Motorsports
NASCAR driver Rajah Caruth gets love from Stephen A
Winston-Salem State University alumni pride was on full display during ESPN’s First Take on Monday, as Stephen A. Smith delivered a heartfelt congratulations to fellow HBCU graduate Rajah Caruth. Caruth made history over the weekend by winning his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the 2025 season at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, May 30—securing […]

Winston-Salem State University alumni pride was on full display during ESPN’s First Take on Monday, as Stephen A. Smith delivered a heartfelt congratulations to fellow HBCU graduate Rajah Caruth. Caruth made history over the weekend by winning his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the 2025 season at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, May 30—securing a playoff spot in the process.
The segment opened with a throwback recorded message from Caruth thanking Smith for his influence and leadership during a previous HBCU segment.
“Honestly, Stephen A., I wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done for Winston-Salem State University and our culture,” Caruth said. “You’re a great example of living Black history.”
Smith, who graduated from the HBCU in Dec. 1991, was visibly moved by the gesture, responded with emotion and pride.
“I always get touched by stuff like that, especially for my alma mater, which means the world to me. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Winston-Salem State,” he said.
Smith praised Caruth’s performance during the final stretch of the race, noting the young driver held off seasoned champions in the final 15 laps.
“He handled his business, held it down, and ended up winning for the first time. I’m very, very proud of this young man and what he’s doing—the way he’s representing the Rams.”
This win marked the second career victory for Caruth in the Craftsman Truck Series. Smith took the moment to highlight Caruth’s impact as an HBCU representative in a traditionally non-diverse sport like NASCAR.
“Anytime I see great things from Winston-Salem State, I’m incredibly happy… There’s a whole bunch of talent at HBCUs throughout this country.”
As Smith wrapped up his remarks, he once again voiced his support for Caruth and reaffirmed his commitment to celebrating HBCU excellence, saying, “Way to go, Rajah. Way to go.”
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Motorsports
Predicting Round 3 of the 2025 NASCAR In-Season Challenge!
The in-season challenge madness rolls on, and somehow, Ty Dillon is still alive. After another wild week, the brackets are more broken than ever, but the predictions for Sonoma are in. Can the underdogs survive one more round? Or is this where the fairy tale ends? Here’s how this week’s bracket picks are shaking out: […]

The in-season challenge madness rolls on, and somehow, Ty Dillon is still alive. After another wild week, the brackets are more broken than ever, but the predictions for Sonoma are in. Can the underdogs survive one more round? Or is this where the fairy tale ends? Here’s how this week’s bracket picks are shaking out:
- Can Alex Bowman finally strike midnight on Ty Dillon’s Cinderella run at Sonoma?
- Will Erik Jones’ deeper track experience be enough to outlast teammate John Hunter Nemechek?
- Is Ryan Preece’s sneaky road course form enough to challenge Tyler Reddick’s top-tier talent?
- Can Zane Smith pull a miracle, or is Ty Gibbs headed to the Final Four with all of JGR on his back?
This round isn’t just about stats, it’s about experience vs momentum, track knowledge vs raw pace, and whether Reddick and Gibbs can keep their top-dog status against hungry challengers. And yes, it’s officially chaos when Ty Gibbs, the worst JGR driver this year, could be their lone Final Four survivor. At this point, everyone’s bracket is cooked, so who do you have making it through Sonoma? Sound off in the comments with your predictions, and if you’re still somehow undefeated in your bracket, we demand to see the receipts.
Watch Also:
Motorsports
Shooting at Custom T’s Motorsports Park in Virginia sends man to hospital, deputies say
COLONIAL BEACH, Va. — One person is hospitalized after a shooting at a dragstrip in Colonial Beach on Saturday night. Deputies received a report of a shooting at Custom T’s Motorsports Park at 8 p.m., according to Capt. Chris Smith with the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office. “When deputies arrived, they found one male victim suffering from a […]

