Josh Berry to enter full-time Xfinity Series competition in 2022 with JR Motorsports

Posted on August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by Staff Report

JR Motorsports announced Monday that Josh Berry will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season, taking the wheel of the organization’s No. 8 Chevrolet.

Berry, last year’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion, has made 16 Xfinity Series starts on a part-time basis this season — 13 for JRM and three for Jordan Anderson Racing. The 30-year-old driver notched an emotional breakthrough victory in April at Martinsville Speedway.

“This moment is something we’ve been working toward for a long time,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a JRM release. “Josh took full advantage of the opportunity he had this year in the No. 8 car. He went out, raced hard, and earned every bit of this. With all he’s accomplished on a limited schedule, I can’t wait to see what he can do in this series full time.”

Sponsorship details for the No. 8 Chevrolet “will be announced in the coming weeks,” according to the team. Tire Pros, Chevrolet Accessories, Filter Time and iRacing have been among the No. 8 entry’s backers this season.

Berry had made a total of seven Xfinity Series starts from 2014-17 before landing this year’s opportunity. He is sharing seat time in the No. 8 Chevy this season with 18-year-old Sam Mayer (six starts so far in 2021) and veteran Miguel Paludo (three starts).

Berry is an 11-year vet of JR Motorsports’ long-running short track program, notching 89 Late Model wins and multiple titles at the local track and regional touring series level.

“It’s difficult to put into words what this means,” Berry said. “I’m just a local short track racer, so saying this is a dream come true seems like an understatement. I’m so grateful to Dale, Kelley, L.W. (Miller) and everyone at JR Motorsports. They have always believed in me. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m ready and focused on 2022.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — NASCAR Vice President of Competition Scott Miller and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track President Doug Boles addressed issues with the curbing in Turn 6 following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the track’s 2.439-mile road course.

The curbing came apart on the right-hand corner on Lap 78 of the scheduled 82-lap race, causing damage to multiple cars and a significant crash involving William Byron, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, James Davison, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

“Obviously that thing had deteriorated after that last big wreck quite substantially. There was no way we could justify leaving it like it was without removing it,” Miller said. “There was some debate and it obviously had to come out if we were going to continue.”

Miller indicated there was also some debate among NASCAR officials whether to remove the larger sausage curbing that laid adjacent to the damaged curbing, but that was not an option.

“… As we worked through putting the track together for Xfinity (Series) for last year’s race, there was a big ask from the drivers to have something back there because that section was just way too fast, there was that grass and then going into Turn 7 they would have maybe been running 15-20 miles per hour faster,” Miller said. “We weren’t going to sign up for that. That other one had to stay. That was the only way we were going to get back to racing (Sunday).”

A red flag was displayed following the incident, which lasted 19 minutes and 14 seconds as track officials removed the damaged curbing from the racing surface and cleared away oil on the race track. Boles was also out on the track assisting with the cleanup.

“The curbing that delaminated is the same style of curbing that we’ve had since we re-did the road course in 2014, so those curbs have been placed, repaired, so we’ve not really ever had an issue with those curbs at all,” Boles said. “… We looked at that curb between every session, we looked at it at night and in the morning and there was no indication today that there was really anything wrong with that curbing. So, it was a little bit of a surprise for us when the race had started that we started having issues with it.”

Both Boles and Miller noted they don’t feel this will impact any decisions to keep the Cup Series on the road course next year and beyond and they would take this as a learning experience.

“We had our problems (Sunday),” Miller said. “This is one of those deals where you take a lot of learnings away and come back and put on a better event, obviously avoiding the problems that we had (Sunday). I think that we saw some exciting action out there and I think the course itself puts on a really good show.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Denny Hamlin took a long walk down pit road following a chaotic ending to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The end result of that stroll was a visit with Chase Briscoe.

With two laps remaining during the final overtime restart, Briscoe made contact with the back bumper of Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, sending Hamlin for a spin. A moment prior on the same lap, Briscoe went off-course at the exit of Turn 1, going through the grass and getting back on track alongside Hamlin for the lead.

