Veteran racer A.J. Allmendinger delivered a masterclass performance at the Ambetter Health 302 in Las Vegas, snatching victory and punching his ticket to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4. The 42-year-old driver secured his 18th career win in dramatic fashion, holding off Ryan Sieg by a mere 0.156 seconds after leading 102 of the 201 laps.
Allmendinger’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway couldn’t have come at a better time, guaranteeing him a shot at the title in the season finale at Phoenix next month. The Californian, who is moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series next season, celebrated the victory with an emotional outburst, directing heartfelt congratulations to his Kaulig Racing team and team owner Matt Kaulig, whose birthday coincided with the race.
“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger exclaimed. “It’s been such an up-and-down year, but we stick together, we keep fighting. What a way to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship!”
For Ryan Sieg, who remains winless after 364 Xfinity Series starts, the runner-up finish marked yet another heartbreaking near miss. The RSS Racing driver challenged Allmendinger fiercely in the final laps, briefly passing him with nine laps to go but was unable to hold the lead.
“We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a long run,” Sieg said. “I just overdrove and lost some track position. It just sucks to finish second again.”
JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith, both playoff contenders, finished third and fourth respectively. Allgaier led 42 laps and won Stage 2, keeping himself 32 points above the cutline heading into the next two races. However, despite his strong performance, he didn’t secure an automatic Championship 4 berth.
Allgaier remained positive, praising both Allmendinger and Sieg for their efforts: “Really proud of this team. We weren’t as good as we wanted to be in practice, but we made good adjustments. Great start to the next round, and now we’ll move on to next week.”
Further down the field, Parker Kligerman, who was eliminated from playoff contention last week, finished fifth. Jesse Love, another playoff driver, finished sixth, followed by defending race winner Riley Herbst and Cole Custer, who sits 16 points above the playoff cutline. Austin Hill and Sam Mayer, both still in the playoff hunt, finished 13th and 14th respectively, leaving them needing strong performances in the upcoming races.
The Xfinity Series now moves to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the next playoff race, where defending race winner Sam Mayer will look to make up ground. With the championship field still wide open, the battle for the final Championship 4 spots promises to be intense.
As the pressure mounts with just two races before the finale, A.J. Allmendinger stands poised to make a run at the championship after a critical win in Sin City.