COLONIAL BEACH, Va. — One person is hospitalized after a shooting at a dragstrip in Colonial Beach on Saturday night.
Deputies received a report of a shooting at Custom T’s Motorsports Park at 8 p.m., according to Capt. Chris Smith with the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office.
“When deputies arrived, they found one male victim suffering from a gunshot wound,” officials said.
The victim was taken to Mary Washington Hospital. There has been no word yet on his condition.
Smith said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Custom T’s Motorsports Park, formerly known as Colonial Beach Dragway, first opened as Longfield Drag Strip in 1963.
Colonial Beach, located on the Northern Neck along the Potomac River, is roughly 70 miles and a 1-hour 15-minute drive from Richmond along Interstate 95 north and Route 301.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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Motorsports
van Gisbergen rockets to Xfinity pole at Sonoma
Shane Van Gisbergen is having a ‘field day’ on NASCAR road courses, thoroughly schooling the ‘we only turn left’ NASCAR regulars. JR Motorsports has locked out the front row for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Once again, Shane van Gisbergen earned pole position with a lap of 1m15.259s. His teammate, Connor Zilisch, […]

Shane Van Gisbergen is having a ‘field day’ on NASCAR road courses, thoroughly schooling the ‘we only turn left’ NASCAR regulars.
JR Motorsports has locked out the front row for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Once again, Shane van Gisbergen earned pole position with a lap of 1m15.259s. His teammate, Connor Zilisch, was 2nd, 2/10ths slower.
For Van Gisbergen, this is his fifth pole in 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and his second pole and second top-10 start in 2025.
This is his second pole in two races at Sonoma Raceway, and Van Gisbergen is also the defending winner of the Sonoma Xfinity race.
Car is really, really good,” said van Gisbergen. “I was having fun out there … Looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

Xfinity Series Qualifying Results
Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
1 | 9 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | Quad Lock Chevrolet | 75.259 | 95.191 |
2 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | Roto-Rooter Chevrolet | 75.503 | 94.884 |
3 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Audibel Ford | 75.644 | 94.707 |
4 | 2 | Jesse Love | Whelen Chevrolet | 75.839 | 94.463 |
5 | 18 | William Sawalich # | Soundgear Toyota | 75.881 | 94.411 |
6 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Pilot Chevrolet | 75.890 | 94.400 |
7 | 1 | Carson Kvapil # | Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet | 76.168 | 94.055 |
8 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Little Giant Toyota | 76.193 | 94.024 |
9 | 0 | Sheldon Creed | Pit Boss Ford | 76.208 | 94.006 |
10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | BRANDT Chevrolet | 76.270 | 93.929 |
11 | 54 | Taylor Gray # | Operation 300 Toyota | 76.281 | 93.916 |
12 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | Warrior Health Foundation Chevrolet | 76.339 | 93.845 |
13 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 76.372 | 93.804 |
14 | 17 | Corey Day | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 76.432 | 93.730 |
15 | 19 | Riley Herbst(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 76.439 | 93.722 |
16 | 21 | Austin Hill | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 76.502 | 93.645 |
17 | 27 | Jeb Burton | BG Products Chevrolet | 76.630 | 93.488 |
18 | 11 | Josh Williams | Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | 76.785 | 93.299 |
19 | 25 | Harrison Burton | AirBox Ford | 76.809 | 93.270 |
20 | 7 | Alex Labbe | Sonoma Aviation Chevrolet | 76.895 | 93.166 |
21 | 16 | Christian Eckes # | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 77.046 | 92.983 |
22 | 14 | Connor Mosack(i) | Knight Fire Protection Chevrolet | 77.075 | 92.948 |
23 | 48 | Nick Sanchez # | Big Machine Label Group Chevrolet | 77.137 | 92.874 |
24 | 99 | Matt DiBenedetto | Viking Motorsports Chevrolet | 77.194 | 92.805 |
25 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | SBC Contractors Inc Chevrolet | 77.237 | 92.753 |
26 | 53 | Sage Karam | Eternal Fan Toyota | 77.270 | 92.714 |
27 | 71 | Ryan Ellis | Classic Collision Chevrolet | 77.312 | 92.663 |
28 | 5 | Kris Wright | First National Bank Corp Chevrolet | 77.355 | 92.612 |
29 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 77.365 | 92.600 |
30 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Alliance/All South Electric Chevrolet | 77.369 | 92.595 |
31 | 10 | Daniel Dye # | Champion Container Chevrolet | 77.390 | 92.570 |
32 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Finance Pro Plus Chevrolet | 77.478 | 92.465 |
33 | 32 | Austin Green | 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet | 77.559 | 92.368 |
34 | 4 | Parker Retzlaff | FUNKAWAY Beads Chevrolet | 77.574 | 92.351 |
35 | 26 | Dean Thompson # | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 77.591 | 92.330 |
36 | 70 | Will Rodgers | Refology/Sipeos Chevrolet | 77.696 | 92.206 |
37 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing Ford | 78.073 | 91.760 |
38 | 45 | Brad Perez | Pala Casino Chevrolet | 78.566 | 91.184 |
39 | 35 | Austin J Hill | Chevrolet | 78.672 | 91.062 |
Motorsports
Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace settle differences at dinner – Speedway Digest
As fierce as the Chicago Street Course battle between Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace appeared at the time, it won’t have a lasting impact on the drivers’ relationship. Bowman and Wallace, opponents in the second round of the In-Season Challenge, were fighting for position late in last Sunday’s race. After repeated contact between their cars, […]

