Race Results | Xfinity Series Points
Race 20 of 33: Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 at Watkins Glen International
Track Specs: 2.45-mile road course / 82 laps
Weather: Partly cloudy; 78 degrees
Race Winner: Ty Gibbs
Allgaier's Finish: 4th
Gragson's Finish: 7th
Mayer's Finish: 10th
Annett's Finish: 11th
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 hellowater Chevrolet, secured his ninth top-five finish of the season on Saturday afternoon, overcoming an issue with the right-front tire with less than 20 laps to go to charge through the field and come home with a hard-fought fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International. With the result, Allgaier has now finished inside the top five in five of the last seven races and remains solidly in third on the NXS playoff grid and fourth overall in the point standings with just six races remaining in the regular season.
Stage One Finish: 27th
With NASCAR once again using a mathematical formula to set the starting lineup, Allgaier was awarded the pole position for the start of the 82-lap event. From the drop of the green flag, Allgaier battled with Austin Cindric for the top spot, before ultimately settling into the runner-up position. Although no longer out front, the driver of the hellowater Chevrolet held steady inside the top three until the scheduled competition caution was displayed on lap 10. Lining up in third for the lap-12 restart, Allgaier continued to fight for track position throughout the green-flag run that followed. Then, with just four laps remaining in the opening stage, crew chief Jason Burdett opted to play with some strategy and called Allgaier to pit road under green for four fresh tires and fuel. With the majority of the field choosing to remain on-track until the conclusion of the stage, Allgaier returned to the track to take the green-and-white checkered on lap-20 in the 27th position.
Stage Two Finish: 4th
By virtue of pitting just prior to the conclusion of Stage One, Burdett made the call to keep the driver of the hellowater Chevrolet on the track during the stage-ending caution while the vast majority of the race leaders came to pit road. As a result, Allgaier lined up for the start of Stage Two on lap 24 from the sixth position. Once back under way, Allgaier marched forward, needing just one lap to rejoin the top five before making his way up to third on lap 27. The Illinois native remained in third through a lap-33 caution period, but fell to fourth on the lap-36 restart that followed. Although outside of the top three, the driver of the hellowater Chevrolet remained inside the top five for the final three laps of Stage Two to take the green-and-white checkered flag on lap-40 in the fourth position and earn seven valuable stage points.
Final Stage:
Prior to the start of the third and final stage, Burdett called Allgaier back to pit road for four tires and an air-pressure adjustment after the JR Motorsports driver reported that he needed help through Turns 1 and 7 on the historic road course in upstate New York. Due to varying strategies among the race leaders, Allgaier returned to the track for the lap-43 restart in the 18th position. Despite restarting outside of the top 15, Allgaier pressed forward, improving nine positions over the four laps that followed to race into the ninth position before the field was slowed once again by the caution flag on lap 48. This caution allowed Burdett to again work with some strategy, as he called the driver of the hellowater Chevrolet back to pit road for a fuel-only stop, which gained Allgaier an additional three positions to sixth just prior to the lap-50 restart. On the ensuing restart, Allgaier wasted little time rejoining the top five and maintained his track position until reporting to Burdett that he felt like the right-front tire was coming apart. With the condition worsening, Burdett called Allgaier to pit road under green on lap 64 for four tires and fuel. Remaining on the lead lap as he returned to the track, Allgaier was able to close back up to the main pack as the caution flag was displayed just two laps after the stop.
This caution proved to be fortuitous, as the majority of the front runners opted to come to pit road while Allgaier remained on the track. This allowed the driver of the hellowater Chevrolet to catapult up the leaderboard and into the seventh position for the lap-70 restart. Now back inside the top 10, Allgaier set his sights forward, navigating through the distinct corners of Watkins Glen and racing back up to the fourth position before the final caution flag of the afternoon was displayed on lap 76.
Lining up in fourth for the lap-78 restart, Allgaier again dueled with Cindric over the final laps, doing all he could in an effort to rejoin the top three before ultimately taking the checkered flag in the fourth position.
With the result, Allgaier has now scored a top-five finish in five of the last seven NXS races dating back to Texas Motor Speedway in June.
Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 hellowater Chevrolet team
“We had a really fast hellowater Chevrolet today and I’m really happy to come away with another solid finish for everyone on this No. 7 team, especially after overcoming some adversity there during the final stage. We’ve had a lot of great runs throughout this summer and I just can’t thank Jason (Burdett) and all the guys enough for all of their hard work. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going next weekend and have another great day in Indy.”
Noah Gragson
Noah Gragson and the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee team raced to a solid seventh-place finish in Saturday’s Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 for NASCAR Xfinity Series cars at the venerable Watkins Glen International. Gragson battled in the top 10 all day and challenged the leaders late in the 82-lap event before crossing the line with his 11th top-10 finish in the 20 races run so far this season. The result was also his best finish on a road course this season, bettering his ninth-place run at Road America last month.
