1st road race of the season in NASCAR Xfinity –
After only five races in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs are already giving us a great duel. 23-year-old JR Motorsports driver Gragson has one win (at Phoenix). He also has four Top-3 finishes and holds a 19-point advantage over the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. The 19-year-old Gibbs is tied with last year’s regular season champion AJ Allmendinger.
Gibbs comes into Saturday’s Pit Boss 250 in Austin with two wins from five races already. He has never raced on the Circuit of the Americas road course. However, he already has two road victories in his brief career. It was at Daytona (2021) and Watkins Glen, NY (2021). His win at Daytona came in his first series start.
Gragson arrives on a good dynamic for road racing in Xfinity
Noah Gragson is particularly eager to return to COTA. Last year he suffered a retirement. The JR Motorsport driver has already proven his talent on the road circuits. He has seven top-five finishes there, including a best result on the Charlotte ROVAL in 2020. He is still looking for that first victory on the road circuit.
“COTA didn’t treat us well last year. But we found speed this year. Now we are going to a road circuit that suits my riding style well. I have a lot of fun at these places and I know that [le chef d’équipe] Luke [Lambert] will give me a fast car so we can compete for another win. »
said Gragson.
Gragson will need every effort possible. With just 23 series starts, Gibbs has two wins and a third-place finish (at Mid-Ohio) on the road courses. And the 40-year-old Allmendinger’s entire professional background is linked to his experience on road circuits. All five of the former IndyCar Series driver’s victories have come on road courses. And he has always been successful in NASCAR on this type of track.
Allmendinger favorite for Austin
Allmendinger’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory came in 2014 at the famed Watkins Glen (NY) road course. Six of his 10 career Xfinity Series wins have come on road courses.
The driver of Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet is the only driver in the series to place in the top 10 in all five races of the season and is the race favorite in Austin this week.
Not to be overlooked this weekend is JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who has scored three road wins in his career and 12 top-five finishes, including third place at COTA last year.
Of course, Saturday’s winner will be new to COTA as defending champion Kyle Busch will not be competing in this year’s Xfinity road race. NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace will do some extra laps this weekend, driving the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at COTA.
