Josh Berry seems to have Dover Motor Speedway figured out pretty well. After finishing second at the one-mile facility last Spring, the 31-year-old was able to defeat Justin Allgaier to capture his third career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Starting from fourth, it didn’t look as though Berry had a race-winning car in the early portion of the event, as his teammates Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier dominated the first 75-percent of the race, winning the race’s first two stages.
However, the Hendersonville, Tennessee-native was able to keep himself somewhat in the picture as the race’s final stage reached its mid-way point, pouncing on the opportunity to get into second, and eventually the lead, when lap traffic impeded Allgaier’s progress with 55 laps to go.
From that point in time, Berry didn’t look back, holding off the field during the race’s final restart with 34 laps to go, something that was made much easier by the fact that Allgaier’s crew failed to have an efficient restart, forcing the No. 7 to restart in fifth.
Allgaier, who exits Dover riding a winless streak of 25 races, rebounded to finish in the runner-up spot, six-tenths of a second behind Berry’s Tire Pros-sponsored entry. Ty Gibbs finished the race in third place.
Finishing fourth, Noah Gragson captured a record-tying fifth victory in Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash program, claiming the $100,000 prize for being the highest finisher of the four eligible drivers (Gragson, Allmendinger, Cassill, Sieg).
Sam Mayer, stage one winner, rebounded to finish inside the top-five, after losing a left-rear wheel under caution at the start of stage two, before being slapped with a speeding penalty to start the final stage.
The No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro’s loss of a left-rear wheel during Saturday’s 200-lap event, will likely result in a four-race suspension for crew chief Taylor Moyer, as well as the team’s jackman and rear tire changer.
AJ Allmendinger continued his streak of top-10s to start the season with a sixth-place result, as polesitter Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst, and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top-10.
John Hunter Nemechek, one of the favorites to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series event, blew a brake rotor in the first-half of the event, forcing the No. 18 Toyota Supra’s retirement, which resulted in a finish of 37th.
Allmendinger continues to extend his regular-season points lead with a string of top-10 results, leading by 43 markers over Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson, who are tied for second. Josh Berry and Brandon Jones round out the top five in points.
