Ryan Truex Wins First Career Xfinity Race at Dover

NASCAR.com

DOVER, DE - RIS - After 89 tries, Ryan Truex finally visits victory land with a win at Dover Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Xfinity race.  Truex ran away from the field, amassing 5 to 6 second leads.  Truex, younger brother of former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., dominated Saturday’s 200-mile Xfinity Series race at his home track, Following the 31-year-old New Jersey driver in the top five were Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill and John Hunter Nemechek.

“I knew we’d get one this year,” Truex said on his cool down lap. It was dominance.  He won the first two stages and after a late pit stop, worked his way back to the  lead with a few laps to go. 

“Most people didn’t believe in me,” Truex said. “I still did. So thankful to be here. It’s amazing. With 20 to go, I was waiting for something to happen.”

The 31-year-old driver ran a flawless race at the one-mile concrete oval, making the final pass for the lead with 11 laps remaining in the event, when Sheldon Creed sacrificed the lead to pit for fuel, after running long in search of a caution.

“Just so thankful… all these fans, my team, everybody that’s stuck behind me, most people didn’t believe in me and I still did, my girlfriend, my family, my parents, my brother, my cou- just everybody,” said Truex. “I’m just so thankful to be here, this is amazing.”

For Berry, his second-place finish continues a three-race run of top-two results at Dover Motor Speedway, which includes the victory he scored in last season’s event at the track known as ‘The Monster Mile’.

In his first start at Dover Motor Speedway, Sammy Smith recorded a sixth-place result, while Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, and Daniel Hemric completed the top-10.

Sheldon Creed, who pitted for fuel from the race lead with 11 laps to go, ended up with the result of 11th place, after leading 41 laps early in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event. Kyle Weatherman also led four laps but faded to 14th at the end of the race.

Austin Hill continues to hold the points lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, maintaining a razor-thin advantage of four points over John Hunter Nemechek. Chandler Smith, Josh Berry, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five in points.

Next week is an off week for the Xfinity Series.  After that the Xfinity Series heads to Darlington and “the track too tough to tame,” for throwback week.

Unofficial Results: A-GAME 200, April 29, 2023 - Dover Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 12, Ryan Truex, No. 19 Toyota Genuine Accessories Toyota, 200, 1, 1, 4, 124, 7, 60, Running
2) 19, Josh Berry, No. 8 Jarrett Logistics Systems Chevrolet, 200, 5, 10, , , , 42, Running
3) 18, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Degree Chevrolet, 200, , 4, , , , 41, Running
4) 6, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 200, 4, 2, 2, 18, , 49, Running
5) 22, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 ACME/Safeway Toyota, 200, 2, 3, , , , 49, Running
6) 28, Sammy Smith #, No. 18 TMC Toyota, 200, 7, 8, , , , 38, Running
7) 2, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 200, 8, 5, 2, 13, , 39, Running
8) 8, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet, 200, 6, , , , , 34, Running
9) 24, Sam Mayer, No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 200, , 9, , , , 30, Running
10) 16, Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet, 200, 9, , , , , 29, Running
11) 3, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 199, 3, 7, 2, 41, , 38, Running
12) 26, Kaz Grala, No. 26 Island Coastal Lager Toyota, 199, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 10, Chandler Smith #, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, 199, 10, 6, , , , 30, Running
14) 35, Kyle Weatherman, No. 02 The Original Larry's Hard Lemonade Chevrolet, 199, , , 1, 4, , 23, Running
15) 14, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, 199, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 20, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 A-GAME Ford, 199, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 5, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 4, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 15, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Fly & Form Concrete Structures Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 13, Derek Kraus, No. 10 Leaf Home Water Solutions Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 11, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 198, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 21, Joe Graf Jr., No. 38 Jacob Companies Ford, 198, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 7, Josh Williams, No. 92 Alloy Employer/Call 811 Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 9, Brennan Poole, No. 6 Jersey Mikes/Gtown Speedway Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 29, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Costa Oil Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 30, Rajah Caruth(i), No. 45 Circle Pay Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 0, Running
27) 17, Gray Gaulding, No. 08 Manscaped Ford, 196, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 38, Stefan Parsons, No. 07 Ollie's Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 25, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Independent Metal Strap Ford, 195, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 37, Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Wild Willies Ford, 195, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 27, Garrett Smithley, No. 4 Rich Mar Florist Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 34, Chad Chastain(i), No. 91 Drive Sober Arrive Alive DE Chevrolet, 193, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 32, Patrick Emerling, No. 35  Chevrolet, 192, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 23, CJ McLaughlin, No. 53 SciAps Ford, 192, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 36, Corey Heim(i), No. 24 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota, 170, , , , , , 0, Engine
36) 31, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Botticelli Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 1, Brakes
37) 33, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 44 BZ Mart/ForeverLawn Chevrolet, 119, , , , , , 1, Engine
38) 1, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet, 62, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 200 Laps - 200. Miles
Time: 1 Hrs, 51 Mins, 57 Secs.
Average Speed: 107.191 MPH
Margin of Victory: 4.820 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 20, 2, 21, 8, 9, 18, 00, 11, 16
Stage 2 Top 10: 19, 21, 20, 7, 00, 16, 2, 18, 1, 8

Comments: Ryan Truex won the A-GAME 200 at Dover Motor Speedway, his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following car(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 66 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (1) 74 Dawson Cram.

Cautions: 6 for 33 laps;
Laps: 7-9 (No. 51 Spin Turn 2 [None]);
21-24 (No. 78 Stopped Turn 2/Competition? [None]);
47-53 (Stage 1 Conclusion [35]);
64-69 (No. 48, 24 Incident Turn 2 [53]);
92-99 (Stage 2 Conclusion [6]);
102-106 (No. 2, 18 Incident Turn 3 [08]).

Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers;
P. Kligerman 0;
C. Custer 1-9;
S. Creed 10-33;
R. Truex 34-49;
K. Weatherman 50-53;
R. Truex 54-94;
A. Hill 95-111;
R. Truex 112-167;
A. Hill 168;
C. Custer 169-172;
S. Creed 173-189;
R. Truex 190-200.