Getty AJ Allmendinger (left) & Ty Gibbs (right) race at Road America.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season battle just took an interesting turn. An unexpected wreck knocked Ty Gibbs out of the race and hurt his chances of locking up the bonus points entering the playoffs.
The wreck occurred on Lap 93. Gibbs and Riley Herbst led the field to the green flag while both were driving Monster Energy cars. They raced side-by-side, but Herbst attempted to move up after receiving a push from Ryan Truex. He was not clear, so he made contact with the No. 54 and sent it into the wall. Gibbs had to head to pit road, but his team said that they could not repair the Toyota GR Supra. His day came to an end while other championship contenders continued.
Ty Gibbs is done for the day after he and Riley Herbst come together on a restart. #NASCAR
Gibbs entered the Atlanta weekend only nine points behind AJ Allmendinger in the battle for the regular-season championship. He has more wins (four), but he has fewer top-10 finishes. The gap between them only increased as Allmendinger turned in a top-10 finish with 35 points while Gibbs ended his day 35th overall with only 15.
Allmendinger is now 29 points ahead of Gibbs with nine races remaining in the regular season. He doesn’t have the trophy and the 15 bonus points locked up, but he does have some breathing room as he strives to keep performing consistently.
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Allmendinger Mounted a Major Comeback
Overcame being down TWO laps to grab his 15th top-10 of the season.
We know this 16 team never quits!
The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ended his day 10th overall, but this simple stat does not tell the full story. Allmendinger had to mount a major comeback after dropping two laps behind the leaders.
The issues began after the end of Stage 1. Allmendinger headed down pit road for tires after ending the stage third overall, but he lost multiple spots after getting trapped in his stall by Gibbs. Allmendinger then took the green flag to start Stage 2, but he had to head back to his pit stall with a loose wheel after scraping the wall on Lap 48.
Allmendinger fell two laps behind the pack, and he spent all of Stage 2 and most of the third stage trying to get back in position to receive the free pass. He finally got back on the lead lap with 55 to go, and then he started methodically moving through the field.
There were times when it appeared that Allmendinger would not crack the top 10, especially when he was 15th overall with 15 laps remaining in the race. However, he continued to make moves, and he jumped up to 10th before crossing the start-finish line.
Allmendinger Has a Series-Leading Number of Top-10s
GettyThe Xfinity Series regular-season championship battle is heating up.
The Kaulig Racing veteran only has two wins in the first 17 races, which is actually where he sat in 2021 before adding three more wins to reach the championship four. Allmendinger also has the most top-10 finishes in the Xfinity Series.
Allmendinger has posted 15 top-10 finishes in the first 17 races, including 12 straight to kick off the season. His only runs outside of the top 10 were a 19th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway and a 16th-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway. Now he only needs eight more to surpass his career-best of 22 from the 2021 season, which he will pursue during the final 16 races.
There are only two drivers within striking distance of Allmendinger’s 15 top-10s. Both Herbst and Noah Gragson have 11 while Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Atlanta winner Austin Hill all have 10.