Justin Allgaier, Darrell Wallace Jr. in multicar wreck in Xfinity race

The eighth caution of the Kansas Lottery 300 could have big implications in the Xfinity Chase. A six-car accident on Lap 165 involved Chase drivers Justin Allgaierand Darrell Wallace Jr.

Brandon Jones appeared to make contact with Allgaier entering Turn 1. Allgaier’s No. 7  shot up the track and collected a few cars, including former Chase driverRyan Sieg and Cole Custer.

Ryan Reed, another Chase driver, was scored as being involved, though he did not receive any serious damage.

Wallace was shown wincing as he got out of his No. 6 Ford in the garage.

“Pretty hard hit, just unfortunate,” Wallace told NBCSN. “We were making some good calls and leading some laps and trying to run our own race. People want some wild race in the next three. Here you go. Took out some Chase drivers.”

The Chase received another twist with 24 laps to go when Brendan Gaughan got loose from side drafting with Ross Chastain and went careening through the infield grass.

The Kansas Lottery 300 is the first race in the second round of the Xfinity Chase. The series will be off the next two weeks before resuming at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 5.

Kyle Larson fastest in final Xfinity Series practice at Charlotte

Kyle Larson was fastest in final Xfinity Series practice Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a lap of 185.198 mph.

Erik Jones, looking to avoid Chase elimination in the Charlotte cutoff race, was second at 184.995 mph with Joey Logano third (184.856 mph), Daniel Suarez (184.332 mph) fourth, and Brandon Jones (184.150 mph) fifth. Larson and Logano are two of five Sprint Cup Series drivers entered in Friday night’s Drive for the Cure 300.

Rounding out the top 10 were Blake Koch (183.830 mph), Justin Allgaier (183.592 mph), Ty Dillon (183.411 mph), Ryan Sieg (182.803 mph), and Austin Dillon (182.636 mph).

There was a brief red flag during the session when Brandon Hightower got loose and crashed off Turn 4.

Xfinity Chase grid:Erik Jones on outside ahead of elimination race

With only one race left in the first round of the Xfinity Chase, the No. 1 seed and favorite to win it all isn’t in the top eight.
Erik Jones sits at 10th on the Chase grid, four points out of eighth after a DNF and a 16th-place finish in the first two races.
Also outside the top eight, which will advance to the second round, are Ty Dillon (-3), Ryan Sieg (-10) and Brandon Jones (-18).
Daniel Suarez locked himself into the second round with his Dover win. He’s ahead of Elliott Sadler on the grid after having top-two finishes in both races.
The eight drivers in the next round will be decided by the Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night.
Click here to view the Xfinity Chase grid.

Brandon Jones returning to RCR’s No. 33 Xfinity car in 2017

The driver roster for Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity Series operation in 2017 continues to fill out with the announcement that Brandon Jones will return to the No. 33 car next season.

The news comes with Jones set to begin the inaugural Xfinity Chase as one of its 12 members.

It also joins the announcement from last weekend that Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Hemric has signed with RCR to drive in the Xfinity Series next year.

Jones enters the Chase with 11 top-10 finishes in 26 starts, but no top fives. The only time he’s led a race was 36 laps at Talladega Superspeedway in April. His average finish is 12.9. His only top five in Xfinity competition came at Kentucky in 2015, when he made five starts.

“Brandon has shown he has the talent behind the wheel to run up front and compete for championships in the Xfinity Series, and we are pleased he will continue to do so in an RCR Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress in a press release. “We are proud of everything he has accomplished this season, including leading laps, making the inaugural Xfinity Series Chase and contending for the Rookie of the Year title. Brandon has also been an excellent spokesman for our sponsors and does an exceptional job representing our brand.”

Jones, 19, is a native of Atlanta. He’s made 30 starts in the Camping World Truck Series since 2013, recording five top fives and no wins. His only win in NASCAR competition came in the K&N Pro Series East at Iowa Speedway in 2014.

“I am honored to return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2017 season,” said Jones in a press release. “RCR is such a storied NASCAR organization and it’s a great opportunity to be a part of the team. Racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season has been a valuable learning experience. I believe we have what it takes to compete for the championship throughout the Chase this season and make another run at the title in 2017.”

During the Hemric announcement on Saturday, Childress said his grandson Ty Dillon would run “almost a full” Xfinity season next year. Dillon is expected to run full-time in the Sprint Cup Series as well.

Ty Dillon leads NASCAR Xfinity practice at Richmond

Ty Dillon posted the fastest lap in Friday’s lone Xfinity practice session at Richmond International Raceway with a lap of 122.144 mph.

The top seven on the speed chart are full-time Xfinity Series drivers.

Dillon was followed by Daniel Suarez (121.212 mph), Blake Koch (121.190), JJ Yeley (120.984), Ryan Reed (120.805), Brandon Jones (120.741) and Jeremy Clements (120.719). Brad Keselowski, who was eighth, was the first full-time Cup driver on the speed chart at 120.697 mph.

Jeb Burton had the best 10 consecutive lap average at 118.043 mph. He was followed by Justin Marks (117.805 mph) and Erik Jones (117.107).

Austin Theriault had the only significant contact with the wall, hitting it with less than 20 minutes left in the 1-hour, 55-minute session.

Xfinity qualifying is scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m. ET with the race set to take the green flag at 7:44 p.m. ET. Both can be seen on NBCSN.

Suarez still No. 1 in Xfinity Series standings after Sunday’s race at Iowa

Daniel Suarez maintained his lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Seres standings after finishing fourth in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Suarez leads second-ranked Elliott Sadler by 21 points, followed by Ty Dillon (-35), Justin Allgaier climbed one spot to fourth (-68) andBrandon Jones climbed one spot to fifth (-73).

Erik Jones, who won the pole for Sunday’s race but had a disappointing finish due to fuel issues, dropped three places in the rankings, from fourth to seventh (-79).

Here’s an interesting twist: race winner Sam Hornish Jr., who has not raced since last November’s Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, jumped 86 places to rank 37th after Sunday’s race.

Here’s how the Xfinity Series standings look after Iowa:

Jones boys: Erik and Brandon Jones fastest in 2nd Pocono Xfinity practice

Three of the top five fastest drivers in Thursday’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series practice session at Pocono Raceway were from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.

rik Jones was fastest at 182.914 mph, while teammate Kyle Busch was third-fastest (171.138) and Daniel Suarez was fifth-fastest (169.792).

Sandwiched in between were Brandon Jones, who was second fastest (171.298) and Ty Dillon was fourth fastest (169.885).

There will be two more practice sessions on Friday. This is the first time the Xfinity Series has ever raced at Pocono.

Here’s how Thursday’s second practice played out:

Social Roundup: Xfinity drivers invade Philadelphia to promote Pocono

Believe it or not, the Xfinity Series has never raced at the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway.
This year, the series debuts at the Pennsylvania track on June 4. To help promote the race, NASCAR sent four drivers – Darrell Wallace Jr., Ryan Reed, Brennan Poole, Brandon Jones and Ty Dillon – to Philadelphia for a day to promote the Pocono 250.

The day included Ty Dillon doing a burnout in the streets of Philadelphia and ended with Wallace throwing out the first pitch of a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.

Here’s a look at how the day unfolded in the City of Brotherly Love.