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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Ty Gibbs Takes His Fourth Win of the Season at Road America

It was a winning day for Ty Gibbs. (Photo: Logan Skidan | The Podium Finish)

It was a winning day for Ty Gibbs. (Photo: Logan Skidan | The Podium Finish)

Road America is a favorite track among many drivers. Set in The Wisconsin woods, the track has high and low speed areas with elevation changes, long straightaways, tight corners and a lot of passing zones.

AJ Allmendinger was looking to make history as the first person to win four road courses in a row. However, Ty Gibbs had plans of his own and was able to take home his fourth win of the season at Road America.

In a race that saw nine lead changes among only six different drivers, Kyle Larson was the car to beat, leading 30 of the 48, 4.048 mile-long laps. Larson, in a car that paid homage to Ricky Hendrick with both the number 17 and paint scheme, said that the Xfinity and Cup cars handled very similarly regarding braking points.

However, it took Larson a few laps to readjust to the Xfinity car, driving off the track on lap two.

This allowed Gibbs to catch up quickly after Larson gained a big lead at the start of the race.

Larson appeared to be the man to beat during Saturday's Henry 180. (Photo: Mike Moore | The Podium Finish)

Larson appeared to be the man to beat during Saturday’s Henry 180. (Photo: Mike Moore | The Podium Finish)

Larson was not the only top runner to have issues with staying on the racing surface early in the race. Gibbs ran over the curbing, allowing Cole Custer to get by him, but he did not have enough to take to lead from Larson.

Sammy Smith, having just recently turned 18 years old, made his first Xfinity start for Joe Gibb. Smith made his first NASCAR pit stop before the yellow flag flew for the No. 02 of Brett Moffit, potentially gaining a bit of an advantage having pitted prior to the yellow.

Also pitting before the yellow flew were Sheldon Creed, Tyler Reddick and John Hunter Nemechek. Reddick was assessed a drive-through penalty for driving through too many pit boxes after the crew finished.

Moffit had a mechanical issue with no tire lock up or wheel hop before entering the gravel, bringing out the yellow.

On the same lap, Andy Lally, a driver with road course experience across several types of racing, spun, collecting Anthony Alfredo in the process.

The yellow flew at a time during the stage which did not allow time to go back to green before the end of stage 1. Larson was the leader at the time of the caution and claimed the stage 1 win.

Once the final stage ensued, the No. 9 of Noah Gragson and the No. 45 of Sage Karam got together on lap 25. This caused Gragson’s car to become loose, allowing Gibbs to get past him.

Further into the lap, Josh Berry, in the No. 8, drove off the track. Immediately following Berry’s excursion, Gragson and Karam made further contact.

This incident set off a chain reaction crash that kicked up a lot of dirt and smoke. This caused drivers toward the back of the field unable to see the cars blocking the track.

Ultimately, it resulted in one of the largest wrecks in a road course. Many cars drove away with damage, including Josh Bilicki, who drove away with the Sargento billboard attached to the front of his car.

Karam's promising race at Road America resulted in a wrecked car. (Photo: Maddie Skidan | The Podium Finish)

Karam’s promising race at Road America resulted in a wrecked car. (Photo: Maddie Skidan | The Podium Finish)

A total of 13 cars were involved in the incident including Moffit, Bayley Currey, Lally, Gragson, Landon Cassill, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snyder, Bilicki, Karam, Reddick, Jeremy Clements, and Brandon Brown.

Brown climbed out of his car slowly and immediately sat against the wall in obvious pain. The AMR Safety Crew reached Brown quickly to ensure he was safe while Myatt Snider climbed out of his car to check on Brown.

During the pit stops under caution, Riley Herbst tried to enter his pit stall too early, hitting the jackman and tire carrier for Sheldon Creed.

Herbst had the same issue of trying to enter his pit stall too early at Nashville Superspeedway. In this case, Herbst received a safety violation penalty this week for his unsafe actions on pit road, sending him to the back of the field.

Also, Allmendinger received a penalty under the yellow and was sent to the back of the field for speeding on pit road.

After the pit stops, Justin Allgaier was the leader, electing to stay on the track with the understanding that the lead would be relinquished to pit for fuel.

Clements restarted in the second position with 17 laps to go and was able to take the lead briefly before Larson reclaimed the first spot. While on the same lap, Custer was able to get by Larson for the lead with 16 to go.

With 10 laps to go, the fourth caution of the day came out as the No. 35 of Chris Dyson lost his brakes, sending him into the wall and gravel.

Most of the field elected to pit to put on their last set of tires and add a splash of fuel.

Larson and the Hendrick crew won the race off pit road while Custer lost a few spots after having to turn hard out of his stall, running into Preston Pardus’ tire.

Three drivers, Sieg, Lally and Berry, stayed out on the track during the yellow to lead the field to the green with nine to go. Larson split the trio, taking the lead with Gibbs close behind while Custer was shuffled back from third to seventh position.

With three laps to go, it was almost certain that Larson was going to bring home the win for Rick Hendrick with a lead of three seconds over Gibbs.

Just a lap later, Custer lost his brakes, sending him into the turn 5 wall. This brought out the final caution of the day, sending the race into overtime and erasing Larson’s lead.

The race was expected to end with a green, white and checkered finish. Gibbs got the jump but Larson fought back, taking over the lead with Berry making his way into third.

Gibbs capitalized when it mattered at Road America. (Photo: Maddie Skidan | The Podium Finish)

Gibbs capitalized when it mattered at Road America. (Photo: Maddie Skidan | The Podium Finish)

Larson and Gibbs continued to fight for the lead for the final two laps. On the final lap, Gibbs bumped Larson, taking over the lead. After a close battle, Gibbs took the checkered flag.

For many road course events, experienced road course racers are brought in to try to gain an advantage in owner points. The road course drivers in this Xfinity race included Lally, who earned a 14th place finish, Miguel Paludo in 26th and Karam, who finished in 31st and not running after the contact with Gragson.

Several Cup drivers ran the Xfinity race looking for a little more practice for the Cup race. Among the Cup drivers entered, Larson had the best finish at second place, while Bilicki earned a 13th place finish and Custer placing in the 25th spot.

Smith, who earned a 24th place finish due to engine problems, will be running nine more races through the remainder of the season. Firmly rooted in the Toyota system, Smith has a lot of success running Super Late Models across the country driving for Donnie Wilson.

Moreover, Smith has also found success competing in both the ARCA Menards and ARCA East Series. Notably, Smith has ARCA Menards wins this season at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway and ARCA East wins at New Smyrna Speedway, 5 Flags Speedway, and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

To the victors goes the spoils. (Photo: Logan Skidan | The Podium Finish)

To the victors goes the spoils. (Photo: Logan Skidan | The Podium Finish)

This was Gibbs’ 4th win of the season, and it is no surprise that he was able to take home another win at a road course.

Gibbs surprised many in his Xfinity debut last year at the Daytona Road Course, putting on a road course clinic and going on to win at Watkins Glen.

Gibbs’ wins this year include Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Road America.

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