For much of the race, AJ Allmendinger was in control, driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at the front of the field. But when a late-race caution brought the grid back together, he had to face an unlikely foe in RSS Racing driver/owner Ryan Sieg.
The stage was set: Allmendinger, trying to snap a lengthy winless streak and punch his ticket into the Championship 4; Sieg, trying to win for the first time in a career spanning over a decade.
With ten laps to go, Sieg pulled alongside Allmendinger and they battled side-by-side into Turn 1. Sieg got loose and nearly wrecked, but was able to hang onto it. Moments later, a caution for a stalled car led to a two-lap dash to the checkered flag.
Allmendinger got a better restart and went on to capture the checkered flag with Sieg following directly behind. It was elation for Allmendinger as he collected his 18th career win and another cause of what could have been for Sieg.
“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing,” said Allmendinger. “It’s been such up and down, but what I love about them is that we stick together, we keep fighting. First of all, happy birthday (team owner) Matt Kaulig! The boss’s birthday. I told you I was getting you a trophy!” He then proceeded to kiss the camera and hype up the crowd, thanking his wife Tara and his son Aero.
“What a way to get to Phoenix after the year that we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship!” he exclaimed.
It will be Allmendinger’s second Championship 4 appearance and perhaps his last shot at an Xfinity title before he returns to full-time Cup competition in 2025.
0-364 for Ryan Sieg
Sieg finished second, coming up 0.156s short of his first career win in his 364th career start. This is his fifth runner-up finish with three of them coming this year alone. He believes if the race went green to the finish, the checkered flag would have been his.
“For sure,” asserted Sieg. “We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a longer run. We were getting there and I just overdrive (Turn) 1 and then got loose. We lost some of our track position and I was able to get it back, but it just sucks to finish second again with a great car … one of these days, it’s going to go our way.”
Justin Allgaier finished third, Chandler Smith fourth, and Parker Kligerman fifth. Jesse Love, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed, and Austin Hill rounded out the top-ten.
Watch: AJ Allmendinger holds off Sieg to win at Vegas, locks into Championship 4
After a fairly clean first two stages with only minor incidents, Taylor Gray spun in the middle of the pack at the start of the final stage. Playoff drivers Jesse Love and Sammy Smith sustained damage in the stack-up while Austin Hill narrowly avoided the wreck, but pitted anyway due to concern over flat-spotted tires.
Allmendinger was in control of the race, but Allgaier was lurking close behind. Some debris got into the grille of Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy, and his team asked the No. 16 Kaulig Racing team of Allmendinger to back up to help them clean it off.
Allmendinger was uninterested in helping — “Tell him to come catch me then,” radioed Allmendinger.
Allgaier ended up falling behind after utilizing the slow car of Akinori Ogata to clean the grille and avoid an overheating car.
After a round of green-flag pit stops, Allmendinger extended his lead and appeared to be cruising out front when Kyle Sieg spun with about 30 laps to go.
Allmendinger would prevail in the ensuing battle, locking himself into the Championship 4. Allgaier is 32 points above the cut-line, Custer is +16, and C. Smith is +8. The drivers in the elimination zone 1/3rd of the way through the round: A. Hill (-8 points), Love (-13 points), Mayer (-23 points), and S. Smith (-53 points).