2023 Production Alliance Group 300
The 2023 Production Alliance Group 300 was the 2nd stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 24th iteration of the event. The race took place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, a 2.0-mile (3.2 km) permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, but due to constant rain showers, the race was postponed until Sunday, February 26, immediately following the Pala Casino 400 Cup Series race on the same day.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
_-_Speedway.svg.png.webp) | |||
| Date | February 26, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 24th Annual Production Alliance Group 300 | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.1 km) | ||
| Distance | 150 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 150 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 115.471 mph (185.833 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 49 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS2 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
The race took the scheduled 150 laps to complete. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, dominated the final stages of the race, and earned his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, along with his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, and Justin Allgaier, also driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
This was also the final Xfinity Series race to be held on the 2.0 mile version of Auto Club Speedway, as the track will be renovated into a 0.5 mile short track in 2023.
Background
Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) is a two-mile (3.2 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It is also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and is the only track owned by ISC to have naming rights sold. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Starting lineup
Practice and qualifying were scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 25, at 9:05 AM PST, and 9:35 AM PST, but were both cancelled due to constant rain showers.[2] The starting lineup would be determined by a performance-based metric system. As a result, Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would earn the pole.[3] Garrett Smithley and Ryan Vargas would fail to qualify.
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 35
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Austin Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 35
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 10 | Austin Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 80
| Fin[4] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 49 | Running | 51 |
| 2 | 22 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 3 | 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 8 | Running | 39 |
| 4 | 5 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 1 | Running | 42 |
| 5 | 19 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 3 | Running | 32 |
| 6 | 1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 4 | Running | 40 |
| 7 | 6 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 8 | 15 | 10 | Austin Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 10 | Running | 0 |
| 9 | 25 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 10 | 23 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 14 | 19 | Joe Graf Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 35 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 29 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 16 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 18 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 9 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 17 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 11 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 13 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 14 | Running | 26 |
| 20 | 4 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 20 | 45 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 22 | 7 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 31 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 15 | Running | 22 |
| 24 | 38 | 91 | Ross Chastain (i) | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 25 | 30 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 26 | 44 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 8 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 149 | 46 | Running | 30 |
| 28 | 28 | 28 | Alex Labbé | RSS Racing | Ford | 149 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 34 | 35 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 149 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 36 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 33 | 07 | Blaine Perkins (R) | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 149 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 33 | 10 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 32 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 21 | 02 | David Starr | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 148 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 24 | 24 | Tyler Reddick (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 148 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 37 | 27 | 53 | C. J. McLaughlin | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 38 | 12 | 08 | Gray Gaulding | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 26 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after theace
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References
- Cook, Garrett (February 26, 2023). "John Hunter Wins Final Xfinity Race Before Auto Club Revamp". Frontstretch. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- "2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Auto Club Speedway Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- Skala, Chris (February 25, 2023). "NASCAR Cup & Xfinity Series Qualifying Canceled Due to Weather". Frontstretch. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- "2023 Production Alliance Group 300 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved February 26, 2023.