Briscoe’s move back onto the race track was considered cutting the course, so NASCAR officials handed down a stop-and-go penalty to Briscoe. According to Briscoe, he wasn’t aware of the penalty when he was racing Hamlin for the lead, which ultimately led to the contact and spin.

Hamlin finished 23rd while Briscoe was parked by NASCAR officials after running into the back of Hamlin under penalty. Briscoe was listed as finishing 26th.

The two drivers discussed the incident for a brief amount of time before parting ways.

Denny Hamlin walks down pit road at Indy to approach Chase Briscoe. Chase Wilhelm | NASCAR Digital Media

“At first, I didn’t know if I was getting anywhere,” Briscoe said of his conversation with Hamlin on pit road. “Once I explained to him that I didn’t even know I had a penalty until I got to Turn 10, if I knew I had a penalty, there was no need for me to even try to pass him for the win. If I would have known that earlier, I would have done my stop-and-go and went on. As I understood it, at that moment in time I could still win the race and I was going for it and got into him accidentally.”

Hamlin did agree that Briscoe did not intentionally make the contact, but that didn’t help the sting of defeat.

“I agree it’s not on purpose, but my team told me that he had a penalty right away and to me, it’s obvious,” Hamlin said. “If you cut the race track and end up in the lead, you’re going to have a penalty. Lack of awareness. Race me for a lap. He went right in the back of me.

“We can’t race that way,” Hamlin added. “I don’t think he did it (maliciously). I’ve raced with him for a year now. He’s not that kind of person, just bad judgment.”

Briscoe felt he made some headway with Hamlin’s understanding of the situation toward the end of their conversation.

“(Hamlin) has been there when you are trying to get your first win and especially in our playoff situation, you have to do what you have to do,” Briscoe said. “That is what I get paid to do and that is what I was trying to do.”

Car owner Tony Stewart watched on while Briscoe and Hamlin hashed it out. Following the discussion, Stewart offered Briscoe some words of encouragement.

“I’m just glad you stood up for yourself on it,” Stewart said. “You deserve to. That’ll go a long way. I’m proud of you.”

After the race, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed Briscoe’s penalty and the driver being unaware when it occurred.

“It was announced over the race channel that he (Briscoe) had a penalty and needed to serve it prior to having the incident out there with the 11 (Hamlin),” Miller said. “…There wasn’t much time left by the time that we called the penalty and him getting into it with the 11. We will do some investigation and make sure the spotter conveyed the message well to the driver before that happened. That was unfortunate how that went.”

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Denny Hamlin has secured himself a spot in the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs.

The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota clinched a berth by virtue of AJ Allmendinger, a non-playoff eligible driver, winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Hamlin finished 23rd in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard — race No. 24 of the season — but nearly scored the victory himself before contact from Chase Briscoe with two laps to go sent him spinning from the lead.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series standings

Hamlin entered the inaugural event tied for most points in the NASCAR Cup Series — sharing 917 with Kyle Larson — even without a win. When it came to the playoff picture, Hamlin was 302 points above the final spot, and with that kind of cushion, he was the only driver capable of clinching solely on points. A win would have done the trick, too.

Hamlin has qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs 15 times now — every season in which he did not miss multiple races. The current four-round format was introduced in 2014.

Last season, Hamlin made it all the way to the Championship 4. He ultimately placed fourth in the final standings after finishing fourth in title event at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin also reached the Championship 4 in 2014 and 2019. In 2016-17, he was eliminated in the Round of 8. He was cut in the Round of 12 in 2015 and then in the Round of 16 in 2018.

Hamlin was the NASCAR Cup Series’ runner-up in 2010, his best-ever finish in the series standings.

Two regular-season races remain, starting with FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The finale will then be Aug. 28 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Hamlin has won twice at Michigan and three times at Daytona.

Posted on August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by Holly Cain

INDIANAPOLIS — The first NASCAR Cup Series road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of drama — for AJ Allmendinger, who led only the last two laps of overtime to secure his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, and for those who fell short of the cherished trophy in an action-packed final few laps.

Denny Hamlin was leading the race on the final restart with two laps to go before being hit from behind by rookie Chase Briscoe in Turn 10, just before Briscoe was supposed to serve a penalty for running off-course earlier in the lap. Instead of winning, Hamlin finished 23rd and Briscoe, 26th.

