We are now less than 48 hours away from NASCAR being back in action at Daytona International Speedway.
With racing so close, teams are on their way to Daytona International Speedway. For the last 24 hours haulers have been departing race shops across the Charlotte, North Carolina, area to make the nearly 480-mile trek south.
Here’s some of the sights and sounds of those haulers beginning their trips.
AJ Allmendinger led 28 of 46 laps Saturday to win the Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas for the second year in a row.
Allmendinger held off William Byron to score his first victory of the year and 16th in the Xfinity Series.
Ty Gibbs placed third and was followed by rookie Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier.
Smith, Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, who placed sixth, and Sam Mayer, who finished seventh, will be eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash next weeked at Richmond after being the top four full-time Xfinity finishers Saturday.
Austin Hill remains the points leader after six races but saw his lead shrink to 15 points on Riley Herbst. John Hunter Nemechek is third in the standings with 220 points, 29 behind Hill.
AJ Allmendinger overcame damage from a restart to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
This is the second year in a row he has won this race. It is Allmendinger’s first victory of the season and 16th career Xfinity win.
William Byron, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, finished second. Ty Gibbs placed third, Sammy Smith fourth and Justin Allgaier fifth.
Smith, Allgaier, sixth-place finisher Daniel Hemric and seventh-place finisher Sam Mayer — the top four full-time Xfinity drivers — will be eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus next week at Richmond Raceway.
Allmendinger won the first stage and then pitted. When a caution came out shortly, it put him 21st in the field. On the Lap 20 restart, his car suffered damage when he was hit going into Turn 1.
Allmendinger worked his way through the field and took the lead from Sheldon Creed on Lap 33 when they made contact and Creed spun. Creed fell back to 23rd and finished the 46-lap race in ninth.
“He was struggling through the triple right-hander and I tried to make a move in the left hander and make sure I stayed off him,” Allmendinger said. “Slid in behind him and he was struggling. I popped out and thought I’m here at least. It’s just a tough angle.
“When I turned in, I thought I had a point that I was far enough alongside. He turned in. It’s just kind of a tight corner, at least the grip-side of the racetrack. If William wasn’t right behind me, I’d probably been more patient. But I kind of felt like whoever got to the lead first might be the guy that won the race. I knew that I needed to be aggressive. … It’s not what I want. I thought I was far enough along.”
Stage 1 winner: AJ Allmendinger
Stage 2 winner: Sheldon Creed
Who had a good race: Josh Berry placed eighth after suffering damage to the front of his car on the first corner of the first lap. It is his fifth consecutive top 10. … Riley Herbst‘s 10th-place finish gives him his ninth consecutive top 10.
Who had a bad race: Austin Hill, who had won three of the first five races this season, had mechanical issues early and finished 37th in the 38-car field.
Next: The series races April 1 at Richmond Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FS1)
Reigning series champion Zane Smith won Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas for the second year in a row.
The victory is Smith’s second of this year.
Kyle Busch finished second and was followed by Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Ross Chastain.
The key moment came when Parker Kligerman‘s truck came to a stop on the frontstretch at Lap 28. Smith, running second, made it to pit road before it was closed. Busch, who was leading, had already passed pit road entrance.
Smith gained the lead with the move, while Busch had to pit under the caution and restarted 16th. Smith was able to build a lead and beat Busch by 5.4 seconds.
Stage 1 winner: Christian Eckes
Stage 2 winner: Kyle Busch
Who had a good race: Ty Majeski’s third-place finish is his best of the season. … Tyler Ankrum’s fourth-place finish is his best of the year. … Corey Heim has finished sixth two races in a row. … Rookie Nick Sanchez finished seventh, giving him back-to-back top 10s.
Who had a bad race: Parker Kligerman was running third when electrical issues forced him to stop on track just after the end of the second stage. … After winning the first stage, Christian Eckes had mechanical issues and had to pit for repairs, costing him several laps.
Notable: Front Row Motorsports has won the Truck COTA race all three years. Todd Gilliland won the race in 2021 and Zane Smith has won it the past two years.
Next: The series races April 1 at Texas Motor Speedway (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1).
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, who has won two of the first five races of the season, will lead the Cup field to the green flag Sunday at Circuit of the Americas.
Byron will be joined on the front row of the starting lineup by Tyler Reddick, the only driver to win multiple races at road courses last year.
Austin Cindric starts third and is joined in the second row by Jordan Taylor, who is filling in for the injured Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick car.
Taylor’s performance is the best qualifying effort by a driver making their Cup debut since Boris Said started second in his Cup debut at Watkins Glen in 1999.
