Colonel William A. Phillips

The 2023 Ag-Pro 300 was the 9th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race was increased from 113 to 121 laps, due to multiple NASCAR overtime finishes. In a chaotic and caution-filled race, Jeb Burton, driving for Jordan Anderson Racing, would hold off Sheldon Creed and the rest of the field on the final lap, and earned his 2nd career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season.^[1] This was also the first NASCAR win for Jordan Anderson Racing.^[2] To fill out the podium, Creed, driving for Richard Childress Racing, and Parker Kligerman, driving for Big Machine Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

This was also the third race of the Dash 4 Cash. Drivers eligible for the Dash 4 Cash were Cole Custer, Josh Berry, Sammy Smith, and John Hunter Nemechek, after they were the highest finishing Xfinity regulars following the race at Martinsville. Custer, who finished 4th and was the only driver from the D4C to finish the race, would claim the bonus cash.^[3]

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, April 21, at 4:35 PM CST.^[4] Since Talladega Superspeedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 wins the pole.^[5]

Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 52.483, and an average speed of 182.459 mph (293.639 km/h).^[6]

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Jason White, Jesse Iwuji, David Starr, and Mike Harmon.

Race results

Summary

The race would be marred by several violent wrecks and flips. On lap 47, Dexter Stacey (making his first series start since Texas in 2016) would get loose and spin as the field went into turn 2. His car would clip the side of Blaine Perkins' car, causing him to hit the outside wall, make contact with Jade Buford, get airborne, and flipped violently six times before coming to rest on all four tires. During the wreck, Kaz Grala hit Perkins' wheel with the front of his car. Perkins was able to evacuate his car under his own power, but was later transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.^[7] On lap 110, Daniel Hemric attempted to make an aggressive block on Sheldon Creed for the lead, but would ultimately misjudge his entry. He would end up spinning and catapulting up the racetrack after he was hit by Riley Herbst, hitting the outside wall, and flipping on his roof. He even took out the turn four camera during his wreck. His car came to a rest on its roof off of turn four on the apron of the track. He remained on his roof until safety crew arrived to assist him. Hemric was able to climb out of his car under his own power. At least 14 cars were involved in the wreck.^[8] The race restarted with two laps to go, but the caution would fly moments later, after a piece of debris was found on the racetrack. The field made a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish; Jeb Burton was able to take advantage of the lead on the final lap, and held off a fast charging Sheldon Creed to pick up his 2nd career Xfinity Series win, and the first for Jordan Anderson Racing.^[1][2]

Stage 1 Laps: 25

Stage 2 Laps: 25

Stage 3 Laps: 71

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Austin Hill 328 1 2 John Hunter Nemechek 324 (-4) 3 Chandler Smith 309 (–19) 4 Riley Herbst 296 (–32) 5 Josh Berry 292 (–36) 6 Justin Allgaier 287 (–41) 1 7 Cole Custer 279 (–49) 2 8 Sheldon Creed 276 (–52) 2 9 Sammy Smith 258 (–70) 1 10 Daniel Hemric 255 (–73) 1 11 Parker Kligerman 247 (–81) 1 12 Sam Mayer 237 (–91) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References