Jones gets Xfinity win in wild Kansas race
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Brandon Jones raced to his first career Xfinity Series victory Saturday at Kansas Speedway after a lapped car wrecked what was shaping up to be an entertaining duel between playoff contenders Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell.
It wasn’t the only drama.
Fellow playoff contenders Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick got into a pitroad melee after getting out of their cars. Custer was upset at the way Reddick raced him in the closing laps of the first race in the round of eight in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.
Reddick finished second and Briscoe rallied to finish third, while playoff drivers Michael Annett and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five. Custer was 11th with Bell right behind him.
In other news:
• Daniel Hemric bested 12 playoff drivers and the rest of the Cup Series field to win the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway. Hemric turned a fast lap of 178.047 mph to edge David Ragan, who was followed by three drivers still in the championship hunt.
“I wasn’t too, too pumped up about the lap I ran, but as every car went by I felt like our odds increased,” said Hemric. “It’s just the pole award but it’s a big moment for this race team.”
Childress, who already has picked Tyler Reddick to take over the No. 8 Chevrolet, nevertheless was there to give Hemric a hug when the final car finished qualifying Saturday. It is the first career Cup Series pole for Hemric, though he sat on the pole for the Xfinity race at Kansas last season.
Rounding out the top five were playoff drivers Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson, who was back in the car after a bad wreck at Talladega that left him with hurt ribs.
• John Force and daughter Brittany raced to the No. 1 qualifying spots in AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis
Jeg Coughlin Jr. topped the Pro Stock field and Matt Smith was the fastest in Pro Stock Motorcycle.