CONCORD, N.C. - AJ Allmendinger’s dominance at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval continued Saturday, as he won his third consecutive Xfinity Series race on the 17-turn, 2.32-mile circuit.
Allmendinger led the final 21 laps to score his fifth victory of the season.
“That was a fight today,” Allmendinger told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider.
MORE: Xfinity race results
The race went to overtime after a late caution. While that caution eliminated an 8.8-second lead for Allmendinger, he pulled away on the final restart to win by 3.1 seconds.
Reigning series champion Austin Cindric finished second. Daniel Hemric, who won both stages, finished third. Justin Haley was fourth. Brandon Jones placed fifth.
Saturday’s race marked the end of the Round of 12. Eliminated from title contention were: Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements. The Round of 8 begins next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Harrison Burton, who finished 16th, took the final transfer spot. Jeb Burton was the first driver eliminated, finishing eight points behind his cousin.
The 68-lap race was stopped for 4 minutes, 41 seconds after Josh Bilicki’s car had brake problems and he ran over the rumble strips near the backstretch chicane. Bilicki’s car destroyed a portion of the curbing, forcing the delay for repairs. After consulting with the track and drivers, NASCAR stated Saturday night that it would remove those rumble strips for Sunday’s Cup race.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Daniel Hemric
STAGE 2 WINNER: Daniel Hemric
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Preston Pardus placed seventh for his third top-10 finish in 13 races. ... With his fourth-place result, Justin Haley is the only series driver to finish in the top 10 in all seven road course races this season.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Mechanical problems sent playoff driver Riley Herbst to the garage early. He finished 34th.
NOTABLE: AJ Allmendinger is the third driver to win three consecutive Xfinity races at a road course. Marcos Ambrose and Terry Labonte each won three in a row at Watkins Glen.
NEXT: The Round of 8 begins Oct. 16 at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC).
Josh Bilicki DESTROYS the curb and the car.#NASCAR x NBC pic.twitter.com/ErtiYciaCw
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 9, 2021