Making his first bid at a championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Ty Gibbs has already solidified his spot in the 12-driver post-season, capturing the victory in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gibbs, 19, didn’t necessarily have a trouble-free race, but used a late-race restart to steal the lead – and the victory — away from Noah Gragson, pacing the field in the final six laps of the event.
After starting at the back, Gibbs was quickly slicing through the pack when he encountered Ryan Sieg on the second lap of the race. While the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra made no contact with Sieg, the air from Gibbs’ entry sent the No. 39 into the outside wall.
Not so long after, precipitation – specifically, snow (!) — brought the field down pit road and to the red flag, allowing Gibbs and Sieg to have some words during the stoppage. After the fact, during an interview with FOX, the grin on Ryan Sieg’s face told everyone that this wasn’t over…
…and it wasn’t, as Sieg returned to the track multiple laps down, and attempted to turn Ty Gibbs in turn four, but instead spun himself, and caused damage to Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt.
For the majority of the race’s second-half, Gibbs stayed quiet, fighting inside the top-10 for most of the event, and at times battling for a position inside the top-five. It was this positioning that allowed the 19-year-old to strike on the final restart, capturing his fifth victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
After winning the first two stages, and leading 52 laps, Noah Gragson finished in the runner-up position. Defending champion Daniel Hemric recorded a third-place result, with JR Motorsports teammates Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier rounding out the top-five.
Sam Mayer, the only JR Motorsports entry absent from the top-five, showed strength throughout the race, leading 25 laps. The second-year driver ended up 25th, after being collected in an accident with 17 to go.
Landon Cassill recorded a sixth-place result, with Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt – both of which were involved in the Sieg retaliation attempt — finishing seventh and eighth-place. Polesitter AJ Allmendinger finished in ninth, with Brandon Jones rounding out the top-10.
The event featured 11 yellow flags, consuming a total of 65 laps (32.5%) throughout the 200-lap event. Ryan Sieg, Ty Gibbs, and Joe Graf Jr. all led the field in incidents this afternoon, with two.
Exiting Las Vegas, Noah Gragson holds a 17-point advantage over Ty Gibbs in the regular-season standings, with AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, and Josh Berry rounding out the top-five.