With those two cars derailed, Allmendinger moved up from third place to take the lead and hold off Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson by .929-seconds.

Before the race, Allmendinger shrugged off any suggestions that he shouldn’t be considered an odds-on favorite despite his impressive road-course background. This season he’s competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing and Sunday marked only his fourth Cup Series start of the year.

But the former open-wheel star has an Indianapolis 500 start, leading 27 laps in a seventh-place finish in 2013, and this iconic track has long been considered hallowed ground by the 39-year-old Californian.

“We just won at Indy, what’s up,” Allmendinger yelled toward the grandstands after screaming in excitement on his team radio during his entire victory doughnut celebration in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at Indianapolis’ famed yard of bricks start/finish line.

“I mean, it was survival of the fittest,” Allmendinger said. “We probably had like an eighth, 10th-place car, sped on pit road. I thought we were going to finish 12th to 15th and then those restarts were just insane.

“It’s great when you have a car owner that just says, ‘go get me trophies.’ He doesn’t care if that thing is torn up.”

As Allmendinger was in the midst of his victory celebration, Hamlin walked through the smoke, down Indianapolis pit road to find Briscoe and discuss the incident.

“It’s just lack of awareness,” Hamlin said of Briscoe.

“I agree it’s not on purpose, but my team told me he had a penalty right away and to me, it’s obvious. If you cut the race track and end up in the lead, you’re going to have a penalty.

“Lack of awareness. Race me for a lap. He went right in the back of me. We can’t race that way. I don’t think he did it maliciously. I’ve raced with him for a year now and he’s not that kind of person. Just bad judgment.”

“I can accept it (Briscoe’s explanation to him),” Hamlin continued. “The roles have been reversed a couple times, I mean I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve been on the giving end of mistakes, so I get it. To me, it’s just a lack of situational awareness. Obviously, you’re going to get a penalty if you go off the race track like he did. I’m not like, furious, it just sucks.”

For his part, Briscoe acknowledged his part of the incident but insisted he did not intentionally wreck Hamlin. He said he was glad to try and sort things out after the race.

“I explained to him that I didn’t even know I had a penalty until I got to Turn 10,” Briscoe said. “If I knew I had a penalty, there was no need for me to even try to pass him for the win. If I would have known that earlier, I would have done my stop-and-go and went on. As I understand it, at the moment in time I could still win the race and I was going for it and got into him accidentally.

“I think at the end (in discussing it) he kind of started to understand. He has been there when you are trying to get your first win and especially in our Playoff situation, you have to do what you have to do.

“That is what I get paid to do and that is what I was trying to do.”

“I’m sorry it ruined his day, that was never my intention,” Briscoe continued. “I don’t want to wreck anyone for the win. I’ve never done that in my life.”

After winning seven races last season, Hamlin is winless in 2021 with only two races remaining. And his 23rd-place finish cost him the championship points lead he’d held since the second race of the year in February. Briscoe was trying to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series race, which is essentially the only thing that could put him in the Playoffs at this point as he is ranked well below the cutoff.

Larson’s third-place run was good enough to move the five-race winner atop the standings, but Hamlin still secured a playoff berth.

A pileup on the first overtime restart forced the double-overtime period with six cars — including the two Richard Childress Racing cars vying for the final Playoff position — collected and eliminated as they negotiated a tricky Turn 5-6 combination with curbing issues that troubled the competitors all day.

With 11 laps to go, it appeared Larson would be picking up his fourth road-course victory of the year as he held a commanding 4-second lead on the field. But a debris caution came out forcing the team’s hand in pitting or gambling on a better restart position.

All but five cars pitted. Hamlin stayed out to take the lead in front of Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Newman and Briscoe.

Larson led the pit parade in for tires and came out first — sixth position on track; followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, who filled out the top 10 for the restart with six laps remaining.

With a highly motivated Hamlin out front — still looking for his first victory of the season after winning seven times last year — he fought off Briscoe to hold the lead on older tires. Battling furiously for position just behind them, a nine-car accident in Turns 5-6 brought out a red flag as NASCAR officials spent nearly 20 minutes actually removing some of the curbing that contributed to the wrecks.