Stage One Finish: 7th
Gragson began the day from 11th place on the starting grid after NASCAR applied its mathematical formula earlier in the week, but a fast start enabled the young Las Vegas native to rise three positions to eighth by the end of the first circuit of the 2.45-mile road course. The Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet was ninth when the first caution flag waved, and Gragson reported to crew chief Dave Elenz that his drive off the corners was good. At the lap-10 competition caution, Elenz and Gragson elected to stay on track to maintain track position. Over the remaining laps of the 20-lap Stage One, Gragson advanced to seventh position and finished there, adding four valuable stage points to his total for the day. On the radio, Gragson told Elenz that he was using too much brake over the course of the run and that his Chevrolet was getting tighter as the run went on. He asked for side-bite and front turn on the ensuing pit stop. Elenz obliged with four fresh tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, and Gragson went back out in 14th position for Stage Two.
Stage Two Finish: 5th
On the restart to begin Stage Two, Gragson had a scare immediately after the green flag waved. Heading into Turn 1, Gragson found a spinning Daniel Hemric dead ahead. After avoiding Hemric, Gragson began to track down the cars in front. He was 11th at lap 30 and gained 10th the next time under the flag stand. Gragson radioed to Elenz that he felt like he was overusing his brakes and they were getting too hot. When the caution waved with five laps remaining in Stage Two, Gragson was seventh, and a couple of cars ahead of him elected to come to pit road ahead of the stoppage at lap 40. That put Gragson and the Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet in sixth position for the restart, and Gragson swept into the top five by the end of that first lap to finish there, adding six more stage points to his haul for the day. Gragson said his No. 9 Camaro was still on the tight side, but Elenz elected to keep his driver on the track for the final segment.
Final Stage:
Starting from fourth position for the final stage, Gragson briefly popped into third place before settling back into fourth. At lap 49, the caution waved for an incident in the Carousel, and Elenz used the opportunity to get his driver to pit road for four tires and fuel. The Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet was the second car with tires off pit road and would restart from the 10th position. On the first lap back under green, Gragson used his fresh tires to move up to ninth, and was soon running seventh. At lap 61, Gragson took sixth place and needed just three laps to break back into the top five. He was fourth at lap 68 when the caution waved for a hard crash in Turn 6, and despite being safe on fuel, Elenz called Gragson back to the pits for fresh tires and a splash of gas.
Restarting from ninth with 12 laps to go, Gragson immediately passed two cars to run seventh, and he would finish there through another caution period for a stopped car on lap 78.
The seventh-place finish was Gragson’s 11th top-10 finish of the season and kept him eighth in series points with six races remaining until the playoff field is set.
Ty Gibbs won the race, with AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier and Harrison Burton the rest of the top five. Brandon Jones, Gragson, Jeb Burton, Justin Haley and JRM’s Sam Mayer rounded out the top 10.
Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber®/Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet team
“Our Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet was fast today and we ran with the leaders for much of the race. I was tight in the early portions of the race, but Dave Elenz and the team made good adjustments. Our Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee pit crew had great stops all day too. It’s good to get back into form on the road courses, and we have another one coming up in Indy next week, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Sam Mayer
Making his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start on a road course, Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, drove from his 23rd-place starting position to inside of the top 10 in the latter stages of Saturday afternoon’s Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 NXS event at Watkins Glen International. Mayer then went on to survive a flurry of late-race cautions to earn his second career top-10 finish in just his fifth start in the NXS, taking the checkered flag in the 10th position.
Stage One Finish: 10th
Mayer lined up for his first NXS start at the 2.45-mile road course in the 23rd position after the field was set through NASCAR’s mathematical formula earlier in the week. From the drop of the green flag Mayer charged forward, needing only three laps to join the top 20 and into the 17th position before the first yellow flag of the event was thrown. Restarting from 17th Mayer began his ascent up the leaderboard once again as he raced into the 15th position before the lap 10 competition caution was displayed. Staying on track during the yellow, Mayer restarted from the 15th position and quickly moved forward as he joined the top 10 for the first time on lap 17 and remained there until the green-and-white checkered flag was displayed on lap 20 to earn one stage point to begin the afternoon.
Stage Two Finish: 7th
During the stage-ending caution, crew chief Taylor Moyer made the call to bring the driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting from the 17th position as Stage Two went green, Mayer rejoined the top 10 on lap 28 and worked his way up to sixth before a lap-33 yellow bunched the field back together. Restarting from fifth due to varying pit strategies, Mayer battled inside of the top five for the remaining four laps of the stage, crossing under the green-and-white checkered flag in seventh on lap 40 to earn an additional four stage points to bring his total to five for the afternoon.
