NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2018 Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega results – Spencer Gallagher wins
By Asher Fair
Spencer Gallagher won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series race by winning the 2018 Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.
GMS Racing’s Spencer Gallagher secured his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win by winning the 2018 Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama despite the fact that he did not lead any of the race’s scheduled 113 laps.
The race ended up lasting 115 laps after a late caution flag period sent it to overtime. Gallagher led just one of the 115 laps around the four-tune, 2.66-mile superspeedway, but he led the final one to secure himself the victory in his #23 Chevrolet.
The 28-year-old held off Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones by 0.152 seconds to take the checkered flag for the first time in his Xfinity Series career, which began in the 2016 season. This is his second season as a full-time driver in the series.
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Jones’ second place finish in his #19 Toyota was his career-high finish in the Xfinity Series. In fact, it was his lone top five finish since he finished in fifth place at Kentucky in the 2015 season as a part-time driver. The 21-year-old has driven in the series since the 2015 season and he has done so full-time since last season.
The race featured 12 lead changes among 11 different leaders. Aside of Gallagher, 10 other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those 10 drivers included Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Sieg, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Jeff Green, Ryan Reed, polesitter Daniel Hemric, who led more laps than any other driver in the race with 39 laps led, Austin Cindric and Mike Harmon.
Hemric won the first stage of the race, while Sadler won the second.
The race featured three incident-related caution flag periods. The first incident-related caution flag period of the race began on lap 33 after an accident involving Shane Lee, Ryan Truex, Kaz Grala, Dylan Lupton, Chad Finchum, Ty Majeski and Spencer Boyd took place on the back straightaway.
The second incident-related caution flag period of the race began on lap 62 after an accident involving Ross Chastain, Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric and Timmy Hill took place in turn two. The third and final incident-related caution flag period of the race began on lap 105 for debris.
Here are the full race results from the 2018 Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Spencer Gallagher | #23, GMS Racing, Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brandon Jones | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 5 | Elliott Sadler | #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 6 | Ryan Sieg | #39, RSS Racing, Chevrolet |
| 7 | John Hunter Nemechek | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 9 | Cole Custer | #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 10 | Garrett Smithley | #0, JD Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 11 | J.J. Yeley | #38, RSS Racing, Chevrolet |
| 12 | Christopher Bell | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 13 | Jeff Green | #93, RSS Racing, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Michael Annett | #5, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 15 | Shane Lee | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | #60, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 17 | Vinnie Miller | #01, JD Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 18 | Tommy Joe Martins | #8, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 19 | B.J. McLeod | #78, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 20 | Kaz Grala | #24, JGL Racing, Ford |
| 21 | Joey Gase | #35, Go Green Racing, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Ryan Reed | #16, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 23 | Daniel Hemric | #21, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 24 | Alex Labbe | #36, DGM Racing, Chevrolet |
| 25 | Matt Tifft | #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 26 | Josh Williams | #90, DGM Racing, Chevrolet |
| 27 | Timmy Hill | #66, MBM Motorsports, Dodge |
| 28 | Josh Bilicki | #45, JP Motorsports, Toyota |
| 29 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | #55, JP Motorsports, Toyota |
| 30 | Austin Cindric | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 31 | Joe Nemechek | #15, JD Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 32 | David Starr | #52, Jimmy Means Racing, Chevrolet |
| 33 | Mike Harmon | #74, Mike Harmon Racing, Dodge |
| 34 | Ross Chastain | #4, JD Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 35 | Jeremy Clements | #51, Jeremy Clements Racing, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Dylan Lupton | #28, JGL Racing, Ford |
| 37 | Ty Majeski | #60, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 38 | Ryan Truex | #11, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet |
| 39 | Chad Finchum | #40, MBM Motorsports, Toyota |
| 40 | Spencer Boyd | #76, SS-Green Light Racing, Chevrolet |
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Be sure to tune in to the next NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which is set to be held next Saturday, May 5th. That race is the OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 starting at 1:30 pm ET on that date.