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A.J. Allmendinger survives chaotic inaugural Portland Xfinity race

It might be an understatement to call the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway a calamity. As rain fell upon the 1.9-mile road course, many drivers went off course or were involved in unusual accidents as they slipped and slid along. A.J. Allmendinger, who already has seven road course wins in his NASCAR career, started at the rear following major repairs and survived his own off-road excursions to win yet again.

“I crashed before it went green,” Allmendinger quipped. He previously won his maiden Champ Car race at the track in 2006. “I was making so many mistakes, trying so hard. I put so much pressure on myself in these races because I know what everyone expects and I know what I expect out of myself, more importantly.”

Perennial road course favourites Sheldon Creed, who won at Portland in the Stadium Super Trucks in 2019, and Ty Gibbs looked to be the top names as they dominated the first half of the race. However, Gibbs’ race took a turn when he was turned by the laps-down Jesse Iwuji from the lead. Iwuji, whose rookie campaign has drawn scrutiny for frequently being off the pace, later apologised to Gibbs via social media message.

“I want to sincerely apologize to the #54 team for the incident during the caution at Portland,” began his statement. “It was not intentional at all. When the caution came out the #54 had accidentally passed me so race control had came over the radio and told me to go buy him and the pace car and get behind the field. Right after I had gotten that communication over the radio from my crew, the #54 car was nearing Turn 1 and had moved over to the outside wall which I assumed he was doing because I needed to pass him when in reality he was only moving over to big arc his corner into that turn and when he did I was already heading right to the inside of the corner where we collided and I accidentally spun him. I received some damage and I’m not sure if he did. I got penalized 2 laps and also had to go see the series director after the race. Once again, I apologize for the incident and any issues it caused.”

Creed was also the victim of drama when a turn one stack-up on a restart caused Jade Buford to clip his rear and spin him. As Creed and much of the field had to skip the chicane, he could not avoid Alex Labbé and destroyed his front end. Perhaps taking a page from his mentor Robby Gordon without throwing his helmet, Creed walked up the racing surface and gave two middle fingers to Buford (whose Big Machine Racing Team is a technical ally of Creed’s Richard Childress Racing), though the recipient later explained Ryan Sieg had pushed him into Creed.

With Creed out and Gibbs having to scramble through the field, Allmendinger and Myatt Snider became the new contenders, and the latter would score the Stage #2 win. Multiple cautions for debris were called during the final segment to set up a restart with four laps remaining. Despite an effort by Snider, Allmendinger’s road course prowess was just too much for Snider to handle.

“Just A.J.’s experience. I could tell he was setting up those (corner) exits better than I was,” commented Snider. “To me, that was good hard racing.”

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
11016A.J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet75Running
22531Myatt SniderJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet75Running
3221Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet75Running
4198Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet75Running
597Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet75Running
6311Daniel HemricKaulig RacingChevrolet75Running
7654Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota75Running
83566J.J. YeleyMBM MotorsportsToyota75Running
9119Noah GragsonJR MotorsportsChevrolet75Running
102336Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet75Running
112219Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota75Running
122868Brandon BrownBrandonbilt MotorsportsChevrolet75Running
13205Scott HeckertB.J. McLeod MotorsportsFord75Running
14548Jade BufordBig Machine Racing TeamChevrolet75Running
151310Landon CassillKaulig RacingChevrolet75Running
162739Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord75Running
171544Andy LallyAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet75Running
181713Matt Jasol*MBM MotorsportsToyota75Running
193635Patrick EmerlingEmerling-Gase MotorsportsToyota75Running
201202Brett MoffittOur MotorsportsChevrolet75Running
213307Joe Graf Jr.SS-Green Light RacingFord75Running
223178Josh WilliamsB.J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet74Running
233747Ryan VargasMike Harmon RacingChevrolet73Running
242645Stefan ParsonsAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet73Running
252991Mason FilippiDGM RacingChevrolet72Running
263834Jesse IwujiJesse Iwuji MotorsportsChevrolet71Running
271826Parker ChaseSam Hunt RacingToyota62Accident
28818Connor MosackJoe Gibbs RacingToyota62Accident
292408Spencer PumpellySS-Green Light RacingFord62Accident
30344Bayley CurreyJD MotorsportsChevrolet62Accident
31123Anthony AlfredoOur MotorsportsChevrolet62Accident
3272Sheldon CreedRichard Childress RacingChevrolet55Accident
332127Jeb BurtonOur MotorsportsChevrolet55Accident
341651Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet44Accident
351498Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord35Accident
36306Gray GauldingJD MotorsportsChevrolet27Accident
373238Darren DilleyRSS RacingFord25Accident
3841Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet12Accident
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points

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