The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend on Saturday afternoon in the BetMGM 300. Taylor Gray started the race on the pole with Connor Zilisch starting in second.
In the first stage, Taylor Gray led the opening 19 laps until Kris Wright spun at Turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the race. Gray continued to lead on lap 24 for the restart. He tried to hold off William Byron for the lead but Byron passed him at Turn 2 and Gray lost the second position to Connor Zilisch.
Two laps later, Brad Perez’s car stalled on the track at Turn 1 for the second caution of the day. William Byron was still the leader when the race restarted on lap 32. Byron extended his lead over Zilisch and went on to win the first stage.
Everyone went to pit road during the caution and William Byron emerged as the leader. The second stage started on lap 53. Justin Allgaier spent the second stage chasing Byron for the lead but Byron’s car was strong and he went on to win the second stage.
William Byron beat everyone off of pit road to keep the lead. However, he was too fast leaving pit road and had to start in the back of the field. Justin Allgaier was the new leader to begin the final stage on lap 97. During the final stage, there were six cautions.
The big one happened on lap 185 when Brandon Jones, Blaine Perkins, Sammy Smith, Christian Eckes, Harrison Burton, Jesse Love, William Sawalich, Jeremy Clements, Josh Williams, and Ryan Sieg were involved in a multiple crash at Turn 1.
Then, on lap 198, Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier were battling for the lead when Brandon Jones, Kyle Sieg, Katherine Legge, and Leland Honeyman were involved in a crash that sent the race to overtime.
In overtime, William Byron pushed Allgaier to the lead and he took second place. On the final lap, Byron passed and took the lead just as Jeb Burton and Brennan Poole were involved in a crash that ended the race and William Byron won beating Connor Zilisch.
The rest of the top five finishers were Nick Sanchez third, Justin Allgaier fourth, and Sammy Smith fifth. There were ten lead changes among five drivers. Justin Allgaier led 103 laps and William Byron led 71 laps.
The Xfinity Series visits the Nashville Superspeedway next Saturday at 7:30 pm on The CW. Purchase NASCAR Xfinity Series tickets today at StubHub.
