KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Ty Gibbs kicked off a busy Saturday at Kansas Speedway with his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season during the Kansas Lottery 300.
The victory for Gibbs, which came aboard the No. 54 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, came just hours before the ARCA Menards Series finale. Gibbs leads the standings entering the ARCA finale and need only start the race to clinch the series title.
“What a day. First of all, all glory to my Father above. Everything goes to Him. This is awesome,” Gibbs said. “I’m just so blessed.”
Gibbs had his work cut out for him during the final stage after getting busted for speeding on pit road between the second and third stages. He was forced to start at the rear of the field, but he went to work and was quickly back in contention.
He was able to make his way back to the front of the field, taking the lead from Austin Cindric during a restart with 60 laps left. Cindric soon returned the favor, retaking the position a few laps later prior to one of several cautions during the final stage.Â
Another caution with 46 laps left opened the door for several leaders to hit pit road for the final time, including Gibbs and Cindric. Several contenders, including Cindric’s championship rival A.J. Allmendinger, opted not to pit for their final set of tires and cycled closer to the front.
The race resumed with 37 laps left and Cindric used his fresh tires to his advantage, slicing back up through the field to take the lead from Noah Gragson with 34 laps left. Gibbs wasn’t far behind him and moved into second shortly thereafter.Â
Cindric continued to lead until a caution with 22 laps left when contact between Sam Mayer and Harrison Burton sent Burton up the track and into Noah Gragson. Burton and Gragson crashed into the frontstretch wall, ending the day for both drivers. The trio were battling for third at the time of the crash.
Allmendinger was among those with fresh tires left who opted to hit pit road during the caution period while Cindric and Gibbs opted to stay out since they were out of tires. Allmendinger restarted 11th with 15 laps left and quickly went to work, battling his way up to third within three laps.
At the front of the field Cindric held the lead during the restart, but Gibbs stayed right with him and made the winning move going into turn three with 11 laps left.
Gibbs went unchallenged from there as he secured the No. 54 team’s 11th victory of the season. It’s also the team’s second-straight victory after John Hunter Nemechek won in the No. 54 last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
“I just feel like he (Cindric) got a little bit free and just kind of slid up a little bit in (turns) three and four and I could just get to his left-rear and just side draft him,” Gibbs said. “I got loose a couple times over there, but I was just trying to give it my all.
“To have four wins this year in the Xfinity Series is just unbelievable.”
Cindric finished second ahead of a fast closing Allmendinger. Justin Haley and Ryan Sieg, both of whom took fresh tires during the final caution, completed the top-five.Â
With one race left before the championship round at Phoenix Raceway, no drivers have locked themselves into the Championship 4. Cindric and Allmendinger have a comfortable 47-point buffer on the cutoff line.
Behind them the battle tightens with Justin Allgaier sitting nine points above the cutoff and Daniel Hemric seven points above the cutoff. Haley is next, seven points below the cutoff. Gragson, following the crash Saturday, is 24 points below the cutoff and will need some help next weekend at Martinsville Speedway if he hopes to race for a championship.
Behind Gragson are a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton. They are 40 and 51 points, respectively, below the cutoff and will need to win next weekend at Martinsville Speedway if they’re going to race for a championship at Phoenix Raceway.