Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Aric Almirola and Sheldon Creed, came home third and fifth, respectively, in the Xfinity Series race at Homestead on Saturday. Almirola’s No. 20 GR Supra started third and was within the top-five for most of the afternoon, earning second and fifth-place stage finishes, before ending the day in the third position. The top-five result for Almirola is his fifth in 11 starts this season and helped move the No. 20 team back to third position in the Xfinity Series owner’s points standings, just 10 points behind the lead.
Creed, who started on the front row, had an eventful day in his No. 18 that was strong on long runs. This included running long on the final green pit sequence and moving up the running order after his stop to find himself fifth as the checkered flag flew. This is Creed’s 16th top-five result of the season, which leads the Xfinity Series. He’s also scored at least a top-10 finish in 14 of the last 18 races this season.
The remaining Toyota GR Supra driver in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, Chandler Smith, started the day on pole for the third time this season. He led the first 29 laps of the race but ran into his own handling issues and a problem on pit road late in Stage 3 that resulted in a 13th-place finish. Smith enters Martinsville fifth in the driver point standings, 28 points below the cutline.
The Xfinity Series concludes its Round of 8 next Saturday, Nov. 2, at Martinsville Speedway. Coverage can be found at 4 p.m. EST on The CW Network, as well as radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM Radio Channel 90.
Toyota Racing PR
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