As fierce as the Chicago Street Course battle between Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace appeared at the time, it won’t have a lasting impact on the drivers’ relationship.
Bowman and Wallace, opponents in the second round of the In-Season Challenge, were fighting for position late in last Sunday’s race. After repeated contact between their cars, Wallace’s Toyota spun off the front bumper of Bowman’s Chevrolet.
Bowman advanced to the tournament quarterfinals with an eighth-place finish to Wallace’s 28th. But if there was any animosity after the race, there’s none now.
“He bought me dinner on Thursday, which was super nice of him, “Bowman said. “So, I’m appreciative of that. I think we probably raced a little bit unnecessarily hard in that situation, but we talked, and I think we’re all good.
“The TV feed made it look worse than it really was off of (Turn) 2 there. I certainly didn’t intentionally crash him, and unfortunately, the coverage was pretty rough. We talked about it, and I think we’re good going forward.”
Bowman and Wallace happened to be staying at the same place in California, and they were seated next to each other at the hotel restaurant.
“That’s always how it works, right?” said Bowman. “Whenever you run into somebody, you’re always magnetic for the next couple of weeks.”
On Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, Wallace echoed Bowman’s sentiments.
“My dinner was paid for, so I just pay it forward,” Wallace said. “I felt like I made us look like fools last week, and I took the responsibility, so the least I could do was buy him dinner. Bowman and I, I can say truthfully, we’re fine moving forward.”
Motorsports
How to Watch Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250: Stream NASCAR Xfinity Series Live, TV Channel
Shane Van Gisbergen again pulling double duty this weekend and starts from the pole at Sonoma on Saturday. Shane Van Gisbergen comes off a NASCAR Xfinity Series/NASCAR Cup Series double win last weekend in Chicago and looks to repeat the trick at Sonoma Raceway. His quest begins on Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit […]

