After forty-five laps around the fourteen turns of Road America, Austin Cindric ultimately reigned supreme, celebrating his fourth win of the season. The win marks the eleventh different winner in eleven Xfinity Series races at the road course. Additionally, the victory adds on to Cindric’s current points leader position and his eleven top-five finishes on the season.
Though it was Cindric that led the final lap, it was Michael Annett who led the field to green at the start of the 182-mile race. This marked the third race in a row that Annett was selected by the random draw to start in the number one position. Cindric grabbed the lead from Annett on lap one.
The race remained green under Cindric’s control until the first yellow flag waved at the end of lap two for Bayley Currey. Tommy Joe Martins and Scott Heckert also suffered issues at the time of the caution. Additionally, Brandon Brown faced fuel pressure issues before the race even started, causing him to lose a lap prior to the first yellow flag.
The second incident-related caution flew for Daniel Hemric’s engine failure on lap eight. Lightning came into sight under the caution and paused racing action for over an hour and a half. Once the red flag lifted, drivers were forced to decide if they were to opt for rain tires or slicks. Vinnie Miller faced issues prior to the restart, which eventually brought another caution on lap 12. After fourteen laps of competition and plenty of breaks in the race, Justin Haley took the stage one win.
In the second section of the race, competition was brought to a halt on lap 27 for Jesse Little, who got caught in the gravel trap. Stage two concluded under caution with A.J. Allmendinger nabbing the stage win.
Lap 39 saw the first yellow of the final stage as Heckert remained stuck in the gravel. The seventh caution flew after the restart for damage to Justin Allgaier, Jeffrey Earnhardt, and Myatt Snider.
At the wave of the checkered flag, Allmendinger trailed Cindric by a mere 1.318 seconds. Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, and Andy Lally rounded up the remainder of the top-five.
The Xfinity Series will be back for more road course racing on August 15 at the Daytona Road Course. Catch all the action next Saturday on NBCSN at 3 PM ET.
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