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Allmendinger wins third straight Charlotte Roval Xfinity race

Not even a late caution that sent the race into overtime could deny A.J. Allmendinger his third consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win on the Charlotte Roval.

Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Hyperice

Race winner A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Hyperice

Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

With three laps remaining in the 67-lap scheduled race, Allmendinger had built nearly a 9-second lead but when Tommy Joe Martins wrecked off Turn 14 on Lap 64, the field got one more chance.

Several lead-lap cars took on new tires and others – including Allmendinger – were close on fuel as the two-lap overtime got underway.

Allmendinger’s engine sputtered coming to the white flag, but he easily held off Austin Cindric by 3.192 seconds to clinch the win, his fifth of the 2021 season.

 

“I knew (the caution) was coming out. I knew it wasn’t going to go simple like that,” Allmendinger said. “We were kind of on defense early worrying about the points. This place was tough to pass – the track was really slick to begin with, obviously, from all the rain.

“This car was stupid fast. The big picture is the championship but getting another win – three in a row here at the Roval, it means the world to me.”

Asked about his engine sputtering as he took the white flag, Allmendinger said, “I felt it kind of stumble and I thought ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ This ECR motor had a lot of power and just enough fuel in it to win.”

Allmendinger’s win locked him into the semifinal round of the series playoffs, where he will be joined by Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton.

Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements were eliminated from further title contention.

Hemric rallied from 13th to finish third in the race on new tires, Haley ended up fourth and Jones rounded out the top-five.

Stage 3

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, a handful of lead-lap cars pit but Ty Gibbs stayed out and inherited the lead. The race returned to green on Lap 43.

Snider was assessed a pass-thru penalty on pit road for a restart violation.

With 20 laps remaining, Gibbs maintained a small lead over Allmendinger with Cindric up to third.

Gibbs blew the backstretch chicane on Lap 48, which allowed Allmendinger to take over the lead and Cindric to move into the second spot.

 

With 10 laps to go, Allmendinger had built a 4.4-second lead over Cindric with Sam Mayer third, Haley fourth and Hemric in fifth.

With five laps remaining, Allmendinger’s lead had grown to more than 9 seconds as Cindric, Mayer and Haley battled it out for second.

On Lap 66, Martins pounded the wall off oval Turn 4 and his badly damaged No. 44 limped down pit road. Several lead-lap cars elected to pit, and Hemric was the first off pit road among those who did.

Allmendinger stayed out and led the way on the overtime restart followed by Cindric and Mayer. Hemric lined up 13th.

Stage 2

Hemric held off a wild charge from Haley to take the Stage 2 win.

Snider was third, Gragson fourth and Clements rounded out the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, most of the lead-lap cars pit with Hemric the first off pit road. Cindric stayed out and inherited the lead.

On the restart on Lap 23, Cindric was followed by Mayer and Austin Hill. Hemric lined up fifth.

With 15 laps remaining in the second stage, Cindric held a small advantage over Mayer as Hemric had worked his way back to third.

On Lap 29, NASCAR put out a caution after Josh Bilicki went off track, tearing up part of backstretch chicane curbing and ripping the splitter off his No. 07 Chevrolet.

 

The race was red-flagged for nearly five minutes to allow safety workers to repair the damage to the track.

When the race resumed on Lap 33, Cindric led the way followed by Mayer and Hemric.

On Lap 36, NASCAR was forced to display another caution for debris on the frontstretch. Several lead-lap cars elected to pit with Gibbs the first off pit road.

The race returned to green on Lap 38 with Hemric out front.

Stage 1

Hemric secured the Stage 1 win under caution when Kris Wright broke the track bar on his car and came to a stop on the track on the final lap.

Allmendinger finished second, Gragson third, Gibbs fourth and Haley rounded out the top-five.

Cindric started on the pole and led the way until Sage Karam and Jade Buford wrecked off Turn 6 to bring out a caution on Lap 2.

The race resumed on Lap 5 with Cindric out front followed by Allgaier and Hemric.

 

On Lap 8, Allgaier suffered some rear tire damage and was forced to pit for a bad tire rub. Cindric, while leading, missed the backstretch chicane and was forced to serve a stop-and-go penalty.

