Chandler Smith won his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series race after taking control of the lead in overtime at Phoenix Raceway.
Smith inherited the position after Justin Allgaier cut a tire and hit the wall with five laps to go. He then set sail on the overtime restart and earned Joe Gibbs Racing’s 17th Xfinity win at the 1-mile track.
Jesse Love came home second, while Sheldon Creed, who had to start the race in the rear after the team fixed an oil leak, took third. Austin Hill was fourth and Cole Custer rounded out the top five.
Winners
Smith started on the front row but quickly nabbed the lead from polesitter Custer and led all the laps in stage one. However, a poor pit stop put him behind the eight ball in stage two, which Custer went on to lead and win .
The No. 81 eventually got up to Custer and made some slight contact with the No. 00 battling for the lead. However, a caution for practically nothing changed things for Smith.
He again lost some spots on pit road thanks to a slower stop and restarted in the second row. John Hunter Nemechek came out with the lead but had a bad restart in the outside lane. As Smith attempted to get underneath the No. 20, Nemechek appeared to come down off the right front of Smith and spins in front of the field.
It definitely was the Big One, yet Smith got away with very little damage. He was still behind Justin Allgaier, though… until he wasn’t. Allgaier cut a tire and hit the wall with five laps left, allowing Smith to secure his second win.
It was redemption for the Georgia native, who lost the lead last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after being out front for 74 laps. Smith seems to be adapting to his new team fairly well with four top fives to start the season. He already has half the number of top fives he had in 2023 with Kaulig Racing. However, with so many mouths to feed in the Toyota camp, will this be a multi-win season for the 21 year old? Time will tell.
Creed stayed in the top 10 for much of the second half of the race after starting in the back of the field. Fast pit stops and his driving skills helped him steadily move to the front, eventually battling for the top three spots. While he wasn’t able to earn his ninth second-place finish, a place on the podium was well-earned for Smith’s JGR teammate.
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