NASCAR Xfinity Series: A.J. Allmendinger wins 2019 Drive for the Cure 250

A.J. Allmendinger beat the NASCAR Xfinity Series regulars to win the playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, the Drive for the Cure 250.

The Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, the second of seven races on the three-round 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff schedule and the fourth and final road course race of the year, was slated to be A.J. Allmendinger’s fifth and final start of the season.

Allmendinger finished in the top three in three of his first four starts of the season driving for Kaulig Racing, but two of those three results ended up being stripped from him as a result of the fact that his #10 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection.

At the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, he secured another top three finish, this time in the form of his first Xfinity Series victory since he won at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the 2013 season driving for Team Penske.

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Allmendinger started Saturday afternoon’s 67-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway roval in Concord, North Carolina in fifth place in his #10 Chevrolet, and he won it by 2.386 seconds over Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick in second in his #2 Chevrolet.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson rounded out the top five by finishing in third, fourth and fifth place in their #22 Ford, #7 Chevrolet and #9 Chevrolet, respectively. Cindric finished in third even after reporting a mechanical failure late in the race, as he lost his shocks.

DGM Racing’s Alex Labbe had an impressive run en route to a career-high sixth place finish in his #90 Chevrolet. In 43 previous Xfinity Series starts, he had just one top 10 finish, a ninth place finish in last year’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

GMS Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek finished in seventh place in his #23 Chevrolet ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe in eighth and ninth in their#00 Ford and #98 Ford, respectively. JR Motorsports’ Ryan Truex finished in 10th in his #8 Chevrolet.

This race featured a total of seven lead changes among six drivers. Allmendinger led 20 laps, trailing only Briscoe, who started the race from the pole position, in that category. Briscoe led a race-high 21 laps and won stage one.

Aside of Allmendinger and Briscoe, four other drivers led at least one lap of the race. These drivers were Reddick, Cindric, Custer and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. Custer won stage two. Bell finished in 12th place in his #20 Toyota after leading 19 laps and making late contact with Briscoe.

The race also featured seven caution flag periods. Of the 38 drivers who started the race, 32 finished it and 29 finished on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval.

NOTE: Playoff drivers are listed in italics.

Race Results
1st – A.J. Allmendinger
2nd – Tyler Reddick
3rd – Austin Cindric
4th – Justin Allgaier
5th – Noah Gragson
6th – Alex Labbe
7th – John Hunter Nemechek
8th – Cole Custer
9th – Chase Briscoe
10th – Ryan Truex
11th – Jeremy Clements
12th – Christopher Bell
13th – Harrison Burton
14th – Lawson Aschenbach
15th – Michael Annett
16th – Brandon Jones
17th – Brandon Brown
18th – Timmy Hill
19th – Stephen Leicht
20th – Josh Williams
21st – Joey Gase
22nd – Joe Nemechek
23rd – B.J. McLeod
24th – Cody Ware
25th – Vinnie Miller
26th – Josh Bilicki
27th – Preston Pardus
28th – Will Rodgers
29th – Gray Gaulding
30th – Ryan Sieg
31st – Justin Haley
32nd – Ray Black Jr.
33rd – Garrett Smithley
34th – David Starr
35th – Tommy Joe Martins
36th – Chad Finchum
37th – Bayley Currey
38th – J.J. Yeley

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The third and final race of the round of 12 of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs is the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200. This race is scheduled to take place next Saturday, October 5, and it is set to be broadcast live from Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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