CONCORD, N.C. – A spin at the end of the second stage didn’t deter Ty Gibbs, who rebounded to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 18-year-old rising star survived multiple late-race restarts after taking the lead from Chase Briscoe during an intense battle with less than 20 laps left.
Gibbs ran inside the top-10 most of the afternoon, but had his work cut out for him at the end of the second stage after spinning coming out of turn four. Gibbs slid through the frontstretch turf but didn’t hit anything, allowing him to rejoin at the tail of the field.
“I definitely like having turf there. I thought I blew all the side skirts out of it. I was pretty frustrated,” Gibbs said.
RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300
Up to that point the race had been dominated by Daniel Hemric, who swept the first two stages, but Briscoe soon ran him down and took the lead for the first time on lap 115. Hemric would fall back through the field shortly thereafter following a pit road penalty, leaving Briscoe at the front of the field and in control of the race.
However, things changed during a restart on lap 151 when Ryan Sieg opted not to take tires and restart in the lead. Going through turns one and two Sieg got loose and spun back into the pack, taking out Josh Berry and Brett Moffitt in the process.
Gibbs was able to avoid the crash and moved into second behind Briscoe for the restart that followed. Briscoe would hold the lead for the next 20 laps, but Gibbs soon ran him down and began to challenge for the lead with 20 laps left.
As the two battled out of turn two on lap 181, Briscoe’s Ford Mustang got loose on the top as Gibbs hung on his left-rear quarter panel. As a result Briscoe spun down the backstretch to bring out the caution flag.
“I want to say sorry to Briscoe and the 99 crew. That was not my intention at all to wreck them,” Gibbs said. “I just got on his left rear and didn’t help him out with the air and he kind of hopped the cushion so it didn’t really help that. That was partially my fault and I take that for sure.”
Gibbs was now the race leader and brought the field back to the green flag on lap 187, but the field barely made it into turn one before multiple cars crashed. The incident collected the cars of Hemric, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Michael Annett and Tommy Joe Martins and required a lengthy cleanup.
The final restart came with seven laps left and Gibbs made short work of the field, pulling away to his second Xfinity Series victory in his sixth series start.
“It’s definitely nice to win on the oval, especially in my hometown,” Gibbs said. “I’m 30 minutes away from here. So, it’s nice to have a win at least once today.
Gibbs’ day wasn’t done after his victory in the Alsco Uniforms 300. Once he wrapped up his media obligations he went directly to the ARCA Menards Series garage to begin practice for Saturday night’s General Tire 150.
“I’m still worried about the next race,” Gibbs said. “I’ve got to hop back in the car and go practice.”
Austin Cindric finished second, with Harrison Burton finishing third.
Brandon Brown scored a strong fourth-place finish after a strategic gamble to save his final set of tires, which he took prior to the restart after Briscoe’s spin. It’s his second top-five finish of the season.
Tyler Reddick, driving Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 31 Chevrolet for the second-straight week, finished fifth.