Reigning Xfinity Series champion Ty Majeski won the Pennzoil 150 race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Ty Gibbs won the fourth annual Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on Saturday, August 12, thanks to a last-minute tactical maneuver that saw him leave pit road ahead of AJ Allmendinger. This allowed Gibbs to take the lead and pull away from the field during the 16-lap sprint to the finish.
In a race where Gibbs started on the first row alongside Allmendinger, the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 28 of the 62 scheduled laps, he made his mark clear early after taking the lead on the third lap.
Gibbs was close to the leaders throughout the race, despite losing the lead on lap 13 when he pitted for soft tires following an early lightning delay and a brief wave of precipitation.
Then, with 19 laps remaining, Gibbs had a chance to take advantage of a late round of green flag pit stops. He was able to get past Allmendinger off pit road as the caution for a car that had stalled off the track in Turn 1 went on.
Gibbs returned into the lead after a few drivers who had not yet pitted got out of this way. He was able to hold off Allmendinger after that, and with 16 laps left, he pulled away from the pack after a restart to the chequered flag.
Ty Gibbs maintained his lead over Mayer when the white flag waved and the last lap began as he lead with a margin of more than seven seconds. Mayer had battled and overtook Allmendinger’s No. 10 LeafHome Water Solutions Chevrolet Camaro for second place earlier in the lap.
Gibbs was able to easily maneuver his way around the 14-turn circuit for the last time while navigating the late-race on-track turmoil and having a clear view of the road ahead of him. He then cruised back to the frontstretch to win his first checkered flag of the 2023 NASCAR season and his first at Indianapolis.
In his sixth Xfinity race of the year, Mayer, who led five laps in his No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro, finished second for the third time this season. Allmendinger, who led 21 laps and won both stages, finished third. Five-place finishers Austin Hill and Allgaier were followed by tenth-place finishers Custer, Kligerman, Creed, Grala, and Moffitt.
Nemechek finished 13th between Herbst and Berry as Brandon Jones settled in 21st place ahead of teammate Miguel Paludo. Hemric finished 27th place ahead of Sammy Smith while Chandler Smith retired in 34th place after experiencing suspension issues.
Brennan Poole, Jeremy Clements, Brad Perez, and Blaine Perkins were among the contenders who, prior to the competition, dropped to the back of the pack as a result of unapproved modifications made to their cars.
Joe Graf Jr. was additionally pushed to the back of the pack after missing the driver introductions.
There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured three cautions for nine laps. In addition, 26 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
With four Xfinity regular-season races left on the schedule, Austin Hill leads the standings by 34 points over Justin Allgaier and by 11 points over John Hunter Nemechek.
