Chase Briscoe Wins First NASCAR Xfinity Series Race on Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval

The part-time driver led 33 of 55 laps to defeat series regulars Justin Marks and Austin Cindric.
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Chase Briscoe scored his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and simultaneously became the first winner on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course with his performance in the Drive for the Cure 200. He did so in dominating fashion, leading 33 of the 55 laps that made up the race.

“It’s huge to me,” Briscoe said. “Everybody had to adapt to it and figure it out, and I don’t know that I’m necessarily the best at it, but I felt like I just tried not to hit anything, and this thing hardly has a scratch on it.”

Chase Briscoe is a NASCAR Xfinity Series winner.

Chase Briscoe is a NASCAR Xfinity Series winner.

, Chase Briscoe celebrates his first-career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the Drive for the Cure 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Sept. 29, 2018., Getty Images for NASCAR

Daniel Hemric challenged Briscoe early in the 25-lap third stage of the race, but Hemric was dealt a stop-and-go penalty for missing a chicane in the final 15 laps of the race. He wound up 10th at the finish.

Hemric and Christopher Bell were winners in the two 15-lap stages that made up the first 30 laps of the race.

Hemric took the race lead with two laps remaining in the opening stage after an Austin Cindric spin. Cindric started on the pole and had led the race up to that point. He and Briscoe were the only two drivers to post double digits in the laps-led column. 

Cindric was third at the checkered flag, making him the highest finisher among playoff drivers.

Austin Cindric on pole.

Austin Cindric on pole.

, Austin Cindric wins the pole for the Drive for the Cure 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Sept. 29, 2018., Getty Images for NASCAR

Hemric stayed out between the first two stages to hold on to his lead, but when the race restarted, Briscoe commandeered the position. Briscoe and Hemric gave up the top-two spots in the running order to pit in the closing laps of the second stage, putting Bell up front for the stage win.

While others pitted during the caution after the second stage, Briscoe and Hemric cycled back up to the top-two.

Following an unusually high number of wrecks during practice sessions and qualifying for both the Xfinity and Cup Series, NASCAR modified a tire barrier on the Roval’s backstretch. The result was an incident-free final practice session for the Cup Series, followed by an Xfinity Series race with relatively low attrition.

The yellow flag waved only three times, aside from the two cautions at the end of the first two stages. One of those other yellow flags was for a stalled car and another for debris. The only other caution came on Lap 34 for a multi-car crash that started with contact between Ryan Truex and Ty Majeski and included a Michael Annett spin as well as several other cars being collected.

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Cars on track during the Drive for the Cure 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Sept. 29, 2018., Getty Images for NASCAR

“It went green a lot more than what I expected,” Bell said.

Regular season champion Justin Allgaier was involved in an incident with Ryan Sieg in the final two laps of the second stage, but the race continued to run under green. Allgaier was 15th at the finish, as a result.

Other playoff drivers outside the top-10 at the checkered flag included Ryan Reed in 11th, Ross Chastain in 12th, Elliott Sadler 14th, Truex 16th, and Brandon Jones in 22nd.

DRIVE FOR THE CURE 200 RESULTS:

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 98 Ford

2. Justin Marks, No. 42 Chevrolet

3. Austin Cindric, No. 22 Ford

4. Ryan Preece, No. 18 Toyota

5. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota

6. Matt Tifft, No. 2 Chevrolet

7. Cole Custer, No. 00 Ford

8. Kaz Grala, No. 61 Ford

9. Tyler Reddick, No. 9 Chevrolet

10. Daniel Hemric, No. 21 Chevrolet

11. Ryan Reed, No. 16 Ford

12. Ross Chastain, No. 4 Chevrolet

13. Alex Labbe, No. 36 Chevrolet

14. Elliott Sadler, No. 1 Chevrolet

15. Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Chevrolet

16. Ryan Truex, No. 11 Chevrolet

17. Brendan Gaughan, No. 3 Chevrolet

18. Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Chevrolet

19. Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Chevrolet

20. Michael Annett, No. 5 Chevrolet

21. Lawson Aschenbach, No. 01 Chevrolet

22. Brandon Jones, No. 19 Toyota

23. Joey Gase, No. 35 Chevrolet

24. Josh Bilicki, No. 45 Toyota

25. Garrett Smithley, No. 0 Chevrolet

26. Ray Black Jr., No. 74 Chevrolet

27. David Starr, No. 52 Chevrolet

28. Chad Finchum, No. 40 Dodge

29. Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Chevrolet

30. Dylan Murcott, No. 8 Chevrolet

31. Vinnie Miller, No. 78 Chevrolet

32. Timmy Hill, No. 66 Toyota

33. Katherine Legge, No. 15 Chevrolet

34. Ty Majeski, No. 60 Ford

35. Bayley Currey, No. 55 Toyota

36. Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Chevrolet

37. Andy Lally, No. 90 Chevrolet

38. Landon Cassill, No. 13 Dodge

39. Jeff Green, No. 93 Chevrolet

40. J.J. Yeley, No. 38 Chevrolet

UP NEXT: The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to Delaware for an Oct. 6 race at Dover International Speedway. It will be the initial elimination race of the series’ first 2018?playoff round. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Ryan Blaney is the defending winner of the fall Xfinity Series race at Dover, but Justin Allgaier won the most recent race there in May. Christopher Bell heads into the contest as the points leader. Austin Cindric, Ryan Truex, Ryan Reed, and Brandon Jones, meanwhile, are in the danger zone in provisional elimination spots.