The penalty allowed Hemric to move into the lead on Lap 8.

With 10 laps remaining in the stage, Hemric had built a more than 2-second lead over Cindric as Gragson ran third.

On Lap 11, NASCAR displayed a caution as Gray Gaulding stalled his No. 74 Chevrolet in the backstretch chicane and needed a push to pit road.

The race returned to green on Lap 14 with Hemric in the lead.

Annett had to start the race from the rear of the field for a driver change as Josh Berry was listed on the original entry list.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Laps Led
1 16 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 68 2:07'13.542     21
2 22 United States Austin Cindric Ford 68 2:07'16.734 3.192 3.192 22
3 18 United States Daniel Hemric Toyota 68 2:07'16.830 3.288 0.096 17
4 11 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 68 2:07'18.385 4.843 1.555  
5 19 United States Brandon Jones Toyota 68 2:07'20.176 6.634 1.791  
6 9 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 68 2:07'21.548 8.006 1.372 1
7 90 Preston Pardus Chevrolet 68 2:07'22.217 8.675 0.669  
8 2 United States Myatt Snider Chevrolet 68 2:07'22.449 8.907 0.232  
9 7 United States Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 68 2:07'22.978 9.436 0.529  
10 8 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 68 2:07'23.006 9.464 0.028  
11 92 United States Josh Williams Chevrolet 68 2:07'25.288 11.746 2.282  
12 51 United States Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 68 2:07'25.950 12.408 0.662  
13 10 United States Jeb Burton Chevrolet 68 2:07'26.046 12.504 0.096  
14 36 Canada Alex Labbé Chevrolet 68 2:07'26.300 12.758 0.254  
15 20 United States Harrison Burton Toyota 68 2:07'26.575 13.033 0.275  
16 48 United States Jade Buford Chevrolet 68 2:07'27.035 13.493 0.460  
17 23 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 68 2:07'27.116 13.574 0.081  
18 4 United States Landon Cassill Chevrolet 68 2:07'27.264 13.722 0.148  
19 61 United States Austin Hill Toyota 68 2:07'27.461 13.919 0.197  
20 99 United States J.J. Yeley Toyota 68 2:07'27.853 14.311 0.392  
21 0 United States Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 68 2:07'28.505 14.963 0.652  
22 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 68 2:07'31.669 18.127 3.164 7
23 68 United States Brandon Brown Chevrolet 68 2:07'32.424 18.882 0.755  
24 47 United States Kyle Weatherman Chevrolet 68 2:07'35.703 22.161 3.279  
25 78 United States Stefan Parsons Toyota 68 2:07'36.677 23.135 0.974  
26 31 United States Sage Karam Chevrolet 68 2:07'56.294 42.752 19.617  
27 1 United States Michael Annett Chevrolet 68 2:08'11.399 57.857 15.105  
28 17 Joe Jr. Chevrolet 67 2:07'31.157 1 Lap 1 Lap  
29 26 United States Will Rodgers Toyota 67 2:07'35.327 1 Lap 4.170  
30 5 United States Matt Mills Chevrolet 67 2:07'39.411 1 Lap 4.084  
31 52 United States Spencer Boyd Chevrolet 67 2:07'45.138 1 Lap 5.727  
32 39 United States Ryan Sieg Ford 66 2:07'34.896 2 Laps 1 Lap  
33 44 United States Tommy Joe Martins Chevrolet 63 1:57'12.209 5 Laps 3 Laps  
34 98 United States Riley Herbst Ford 61 1:55'36.344 7 Laps 2 Laps  
35 66 Netherlands Loris Hezemans Toyota 59 1:55'46.170 9 Laps 2 Laps  
36 6 United States Ryan Vargas Chevrolet 47 1:33'28.863 21 Laps 12 Laps  
37 02 United States Brett Moffitt Chevrolet 30 1:24'23.667 38 Laps 17 Laps  
38 07 United States Josh Bilicki Chevrolet 28 53'03.095 40 Laps 2 Laps  
39 15 United States Kris Wright Chevrolet 19 38'15.499 49 Laps 9 Laps  
40 74 United States Gray Gaulding Chevrolet 10 21'55.270 58 Laps 9 Laps  

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