CONCORD, N.C. – The newly configured Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL was an elimination race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Saturday (Oct. 12), and four drivers walked away disappointed after not making the cut line for the Round of 8.
Shane van Gisbergen was of those unfortunate few, while on the other side of the coin, his Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger made it through.
Van Gisbergen started on the pole and looked strong early on. He had won three times previously this season at Portland International Raceway, Sonoma Raceway and the Chicago street course. All signs pointed to him advancing to the next round with a road course as a cutoff race.
He finished stage one in second staying out to get points and finished seventh in stage two, but the late-race strategy did not work out when his team decided not to pit with the rest of the field.
At the end of the day, he finished third, which was ultimately not good enough to move on.
“It is what it is,” van Gisbergen told Frontstretch post-race. “There’s going to be some fast cars battling, the No. 48 [Parker Kligerman] got through really good, who knows. In all reality it comes down to one point last week.”
The move cost him a position in the playoffs, which were decided in overtime when he was not even a point above the cut line, and lost it when Jesse Love picked up positions to advance.
“You’re obviously in pain because you wanted us to get through, last week really hurt us,” he said. “I don’t know what the points are in the car. I was just doing the best I could; I don’t want to rely on others taking each other out, I don’t want to win that way.”
On the contrary, Allmendinger had a great day. He also started the race high up the standings in third, but the outcome was much different than his Kaulig counterpart.
Ultimately, Allmendinger finished second and also advanced into the next round of the playoffs. A hard-fought battle for the win between Kligerman, Allmendinger and eventual winner Sam Mayer ensued in the closing laps and overtime.
“I thought SVG was on older tires and Sam was probably the best car,” Allmendinger said post-race. “Parker was doing everything he could to win the race.
“I knew what position we were in, I wanted to get five [ROVAL wins] in a row but I also didn’t want to have something dumb happen; I had to be smart there.”
After the…
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