Leaders spin and Kyle Larson wins Xfinity race at The Glen

Ty Gibbs led on a restart with five of 82 laps remaining, but William Byron got alongside him coming out of Turn 1 with Larson in third.

As Gibbs and Byron raced side-by-side through the inner loop, they both spun off course, which allowed Larson to pass them and inherit the lead. He then spent the final four laps deftly holding off talented road racer A.J. Allmendinger, clearing him by 0.273 seconds for the win.

.@TyGibbs_ and @WilliamByron collide in the battle for the race lead! 😱 @KyleLarsonRacin goes on to take the victory in Saturday’s @NASCAR_Xfinity race. 🏁 pic.twitter.com/pujPEvQPK6

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) August 20, 2022

The victory is the first in the series for Larson since the 2018 season and he was making just his second start of the year. Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion, now has 13 career Xfinity wins.

“I got lucky,” Larson said. “My only shot really was if (Gibbs) and (Byron) got racing. I just wanted to help Willy down the frontstretch as much as I could and they got battling in the esses.

I tried to help him to get clear in the bus stop and they raced side-by-side into there, got together, the seas parted and I was able to get through.

“Then I had A.J. behind me and I just tried to hit my marks as beast I could. He definitely had me nervous out front of him. It’s cool to get a win here.”

Sammy Smith finished third, Noah Gragson was fourth and Kaz Grala rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creed, Josh Berry and Jeremy Clements.

Byron ended up 25th while Gibbs finished 27th.

Stage 3

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, several lead-lap cars pit but Byron stayed on the track and remained in the lead.

On the restart on Lap 45, Byron was followed by Gibbs and Allmendinger.

Creed was the first of the lead-lap cars to make its final pit stop on Lap 52 to take on new tires and fuel to make it to the finish of the race. Byron and Gibbs followed on Lap 53.

On Lap 59, Daniel Hemric locked up his brakes plowed nose-first into the tire barrier in the carousel to bring out the seventh caution of the race.

Big hit into the tire barrier for Daniel Hemric.

He is out of the No. 11 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/BFS4Q4BZG0

— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) August 20, 2022

Those cars that had yet to pit elected to do so. Gibbs was among those who remained on the track and moved back into the lead.

The caution was extended by several laps after Myatt Snider brought his car from the garage after repairs but it began dropping fluid on the track.

On the restart on Lap 68, Gibbs was followed by Byron, Gragson, Larson and Allmendinger.

Larson quickly bolted to second on the restart only to see Byron reclaim it.

With 10 laps remaining, Gibbs maintained a lead over Byron of just under a second. Larson ran third and Allmendinger fourth.

On Lap 76, Ross Chastain got stuck in the sand trap which forced NASCAR to throw another caution.

Gibbs remained the lead on the restart with five laps remaining. He was followed by Byron, Larson, Smith and Allmendinger.

As Gibbs and Byron raced side-by-side through the inner loop, both cars spun off course and Larson inherited the lead.

With two laps to go, Larson led but Allmendinger was right on his rear bumper with Smith in third.

Stage 2

Byron cruised to the Stage 2 win over Gibbs by 1.4 seconds.

Allmendinger finished third, Gragson fourth and Larson rounded out the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, a handful of cars pit but Smith remained on the track and remained in the lead.

On the restart on Lap 24, Smith was followed by Byron, Creed and Larson.

Larson went to the outside of Smith on the restart to take the lead for the first time in the race.

On Lap 25, Byron out-braked Larson entering Turn 1 to reclaim the lead.

NASCAR was forced to display a caution on Lap 29 after Alex Labbe suffered a flat tire and came to a stop in the inner loop.

When the race resumed on Lap 30, Byron led the way followed by Larson and Gibbs.

On Lap 31, Kris Wright’s car came to a stop off Turn 1 which forced NASCAR to throw another caution.

The race returned to green on Lap 34 with Byron still out front, followed by Larson and Gibbs.

With five laps remaining in the stage, Byron held a 1.24-second lead over Creed as Larson ran third.

Stage 1

Smith passed Allmendinger on a restart with two laps remaining and held on for the Stage 1 win.

Grala was third, Clements fourth and Kyle Weatherman rounded out the top-five.

Byron started on the pole and took control early.

The race was placed under caution on Lap 5 after Justin Allgaier spun in the esses and slammed into the barrier, which brought an early end to his day.

