In an overtime thriller, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Aric Almirola edged Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at Phoenix Raceway after the two made contact coming to the checkered flag.
Bowman, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.
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For the second consecutive year, Allgaier faced heartbreak in the Arizona desert. Despite leading 130 of 208 laps, the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet slid up the track in Turn 2 on the overtime restart, costing him the race victory.
In last year’s Phoenix spring race, Allgaier had a comfortable lead with five laps to go before a flat left-rear tire caused the defending Xfinity Series champion to snap around quickly, spinning hard into the Turn 1 wall.
Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Christian Eckes, Jesse Love and Nick Sanchez completed the top 10.
On Lap 63, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill misjudged entry into Turn 3 and clipped the inside wall, collecting Sheldon Creed and Dean Thompson in a crash which ended the day early for all three drivers.
The Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 4:30 p.m. ET (The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
This story will be updated.
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