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Allmendinger and Byron Battle to the Finish at COTA

Jake Smith

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Royal T Grafix

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A.J. Allmendinger battles William Byron in the Final Lap to win COTA, after giving a familiar bump to Creed.

What’s Happening

A.J. Allmendinger goes back-to-back at COTA in the Xfinity Series after a thrilling battle with William Byron in the closing laps. Allmendinger shows his talents on the road course once again as he dominates the race – despite some setbacks and a little controversy.

  • A.J. Allmendinger started on pole for the Pit Boss 250 and showed speed early in the race. He dominated stage 1 as well as getting the win, but he was able to keep his lead because NASCAR was testing out something new with the stages. They were keeping the track under green once a stage ended.
  • After some contact on a restart A.J. was running in 26th position, but slowly found his way back up to the front in contention.
  • With 14 laps to go Allmendinger was running in 2nd place right behind Sheldon Creed. As they came up to Turn 19 the driver of the No. 10 Celsius Chevy gave a familiar bump, that he received in the Cup Series in the prior year, to gain the lead.

The Dinger gets another road course victory under his belt.

Allmendinger sends the No. 2 of Sheldon Creed around for the lead.

The Main Characters

Reporter Josh Sims with Fox Sports got Allmendinger’s reaction to the hard battle to get the victory as well as the contact with Creed.

Regan Smith with Fox Sports got William Byron’s reaction to the last lap slip up and his overall day.

Chris Rice shares with us his up and down emotions throughout today that we could see a little bit of during the broadcast.

Bob Pockrass with FOX Sports caught up with Sheldon Creed to get his thoughts on the contact and his overall raceday.

Around The Garage

Kaulig Racing has got their eyes on a future raced win diecast.

In The Stands

Conrad Stein wished for a cleaner outcome between the Dinger and Sheldon Creed.

Chandler Paul doesn’t think it was right for Allmendinger to bump a Xfinity Series regular out of the way who was running for points as well, when A.J. was just running a one-off race.

Jake Heller enjoyed the battle at the end between Cup Series regulars William Byron and A.J. Allmendinger. Has high hopes for tomorrow’s Cup race.

Fan John Hines responds to a Toby Christie tweet about Dinger being known to be the best road course racer, then why did he bumped Creed today to get the lead?

Jeremy Fazil is on AJ’s side when it comes to his skills and compares him to some F1 drivers.

On Your Screen

Eric tweets out his reaction to the controversial contact between the No. 10 & No. 2

Host of BFM, Darian Gilliam, shares his mind blown reaction to Allmendinger’s record of 11 road course wins.

Chase Holden reacts to the contact between Allmendinger and Creed.

From The Pressbox

ELC Newscast Director Christopher Hansen thrilled to see AJ’s comeback to get the victory.

A.J. Allmendinger has collected the Infinity Stones of NASCAR road courses.

NBC Sports releases the Official results of the Pit Boss 250

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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - APRIL 06: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on April 06, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Lionel Racing Reveals First Wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics Diecast

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Lionel Racing finally confirmed the first wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics 1:64 scale diecast for Monday morning, with the line of retail-exclusive diecast featuring a new look for the new year.

  • This line will include six throwback paint schemes from NASCAR’s 2025 throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. Though they did not release one in 2025, this move restarts an annual tradition of Lionel releasing at least one wave of cars carrying the colors of that prior season’s throwback designs.
  • Included in this wave of cars are Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Sammy Smith. Alongside these paint schemes’ debuts in the Authentics line is a new design for the packaging of the 2026 line of NASCAR Authentics.
  • Last season was somewhat turbulent for Lionel as, alongside issues with tariffs, the brand only released three waves of NASCAR Autentics, one wave of NASCAR Autentics Winners Circle diecast, and two waves of Haulers.
  • Lionel announcing the first wave of 2026 early on in the new year is perhaps a sign that 2026 could return this line to its regular release schedule. The post from Lionel Racing also confirmed that the brand will announce another wave by the end of the week, further hinting at a recommitment to the Authentics line.

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SPARTA, KY - JUNE 26: Chase Pistone, driver of the #9 NTS Motorsports Chevrolet, talks with his crew during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Series UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway on June 26, 2014 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Chase Pistone, NASCAR Trucks and Nationwide Series Driver, Passes Away

by Kauy Ostlien

What’s Happening?

Chase Pistone, a former competitor on the short track racing circuit in addition to NASCAR’s National Series, has passed away. Pistone, now a successful Legends Car owner, was 42.

  • Chase’s brothers Nick and Tom Pistone confirmed the North Carolina natives’ passing to LegendsNation.com. The cause of Pistone’s passing is unknown. The family asked that media share the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number, which is 988.
  • Pistone, the grandson of NASCAR legend “Tiger” Tom Pistone, made his way to NASCAR after competing on short tracks in Legends cars and Late Models. He would make his jump to NASCAR via the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2005, racing for Green Light Racing at Martinsville Speedway.
  • Pistone would continue his NASCAR pursuits in 2006, racing in ARCA and the NASCAR Busch Series. Unfortunately, these two starts, at Martinsville with the Busch Series and Iowa with ARCA, would be his last for nearly a decade.
  • Pistone returned to NASCAR in 2014, racing in a combined eight NASCAR Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series races. During this season, his final in NASCAR, the then 30-year-old scored his best National Series finish, ninth place in the Truck Series annual trip to Gateway.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

8 Takeaways From NASCAR At COTA

by Bryan Aguiar

Three races in, the 2026 season is finally starting to show its hand. COTA shifted narratives, exposed weaknesses, and raised new questions about contenders, pretenders, and everything in between.

  • Has Shane van Gisbergen officially been proven mortal after getting outraced late at Circuit of the Americas?
  • Is 19-year-old Connor Zilisch already ahead of schedule after slicing through the field multiple times?
  • With three straight wins, is Tyler Reddick basically a lock for the postseason this early?
  • And how concerned should the 48 team be after a rough weekend for Alex Bowman?

From substitute drivers being forced into action to points gaps growing faster than expected, COTA delivered more than just a road course chess match. There were momentum swings, reputation hits, and at least one young driver stacking up enemies before stacking up results.

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