Almirola Takes Kansas Xfinity Thriller

(KANSAS CITY, KS – SEP 28, 2024 – RIS) Aric Almirola took the victory in NASCAR’s Kansas Lottery 300 Xfinity Series race, taking the lead from Cole Custer on lap 197 of the 200 lapper on the way to a gap of 0.660 second at the checkered flag. “That was a long day after a hard day at the office,” said Almirola after the race.
“That was a blue-collar day,” he added. “Man, that was a really tough day. We had such a great car. This He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra was so fast. Just we kept putting ourselves behind and I felt like we just kept having bad luck. (Pit) gun breaking, things going wrong, but the car was fast. When you have a fast car, you can overcome a lot so just really proud of everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. What a way to start the Playoffs to lock ourselves in the next round of the owner’s championship.”
Earlier in the race, Austin Hill caused Riley Herbst to spin, costing Herbst stage points. The two had a long (apparently calm) talk after the race.
Unofficial Results: Kansas Lottery 300, September 28, 2024 - Kansas Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 6, Aric Almirola (P), No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota, 200, 1, 2, 16, 6, 2, 59, Running
2) 3, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 CW on NXT Ford, 200, 3, 4, 48, , 3, 51, Running
3) 2, Chandler Smith (P), No. 81 QuickTie Toyota, 200, 2, 5, 114, , 4, 50, Running
4) 4, Connor Zilisch, No. 88 KOA/RTIC Chevrolet, 200, , , , , 5, 39, Running
5) 15, Sheldon Creed (P), No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota, 200, 6, , , , 7, 41, Running
6) 1, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Schultz Chevrolet, 200, 4, 2, 4, , 8, 41, Running
7) 10, Austin Hill (P), No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 200, 7, , , , 6, 39, Running
8) 22, Shane Van Gisbergen # (P), No. 97 Safety Culture Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 7, Jesse Love # (P), No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 16, Riley Herbst (P), No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 200, 9, , , , , 29, Running
11) 18, Josh Williams, No. 11 Call 811 Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 8, Parker Kligerman (P), No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, 200, 10, , , , , 26, Running
13) 5, Sam Mayer (P), No. 1 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet, 200, 5, 1, 18, 1, 1, 40, Running
14) 24, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38 ReMA Ford, 200, , , , , 9, 25, Running
15) 20, Anthony Alfredo, No. 5 Ferguson Chevrolet, 200, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 12, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 200, , , , , 10, 22, Running
17) 14, AJ Allmendinger (P), No. 16 Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 28, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Macc Door/DoorLink Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 29, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Snapchat Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 25, JJ Yeley, No. 14 MPV Express Ford, 199, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 23, Parker Retzlaff, No. 31 EasyCare Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 13, Sammy Smith (P), No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 19, Jeb Burton, No. 27 BG Products Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 21, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 RSS Racing Ford, 198, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 38, Leland Honeyman #, No. 42 Hardscape Contractors Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 33, Kyle Weatherman, No. 91 Crav'n Flavor Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 26, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Impel Union Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 32, Blaine Perkins, No. 29 Crocodile Cloth Ford, 197, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 36, Ryan Vargas, No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 35, Patrick Emerling, No. 07 BB Roofing Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 17, Corey Heim(i), No. 26 Endava Toyota, 195, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 34, Joey Gase, No. 35 Branson.com Chevrolet, 194, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 31, Logan Bearden, No. 15 AirBox Ford, 190, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 30, Daniel Dye(i), No. 10 Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet, 189, , , , , , 0, Running
35) 27, Dawson Cram(i), No. 92 Trade with the Pros Chevrolet, 174, , , , , , 0, Fuel Pressure
36) 9, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 73, 8, , , , , 4, Accident
37) 37, Brad Perez, No. 45 APEX Coffee Roasters Chevrolet, 61, , , , , , 1, Oil Pump
38) 11, Taylor Gray(i), No. 19 Operation 300 Toyota, 45, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Race Length: 200 Laps, 300. Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 28 Mins, 43 Secs
Average Speed: 121.036 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.660 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 20, 81, 00, 9, 1, 18, 21, 7, 98, 48
Stage 2 Top 10: 1, 20, 00, 81, 88, 21, 18, 9, 38, 39
Comments: Aric Almirola won the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, his 6th 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. 15, 27, 38, 45, 92 (unapproved adjustments), 42 (engine change).
Cautions: 6 for 33 laps;
Laps: 7-10 (No. 8 Spin Backstretch [51]);
46-53 (Fluid on track / Stage 1 Conclusion [91]);
66-69 (No. 45 Stopped on Track [8]);
71-75 (No. 7, 18 Incident Backstretch [42]);
92-97 (No. 21, 98 Incident Turn 4 / Stage 2 Conclusion [43]);
146-151 (Debris on Track [39]).
Lead Changes: 14 among 5 drivers;
C. Smith (P) 1-9;
B. Jones 10;
C. Smith (P) 11-36;
A. Almirola (P) 37-48;
C. Smith (P) 49;
C. Custer (P) 50-75;
S. Mayer (P) 76-93;
C. Smith (P) 94-136;
C. Custer (P) 137-144;
B. Jones 145-147;
C. Custer (P) 148-155;
C. Smith (P) 156-190;
C. Custer (P) 191-196;
A. Almirola (P) 197-200.
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John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.