Wrecks that sent several key competitors to the garage and untimely mechanical problems effected some front runners for the Xfinity Series Playoff Saturday at Watkins Glen International. As a result, Darrell Wallace Jr. and fellow competitor Blake Koch were among the drivers that were directly affected. During a ten car pile-up on only the 18th lap of the scheduled 82, both speedsters days were finished. The melee forced NASCAR officials to bring out the red flag for nearly 14 minutes.
Rousch/Fenway Racing’s Darrell Wallace Jr.’s #6 Ford Fusion also received major damage to the front end of the car. The team ended up spending more than their share of their time in the garage for repairs. Unfortunately, it extended his streak to four races in a row without a top 10 result.
Wallace Jr. chalked up a paltry 29th place on the race’s final leader board. He would end up 19 laps off the pace of the finishing field. Furthermore, Wallace Jr. began the contest in ninth and ended it in the same spot, but retained only 16 point edge over 10th place Ryan Reed. The Rousch/Fenway driver knows he is also going in the wrong direction for the Xfinity Series Playoff. The up and comer commented on the outcome of Saturday’s event.
“All I see is we have bad luck and it is getting old, my friend,” Wallace told NBCSN. “It is unfortunate for my team. We come here and I messed up on the first lap in the first practice we had, and then we were sitting pretty for the rest of the weekend. It is just getting old. We will go on to Mid-Ohio and try to have some luck there.”
Blake Koch with Kaulig Racing, had his day come to an unexpected end during same debacle. His #11 Chevrolet was so banged up that it could not compete for the rest of the contest. Koch was hanging on to the final spot on the Xfinity Series Playoff grid. The young talent failed to finish last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway. That was also Koch’s second time in the last four races that he failed to cross the finish line with a running vehicle.
Blake Koch had his right hand bandaged before he was released form the venue’s infield care center. To his dismay, the injuries were only a byproduct of blisters from all of the shifting in Thursday’s extended Xfinity practice on Watkins Glen’s new pavement. Koch commented on the direction his team is heading for the final push of the season.
“Just points. That’s the only thing going through my mind from the first impact, all I thought was points,” Koch said. “It’s not good, but I made a mistake early on and lost a bunch of spots and got us back there and that kind of started it. I’ve just got to be a little bit smarter at these road courses, but man, I hate it for everybody. You know what, I need to have manlier hands, that’s the issue.”
Jeremy Clements was sitting just outside the Chase bubble when the contest began. To be exact, the youngster entered the race tied for the top spot among drivers outside the Xfinity Series Playoff grid. But Clements’ #51 Chevrolet had problems of it’s own.
Clemments ended up creeping into to the garage with a broken track bar. The misfortune occurred on only Lap 9 of the competition. Koch and his team did their best to return and finished in the 25th spot. As a result, Clemments plummeted from 13th to 15th in the Xfinity Series Playoff standings.
Daniel Suarez’s #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Elliott Sadler’s #1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet already had spots locked up in the top 30 in points. Furthermore the two front runners only needed but need a new Xfinity Series Playoff eligible driver not to claim victory at Indianapolis Speedway. Defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch’s third straight win and seventh victory of the season filled the driver’s needs nicely.
Elliott Sadler and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez join Erik Jones and his #20 Toyota as the only racers to clinch spots in the 12 driver Xfinity Series Playoff this fall. The drivers must still start the last eight contests of the regular season to qualify for their spot in the Chase.
Erik Jones has two trips to Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway again at Dover. Daniel Suarez and Elliott Sadler have reeled in one win each. Suarez crossed the finish line in first after passing Kyle Busch in the closing moments at Michigan. Sadler mastered the art of the draft and guided his JR Motorsports hot-rod to the winner’s Circle at Talladega. The seven-race Xfinity Series Playoff begins on September 24th at Kentucky Speedway.
Points Standings Going into the Mid Ohio 200 at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course:
1. Elliott Sadler 8 668
2. Daniel Suarez 9 657 -11
3. Ty Dillon 7 629 -39 -28
4. Erik Jones # 21 613 -55
5. Justin Allgaier 3 610 -58
6. Brendan Gaughan 5 598 -70
7. Brennan Poole # 3 587 -81
8. Brandon Jones # 2 573 -95
9. Darrell Wallace Jr 3 512 -156
10. Ryan Reed 1 496 -172
11. Ryan Sieg 0 464 -204
12. Blake Koch 1 437 -231
13. Ross Chastain 4 435 -233
14. Dakoda Armstrong 0 428 -240
15. Jeremy Clements 1 423 -245
16. Jj Yeley 2 399 -269
17. Garrett Smithley # 0 344 -324
18. Ryan Preece # 1 327 -341
19. Ray Black Jr # 2 294 -374 -33
20. Jeb Burton 1 289 -379
21. Bj McLeod # 0 283 -385
22. Joey Gase 0 258 -410 -25
23. Justin Marks 0 212 -456
24. Mario Gosselin 0 189 -479
25. David Starr 0 188 -480
26. Alex Bowman 3 175 -493
27. Mike Harmon 0 143 -525
28. Jeff Green 3 139 -529
29. Derrike Cope 0 131 -537
30. Harrison Rhodes 0 118 -550
31. Ryan Ellis 0 109 -559
32. Drew Herring 0 91 -577
33. Sam Hornish Jr. 5 80 -588
34. Corey Lajoie 0 78 -590
35. Tj Bell 0 70 -598
36. Todd Peck 0 63 -605
37. Morgan Shepherd 2 60 -608
38. Cody Ware # 0 54 -614
39. Brandon Gdovic 0 52 -616
40. Carl Long 0 52 -616
