© Chris Graythen Getty ImagesAJ Allmendinger rolls to Xfinity Series victory at Las Vegas
AJ Allmendinger drove to his first victory of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season Saturday, pulling away in a late-race restart at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Allmendinger maneuvered the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to a .978-second win, leading 44 of the 200 laps in the Alsco Uniforms 300. His first victory at the 1.5-mile Nevada track was the sixth of his Xfinity Series career.
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Daniel Hemric settled in for second place in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, marking the eighth runner-up finish of his career without a win. Hemric's teammate Brandon Jones took third, with defending series champion Austin Cindric fourth and Noah Gragson closing out the top five finishers.
Cindric won the opening stage, but his Team Penske No. 22 Ford slowed with a flat left-rear tire just after green-flag racing resumed in Stage 2. He was trapped in the outside lane, initially unable to make the pit entrance before limping along the track's apron to avoid further damage.
A crash involving Ty Dillon and Riley Herbst one lap later prompted the race's third yellow flag, allowing Cindric to regain his lost lap as the caution period's beneficiary, though the misfortune dropped him to 36th in the 40-car field before his midrace rally.
Cindric was later involved in a third-stage incident with Harrison Burton, one that interrupted a long green-flag run near the end. He drove back to notch his fourth top-five finish in four races this season.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series' next race is scheduled Saturday, March 13 at Phoenix Raceway (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
This story will be updated.
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