Issues can’t stop Chandler Smith in Phoenix

AVONDALE. Ariz. — Chandler Smith faced issues on pit road and on-track with his teammate but someone else’s issue propelled him to victory lane Saturday.

On a pit stop with 57 laps to go, Smith’s crew pushed him from first to fourth. Then, on the restart, Smith pushed up the track and into teammate John Hunter Nemechek, setting off a wreck that took out Nemechek and others.

Smith looked to settle for second as Justin Allgaier held a three-second lead with five laps to go.

Then, Allgaier blew a left-rear tire and crashed into the outside wall.

The field jumbled up on the overtime restart but Smith broke free.

Smith won the Call811.com. Every Dig. Every Time. 200 at Phoenix Raceway. He led three times for 88 laps, including the final 10, and brought home his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win.

TOP-10 FINISHERS: Chandler Smith, Jesse Love, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Shane van Gisbergen, Brandon Jones, Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith, Anthony Alfredo

THROUGH THE FIELD

Leland Honeyman Jr. bested his career-best Xfinity Series finish, bagging an 11th-place finish. Ryan Sieg fell back to 12th during overtime. 

DGM Racing teammates Kyle Weatherman and Nick Leitz finished 16th and 17th. 

A.J. Allmendinger finished 18th, one lap down, with a reportedly ill engine.

Corey Heim finished 22nd, two laps down, after an issue with the right-rear tire. They later diagnosed it as a loose wheel.

Josh Williams finished 27th, five laps down, after the early incident. Frankie Muniz finished 30th, out of the race with a vibration after completing 156 laps.

CALL811.COM. EVERY DIG. EVERY TIME. 200 RACE RECAP

The race had a relatively calm pace to it after a wreck on lap six. Josh Williams, Dawson Cram, Patrick Emerling and Jeremy Clements were collected in a wreck exiting turn two. 

Emerling got the worst of it, caving in the front end of his car and ending his day.

“I was just biding my time when someone in front of me slowed all of a sudden.”

Chandler Smith won stage one, leading all 45 laps in the stage after taking the lead from polesitter Cole Custer.

STAGE ONE TOP-10: Smith, Custer, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola, Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek, Jesse Love

In stage two, Corey Heim began to crater down the leaderboard, dropping all the way to 26th, one lap down, after placing eighth in stage one.

He pitted with the right-rear tire visibly wobbling. They refastened the tire, which helped, but they needed to work it on further in the stage break.

Cole Custer earned the stage win, leading every lap in the stage. 

STAGE TWO TOP-10: Custer, Allgaier, Almirola, C. Smith, Herbst, Nemechek, Mayer, Love, Jones, Austin Hill

In 11th was William Byron who struggled after starting 28th. Sheldon Creed ran 12th in stage two, ahead of several solid drivers — A.J. Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Parker Kligerman and Ryan Sieg. Shane van Gisbergen placed 19th in stage two, just ahead of Sammy Smith.

On the first restart of the final stage, officials nabbed Frankie Muniz for an improper restart. They found Muniz went below the yellow line before crossing the start-finish line. 

As the stage got going, Custer lost the lead 19 laps into the stage. Chandler Smith took it, commanding the lead until a caution for Hailie Deegan hitting the wall in turn two erased his lead on lap 138.

It also changed the whole outcome of the race. John Hunter Nemechek gained four spots and took the lead while leader Chandler Smith fell to fourth. 

On the subsequent restart, Smith and teammate Nemechek came back together. Smith pushed up the track into Nemechek and sent him spinning into traffic. 

Nemechek collected Deegan, Jeb Burton, Sam Mayer, Parker Retzlaff, Riley Herbst, Brennan Poole, Austin Hill, William Byron, Aric Almirola and Ryan Ellis. It ended the day for Almirola, Nemechek, Deegan, Mayer, Retzlaff and Burton who finished 31st-36th, respectively. Almirola’s crew got the car repaired but the damage was still too much to continue. 

After the wreck, 11-minute red flag period and some caution laps, Justin Allgaier set sail on the field. He led 52 laps and had a comfortable 3-second lead until he blew a left-rear tire with just five laps to go. 

The pendulum swung back toward Chandler Smith. Smith took the lead and never relinquished it, claiming his first Xfinity Series W for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Victims of the big wreck, Byron and Herbst finished 23rd and 24th, each three laps down, while Poole and Ellis finished 20th and 21st, each one lap down. 

On the other end, Hill finished fourth while Jones finished seventh. 

Next for the NASCAR Xfinity Series

The series is off this upcoming week, then they head to Circuit of the Americas for a March 23 duel. It all begins just after 5 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN affiliates, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).