By AMANDA VINCENT
Chandler Smith claimed his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the last three races Saturday in the Toyota Care 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. It was his third-career Xfinity win, his second of 2024. Smith remains undefeated in Xfinity Series competition at Richmond with his latest win being his second in only two races at the track.
“Never give up. This car was junk in stage one, wasn’t good in stage two, but used some good strategy, there, and this thing was fast when it counted,” Smith said. “I think we took over the points lead today, too. I’m just blessed.”
Aric Almirola finished second after leading a race-high 95 laps, and Taylor Gray was third in his Xfinity Series debut for a Joe Gibbs Racing one-two-three. Corey Heim and Jesse Love rounded out the top-five.
The Richmond race was the qualifier for the first Dash 4 Cash bonus opportunity of 2024 April 6 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The top-four Xfinity regulars at Richmond — Smith, Almirola, Love and Parker Kligerman (seventh) — will contend for a $100,000 bonus at Martinsville.
Almirola and Sam Mayer were first and second for a restart with just under 100 laps remaining in the 250-lap race Saturday. Mayer suffered a flat tire while still running second on lap 162, and on lap 163, Smith passed Almirola for the lead.
Smith and Almirola were among the drivers who pitted for new tires during the sixth caution of the race for a Joey Gase spin from contact from Dawson Cram on lap 173.
“He loses his head every race,” Gase said of Cram.
Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer were, then, top-two among a group of 13 drivers who opted to stay out during the yellow flag.
“If we could do it again, we would have pitted,” Custer said. “We talked about it for five days coming here. It just seemed like that was not enough laps on your tires to really take that chance to not have a set at the end. The field was split on it, so that just shows how hard of a decision it was. It, obviously, worked out for those guys, but it can go either way on that.”
Custer led a few laps after the 184 restart, but Smith took the lead on lap 191 and Almirola second on lap 194. Custer pitted for new tires under green on lap 224 and went two laps down. He gained ground from there but ran out of time to get back up among the frontrunners. Custer finished 10th.
Almirola won the first of two 75-lap stages after taking the lead from Allgaier on lap 65.
Allgaier took the lead from pole sitter Parker Retzlaff on a lap-28 restart from a lap-20 caution that came out when Ryan Vargas’ car caught fire.
Retzlaff’s pole was a career-first for the driver and Jordan Anderson Racing.
Retzlaff’s JAR teammate Heim took the lead on lap 43, just before a second caution came out when Brandon Jones’ engine blew, and Jones and Ryan Sieg spun in the fluid.
Allgaier retook the lead on the lap-57 restart.
Brennan Poole was among a handful of drivers who pitted during the second caution. With new tires, he was able to drive from 31st on the restart to second by stage-end.
Almirola completed the stage sweep with a second stage win on lap 150. Almirola maintained his lead through pit stops after stage one and dominated stage two.
Mayer and Smith were second and third at the end of the second stage.
Heim, after leading briefly in the opening stage, had a slow pit stop after stage one because of a jack malfunction. He recovered to get up to fifth by passing Allgaier on the last lap of stage two.
The second stage included a caution for a Logan Bearden spin on lap 96.
Bubba Pollard finished sixth in his Xfinity Series debut. Austin Hill was eighth, and Sammy Smith finished 10th.