The incident involved nine cars, eliminating frontrunners William Byron, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Christopher Bell. Byron, had been in the top five when he hit the curbing. Just behind him, Martin Truex Jr. spun then Logano and then Suarez.

Elliott finished fourth with DiBenedetto taking fifth place — his third top five of the season. Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Allmendinger’s teammate Justin Haley, Xfinity Series championship leader Austin Cindric and former Indy winner Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10.

“Wild is not a crazy enough term for what that was,” DiBenedetto said of the afternoon.

With two races remaining to set the 16-driver playoff field, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the big oval next in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection was completed without major issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Allmendinger as the winner. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney was found with one lug nut missing. According to the guidelines in the NASCAR Rule Book, that infraction should result in a fine for crew chief Todd Gordon in this week’s penalty report.

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by Staff Report

Multiple cars were damaged on Lap 78 of a scheduled 82 laps in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard when curbing came apart in Turn 6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

While Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe were battling for the lead, Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford — which ended up crashing hard into the tire barrier — William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota all sustained damaged after hitting the curb. Also involved in the chain-reaction wreck were Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, James Davison, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez.

“Yeah, I am OK,” Logano said. “Thank God those tire packs were there. The hit wasn’t that hard at all. The tires absorbed a lot of it. I don’t believe in luck, but that time I feel like it was just bad luck. Wrong place at the wrong time and unfortunately it ended our day.”

The red flag was displayed as track workers cleaned up debris from the wreck, and that included a tow truck hauling away the damaged curbing. The red flag lasted for 19 minutes, 14 seconds.

Eventually, the race was restarted and extended to overtime, and after two overtime attempts, AJ Allmendinger for Kaulig Racing came across the start-finish line as the winner.

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, August 16
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon, FS1 (re-air)

Tuesday, August 17
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, August 18
3 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Lamborghini Super Trofeo: Road America, NBCSN
4 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special Mazda MX-5 Cup: Road America, NBCSN
5 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Pilot Challenge: Road America 120, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Classic: 1988 Daytona 500, FS1 (re-air)

Thursday, August 19
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, August 20
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Gateway, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS1

On MRN
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series Henry Ford Health Systems 200 at Michigan
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway

Saturday, August 21
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS1 (re-air)
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway, FS2 (re-air)
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)

On MRN
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan

Sunday, August 22
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Michigan, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
6 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show: Michigan, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan

Posted on August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by Staff Report

William Byron scored the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (1 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Byron laid down a lap of 100.044 mph in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the second round of qualifying to score his second pole of the season and the seventh of his career. He won the pole in July at Road America as well.

“Hopefully we have the speed in the race on my end to back it up; but definitely been doing a good job in qualifying,” Byron said after he locked down the pole position. “I’m glad we got qualifying back because I feel like that’s one of our strengths on the No. 24. So, I’m looking forward to the race. And, like I said, hopefully we can keep it up there.”

Byron is one of three Hendrick cars that will start in the top five of Sunday’s race. Road-course aces Chase Elliott will start third (99.518 mph) and Kyle Larson will start fourth (99.433 mph). Elliott and Larson have combined to win four of the five road-course races so far this season with Elliott scoring wins at Circuit of The Americas and Road America while Larson has grabbed victories at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Elliott has seven road-course wins in his Cup career.

Rookie Chase Briscoe will start on the front row next to Byron in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford as he qualified second (99.561 mph). Briscoe won the Xfinity race last year on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile layout and has all three of his top 10s this season on road courses.

Daniel Suarez (No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet, 99.291 mph) will line up fifth with Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 99.211 mph) sixth. Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Michael McDowell will line up seventh through 12th, respectively.

Notable drivers to start outside the top 12 include: Saturday’s Xfinity Series winner Austin Cindric (starting 13th), Denny Hamlin (starting 14th), Ryan Blaney (starting 16th), Christopher Bell (starting 17th), Kurt Busch (starting 20th), Kyle Busch (starting 21st), Alex Bowman (starting 24th), Kevin Harvick (starting 25th) and Brad Keselowski (starting 31st).

