Allmendinger Takes Talladega Xfinity Race

AP Photo/Butch Dill

TALLLADEGA, AL – RIS – A.J. Allmendinger slipped past Sam Mayer on the final lap to win on a superspeedway track for the first time at Talladega Superspeedway in today’s Xfinity playoff race.  As drivers in the lead pack scrambled for position approaching the finish line, Allmendinger pushed to the outside and, getting a push from Kaulig Racing teammate Landon Cassill, edged Mayer by a few feet. The win ended frustration for Allmendinger on superspeedways.

Following Allmendinger at the finish were Mayer, Cassill, Ryan Sieg and Josh Berry. Noah Gragson and Allmendinger have qualified for the next playoff round.

“This is Talladega,” a wildly happy Allmendinger shouted. “Yes, I hate superspeedway racing, but it’s awesome to win in front of the Talladega crowd.”

Allmendinger’s fourth Xfinity Series win of the season locked him into the next round of the playoffs and afforded him the luxury to not hold back in next week’s elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Allmendinger is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career.

“All credit to Landon Cassill. He kept shoving me. He stuck with me,” Allmendinger said. “Landon, I wish he could share it with me, well, he’s going to share it with me. But I wish we could both be the winner because he deserves it more than I do.”

But he’d never been as fortunate on superspeedways until Saturday, when he denied Mayer his first career Xfinity Series victory by 0.015 seconds. Allmendinger three previous times was the leader at a superspeedway at the white flag but could never close out the win.

Austin Hill looked like the car to beat all day, but dropped out of the lead to 14th place  in the closing five laps as drivers moved up and down the track in search of the best drafting line.

The first half of the race featured two and sometimes three drafting lines with a lot of movement and blocking near the front. In the final stage, the leaders ran lap after lap in single file, with Hill, Allmendinger and Noah Gragson in the top three.

Hill led 60 laps but finished 14th. Gragson was in pursuit of a fifth straight Xfinity Series win. He finished 10th.  Hill also won both stages in what looked like a sure win, but it was not to be on this day.  Ryan Seig made a play to lead and win this race, but he got shuffled back on the final lap.

I’ll paste in the points when they get around to posting them

 

