Spin Dampens Briscoe’s Run at Rain-Soaked Roval

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In: Xfinity Series News
Race Winner:  A.J. Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner:  Kaz Grala of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner:  Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
 
Overview:
Chase Briscoe was two laps away from winning the Drive for the Cure 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday night at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval until a spin on the rain-soaked track relegated him to an 18th-place finish. The driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Mustang overcame a spin on lap 12 of the 68-lap race around the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course to lead three times for a race-high 23 laps. After falling back to 18th, Briscoe worked his way back to sixth before the race was red flagged after 28 laps for standing water as heavy rain washed over the Charlotte area. After a 38-minute delay, racing resumed and so did Briscoe’s charge toward the front. He took the lead for the first time on lap 36 and held the point through the end of the second stage on lap 40, picking up the stage win and the valuable playoff point that came with it. Briscoe continued to pace the field when the green flag waved again, leading until lap 51 when A.J. Allmendinger passed him for the top spot. It was the beginning of a spirited battle between the two, as they traded the lead three more times before the race ended. Briscoe had the lead on the penultimate lap following a lap-67 restart, but he spun off turn three as rain pelted the track, handing the lead back to Allmendinger, who tip-toed around the track to take the victory.
 
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School / HighPoint.com Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“In conditions like this you’ve got to be at 100 percent, and I tried going 110 and it bit me. This one is going to sting for a long time. Ford Performance Racing School is based right out of here at Charlotte and HighPoint has an office down the road in Ballantyne, so it would have been a big night. I felt like I did my job right for about 95 percent of the race and I just knew if A.J. (Allmendinger) was beside me getting into (turn) three – he had been running me up so much I tried throttling up and I was in first gear and hit the puddle and it spun me out. That was frustrating, to say the least. We obviously had a really good Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Mustang, but didn’t get it in victory lane. We’ll go on to Kansas and have a short memory. Next week is a lot more important than today was, so we’ll go on to Kansas and try to get a win.”
 
Notes:
●  Briscoe won Stage 2 to earn 10 bonus points and a playoff point, bringing his season-long playoff point tally to a series-best 60.
●  Briscoe led three times for a race-high 23 laps to bring his season-long laps led total to a career-high 798 laps.
●  The Roval was the last race in the Round of 12 and Briscoe advanced to the Round of 8 by virtue of his win Sept. 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He enters the Round of 8 as the No. 1 seed with a 10-point advantage over second-place Austin Cindric.
●  Allmendinger won the Drive for the Cure 250 to score his fifth career Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his second at the Roval. His margin of victory over second-place Noah Gragson was .446 of a second.
●  There were 10 caution periods for a total of 24 laps.
●  Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the Drive for the Cure 250 finished on the lead lap.
 
Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race starts at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
 
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