INDIANAPOLIS – Young Ty Gibbs drove an impressive race that began in bright sunshine, was stopped for lightning and a heavy rain shower, and ended in near darkness to take the checkered flag in Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 Presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Gibbs drove the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a 7.959-seconed victory over Sam Mayer in the No. 1 Chevrolet.
A.J. Allmendinger was third in the No. 10 Chevrolet followed by Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier.
Gibbs did an impressive, full circuit burnout after he scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in his seventh race this season.
He won the Xfinity Series championship in 2022.
“It’s definitely about time,” Gibbs said. “Man, this is so special to me.
“I raced the go-kart track down the street with a bunch of kids who are now IndyCar drivers now.
“Man, we got the Brickyard. This is really cool.
“Man, let’s go.”
Gibbs started second to pole winner Allmendinger and drove to a dominating victory.
“It’s a really special track to win,” Allgaier said. “I grew up racing go-karts at New Castle. To be able to kiss the Bricks is really special to me. It’s a really cool track to win at. A lot of history.
“It’s a great day.”
It was Gibbs’ 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in 58 career starts. It was also his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2023. It was Gibbs first win and second top-10 in three races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hill leads the point standings by 11 over John Hunter Nemechek.
Allgaier clinched a position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Sheldon Creed is currently in the 12th position in the playoff points and has a 17-point lead over Parker Kligerman in the battle for the final cutoff position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with four races remaining until the Playoffs begin.
Allmendinger, the pole winner, parlayed pit strategy into a pair of stage wins, but Gibbs charged ahead after a restart with 16 of 62 laps left and beat Sam Mayer to the finish line by 7.959s at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit. Mayer passed a disappointed Allmendinger for the runner-up spot on the next to last lap.
The race was stopped at 6:03 p.m. Eastern Time because of lightning and rain. After a lengthy stoppage, the race resumed as the sun began to set and changed track conditions.
“The spray wasn’t bad, and it was easier to see being out front and not have that spray on me,” Gibbs said. “We made a good call to stay on rains and then come in and put on dries.
“It’s racing.”
Gibbs liked the new restart zone and believed it help the field avoid crashing on restarts.
“From my experience of restarting back there today, there was still a lot going on in Turn 1, but still not as bad as last year’s Cup race,” the winner said.