Unofficial Results: 3rd Annual Sparks 300 - October 1, 2022 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 8, AJ Allmendinger (P), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 113, 6, 3, 3, 3, 5, 53, Running
2) 13, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 113, 10, 6, 2, 3, , 41, Running
3) 18, Landon Cassill, No. 10 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 14, Ryan Sieg (P), No. 39 A-GAME Ford, 113, , 9, 2, 11, , 35, Running
5) 7, Josh Berry (P), No. 8 Jarrett Industries Chevrolet, 113, , 10, , , , 33, Running
6) 9, Parker Kligerman(i), No. 48 Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 0, Running
7) 2, Ty Gibbs (P), No. 54 Sports Clips Haircuts Toyota, 113, 8, , , , , 33, Running
8) 12, Daniel Hemric (P), No. 11 First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet, 113, 3, , , , , 37, Running
9) 5, Brandon Jones (P), No. 19 Menards/Little Hug Toyota, 113, 4, 8, 1, 1, , 38, Running
10) 6, Noah Gragson (P), No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet, 113, , , 1, 1, , 27, Running
11) 23, Riley Herbst (P), No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 113, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 3, Sheldon Creed #, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 113, 2, , 1, 2, , 34, Running
13) 11, Trevor Bayne (P), No. 18 Dollar Concrete Toyota, 113, 5, 4, 2, 13, , 37, Running
14) 1, Austin Hill # (P), No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 113, 1, 1, 5, 60, 2, 43, Running
15) 4, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 113, 7, 2, 1, 6, , 35, Running
16) 20, Anthony Alfredo, No. 23 Dude Wipes Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 16, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet, 113, , 5, , , , 26, Running
18) 35, JJ Yeley, No. 66 AMG Sport Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 30, Josh Williams, No. 36 Star Tron/Alloy Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 37, Jeremy Clements (P), No. 51 One Stop/ASE Chevrolet, 113, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 25, Joey Gase, No. 5 Absaroka Ford, 113, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 19, Joe Graf Jr., No. 07 G Coin Ford, 113, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 26, Derek Griffith, No. 26 Toyota Racing Toyota, 113, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 24, Bayley Currey, No. 4 Alka-Seltzer Chevrolet, 112, , , 2, 12, , 13, Running
25) 33, David Starr, No. 08 Five Network Ford, 112, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 32, BJ McLeod, No. 78 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet, 112, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 36, Timmy Hill(i), No. 13 Buffalo Wild Wings/Coble Chevrolet, 112, , , 1, 1, , 0, Running
28) 22, Jesse Iwuji #, No. 34 Equity Prime Mortgage Chevrolet, 112, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 28, CJ McLaughlin, No. 38 SciAps Ford, 112, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 10, Ryan Vargas, No. 6 Reddit NASCAR Chevrolet, 112, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 31, Caesar Bacarella, No. 45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet, 112, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 34, Howie Disavino III, No. 44 Travis Mills Foundation Chevrolet, 112, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 17, Brandon Brown, No. 68 Zero FG Energy Chevrolet, 112, 9, 7, , , , 10, Running
34) 38, Mike Harmon, No. 47 Alabama Racing Pioneers Chevrolet, 111, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 21, Myatt Snider, No. 31 TaxSlayer Chevrolet, 111, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 15, Blaine Perkins(i), No. 02 AUTOParkit Chevrolet, 110, , , , , , 0, Running
37) 27, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 35 Absaroka Ford, 109, , , , , , 1, Running
38) 29, Mason Massey, No. 91 Anderson Power Services Chevrolet, 95, , , , , , 1, Running
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Race Length: 113 Laps, 300.58 Miles
Time: 1 Hrs, 53 Mins, 33 Secs.
Average Speed: 158.827 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.015 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 21, 2, 11, 19, 18, 16, 7, 54, 68, 1
Stage 2 Top 10: 21, 7, 16, 18, 27, 1, 68, 19, 39, 8

Comments: AJ Allmendinger won the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, his 14th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 5 (engine change) No. 9, 34, 45, 51, 78, 91 (unapproved adjustments), No. 4, 13, 44 (missing driver intros).

Cautions: 3 for 11 laps;
Laps: 4-6 (No. 54 Spin Backstretch [None]);
27-30 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
52-55 (Stage 2 Conclusion [91]).

Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers;
A. Hill # (P) 1-7;
J. Allgaier (P) 8-13;
A. Hill # (P) 14-26;
T. Hill(i) 27;
A. Hill # (P) 28-30;
T. Bayne (P) 31-40;
S. Creed # 41-42;
A. Hill # (P) 43-51;
B. Currey 52;
T. Bayne (P) 53-55;
N. Gragson (P) 56;
B. Jones (P) 57;
R. Sieg (P) 58;
A. Allmendinger (P) 59;
R. Sieg (P) 60-69;
B. Currey 70-80;
A. Hill # (P) 81-108;
S. Mayer (P) 109-110;
A. Allmendinger (P) 111;
S. Mayer (P) 112;
A. Allmendinger (P) 113.

