Ty Gibbs appeared on his way to the victory in Saturday’s race until a wreck and caution with one of 67 laps remaining sent the race into a two-lap overtime.
On the restart, Allmendinger ran Gibbs hard into Turn 1 and was able to clear him for the lead off Turn 2. Another caution for a wreck sent the race into a second overtime.
On the next restart, Allmendinger was able to hold off Gibbs in Turn 1 and cleared for the lead and with no more cautions, held on for the win by 0.582 seconds.
The win is the fifth this season for Allmendinger, who remains the top seed in the series playoffs. Allmendinger has won all four Xfinity Series races on the Charlotte since its debut in 2019.
“We were having some steering issues. I’d never use it as an excuse but it was hurting us more than it should’ve,” Allmendinger said. “We tried something new and it started to slow us down.
“I don’t want to complain, but when it’s time to get after it, I’m going to give our guys a shot … Four in a row here, how special!”
Asked about getting around Gibbs on the start of the first overtime, Allmendinger said, “He was really good, I was able to hang with him on the outside. I was committed, even if we were going to wreck.
“I probably used Ty up a little bit on a restart but I’d expect him to do the same going for a win.”
Joining Allmendinger in the semifinal round of the playoffs are Noah Gragson, Gibbs, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones. Jones claimed the final transfer spot by two points over Ryan Sieg.
The next round kicks off next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Eliminated from further contention in the playoffs were Sieg, Riley Herbst, Jeremy Clements and reigning series champion Daniel Hemric.
Gragson finished third in the race, James Davison, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was fourth and Allgaier rounded out the top-five.
Stage 3
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, several lead-lap cars pit but Sheldon Creed remained on the track and inherited the lead. Jones was first off pit road among those who pit.
On the restart on Lap 44, Creed led the way followed by Gibbs, Gragson and Allmendinger.
Gibbs out-braked Creed entering the backstretch chicane on Lap 45 and reclaimed the lead.
On Lap 46, Jeb Burton spun and Marco Andretti slammed into him to bring out the fourth caution of the race.
“I hurt my wrist again,” Andretti said on his team radio after his incident. Andretti…
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