By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
Concord, NC — Taylor Gray and Connor Zilisch started on the front row. Three Cup drivers (Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe look to hunt them down over the Bet MGM 300. Byron would lead many laps early, how did he do late? The answer is overtime, and both Byron and Allgier were there for the dual. To find out more… read on.
Stage One – 45 Laps- S1 Top 8 >>
The race stays green for 18 laps when Kris Wright tags the wall, and brings about the first caution of the race. Gray has led all the laps of the race and Matt DiBenedetto is out of the race. The green flag is dropped on lap 23 and Gray watches Byron take the high line to take the lead. Gray falls behind Zilisch for third. Brad Perez gets loose and brings about the second caution of the race. Kris Wright receives the free pass under caution conditions. The green flag is dropped and Byron powers his way to a one-second lead over Zilisch. Byron is picking up nearly .02 of a second per lap. Jeb Burton, who pitted on Lap 21 and restarted in 33rd position, has made a significant climb through the field to reach sixth place. Byron goes into cruise control to conserve fuel and wins S1 by 1.859 over Zilisch. Gray is third.
Key Move: Byron goes around Gray on the first restart and never trails the rest of the stage.
Stage Two- 45 Laps Top 8 after Stage 2
Pit stops between the stages do not change the leader, as Byron exits first. Gray exits second and Zilisch third. The green flag drops on lap 52, and Byron takes the inside line with Gray right behind him. Byron quickly clears the leaders, but Justin Algaier is only two car lengths behind. 35 of 38 machines are still in the race, with Katherine Legge last among drivers on the lead lap. Byron and Allgaier and one and two on lap 64, with Zilisch in third, three seconds behind. Byron reestablishes his lead to nearly 1.5 seconds on lap 76. The top ten largely keep their positions. Byron has lapped five cars in the field and 30 of 38 starting cars are on the lead lap. Byron drives the 17 to nearly .03 better than Allgaier at the end, and it’s Byron, Allgaier, and Zilisch to finish the stage.
Final Stage – 110 Laps
Most of the leaders pit between the stages on lap 94 but ten drivers stay on the track to gain track position, and the new leader is … well , those cars pit on the next lap. Byron is flagged for being too fast exiting the pits and has to restart at the rear of the field. Your new leader is Allgaier, with Gray and Sam Meyer 2-3. Drivers proceed single file most of the way through the field. Byron is quickly driving through the field and in 16th place within ten laps. Allgaier leads second-place Zilisch by 1.942 seconds. By lap 121, the top three are Allgaier, Zilisch, and Mayer. Byron is now 8th, but 11.366 seconds behind the #7. Allgaier has taken command over the race and leads the #88 by 4.942 seconds on lap 135. The field needs a caution, but Allgaier wants the green. Green pit stops start by lap 141 and Byron goes in for two tires and fuel. Allgaier pits on lap 145. Zilisch inherits the lead. A caution is thrown on lap 147 when Gray’s car unravels and throws debris on the track. Nearly half of the field pits during the caution.
The green flag is thrown on lap 154, with Allgaier clearing the front row and leading the field by over a second. The 41 slows to a crawl, and the back of the field narrowly averts a major accident. The caution is thrown, and your top four are Allgaier, Burton, Thompson, and Zilisch.. The green flag is thrown with 38 to go. Allgaier quickly goes out front over Sheldon Creed. The #7 is about .025 quicker per lap. The 7th caution of the day is thrown with 22 to go Carson Kvapil spins from fifth position in Turn 4, bringing out the caution flag.. With 20 to go under caution, a third of the field pits, but Creed, who has no sticker tires left, stays on the track with spent tires. Just into turn one on the restart, several cars collect and the caution flag is thrown for the 8th time today. With just 12 laps to go, the restart got wild and cars collided.
The final laps
Allgaier takes the green flag with six to go, and drivers go around turns 1 and two four-wide. .Byron works himself to third place. Allgaier leads Zilisch and Byron by a quarter second and Sieg goes into the wall bringing us… overtime. Byron’s crew chief Adam Will said he will take William every time when he was asked about the 17 and having fresher tires. The restart has Allgaier, Zilisch, and Byron 1-2-3. Byron quickly closes on Allgaier on the restart and overtakes him on the frontstretch. Zilisch bumps Allgaier, and the 7th overtime of the 2025 Xfinity season has Byron as your winner.
The Checkered Flag…
William Byron led 71 laps and had a huge tire advantage over Allgaier (#7) at the end. The 7 led 101 laps.
Tale of the Tape
They Said It…
DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Finishing Position: 6th- You tied your career-best. Can you tell us about your run today?
“Yeah, my guys put together a really good Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra. I feel like this track really suits me well. We didn’t have a great practice or a great qualifying effort, but I knew we had good long run speed, so we kind of played into that. Just minded our p’s and q’s on the restarts and the long runs and just kind of played out really well for us in the end.”
Final Results <<< Full Results by clicking
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
