Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles
Josh Berry leads JRM 1–2–3, clinches Championship Round berth
Josh Berry is the first to secure a chance to fight for a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He and his JR Motorsports team-mates put on a clinic in Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as he and Noah Gragson combined to lead 152 of 200 laps and finish 1–2; Justin Allgaier, fresh off signing a contract extension with JRM, completed the podium sweep.
Berry took the lead on the final restart with thirty-five laps remaining, set up by future JRM driver Brandon Jones‘ spin on lap 162, and never let go. Gragson, the Stage #2 winner, settled for second after being in first for a race-high eighty-two circuits. Behind the JRM trio at the front, the team’s fourth driver Sam Mayer still had a solid day of his own in seventh.
“I never won at Vegas as a driver so I love when our JRM drivers do,” tweeted team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. “Plus 1-2-3 against a tough field is something to be very proud of.”
Ty Gibbs was the highest finishing non-JGR driver in fourth. Despite winning the first stage, he explained he “sucked on restarts and that was where people capitalised today with track position, and dirty air was very big. I feel like that was the spot we were not as good at as we needed to be to contend for the win, but I feel like we were capable of it, just needed to be in better lines on restarts. I don’t feel like it was because I spun the tyres, but there were still people getting runs. We were three-wide at one point, but people were getting runs on the top, so it was possible to move forward.”
Hailie Deegan finished thirteenth, the best performing Ford, in her Xfinity début.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 12 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 3 | 10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 4 | 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 201 | Running |
| 5 | 2 | 18 | Trevor Bayne^ | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 201 | Running |
| 6 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 8 | 6 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 9 | 7 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 201 | Running |
| 10 | 21 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 11 | 15 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 12 | 22 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 13 | 20 | 07 | Hailie Deegan* | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 201 | Running |
| 14 | 26 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 15 | 14 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 201 | Running |
| 16 | 11 | 26 | John Hunter Nemechek* | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 17 | 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 18 | 36 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 19 | 23 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 20 | 18 | 44 | Rajah Caruth* | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 21 | 27 | 02 | Parker Retzlaff | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | Running |
| 22 | 1 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | Running |
| 23 | 17 | 45 | Stefan Parsons* | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | Running |
| 24 | 31 | 68 | Kris Wright* | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 25 | 25 | 78 | Garrett Smithley | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 26 | 38 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 197 | Running |
| 27 | 32 | 35 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 197 | Running |
| 28 | 35 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 29 | 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 30 | 34 | 38 | C.J. McLaughlin | RSS Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 31 | 37 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 32 | 30 | 13 | Matt Jaskol* | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 195 | Running |
| 33 | 24 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 34 | 28 | 36 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 35 | 33 | 5 | Matt Mills* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 36 | 19 | 66 | J.J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 82 | Engine |
| 37 | 9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed # | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52 | Engine |
| 38 | 13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 32 | Steering |
^ – Competing in owner playoffs
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points
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