Aric Almirola has put the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the next round of the owner's playoffs by winning at Kansas Speedway.
The veteran driver, who will close out the season in the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra, won his second race of the season after a late battle with Cole Custer and Chandler Smith. He did so at the track where he broke his back in 2017.
Custer crossed the finish line second while Smith finished third. Connor Zilisch finished fourth in his second-ever Xfinity start while Sheldon Creed finished fifth.
MORE: Almirola wins, full results
The final 47 laps of the race went green as the leaders had to navigate lapped traffic. Custer took the lead on the Lap 153 restart after a caution for an uncontrolled tire on pit road, but Smith passed him two laps later with a short-run car. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver then remained in control as Custer tried to reel him back in.
The two drivers went back and forth in a strategic battle as the laps clicked down. Custer kept trying to use the outside wall to make the pass, but Smith kept drifting up and cutting off the exit. Meanwhile, Almirola erased a deficit of more than four seconds despite having older tires.
Custer made the pass for the lead with 10 laps to go in the race, and it appeared that he would have a clear path to his second consecutive win. However, Almirola chased him down using a slightly different entry and exit strategy.
He got to Custer's bumper with five laps to go and then he cleared for the lead with three laps to go. The veteran driver then pulled away and locked up his second win of the season.
What a pass by @Aric_Almirola!
He's a winner at @kansasspeedway. pic.twitter.com/fFimgVfCnQ
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 28, 2024
"I'm wore out. That was a hard day at the office, especially for someone who's been sitting on the couch," Almirola told NBC Sports after winning the race.
The comments referenced the multitude of issues Almirola faced during the race. He had two slow pit stops and an extra trip down pit road due to a broken air gun. He also hit the outside wall while trying to make up positions, which sent him down pit road during a green flag run.
Almirola still had a strong enough car to lock up the win.
Stage 1: Almirola won stage 1 under caution after Taylor Gray blew an engine. Smith, Custer, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Creed, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Riley Herbst, and Parker Kligerman were all top 10.
AJ Allmendinger in 13th, Jesse Love in 16th, Shane van Gisbergen in 23rd, and Sammy Smith in 28th were the playoff drivers who missed out on points in stage 1.
Allmendinger also received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire during the stage break.
Stage 2: Mayer won stage 2. Almirola, Custer, Smith, Zilisch, Hill, Creed, Jones, Matt DiBenedetto, and Ryan Sieg were top 10.
Herbst spun coming to the line at the end of the stage. Hill tried to move up the track to block Creed, who had a run on the outside, but he did not see Herbst. He spun the No. 98 into the infield grass. Herbst fell out of the top 10 and missed out on stage points.
On the last lap of Stage 2, the Nos. 21 and 98 make contact that sends @rileyherbst spinning. pic.twitter.com/dPAVSCODYu
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 28, 2024
Allgaier's day came to an end during the second stage of the race. He spun into the inside wall on Lap 70 after trying to avoid Creed, who momentarily lost control.
Allgaier's team made repairs to the No. 7 Chevrolet, but he blew a tire and hit the outside wall on the subsequent restart. This ended his day.
Next: The Xfinity Series playoffs continue with a trip to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 5. This season is the first since 2022 to feature two Xfinity races at the Alabama track.