NASCAR
Last Week Off For Cup Series Puts Xfinity, Truck Series Road Course Races in the Spotlight
No Cup race this weekend? No problem! While the stars of the premier series take their final off week of 2019, there are still 2 high profile races this weekend. Both the Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series will compete on a road course. For Xfinity, Saturday will have them take on the 4-mile 14 turn Road America circuit in Wisconsin. Playoff race number 2 for the Trucks on Sunday will see them tackle the 10 turn, 2.45 mile Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. With road course racing in NASCAR quickly becoming fan-favorite events, which drivers are standouts ahead of this weekend’s events? One of these races is stacked with road racing talent, while the other is a bit more of a mystery.
Ringers Invading Road America
Whenever the Xfinity Series heads to a road course, their usual cast of characters tend to shine. However, some noted road course ringers will be joining the elite field this weekend. AJ Allmendinger returns to the Kaulig Racing 10 car, looking for his second Road America win. Matt Dibenedetto will be in the Joe Gibbs Racing 18, likely a strong factor for both car and driver. Lastly, Regan Smith will be in the 8 for JR Motorsports, looking for his second Xfinity road course win. All 3 of these road course ringers will be in top-level cars and have a chance at a great race on Saturday. Despite the ringers, who are some Xfinity regulars who have a shot at winning?
Can An Xfinity Regular Take the Win?
Austin Cindric in particular should be a favorite for Road America. The 20-year-old Penske driver comes into the weekend winning the 2 prior road course races in 2019. Along with the pole last week at Bristol, Cindric is on the hottest streak of his young career. Does Cindric come into Road America with tons of momentum? Absolutely. In this race a year ago, Cindric was leading until an engine expiration lead to an early retirement. Now in the flagship Penske car, expect the 22 to be one of the cars to beat on Saturday. This team has won at Road America before, back in 2013 with AJ Allmendinger. In 2019 though, can Cindric keep his perfect streak on road courses alive?
One other Xfinity regular to watch out for on Saturday is Justin Allgaier. The defending Road America winner, Allgaier comes to the site of his 4th win from 2018 still winless in 2019. Last week at Bristol was perhaps the closest the 7 has been to victory lane this year. With just 11 laps left, Allgaier had the lead well in hand until he cut a tire and hit the wall. The promise and disappointment that Bristol showed is a microcosm of the 7 team’s entire season to date. Allgaier has had fast cars, just a lack of execution or bad luck has kept him from closing out races. Coming to a venue where he led 14 laps en route to the win last year, can Allgaier find the same success at Road America? If the 7 has a clean race execution-wise then it’s certainly possible.
First-Time Winner at Road America?
In the 9 previous Xfinity races at Road America, there have been 4 first-time winners. This list includes Nelson Piquet, Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Michael McDowell, and lastly Jeremy Clements. With the Wisconsin venue being such an odd course for strategy, the field of potential winners is wide open. 2 Xfinity Series rookies in particular stand out as possible first-time winners for this weekend; Noah Gragson and Justin Haley.
Gragson has stated previously how much he loves road course racing in particular. “I feel like the road courses are my best opportunity,” Gragson said back in May. “I feel like I’m a good road course racer, I know it didn’t end up good in the Trucks last year, but we pretty much dominated that one. In K&N stuff I was pretty good on them too.”
The JRM rookie clearly stated his one noted misfortune on a road course, the Canada truck race last year. In the last turn Gragson spun out himself as well as teammate Todd Gilliland, handing the win to Justin Haley. As last year’s Canada truck race winner, Haley should have a competitive day at Road America. The Indiana native’s experience in Trans-Am and other road racing series should be a big benefit on Saturday as well. While Haley has wins in the Truck Series in addition to his upset Cup win at Daytona, he is still looking for his first Xfinity Series win.
Road America should be a fascinating strategy-race along with some side-by-side action. Be sure to tune into NBCSN on Saturday to find out who wins the CTECH Manufacturing 180. The mix of road course experience or lack thereof in this field is a stark contrast. This should allow for a great performance by some as well as an upset in the top 10.
Can Canada Produce Another Wild Finish?
While the Xfinity race at Mid-Ohio is interspersed with road course ringers, the Truck race in Canada is not. If fact, only Alex Tagliani in the Kyle Busch Motorsports 51 is a true ringer. After 4 previous attempts, the Canadian road racer is still winless on his home turf. He does have 2 poles here however, so he knows how to navigate Mosport’s 10 turns. Should Tagliani be considered a sleeper? Definitely. He steps into a truck that has 6 wins this year with Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle, so he has a great chance at spoiling Playoff race 2. Could the 5th time be the charm for the Canadian?
Will a Veteran Finally Win Canada?
In the 6 prior races at Mosport, the eldest winner has been just 20 years old. That distinction goes to Ryan Blaney back in 2014, every other Canada Truck winner has been a teenager. The average winner’s age at Mosport is just 19 years of age. However, this time around Canada could see a driver double that age win. The veteran teammate duo of Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter are 2 of the 4 drivers to start every race at Mosport. They each have 5 top 10s in 6 starts. Crafton also has 3 top 5s, with a runner-up result in 2015. Both of these drivers are in the Playoff hunt, needing a win to move on to the Round of 6. Experience may just pay off this year at Canada, which would skew the average winner’s age.
Other Standouts For Canada
While Tagliani, Sauter, and Crafton come into Canada as 3 of the favorites, this race is anything but their’s yet. Todd Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger, and Ben Rhodes will be just a few of the contenders on Sunday. The race north of the border has come down to a last-corner lead change in all but 1 of the previous 6 races, so the chances of another tight finish are high. With Canada being a Playoff race for the second-straight year, expect some teams to throw a Hail Mary to stay in the postseason. Don’t miss a second of the action on Sunday only on FS1.
With the stars of the Cup Series not in competition this week, the limelight is put on the young and old drivers in NASCAR’s lower 2 series. Both the Xfinity and Truck competitors will have challenging road courses to conquer, with a Playoff berth at stake in 1 race. Despite no Cup race, this weekend has the potential for a week’s worth of drama, story lines, and intensity.
Written by Peter Stratta
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