Majority of the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers entered this weekend won’t have to travel too far as the Alsco Uniforms 300 will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 28 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – marking the halfway point of the 2022 regular season.
We last saw Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs jump to lead in the last 20 laps of the 200-lap Charlotte Motor Speedway Xfinity Series race to snag his second Xfinity Series career win after what seemed like a promising run for his then JGR teammate Daniel Hemric (Hemric had led 105 laps before falling victim to an incident on Lap 186) last season.
Gibbs will be back to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Charlotte Motor Speedway race this weekend looking to become the sixth different driver to win consecutive Xfinity Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway; joining Rob Moroso (1988-1989 sweep), Jeff Gordon (1992 sweep), Mark Martin (1995, 1996 sweep), Kyle Busch (2008 sweep, 2009, 2010, 2013 sweep), Austin Dillon (2015 sweep).
Charlotte Motor Speedway has hosted 76 NASCAR Xfinity Series races dating back to inaugural event on May 29, 1982. The first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte was won by Harry Gant. There have been 49 different Xfinity race winners and 37 different race winners with Gibbs currently sitting as the youngest winner (won last year’s race at 18 years, seven months and 25 days old).
As with many tracks, veteran Kyle Busch has etched his name in the Charlotte Motor Speedway record books with the most wins (9), most top fives (19), most top 10s (22), most lead lap finishes (22) and most laps led (1,475) in the Xfinity Series.
Others that have also made a name for themselves at the track are Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, both tied for most poles (4) and Kenny Wallace with most laps completed (6,281 in 35 races).
The on-track action for the Xfinity Series is set to start on Friday, May 27 with practice at 3:30 p.m. ET and qualifying at 4 p.m. ET. Make sure to tune-in on FS1.
Next Race: Alsco Uniforms 300
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, May 28
The Time: 1 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,284,615
TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
Xfinity drivers to watch this weekend at Charlotte
Three drivers that have been running well in the recent past at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier and Riley Herbst, might be the ones to watch this weekend.
Aside from Hemric’s crash last season that resulted in a 28th-place finish at Charlotte, he’s done quite well at the 1.5-mile North Carolina track. In his four other starts, he posted two top 10s and a runner-up finish.
Hemric has also done well at other 1.5-mile tracks such as Las Vegas and Texas. At Las Vegas, he’s posted four top fives and five top 10s in eight starts, most recently placing third. As for Texas, he’s coming off of an 11th-place finish last weekend and has posted three top fives and four top 10s since the 2018 season. Last year’s Xfinity Series champion is looking for his first win of the season and Charlotte Motor Speedway could be the place he makes it happen.
Veteran Justin Allgaier has had a hot start to his 2022 season (one win, five top fives and seven top 10s) and the same could be said about his history at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 19 starts, he’s posted five top fives, 10 top 10s and now he’s just looking to add a win to his Charlotte stats. He came close in 2019 after posting a second-place finish and considering his performance the past two weeks at Darlington (1.366-mile track) and Texas (1.5-mile track), it appears Allgaier is ready for a second trip to Victory Lane this season.
Another driver to keep an eye on this weekend is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst. Although he is yet to post a Xfinity Series win, he’s done well this season with four top fives and nine top 10s in 12 starts. He’s only given Charlotte Motor Speedway a go twice, but has already won a pole (2021) and has finished 12th in both races. As for other 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule this season, he’s proven to know how to get near the front of the pack. He posted a 12th-place finish at Las Vegas, a fourth-place finish in Atlanta and an eighth-place finish at Texas last weekend. In total this season he has put up four top fives and nine top 10s.
Nick Sanchez returns to the Xfinity Series lineup at Charlotte
The NASCAR Drive for Diversity program is a developmental program designed to provide training and opportunities for women and minorities in the driver’s seat and on pit crews within the NASCAR industry and fans will get to see one of these drivers, Nick Sanchez, make his second start in the Xfinity Series this weekend in the Alsco Uniforms 300 (1 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Sanchez made his series debut earlier this season at Phoenix Raceway, placing 26th in the No. 5 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet. He’ll once again join BJMM this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as later on this season at Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Kansas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Miami, Florida native currently drives the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet full-time in the ARCA Menards Series where he stands third in the points standings, just four points shy of the points leader. In his 26 ARCA Menards Series starts, he has posted three wins, 11 top fives and 18 top 10s. He took on full-bodied stock cars after winning the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award in 2019 as the most outstanding minority driver at NASCAR’s weekly level in a late model.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
JR Motorsports continues to rack up points – JR Motorsports has been on a roll this season with four of the 12 races having been won by a JRM driver (Noah Gragson-Phoenix, Talladega; Josh Berry- Dover, Justin Allgaier-Darlington).
Now, they’ve set the record for most consecutive stage wins (8) in the Xfinity Series after having won every stage from Talladega to last weekend’s race in Texas. Joe Gibbs Racing previously held the record for snagging seven consecutive stage wins in 2019.
Mason Filippi to attempt his Xfinity Series debut at Portland International Raceway – IMSA Pilot Challenge driver Mason Filippi, with the support of OpenFender, will attempt his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the No.91 DGM Racing Chevrolet at Portland International Raceway next weekend.
Filippi, a California native, has quickly climbed the ranks of SRO and IMSA and has experience at Portland International Raceway, including a win and a third-place finish.
“I’m thrilled to get behind the wheel of a Xfinity car and see what I can do on the track with DGM Racing,” said Filippi. “I’ve raced in Portland before and can’t wait to go back with a new challenge.”
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