Pit Boss 250: AJ Allmendinger wins COTA in return to Xfinity

In his return to the Xfinity series, AJ Allmendinger goes back to back after winning the pole at the Circuit of the Americas.

Allmendinger and Sammy Smith in the #18 lined up on the front row. A turn 1 stack up resulted in Creed taking the lead before the #10 of Allmendinger took it back and led until the first caution on lap 8. Carson Hocevar in the #07 stopped in turn 1. 

The green flew again on lap 10 with the #10 and the #48 out front. Allmendinger took the lead and cruised to victory in the first stage. 

Stage One Results

1. #10
2. #2
3. #48
4. #19
5. #17
6. #98
7. #7
8. #9
9. #18
10.  #1

On lap 15, the #10, #98 and #9 pit, handing the lead to the #2 of Creed. 

On lap 17 the 2nd caution of the day flew for the #50 of Preston Pardus stopped in turn 1 with a broken rear end. 

The green flag flew again on lap 20 with Creed out front and the #10 of Allmendinger way back in the pack. The #10 was caught in a spin with the #08 of Almirola which sent him down the order. 

Another caution flew on lap 21 for debris from the #9 of Brandon Jones.

The green flew again on lap 23 with Creed out front and the #17 of Byron in hot pursuit. Byron chased down the #2 and took the lead on lap 27 in the esses. 

A brief caution was thrown on lap 28 for the #25 of Moffit, in which nearly everyone pit in order to make it to the end of the race.

The green flew again on lap 30, the #48 and the #08 led the restart. The #39 of Sieg took the lead in turn 2, and the #2 reclaimed the lead in turn 11 before the caution flew for the #00 stuck in the gravel. Creed won stage 2.

Stage Two Results:

1. #2
2. #39
3. #20
4. #08
5. #8
6. #10
7. #17
8. #19
9. #18
10.  #27

At 14 to go, the green flew again with the #2 and the #20 out front. The #10 made it up to 2nd, and in turn 19 he had contact with the #2, sending him sideways and putting the #10 and the #17 in a dogfight for the lead. 

The #10 and the #17 separated themselves from the field and going into the last lap, the #17 was in position to make a move, until he got loose in the esses and lost ground. Allmendinger won the race.

Byron finished in 2nd, Gibbs in 3rd, Sammy Smith in 4th and Allgaier in 5th.

Riley Herbst extended his streak of top 10s with a 10th place run, putting him 2nd in the points. 

Featured Image Credits: Kaulig Racing on Twitter