A late-race spin set up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag in Phoenix's NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and it certainly did not disappoint. Justin Allgaier was on the verge of victory, but he had to hang on for one final restart.
Unfortunately for the reigning Xfinity Series champion, it did not go his way as he pushed up the track in Turn 1, getting into the side of Aric Almirola. As they both slid up, Brandon Jones went low for the lead, but at the same time, Alex Bowman sent it up the middle in a brilliant four-wide move to take the lead.
Almirola chased after him and the two drivers ended up side-by-side through the final set of corners. No one was giving an inch as Almirola ran wide, slamming doors with Bowman and shoving him into the outside wall. At the line, it was just 0.045s with Almirola claiming victory over a fuming (and smoking) Bowman. Jones was third, Ryan Sieg fourth, while Allgaier fell back to fifth.
Almirola and Bowman see things differently
"I just knew I needed to get from there (final corner) to here (finish line) first," said Almirola in his winner's interview, celebrating his eighth career victory. "I knew I was going to use him up a little, but trying to win the race. I feel like it was warranted. I didn't think I did anything overly egregious. I just throttled up and I knew it was gonna be a drag race to the start/finish line."
Bowman obviously had another view of it all and showed his displeasure to Almirola as he passed him on the cool-down lap. "I would have hoped he would have given me a lane on exit but he just exited like I wasn't there, Bowman told The CW. "He was better than us for sure...just trying to capitalize on that restart and trying to win the race and got shoved in the fence and the race car's destroyed."
The finish is the second of the weekend to end in such dramatic fashion. The Friday night ARCA race came down to a one-lap run to the checkered flag, culminating with Brent Crews pushing Brenden 'Butterbean' Queen into the outside wall as they exited the final corner.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Pits | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. AlmirolaJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 208 |
2:15'39.625 |
5 | 58 | ||
| 2 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 17 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+0.045 2:15'39.670 |
0.045 | 6 | ||
| 3 | B. JonesJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 208 |
+0.122 2:15'39.747 |
0.077 | 6 | 44 | |
| 4 | R. SiegRSS Racing | 39 | Ford | 208 |
+0.492 2:15'40.117 |
0.370 | 6 | 34 | |
| 5 | J. AllgaierJR Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+0.508 2:15'40.133 |
0.016 | 6 | 51 | |
| 6 |
T. GrayJoe Gibbs Racing
|
54 | Toyota | 208 |
+0.616 2:15'40.241 |
0.108 | 6 | 34 | |
| 7 |
S. MayerHaas Factory Team
|
41 | Ford | 208 |
+0.656 2:15'40.281 |
0.040 | 6 | 36 | |
| 8 | C. EckesKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+0.779 2:15'40.404 |
0.123 | 7 | 29 | |
| 9 |
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing
|
2 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+1.033 2:15'40.658 |
0.254 | 6 | 34 | |
| 10 |
N. SanchezBig Machine Racing Team
|
48 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+1.670 2:15'41.295 |
0.637 | 6 | 31 | |
| 11 |
P. RetzlaffAlpha Prime Racing
|
4 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+1.712 2:15'41.337 |
0.042 | 7 | 26 | |
| 12 | J. WilliamsKaulig Racing | 11 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+1.743 2:15'41.368 |
0.031 | 7 | 25 | |
| 13 |
W. SawalichJoe Gibbs Racing
|
18 | Toyota | 208 |
+1.907 2:15'41.532 |
0.164 | 6 | 24 | |
| 14 |
S. SmithJR Motorsports
|
8 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.179 2:15'41.804 |
0.272 | 6 | 34 | |
| 15 | J. BurtonJordan Anderson Racing | 27 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.184 2:15'41.809 |
0.005 | 7 | 22 | |
| 16 |
C. ZilischJR Motorsports
|
88 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.277 2:15'41.902 |
0.093 | 6 | 28 | |
| 17 | B. PooleAlpha Prime Racing | 44 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.281 2:15'41.906 |
0.004 | 7 | 20 | |
| 18 |
K. SiegRSS Racing
|
28 | Ford | 208 |
+2.533 2:15'42.158 |
0.252 | 7 | 19 | |
| 19 |
D. DyeKaulig Racing
|
10 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.572 2:15'42.197 |
0.039 | 7 | 18 | |
| 20 | H. BurtonAM Racing | 25 | Ford | 208 |
+2.686 2:15'42.311 |
0.114 | 6 | 17 | |
| 21 | J. ClementsJeremy Clements Racing | 51 | Chevrolet | 208 |
+2.771 2:15'42.396 |
0.085 | 7 | 16 | |
| 22 |
M. MasseyAlpha Prime Racing
|
45 | Chevrolet | 207 |
+1 Lap 2:15'49.056 |
1 Lap | 6 | 15 | |
| 23 | J. BilickiDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | 91 | Chevrolet | 206 |
+2 Laps 2:15'42.441 |
1 Lap | 8 | 14 | |
| 24 |
B. PerkinsJordan Anderson Racing
|
31 | Chevrolet | 206 |
+2 Laps 2:15'42.895 |
0.454 | 6 | 13 | |
| 25 | K. WrightOur Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 206 |
+2 Laps 2:15'43.133 |
0.238 | 6 | 12 | |
| 26 |
C. KvapilJR Motorsports
|
1 | Chevrolet | 206 |
+2 Laps 2:15'52.461 |
9.328 | 8 | 13 | |
| 27 | M. DiBenedettoViking Motorsports | 99 | Chevrolet | 205 |
+3 Laps 2:15'44.462 |
1 Lap | 9 | 10 | |
| 28 | J. GaseJoey Gase Motorsports | 53 | Chevrolet | 205 |
+3 Laps 2:15'48.379 |
3.917 | 6 | 9 | |
| 29 | G. SmithleySS-Green Light Racing | 14 | Chevrolet | 204 |
+4 Laps 2:15'48.872 |
1 Lap | 8 | 8 | |
| 30 |
N. LeitzSS-Green Light Racing
|
07 | Chevrolet | 204 |
+4 Laps 2:15'52.804 |
3.932 | 7 | 7 | |
| 31 |
G. Van AlstJoey Gase Motorsports
|
35 | Chevrolet | 201 |
+7 Laps 2:15'50.161 |
3 Laps | 7 | 6 | |
| 32 |
A. AlfredoYoung's Motorsports
|
42 | Chevrolet | 193 |
+15 Laps 2:15'45.407 |
8 Laps | 10 | 5 | |
| 33 | R. EllisDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 186 |
+22 Laps 2:15'49.780 |
7 Laps | 7 | 4 | |
| 34 |
T. AnnunziataCope Family Racing
|
70 | Chevrolet | 185 |
+23 Laps 2:15'45.517 |
1 Lap | 13 | 3 | |
| 35 |
D. CramMike Harmon Racing
|
74 | Chevrolet | 144 |
+64 Laps 1:33'52.201 |
41 Laps | 4 | 2 | |
| 36 | S. CreedHaas Factory Team | 00 | Ford | 64 |
+144 Laps 48'11.442 |
80 Laps | 6 | 7 | |
| 37 | A. HillRichard Childress Racing | 21 | Chevrolet | 61 |
+147 Laps 39'31.635 |
3 Laps | 3 | 1 | |
| 38 |
D. ThompsonSam Hunt Racing
|
26 | Toyota | 61 |
+147 Laps 39'32.182 |
0.547 | 3 | 1 |
