Event: LS Tractor 200 (Round 4 of 33) Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series Location: Phoenix Raceway (1.022-mile oval) Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps) Start/Finish: 9th/6th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps) Point Standing: 2nd (173 points, 3 behind leader)
Race Winner: Brandon Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Noah Gragson of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Key Moment:
Chase Briscoe featured regularly among the top-five in Saturday’s LS Tractor 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing started ninth but finished third in both stages of the 200-lap race around the 1.022-mile oval. Briscoe was again running third in the final stage until a caution on lap 129 jumbled the running order. Numerous drivers took the opportunity to pit while others, including Briscoe, opted for track position and stayed out on the racetrack. But when the race restarted on lap 133, those who stayed out were no match for the drivers who pitted and fitted their racecars with fresh tires. Briscoe fell to ninth until the race’s penultimate caution on lap 138 allowed the 25-year-old racer from Mitchell, Indiana, to pit for four tires and fuel. In the final 57 laps, Briscoe worked his way from 22nd and almost back into the top-five, as he was unable to claim fifth in a spirited last-lap battle with Justin Haley. Briscoe ended up sixth, tying his best Xfinity Series finish at Bristol and picking up his third top-10 of the season.
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“I think we were definitely better than a sixth-place racecar. We just had a miscommunication when the whole field pitted. My crew chief told me to do what the 7 (Justin Allgaier) and the 9 (Noah Gragson) do, but the 9 pitted and the 7 stayed out, so I stayed out. Then we were at a disadvantage tire-wise. I restarted last and was able to drive to sixth. Overall, it was a good learning weekend for when we come back in November.”
Notes:
● Briscoe equaled his previous best finish at Phoenix (sixth), as he finished sixth in last year’s iK9 Service Dog 200. ● Briscoe earned his 33rd top-10 in 54 career Xfinity Series starts and his third top-10 in three Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix. ● Briscoe finished third in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 to earn a total of 16 bonus points. ● Brandon Jones won the LS Tractor 200 to score his second career Xfinity Series win, his first of the season and his first at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Harrison Burton was 3.556 seconds. ● There were seven caution periods for a total of 45 laps. ● Only 17 of the 36 drivers finished on the lead lap. ● Burton leaves Phoenix as the championship leader with a three-point advantage over second-place Briscoe.
Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the EchoPark 250 on Saturday, March 14 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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