The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to Portland International Raceway for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, June 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This will be just the third-time the Xfinity Series has competed on the 1.97-mile road course.
The Xfinity Series’ “King of road courses” A.J. Allmendinger won the inaugural event in 2022 while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer claimed the victory last season.
Although Allmendinger did not compete in last year’s race to defend his win, he will be back this year, along with Custer, in hopes of landing himself in Victory Lane once again.
There has only been one other road course on the schedule thus far – Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Both drivers had strong finishes (Custer – fourth and Allmendinger – 10th).
Drivers will kick off their weekend with practice at 11:30 a.m. ET followed by qualifying at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. Practice will not be broadcast but qualifying will be shown on FS1.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Pacific Office Automation 147
The Place: Portland International Raceway
Track Length: 1.97 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Saturday, June 1
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,408,568
TV: FS1, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 147.75 miles (75 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 75)
Road course racin’ with a twist
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading to Portland International Raceway to make some left and right turns but pit stops may look a tad bit different:
GENERAL PROCEDURE RULES
- Standard pit stop procedure – Restart position, for cars that pit, will be the order that the vehicles exit pit road
- Fuel may be added at any time during the event
- Tires may be changed at any time during the event
PIT STOPS
- Any pit stop, where tires are changed and/or fuel is added, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line: 63 seconds minimum
- In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag: If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road
- Vehicles pitting for mechanical issues, damage repair, or to serve a penalty will not be subject to the minimum time on pit road
- Vehicle must be stopped in the pit box before the pit crew can go over the wall
- The Fueler and (2) Tire Carriers are permitted in the assigned pit box, positioned close to the pit wall, as the vehicle approaches for a pit stop. They must remain close to the pit wall until the vehicle is stopped
- Left side tires must be controlled back to the wall
PIT STOP PENALTIES
Restart Tail End:
- Not exceeding the minimum time limit on pit road during a pit stop under yellow
- Stopping, reducing speed, or impeding another vehicle in an attempt to not be under the minimum time limit
Pass-Through:
- Not exceeding the minimum time limit on pit road during a pit stop under green
- Stopping, reducing speed, or impeding another vehicle in an attempt to not be under the minimum time limit
PIT CREW / PIT EQUIPMENT
The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
- Road crew roster positions
- Six (6) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle
- One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
– All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stop
– Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used
ROSTER
- One additional roster position (6 Total)
- 2 Hauler Drivers
- All 8 roster personnel may participate in the pit stop
Competition tightening heading into Portland
For years, A.J. Allmendinger’s name has been associated with road courses but over the last couple seasons, a few drivers have made a name for themselves on tracks that turn left and right and will be sure to give Allmendinger a run for his money.
Shane van Gisbergen, who took NASCAR by storm when he won the inaugural Chicago Street Race last season in his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, is a veteran when it comes to road courses given his Supercars background. He’ll be coming into this race looking for redemption as he lost the lead on Lap 48 (out of 50) in his last road course start at COTA, and ultimately finished 27th.
Sam Mayer is another driver who quickly rose to fame in the Xfinity Series after a standout 2023 season where three of his four wins came on road courses – Road America, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte ROVAL. Although his debut at Portland in 2022 resulted in an incident 12 laps in, he charged from P36 to a third-place finish in last season’s Pacific Office Automation 147.
Most people know Austin Hill as a three-time consecutive winner at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, but he also has a knack for tracks that turn left and right. Although he has yet to post a win a road course, he had top-10 finishes last season in all but two of the road courses on the schedule – Portland – fifth, Sonoma – eighth, Chicago – fifth, Road America – third, Indianapolis – fourth, Charlotte ROVAL – ninth.
Playoff Outlook: Who’s in?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is now 12 races into the schedule, with five Playoff spots claimed by virtue wins, leaving seven positions still up for grabs this weekend in Portland.
The five drivers with spots in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, are Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer.
At the other end of the Playoff projection is Our Motorsport’s Anthony Alfredo, in the 12th and final position on points, just two points ahead of JR Motorsport’s Sammy Smith in 13th.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Projection Following Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||||||
Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | +/- Cutoff |
1 | Chandler Smith | 450 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 13 | In On Wins |
2 | Austin Hill | 429 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 12 | |
3 | Justin Allgaier | 397 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 13 | |
4 | Jesse Love | 384 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |
5 | Sam Mayer | 294 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
6 | Cole Custer | 433 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 144 |
7 | AJ Allmendinger | 347 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
8 | Riley Herbst | 338 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 49 |
9 | Sheldon Creed | 313 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
10 | Parker Kligerman | 307 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
11 | Brandon Jones | 304 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
12 | Anthony Alfredo | 291 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
13 | Sammy Smith | 289 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
14 | Ryan Sieg | 285 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 |
15 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 257 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -34 |
16 | Brennan Poole | 219 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -72 |
17 | Parker Retzlaff | 214 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -77 |
18 | Jeremy Clements | 190 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -101 |
19 | Josh Williams | 189 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -102 |
20 | Leland Honeyman | 184 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -107 |
21 | Kyle Weatherman | 176 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -115 |
22 | Jeb Burton | 175 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -116 |
23 | Ryan Ellis | 151 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -140 |
24 | Hailie Deegan | 139 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -152 |
25 | Blaine Perkins | 129 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -162 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Josh Bilicki to make debut with Joe Gibbs Racing – Josh Bilicki will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in multiple races this season.
He will make his debut with the team this weekend at Portland International Raceway on June 1 and the rest of his schedule will be announced at a later date.
“This is a huge opportunity for me and my partners,” said Bilicki. “I’ve been blessed to race for a lot of teams but given JGR’s reputation in the Xfinity Series, I’m particularly excited to see what we can accomplish in their equipment.”
Frankie Muniz returns to Xfinity Series with Joey Gase Motorsports – Former ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ TV star, Frankie Muniz, will be making his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season this weekend at Portland International Raceway.
Muniz will be piloting the No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports Ford and will be working with crew chief Wayne Carroll Jr.
In Muniz’s two previous Xfinity Series career starts he finished 33rd at Daytona and 35th at Phoenix.