The Round of 8 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs continued Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. Chase Briscoe won the pole by a metric qualifying system. He was looking to tie Sam Ard for the most wins in Xfinity Series history. Starting next to him and qualifying second was Justin Haley. Chad Finchum (driver change) was the only driver starting the race at the rear of the field.
The stakes are bigger in Texas! A spot in the #Championship4 is on the line at @TXMotorSpeedway! 📺: NBCSN 📱: https://t.co/593lUVrknA pic.twitter.com/kx26M5jHwr — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
Briscoe led the first ten laps when Jeb Burton spun at turn four to bring out the first caution of the race. During the caution, Austin Hill and four others went to pit road while the rest of the field stayed out. Briscoe chose the inside lane with Justin Allgaier outside for the restart on lap 15. Two laps into the restart, playoff contenders Austin Cindric and Justin Haley made contact, battling for the eighth position. Both drivers lost momentum and lost several spots before engaging in another battle for eleventh. Briscoe continued to lead when the competition caution came out on lap 22.
What goes around … comes right back around!@AustinCindric gets back by @Justin_Haley_ by using his own bumper! pic.twitter.com/2XSgWcueZB — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
Cindric, Haley, Moffitt, Hill, and five others went to pit road during the caution. Briscoe chose the inside lane while Allgaier was outside for the restart on lap 26. Chase Briscoe experienced problems nine laps in when he nearly lost the car trying to hold off Brandon Jones. Briscoe made his way to pit road with a right rear down, which turned out to be a broken shock mount in the right rear, so he headed to the garage for repairs. While his crew began working hard to get him back out on the track, a caution came out for fluid from David Starr’s car. During the caution, Burton, Gragson, and twelve others went to pit road. The race resumed with one lap to go in stage one that went to Brandon Jones.
The leader's tire goes flat!@ChaseBriscoe5 makes an incredible save and brings his car down pit road. pic.twitter.com/tDNcFYDfK5 — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, Burton, Gragson, and fourteen others stayed out while everyone else pitted. Teams only had four sets of tires for the race and needed to plan when to change them. Burton chose the inside lane with Gragson outside to start stage two on lap 52. Both Burton and Gragson battled for several laps, exchanging the lead five times before Burton would get the better of Gragson on lap 82. Chase Briscoe came back out onto the racetrack, sixteen laps down. Three laps later, Gragson would lose the second position to Allgaier. Burton led the last nine laps to win stage two.
A HUGE run from @HBurtonRacing takes him to the lead! pic.twitter.com/5RNAErOgSn — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, the leaders went to pit road, with Burton coming out first, followed by Allgaier. Burton chose the outside lane with Allgaier inside to start the final stage on lap 98. Allgaier would take the lead a lap into the final stage while Burton fell to fourth. Burton ran into trouble nine laps later when his car got loose at turn four and spun into the grass to bring the caution out for the sixth time.
Spinner off of Turn 4!@HBurtonRacing keeps it rolling, but will have a lot of ground to make up to get back in contention. pic.twitter.com/ceuuk6NoSW — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, Burton, Annett, and Josh Williams pitted while everyone else stayed out. Allgaier chose the outside lane with Cindric inside for the restart on lap 113. Allgaier continued to lead as the seventh caution came out for Riley Herbst spinning at the backstretch and hitting the inside wall hard. Herbst day would end, and he finished in 32nd place.
Don't think this one will buff out :/@rileyherbst | @TXMotorSpeedway pic.twitter.com/ssMGaVtLBQ — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, everyone came to pit road with Jeb Burton out first, followed by Ross Chastain. Jeb Burton chose the outside lane with Chastain inside for the restart on lap 138. Burton led four laps before Chastain powered his way to the lead. Burton lost four more positions and was running in sixth place. He ran into problems hitting the outside wall off of turn two to bring out the eighth caution. Before the wreck, Burton told his crew chief that the vibration was back. Jeb Burton would finish in 30th place.
A tough break ends a good run for @JebBurtonRacing. Decision time coming up for the field. pic.twitter.com/Vam33eZgNY — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, the leaders pitted with Justin Haley and Michael Annett being the first two off of pit road. Haley chose the outside lane with Annett inside for the restart on lap 164. Chastain restarted in third and would get the lead from the inside lane at turn one. The restart only lasted five laps before another caution was for an accident in the backstretch involving Joe Graf, Jr. and Myatt Snider.
.@RossChastain wants it all! He takes over the lead on the restart! pic.twitter.com/zvsmqapiDV — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, Annett, Vargas, and Jesse Little were the only drivers to pit. Chastain chose the outside lane with Allgaier inside for the restart on lap 176. Austin Cindric, who restarted in third, passed Chastain for the lead after Allgaier got loose and made contact with Chastain. The two battled each other until Chastain came down on Allgaier and caused another accident, taking Brandon Jones and Jeremy Clements with them to bring out the tenth caution. Afterward, Allgaier did not hold back when he was interviewed about the crash.
Disaster on the restart strikes for multiple #NASCARPlayoffs drivers! 😱 pic.twitter.com/cNvqwPdjxB — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
Strong words from @J_Allgaier. 😳 pic.twitter.com/AKPAr4Nh5Y — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
During the caution, no one went to pit road. Cindric chose the outside lane with Gragson inside for the restart with 14 laps to go. Gragson passed Cindric for the lead and began pulling away as Cindric fell to seventh. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton was closing in on Gragson, taking the second position away from Anthony Alfredo. It looked as though Gragson had the victory, but right before the checkered flag, Burton gained momentum and passed him to win the race by .445 seconds. This was Burton’s third win of the year.
🏁 @HBURTONRACING PULLS OFF AN INCREDIBLE PASS FOR THE WIN AT @TXMOTORSPEEDWAY!!! pic.twitter.com/Q2hx5fUGns — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Anthony Alfredo third, Austin Cindric fourth, Brandon Brown fifth, Michael Annett sixth, Justin Haley seventh, Ryan Vargas eighth, Josh Williams ninth, and Tommy Joe Martins tenth. There were ten cautions for 51 laps and nineteen lead changes. After the race, Gragson was at a loss for words.
A dejected @NoahGragson reflects on a missed opportunity at @TXMotorSpeedway. pic.twitter.com/hGP8k41Iyd — NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 24, 2020
The Round of 8 playoff standings is Chase Briscoe first (1 win), Austin Cindric second (+14), Justin Allgaier third (+8), and Justin Haley fourth (+4). The drivers outside looking in for a spot at the final four are Brandon Jones fifth (-4), Ross Chastain sixth (-15), Noah Gragson seventh (-24), and Ryan Sieg eighth (-43).
The Round of 8 playoffs concludes next Saturday, October 31st, from Martinsville Speedway’s Draft Top 250 at 3:30 pm on NBC.
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