Just a handful of cars pit. On the restart on Lap 9, Byron led the way followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Cole Custer.

Gibbs grabbed the lead on the restart only to see Byron recapture it in the inner loop. Gibbs moved back ahead of Byron on Lap 11.

Patrick Gallagher stalled in the inner loop on Lap 16 which brought out the second caution of the race.

Most of the lead-lap cars elected to pit with Gibbs first off pit road. Allmendinger stayed on the track and inherited the lead. The race resumed with two laps remaining in the stage.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Laps Led	Retirement	Points	Bonus
1	88	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	82	2:35'13.639			7
2	16	A.J. Allmendinger		Chevrolet	82	2:35'13.912	0.273	0.273	3		52
3	18	Sammy Smith		Toyota	82	2:35'14.307	0.668	0.395	6		44
4	9	Noah Gragson		Chevrolet	82	2:35'16.001	2.362	1.694			40
5	48	Kaz Grala		Chevrolet	82	2:35'16.216	2.577	0.215
6	1	Sam Mayer		Chevrolet	82	2:35'16.643	3.004	0.427			31
7	98	Riley Herbst		Ford	82	2:35'19.116	5.477	2.473	4		30
8	2	Sheldon Creed		Chevrolet	82	2:35'20.690	7.051	1.574			37
9	8	Josh Berry		Chevrolet	82	2:35'21.889	8.250	1.199			32
10	51	Jeremy Clements		Chevrolet	82	2:35'25.374	11.735	3.485	2		34
11	07	Cole Custer		Ford	82	2:35'28.057	14.418	2.683
12	44	Stefan Parsons		Chevrolet	82	2:35'28.209	14.570	0.152
13	39	Ryan Sieg		Ford	82	2:35'29.457	15.818	1.248			24
14	66	Timmy Hill		Chevrolet	82	2:35'31.365	17.726	1.908
15	26	Connor Mosack		Toyota	82	2:35'31.537	17.898	0.172
16	10	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	82	2:35'31.635	17.996	0.098			21
17	45	Josh Bilicki		Chevrolet	82	2:35'31.902	18.263	0.267
18	23	Anthony Alfredo		Chevrolet	82	2:35'31.911	18.272	0.009			19
19	08	Andy Lally		Ford	82	2:35'32.009	18.370	0.098			19
20	35	Brad Perez		Toyota	82	2:35'32.185	18.546	0.176
21	91	Preston Pardus		Chevrolet	82	2:35'32.424	18.785	0.239			16
22	34	Kyle Weatherman		Chevrolet	82	2:35'33.630	19.991	1.206			21
23	78	Scott Heckert		Chevrolet	82	2:35'35.622	21.983	1.992			14
24	19	Brandon Jones		Toyota	82	2:35'38.241	24.602	2.619			13
25	17	William Byron		Chevrolet	82	2:35'39.019	25.380	0.778	35
26	4	Bayley Currey		Chevrolet	82	2:35'42.994	29.355	3.975			11
27	54	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	82	2:35'52.007	38.368	9.013	25		19
28	92	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	81	2:36'03.970	1 Lap	1 Lap
29	02	Blaine Perkins		Chevrolet	80	2:33'19.219	2 Laps	1 Lap
30	21	Austin Hill		Chevrolet	73	2:35'57.544	9 Laps	7 Laps			7
31	11	Daniel Hemric		Chevrolet	58	1:44'22.195	24 Laps	15 Laps		Accident	6
32	5	Brandon Brown		Chevrolet	51	1:37'44.955	31 Laps	7 Laps		Axle	5
33	31	Myatt Snider		Chevrolet	50	1:37'30.008	32 Laps	1 Lap		Accident	4
34	68	Kris Wright		Chevrolet	30	57'45.280	52 Laps	20 Laps		Driveshaft
35	36	Alex Labb		Chevrolet	26	49'01.614	56 Laps	4 Laps		Accident	2
36	38	Patrick Gallagher		Ford	14	23'19.933	68 Laps	12 Laps		Rear gear	1
37	27	Jeb Burton		Chevrolet	8	15'48.608	74 Laps	6 Laps		Accident	1
38	7	Justin Allgaier		Chevrolet	4	5'02.543	78 Laps	4 Laps		Accident	1