The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to the Magic Mile in Loudon, New Hampshire, for the Sci Aps 200 this weekend. New Hampshire master Christopher Bell returned to the Xfinity Series, looking to extend his undefeated record at the track in the series. Three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore also made his first career Xfinity start.
Drivers were required to start the race on the NASCAR-mandated wet weather tires, as the track was too damp for slicks. Drivers fired off fast and relied on the extreme grip levels provided by the softer compound tire, and a dry line quickly formed on the track within the first 10 laps. NASCAR quickly threw a competition caution and mandated teams to come down pit road to fit slicks.
After Parker Kligerman was spun by a domino effect incident involving Riley Herbst and AJ Allmendinger, Sam Mayer jumped to the lead on the restart and kept it, holding off teammate Sammy Smith to win Stage 1 and capture his first stage win in 2024.
A largely uneventful Stage 2 saw Christopher Bell doing Christopher Bell things, dominating New Hampshire like he often does. The highlight of Stage 2 came from Xfinity Series newcomer Justin Bonsignore, a modified champion and short track ace, making his very first laps in an Xfinity car with very limited sim time. Bonsignore could keep pace with Bell for most of the stage and came home P2, less than one second behind Bell as they took the green checkers.
A plethora of late cautions shook things up late in the final stage, as Leland Honeyman and Chandler Smith both went for solo spins, Austin Hill and Bonsignore tangled, and Haley Deegan and Nathan Byrd collided and made hard contact with the turn 3 SAFER barrier. Carson Kvapil was able to show his short track prowess and was mixing it up with the best of the Xfinity Series late into the stage. The final restart saw an epic three-lap contested battle between Bell, Sheldon Creed, and 2023 Xfinity champ Cole Custer, with all three drivers unwilling to give an inch.
Bell got a terrible jump on the final restart but took full advantage of the side-by-side battle between Custer and Creed to jump to the lead on the final lap. The New Hampshire maestro continued his historic dominance at the Magic Mile, making it a perfect four wins in four attempts at the track.
What did you think of the epic finish at New Hampshire? Are you backing Bell to continue the trend in the Cup race, or do you have your eye on another contender? Let us know your thoughts on this race and everything NASCAR-related by following us on our social channels at The Daily Downforce!
It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.
Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.
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Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:
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Results Pending.
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As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:
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It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.
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