Unofficial Points Report: 3rd Annual Sparks 300, Talladega Superspeedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) AJ Allmendinger (P), 16, 28, 1, 2134, 0, 0, 4, 3, 38
2) Noah Gragson (P), 9, 28, -1, 2134, 0, 0, 7, 13, 56
3) Ty Gibbs (P), 54, 28, 0, 2113, -21, 21, 5, 6, 38
4) Austin Hill # (P), 21, 28, 0, 2107, -27, 6, 2, 3, 18
5) Josh Berry (P), 8, 28, 0, 2091, -43, 16, 2, 6, 22
6) Justin Allgaier (P), 7, 28, 0, 2089, -45, 2, 3, 8, 33
7) Sam Mayer (P), 1, 28, 0, 2076, -58, 13, 0, 2, 5
8) Ryan Sieg (P), 39, 28, 0, 2070, -64, 6, 0, 1, 1
9) Daniel Hemric (P), 11, 28, 1, 2064, -70, 6, 0, 3, 4
10) Riley Herbst (P), 98, 28, -1, 2060, -74, 4, 0, 0, 2
11) Brandon Jones (P), 19, 28, 0, 2060, -74, 0, 1, 1, 10
12) Jeremy Clements (P), 51, 28, 0, 2023, -111, 37, 1, 0, 5
13) Landon Cassill, 10, 28, 0, 639, -1495, 1384, 0, 0, 0
14) Sheldon Creed #, 2, 28, 0, 630, -1504, 9, 0, 0, 0
15) Anthony Alfredo, 23, 28, 0, 540, -1594, 90, 0, 0, 0
16) Brandon Brown, 68, 28, 0, 502, -1632, 38, 0, 0, 0
17) Jeb Burton, 27, 28, 1, 453, -1681, 49, 0, 0, 0
18) Myatt Snider, 31, 28, -1, 435, -1699, 18, 0, 1, 0
19) Brett Moffitt, , 21, 0, 416, -1718, 19, 0, 0, 0
20) Alex Labbe, , 23, 0, 387, -1747, 29, 0, 0, 0
21) Bayley Currey, 4, 28, 0, 370, -1764, 17, 0, 0, 0
22) JJ Yeley, 66, 25, 1, 315, -1819, 55, 0, 0, 0
23) Kyle Weatherman, , 19, -1, 297, -1837, 18, 0, 0, 0
24) Trevor Bayne (P), 18, 7, 2, 278, -1856, 19, 0, 2, 0
25) Ryan Vargas, 6, 23, -1, 273, -1861, 5, 0, 0, 0
26) Josh Williams, 36, 23, -1, 266, -1868, 7, 0, 0, 0
27) Joe Graf Jr) 07, 24, 0, 250, -1884, 16, 0, 0, 0
28) Mason Massey, 91, 20, 0, 231, -1903, 19, 0, 0, 0
29) Kyle Sieg, , 14, 0, 204, -1930, 27, 0, 0, 0
30) Jeffrey Earnhardt, 35, 12, 0, 190, -1944, 14, 0, 0, 0
31) David Starr, 08, 17, 1, 177, -1957, 13, 0, 0, 0
32) Sammy Smith, , 7, -1, 168, -1966, 9, 0, 1, 0
33) Ryan Truex, , 6, 0, 162, -1972, 6, 0, 0, 0
34) Ryan Ellis, , 11, 0, 155, -1979, 7, 0, 0, 0
35) Sage Karam, , 8, 0, 144, -1990, 11, 0, 0, 0
36) Joey Gase, 5, 10, 2, 134, -2000, 10, 0, 0, 0
37) Jade Buford, , 9, -1, 127, -2007, 7, 0, 0, 0
38) Parker Retzlaff, , 6, -1, 119, -2015, 8, 0, 0, 0
39) CJ McLaughlin, 38, 10, 0, 117, -2017, 2, 0, 0, 0
40) Patrick Emerling, , 9, 0, 106, -2028, 11, 0, 0, 0
41) Jesse Iwuji #, 34, 11, 1, 94, -2040, 12, 0, 0, 0
42) Tommy Joe Martins, , 6, -1, 87, -2047, 7, 0, 0, 0
43) Preston Pardus, , 4, 0, 84, -2050, 3, 0, 0, 0
44) Andy Lally, , 4, 0, 83, -2051, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Shane Lee, , 5, 0, 71, -2063, 12, 0, 0, 0
46) Derek Griffith, 26, 5, 0, 70, -2064, 1, 0, 0, 0
47) Nicholas Sanchez, , 4, 0, 54, -2080, 16, 0, 0, 0
48) Miguel Paludo, , 3, 0, 52, -2082, 2, 0, 0, 0
49) Scott Heckert, , 4, 0, 50, -2084, 2, 0, 0, 0
50) Patrick Gallagher, , 4, 0, 44, -2090, 6, 0, 0, 0
51) Caesar Bacarella, 45, 5, 2, 37, -2097, 7, 0, 0, 0
52) Howie Disavino III, 44, 4, 3, 35, -2099, 2, 0, 0, 0
53) Garrett Smithley, , 3, -2, 35, -2099, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Parker Chase, , 2, -2, 31, -2103, 4, 0, 0, 0
55) Drew Dollar, , 2, -1, 30, -2104, 1, 0, 0, 0
56) Dale Earnhardt, , 1, 0, 26, -2108, 4, 0, 0, 0
57) BJ McLeod, 78, 3, 4, 23, -2111, 3, 0, 0, 0
58) Santino Ferrucci, , 2, -1, 22, -2112, 1, 0, 0, 0
59) Dillon Bassett, , 3, -1, 18, -2116, 4, 0, 0, 0
60) Gray Gaulding, , 2, -1, 17, -2117, 1, 0, 0, 0
61) Natalie Decker(i), , 3, -1, 17, -2117, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) Ronnie Bassett, , 2, 0, 10, -2124, 7, 0, 0, 0
63) Chris Dyson, , 1, 0, 9, -2125, 1, 0, 0, 0
64) Spencer Pumpelly, , 1, 0, 8, -2126, 1, 0, 0, 0
65) Dawson Cram, , 1, 0, 7, -2127, 1, 0, 0, 0
66) Bobby Mccarty, , 1, 0, 6, -2128, 1, 0, 0, 0
