Race Winner: Josh Berry of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Noah Gragson of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Overview:
Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team overcame a spin in qualifying to finish 18th in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Las Vegas native started at the rear of the field in 36th place after saving his car from hitting the wall during Friday night’s qualifying session. He made forward progress from the wave of the green flag, reaching the top-20 by lap 23. After finishing 16th in each of the first two stages, Herbst restarted 10th for the final stage, his best position of the day. He stayed in the top-10, working his way as high as sixth, before pitting under green on lap 144. During that stop, the No. 98 Monster Energy team was called for a safety violation and Herbst fell off the lead lap after serving the drive-through penalty. He was unable to get his lap back the rest of the way and took the checkered flag 18th.
Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Obviously not the day we wanted by any means. I love coming home and racing here, but today we just battled with the balance of our Monster Energy Ford. We had top-10 speed all day, but luck wasn’t on our side this weekend. We still collected a top-20, but we have to minimize the mistakes. We’ll look ahead to Homestead. Still three races to go.”
Notes:
● This was Herbst’s second straight top-20 at Las Vegas. He finished 14th in the series’ last visit in March.
● Josh Berry won the Alsco Uniforms 302 to score his fifth career Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season, and his second at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Noah Gragson was 1.125 seconds.
● There were three caution periods for a total of 15 laps.
● Only 15 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Contender Boats 300 on Oct. 22 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. It will be the fifth race of the seven-race playoffs and the second of the Round of 8. The race starts at 4:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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