Event statistics following the ninth race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
Spencer Gallagher earned his first career Xfinity Series victory in overtime, taking the lead on the final lap and holding off Brandon Jones by 0.152 seconds to become the ninth driver in as many races to win this season. Behind were Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Sieg and John Hunter Nemechek.
Each of the top seven drivers at the finish – including Gallagher – were seeking their first victory of the season coming into the race, and five of those drivers were seeking their first series victory.
Sparks Energy 300
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama
- Winner (starting position): Spencer Gallagher (3rd)
- Top Five: Spencer Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Elliott Sadler
- Full Results: Spencer Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Sieg, John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Garrett Smithley, J.J. Yeley, Christopher Bell, Jeff Green, Michael Annett, Shane Lee, Chase Briscoe, Vinnie Miller, Tommy Joe Martins, B.J. McLeod, Kaz Grala, Joey Gase, Ryan Reed, Daniel Hemric, Alex Labbe, Matt Tifft, Josh Williams, Timmy Hill, Josh Bilicki, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Austin Cindric, Joe Nemechek, David Starr, Mike Harmon, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, Dylan Lupton, Ty Majeski, Ryan Truex, Chad Finchum, Spencer Boyd
- Laps Completed: 115
- Race Leaders: 11
- Laps Led: Daniel Hemric (39), Justin Allgaier (35), Elliott Sadler (30), Austin Cindric (3), Tyler Reddick (2), Spencer Gallagher (1), Ryan Sieg (1), Christopher Bell (1), Jeff Green (1), Ryan Reed (1), Mike Harmon (1)
- Pole Position: Cole Custer (189.402 mph; 50.559 seconds)
- Hard Charger: Garrett Smithley (+24; 34th to 10th)
- Margin of Victory: 0.152 seconds
- Car Count: 40
- Cars Entered: 42
- Cars Running at Finish: 33 (of 40; or 83 percent of the field)
- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 19
- Cautions: 5 for 29 laps
- Average Speed: 133.258 mph
- Lead Changes: 12
- Stage Winners: Daniel Hemric (1), Elliott Sadler (2)
- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (24); Toyota (9); Ford (7)
Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap
- This is Spencer Gallagher’s first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. It comes in his 49th career race.
- Gallagher is the 22nd driver to win in 27 Xfinity Series races at Talladega. Aric Almirola was the 21st and most recent driver to win an Xfinity Series race at Talladega.
- Bell is the ninth driver in as many races this season to win an Xfinity Series race, joining Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece and Christopher Bell. The nine different drivers to win in the opening nine races is the third most in a single season, behind the 13 drivers won in the opening 13 races in 1988, and 10 drivers won in the first 10 races of 1987.
- Overall, each of the last 12 races has been won by a different driver; it marks the second time this season the streak has reached 12 straight races.
- This is Gallagher’s second top-five finish this season, and the second of his career. Gallagher finished fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway. It marked his fifth top-10 finish in nine races in 2018.
- Gallagher’s first victory comes in a Chevrolet, and with GMS Racing.
- Overall, Gallagher is the 155th driver to win an Xfinity Series race.
- Gallagher is the first driver to win an Xfinity Series race in car No. 23 since Scott Wimmer won at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado in July 2003.
- This was Gallagher’s second race at Talladega; he finished 39th out of 40 cars in the 2017 race.
- Gallagher’s first victory comes from the third starting position. It marked the first race a driver had won from the third starting position since Brad Keselowski won from third in the 2017 fall race at Richmond International Raceway.
- Gallagher is the first driver since Martin Truex Jr. to win an Xfinity Series race at Talladega from the third-starting position. Overall, an Xfinity Series race at Talladega has been won from the third-starting position on three occasions.
- Gallagher is the first Xfinity Series regular to win at Talladega since Elliott Sadler in 2016.
- Gallagher led only one lap. He is the third driver to win at Talladega after leading only one lap, joining David Ragan (2009) and Elliott Sadler (2016).
- Gallagher is the first driver to win an Xfinity Series race leading only the final lap since Sadler won at Talladega in 2016. In fact, it marked Gallagher’s only lap led in nine races this season so far.
- Chevrolet won its 15th Xfinity Series race at Talladega, extending its all-time record.
- This marks the third race this season in which the driver that did not lead the most laps in a race went on to win.
- Gallagher moved from eighth to seventh in the points standings.
- Brandon Jones finished a career-best second, and his second career top-five finish in 80 Xfinity Series races. It also marked Jones’s third consecutive top-10 finish, after three straight finishes outside the top 10. Jones was the highest-finishing Toyota driver.
- Justin Allgaier finished third, his season-best fifth top-three finish of 2018. Allgaier earned three runner-up finishes and two seconds. Allgaier has finished eighth or better in each of his last six Xfinity Series races at Talladega (did not compete at track in 2014 and 2015).
- Noah Gragson finished fourth, and has now finished fourth or better in each of his two career Xfinity Series races. Gragson finished second at Richmond International Raceway. His fourth-place finish marked two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the top four.
- Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five, his third consecutive top-five finish of 2018. He’s finished ninth or better in all nine races this season.
- Sadler has finished in the top 10 in 17 of the last 18 races dating back to last season, and has completed all but one lap this season (1,720 out of 1,721).
- The Talladega race marks the first time this season Sadler failed to finish better than he started (second). He would have needed to win the race to continue his streak, which had reached nine consecutive races.
- Ryan Sieg finished sixth, his first top-10 finish of the season and the eighth of his career in 145 Xfinity Series races. It also marked his first top-10 in five Talladega races.
- John Hunter Nemechek finished seventh, his second top-10 finish of the season (in five races).
- Tyler Reddick, the only other winner of a restrictor-plate race this season (Daytona), was eighth, giving JR Motorsports three finishers in the top eight.
- Cole Custer was the highest-finishing Ford driver, at ninth.
- Garrett Smithley rounded out the top 10, his first top-10 result since Daytona.
- Daniel Hemric recorded his second pole position of the season, and finished 23rd.
- Hemric led a race-high 39 laps. It marked the 17th time in 27 Talladega races in the Xfinity Series that the driver that led the most laps did not win the race.
- Others who earned or tied season-best finishes were: J.J. Yeley (11th); Vinnie Miller (17th); Tommy Joe Martins (18th); B.J. McLeod (19th); Timmy Hill (27th); and Jennifer Jo Cobb (29th; season debut). McLeod was the final driver on the lead lap, and he and Martins ensured top-20 finishes for two McLeod-owned entries for the first time this season.
- Stephen Leicht missed his first race of the season. A total of 26 drivers have competed in all nine races this season.
- A total of 21 drivers improved on their starting position in the race.
- The next race will be Saturday, May 5, with the OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.
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