“There are some tracks in this Chase that I feel really good about”, Jones said. It was a matter of time before we got around him. “What an awesome day”.
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Kyle Larson posted the top speed of 183.299 miles per hour in the final practice session Saturday for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway.
The 20-year-old Jones’ series-high fourth win of the season and his second straight at Chicagoland left him as the top seed for the seven-race Chase.
But a charging Jones surged by Sadler and withstood a late challenge before Larson scraped the wall on the 200th and final lap.
“I knew we were in a good spot on tires, but we were pretty far back in the lineup”, Jones said after the race.
“I knew I could get the top (lane) going, but I knew when I got the top going, Erik would move up just when I got to him”, Larson said.
“We just got too tight there at the end and I couldn’t get close enough to try and make a move for the lead”, explained Larson. “He did, and I tried to carry a lot of throttle off (Turn) 2 and maybe to get a run but it didn’t work out”.
Sadler was third, followed by Daniel Suarez and IL native Justin Allgaier.
Jones has been the only Xfinity driver to have consistent success on the lower-tier circuit. Sadler had a substantial points lead that’s wiped out under the new Chase format.
The12 drivers that will compete for the title as part of the Chase includes Erik Jones, Sadler, Suarez, Ty Dillon, Allgaier, Bubba Wallace, Gaughan, Brennan Poole, Ryan Seig, Ryan Reed, Brandon Jones and Black Koch. The 12-team XFINITY Series Chase grid will begin in next weekend’s standalone race at Kentucky Speedway. However, Busch’s Kyle Busch Motorsports truck failed post-race inspection after the win. He beat Jones off pit road during a green-flag stop with just over 40 laps remaining and seemed poised for his ninth series win and maintaining the lead after another restart.
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Check out Saturday’s complete XFINITY Series race results below. That’s double Sadler’s total. “It’s just been a rapid rise”.
