71) Julia Landauer, , 1, 0, 1, -3108, 1, 0, 0, 0
72) Marco Andretti, , 1, 0, 1, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
73) Darren Dilley, , 1, 0, 1, -3108, 0, 0, 0, 0
74) Kyle Larson(i) , 3, 0, 0, -3109, 1, 1, 2, 0
75) Cole Custer(i) , 5, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 1, 1, 0
76) Tyler Reddick(i) , 5, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 1, 0, 0
77) John Hunter Nemechek(i) 26, 11, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 1, 0
78) Timmy Hill(i) , 8, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
79) William Byron(i) , 3, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 2, 0
80) Alex Bowman(i) , 1, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
81) Ross Chastain(i) , 5, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Ryan Preece(i) , 3, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
83) Kaz Grala(i) , 9, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
84) Chase Briscoe(i) , 1, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) Parker Kligerman(i) , 3, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
86) Ty Dillon(i) , 4, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
87) Christopher Bell(i) , 1, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Stefan Parsons(i) 45, 21, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Josh Bilicki(i) , 7, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Hailie Deegan(i) 07, 1, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Connor Mosack(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Matt Mills(i) 5, 16, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Blaine Perkins(i) , 4, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Matt Jaskol(i) 13, 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Brad Perez(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Kris Wright(i) 68, 6, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
97) Rajah Caruth(i) 44, 5, 0, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Chandler Smith(i) , 2, -2, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Akinori Ogata(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Mason Filippi, , 1, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Justin Haley(i) , 1, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) Austin Dillon(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Ricky Stenhouse(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Bubba Wallace(i) , 2, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Brennan Poole(i) , 8, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Mike Harmon, , 1, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Loris Hezemans(i) , 1, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) Austin Wayne Self(i) , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Harrison Rhodes, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Jesse Little(i) , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Chase Elliott(i) , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Stan Mullis, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Tim Viens(i) , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Gar Robinson, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
115) Dexter Bean, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
116) Jordan Anderson(i) , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
117) Stanton Barrett, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
118) Joe Nemechek, , 0, -1, 0, -3109, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

Read More on Cup / XFINITY / Truck news
Volume 2022, Issue 10, Posted 6:11 PM, 10.15.2022