Posted on August 14, 2021August 15, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — NASCAR officials will remove the orange rumble strip at the exit of Turn 6 before Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The rumble strip posed an issue during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the 2.439-mile road course after a Lap 1 crash damaged the front end of a number of cars when they got off-course, including Brandon Brown, Harrison Burton, Kevin Harvick and Brandon Jones.

The Cup Series will be on track Sunday beginning with Busch Pole Qualifying at 9 a.m. ET on CNBC, IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, followed by the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at 1 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on August 14, 2021August 14, 2021 by Holly Cain

INDIANAPOLIS – It was essentially a storybook ending for Austin Cindric Saturday afternoon in the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard and the 22-year old with Hoosier roots appropriately celebrated his first win at the renowned Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course by singing “Back Home Again in Indiana” as he took a victory lap.

Cindric easily outpaced the NASCAR Xfinity Series field by 2.108-seconds to take his series-best fifth victory of the year and 13th of his career. It marked the second win on the day for Team Penske, which won an NTT IndyCar race earlier in the day at the renowned Indianapolis facility now owned by Roger Penske himself.

The president of Team Penske, Tim Cindric, met his son in Victory Lane to celebrate – hugs, high-fives and pat-on-the-backs everywhere. Indiana is the Cindric family home for generations.

RELATED: Race results from Indianapolis

“Unbelievable and first of all I’ve got to thank Roger Penske for every opportunity I’ve had in my career and every opportunity he’s given race fans to enjoy this beautiful facility,” a grinning Cindric said.

“To win at this facility is amazing,” Cindric said, adding, “What this place means to me, I can’t even put into words what this means.

“Proud to be here, proud to win for Roger and proud to win at the speedway. There’s nothing bigger.”

Cindric led a race-best 29 of the 62 laps on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis road course, taking the lead for good with 17 laps remaining and pulling away to a nearly four-second advantage at one point. Polesitter and Stage 2 winner AJ Allmendinger finished runner-up for the second consecutive week at a road course track.

Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley – also an Indiana native — won Stage 1 and finished third.

WATCH: Justin Haley scores Stage 1 win

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott rallied to a fourth-place finish despite finding out only hours earlier that he would substitute for Michael Annett, in the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet so Annett could continue recovering from a leg injury.

“I was actually still asleep this morning when I got the call,” Elliott said, noting that when he saw Hendrick Motorsports Vice President Chad Knaus had called, he momentarily worried he’d slept through NASCAR Cup Series practice and was getting fired.

Instead, he rallied to an impressive finish and got some time on the track in advance of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Another JR Motorsports driver, Noah Gragson, finished fifth. NASCAR Cup Series regular Austin Dillon, Myatt Snider, Riley Herbst, Harrison Burton and road racing star Andy Lally rounded out the top-10.

That was an important finish for Herbst, who entered the 13th in the championship, one position outside the Playoff hunt. His work – which included 11 bonus points in the stage finishes – was good enough to move up into that 12th position, 10 points ahead of Annett.

The other two drivers still in Playoff contention with only two races remaining to set the 12-driver field, Brandon Brown and Ryan Sieg, both had troubles Saturday. Brown was scored 34th of the 36 cars and did not finish after his car suffered damage in a first-lap incident. Sieg spun out in the opening laps then had a tire go down later in the race, finishing 32nd. They are now -41 (Brown) and -73 (Sieg) points behind Herbst.

Burton’s top-10 result was also impressive considering he was among eight drivers who got caught up in a first-lap mishap – cars going airborne as they ran over a “speed bump” on the track’s outside skirt. Lally, an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship star and the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, has made only four previous starts on the season and now has a pair of top 10s.

MORE: NASCAR to remove rumble strip outside of Turn 6

Certainly, however, the day and the moment belonged to Cindric who ran his fastest laps of the race in the final few circuits — the victory one of the most cherished moments in his young career.

“It’s a racer’s dream,” Cindric said. “It’s not the win, it’s getting to compete. I think everyone that walks into this place knows what this means.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Michigan International Speedway next week for the New Holland 250 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage is clear without issues, confirming Cindric’s win.