67) Chad Finchum, , 1, 0, 5, -2129, 1, 0, 0, 0
68) Will Rodgers, , 2, 0, 2, -2132, 3, 0, 0, 0
69) Julia Landauer, , 1, 0, 1, -2133, 1, 0, 0, 0
70) Darren Dilley, , 1, 0, 1, -2133, 0, 0, 0, 0
71) Kyle Larson(i), , 3, 0, 0, -2134, 1, 1, 2, 0
72) Cole Custer(i), , 5, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 1, 1, 0
73) Tyler Reddick(i), , 5, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 1, 0, 0
74) John Hunter Nemechek(i), , 10, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 1, 0
75) Timmy Hill(i), 13, 7, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
76) William Byron(i), , 3, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 2, 0
77) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
78) Ross Chastain(i), , 5, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
79) Ryan Preece(i), , 3, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
80) Kaz Grala(i), , 8, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
81) Chase Briscoe(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Parker Kligerman(i), 48, 3, 4, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
83) Ty Dillon(i), , 4, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
84) Christopher Bell(i), , 1, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
85) Stefan Parsons(i), , 19, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
86) Josh Bilicki(i), , 6, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
87) Connor Mosack(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Matt Mills(i), , 15, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Blaine Perkins(i), 02, 4, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Matt Jaskol(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Kris Wright, , 4, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Brad Perez(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Chandler Smith(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Rajah Caruth(i), , 4, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Akinori Ogata(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Mason Filippi, , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
97) Justin Haley(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Austin Dillon(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Ricky Stenhouse(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Bubba Wallace(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Brennan Poole(i), , 8, 0, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) Mike Harmon, 47, 1, -102, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Loris Hezemans(i), , 1, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Harrison Rhodes, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Jesse Little(i), , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Chase Elliott(i), , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Austin Wayne Self(i), , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) Stan Mullis, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Tim Viens(i), , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Gar Robinson, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Dexter Bean, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Jordan Anderson(i), , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Stanton Barrett, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Joe Nemechek, , 0, -1, 0, -2134, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Ron Fleshman and John Davison

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

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Volume 2022, Issue 10, Posted 7:15 PM, 10.01.2022