Final Stage:
Prior to the start of the third and final stage, Moyer made the strategy call to keep the JR Motorsports Chevrolet on track to stay with their fuel strategy. Restarting from the fourth position, Mayer raced his way into third following the restart and remained there until a lap-48 yellow slowed the field. Pitting for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, Mayer restarted the race from the rear of the field as the team received a penalty for a crewmember over the wall too soon.
Due to having to start at the rear, Moyer made the call to bring the JRM driver to pit road as the green flag flew to top off with fuel as they were close on making it to the finish of the race. Once back on track Mayer started his charge towards the front as he joined the top-25 on lap 57 and the top-20 on lap 64. The next yellow flag flew on lap-66 as the 18-year-old was 17th on the leaderboard. Mayer brought the No. 8 Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to alleviate a loose-handling Camaro. Restarting from 25th due to varying pit strategies amongst the leaders, Mayer needed only five laps to race his way back into the top 15 and remained there until a lap-76 yellow slowed the field for the final time on the afternoon. Taking advantage of his fresher tires, Mayer drove inside of the top 10 on lap 80 and remained there until the checkered flag waved on lap 82. The 10th-place finish is Mayer’s second career top 10 in the NXS in only his fifth start in the series.
Sam Mayer, driver No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
“We had a great car today and there were times where we were running the fastest laps on track but a penalty on pit road set us back late in the race. The guys never gave up and gained spots on our next stop to help us move towards the front. Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) called a great race and it feels good to get another top 10 on the year and just knowing that we had this amount of speed today. I am looking forward to Indianapolis next week and racing on another road course, but this time with a little practice and qualifying beforehand.”
Michael Annett
Michael Annett returned to the cockpit of the No. 1 Pilot Flying J Spicy Chicken Sandwich Chevrolet on Saturday in the Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 for NASCAR Xfinity Series machines at Watkins Glen International, driving to an 11th-place finish just three weeks after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right leg. His return allowed the 35-year-old Iowan to maintain his position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, as he currently has a 30-point advantage over the cut line.
Stage One Finish:14th
Starting 18th after application of NASCAR’s mathematical formula to determine starting positions, Annett took the early laps to feel out the handling of his Pilot Flying J Spicy Chicken Sandwich Chevrolet. At the competition caution at lap 10, halfway through the 20-lap Stage One, Annett told crew chief Mike Bumgarner that he had good front turn but that he needed more lateral grip for the punishing corners on the 2.45-mile road course. Over the remaining 10 laps, Annett advanced four positions to 14th. On the ensuing pit stop, Annett took four fresh tires with air pressure adjustments and fuel for Stage Two, hoping to add the lateral grip he needed to advance. The Pilot Flying J pit crew returned to the track in 18th position.
Stage Two Finish: 8th
On the restart, Annett settled in 18th for the first couple of laps before turning up the wick and moving forward. He broke into the top 15 at lap 29 and was running there when the caution flag waved at lap 34. Annett told Bumgarner that he still needed lateral grip. On the restart, Annett made a bold move into Turn 1 from 12th place to gain a couple of spots and added two more positions by the end of lap 37 that put him into eighth place. He would hold there over the remaining three laps to earn three valuable stage points. After reiterating that his lateral grip was minimal, Annett came to pit road at lap 42 for four tires, fuel and a pair of chassis adjustments to help his lateral and returned to the track in 20th place for the final 42-lap segment.
Final Stage:
Firing off from 20th, Annett moved up four positions to 16th before the caution waved again at lap 49 for a crash in the Esses. Annett pitted with the rest of the field at that point, as it put the team at the extreme edge of its fuel window. The restart at lap 51 saw Annett take off from 16th position and begin to march forward again, taking 15th two laps later. Beginning at lap 55, Annett gained a position per lap through lap 57 to run 12th. In the seven laps that followed, Annett drove his way back into the top 10, and five laps later the caution waved again for a crash into Turn 6. At that point, Annett came to pit road for his final stop, taking four tires and fuel to the end. Taking the ensuing restart from 12th position, Annett worked his way to ninth in just two laps and maintained his position in 10th until the penultimate lap, when JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer edged him out for 10th-place at the finish line. The finish held Annett’s 11th-place position in the points and also ensured he maintained a solid lead in the race for the 12th and final playoff spot.
Ty Gibbs won the race, with AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, JRM teammate Justin Allgaier and Harrison Burton in the top five. Brandon Jones headed the second five, with JRM teammate Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton, Justin Haley and Mayer in the top 10.
Michael Annett, driver No. 1 Pilot Flying J Spicy Chicken Sandwich Chevrolet team
“It’s good to be back in the car, racing with all my guys on this No. 1 Pilot Flying J Spicy Chicken Sandwich Chevrolet. I love being here and love the passion they have. I gave up 10th at the end because I was trying something with him (Mayer). I didn’t have a lot of lateral grip today, so that wasn’t easy, but next week, we’ll get back after it.”