Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas was everything an intense NASCAR playoff race should be.
After dominating for much of the evening, AJ Allmendinger held off Ryan Sieg in a two-lap shootout to score his first victory of the 2024 season.
Sieg caught — and nearly passed Allmendinger — during the race’s final green flag run, but a caution for a stalled Sammy Smith brought out the yellow flag and re-racked the field.
Despite a hard charge by Sieg, Allmendinger held on to win the race and punch his ticket to the Xfinity Series championship race on Nov. 9.
“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger told NBC Sports. “Been such and up and down, (season) but what I love about them is that we keep fighting.”
A jubilant Allmendinger made sure to shout out his family, but also gave a hearty hello to team owner Matt Kaulig, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday.
“My family and friends see how much I put into this, how much I care. I put it all on myself,” Allmendinger continued. “What a way to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship!”
Sieg tied his career-best finish with a runner-up effort, with Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Parker Kligerman rounding out the top-five. Jesse Love, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill completed the top-10.
Other notable finishers in Saturday’s race include Corey Heim in 11th, Aric Almirola in 13th, Sam Mayer in 14th, Brandon Jones in 17th and Sammy Smith in 32nd.
The Xfinity Series’ Round of 8 will roll on next Saturday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Three races remain in the 2024 season.