Shane Van Gisbergen again pulling double duty this weekend and starts from the pole at Sonoma on Saturday.
Shane Van Gisbergen comes off a NASCAR Xfinity Series/NASCAR Cup Series double win last weekend in Chicago and looks to repeat the trick at Sonoma Raceway. His quest begins on Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at the road course that opened in 1968. Van Gisbergen grabbed the pole position in qualifying on Friday afternoon as he looks for a second straight Xfinity victory at Sonoma. SVG moved up to the Cup Series full-time this season while still racing a part-time schedule on the second-tier circuit.
How to Watch Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 in NASCAR Xfinity Series Today:
Race Date: Saturday, July 12, 2025
Race Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: The CW
Live stream the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss/Food Maxx 250 on Fubo: Start your free trial today!
Connor Zilisch will start outside Van Gisbergen on Saturday, with Sam Mayer and Jesse Love on the second row. William Sawalich and Sammy Smith start on Row 3 while Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed and defending series champion Justin Allgaier round out the top 10 in the field.
Allgaier and Austin Hill each have three wins this season and are among seven drivers provisionally qualified for the Round of 12 Playoffs that open in September. Love, Zilisch, Jones, Nick Sanchez and Smith are the other winners that have clinched spots. Mayer leads the non-winners in the field with 597 points this season and has an 86-point lead over Kvapil. Creed, Jeb Burton and Taylor Gray round out the top five non-winners, with Gray leading Harrison Burton by eight points and Ryan Sieg by 30 points for the 12th spot.
Van Gisbergen led 32 of the 79 laps in last year’s race at Sonoma to finish 1.323 seconds ahead of Creed. This is the third year the Xfinity Series has raced at the track, a 1.99-mile course with 12 turns that is broken down into stages of 20, 25 and 34 laps. Aric Almirola won the debut Xfinity Series race at Sonoma in 2023.
What Time Is The NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250?
The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 race takes place on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. ET. Tune in and catch some great racing action.
What Channel Is The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 Race On?
Looking to watch this race? Fans can tune into The CW to see the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this race, as well as numerous other sports leagues.
Watch the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 race on Fubo: Start your free trial now!
Regional restrictions may apply.
Motorsports
Connor Zilisch holds off SVG in Sonoma
Credit: Chris Graythen / Digital Media Connor Zilisch said after last week’s battle at Chicago that he wouldn’t go easy on teammate Shane van Gisbergen. This week, Zilisch took the win at Sonoma. SVG started on pole once again with Zilisch beside him. Sam Mayer and Jesse Love lined up behind them and hooked up […]
Credit: Chris Graythen / Digital Media
Connor Zilisch said after last week’s battle at Chicago that he wouldn’t go easy on teammate Shane van Gisbergen. This week, Zilisch took the win at Sonoma.
SVG started on pole once again with Zilisch beside him. Sam Mayer and Jesse Love lined up behind them and hooked up behind the leaders as they went to green.
SVG got ahead of Zilisch as Love goes to the inside of Mayer in turn 3 to challenge for the place. Neither driver was able to make the move stick in that turn.
Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson, and Austin Green went through the dirt on the opening lap and fell quite a few places, but were able to keep out of each other.
On lap 3, Zilisch took the lead as SVG almost went sideways in turn 2, and Mayer challenged SVG for second. SVG kept the position, Mayer slotting into third.
Fun fact: Zilisch has led at least one lap in the last eight races in 2025, and this is the longest streak of the season.
SVG retook the lead on lap 5 with a switchback move into turn 8.
With 9 laps to go, Love loses a couple of places to Williams Sawalich and Carson Kvapil with an issue. Love pits to retire on lap 13.
By lap 15, the top three now have a gap of 13 seconds to Sawalich in fourth, and the top two are 6 seconds ahead of Mayer.
Many drivers opt to pit to flip the stage, including the top two. Off pit road, Zilisch comes off first, and they come out in ninth and eleventh. Mayer takes the lead.
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No. 41 – Sam Mayer (Haas Factory Team)
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No. 20 – Brandon Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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No. 1 – Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports)
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No. 8 – Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
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No. 00 – Sheldon Creed (Haas Factory Team)
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No. 42 – Anthony Alfredo (Young’s Motorsports)
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No. 07 – Alex Labbe (SS-Green Light Racing)
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No. 31 – Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 88 – Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports)
-
No. 39 – Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing)
The drivers who didn’t pit before dart onto pit road. Brandon Jones wins off pit road while Mayer loses two places. Zilisch and SVG cycle to the front.
Back to green, they stay side by side through turns 1 and 2, but Zilisch clears for the lead in turn 6. Zilisch almost lost the lead after locking his wheels in turn 7 but kept in front. Sawalich moved up to third.
SVG goes to the inside of Zilisch on lap 28, and they stay door to door until turn 2 when SVG cuts in front of Zilisch.
Ryan Ellis gets spun around on lap 30, but was able to stay clear of other drivers and get going again on his own.
On lap 37, Zilisch takes the lead from SVG.
Alex Labbe pits with a track bar issue and retires on lap 38. On the same lap, Kris Wright went off course in turn 2 but continued.
Sage Karam suffered a transmission issue and went off track exiting the final turn of lap 42.
The top four pit just before pit road closes for the stage, and Justin Allgaier takes the lead.
Jones swept around Allgaier at turn 3 when Allgaier went wide.
-
No. 20 – Brandon Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing)
-
No. 7 – Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports)
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No. 8 – Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
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No. 00 – Sheldon Creed (Haas Factory Team)
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No. 1 – Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports)
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No. 31 – Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 88 – Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports)
-
No. 27 – Jeb Burton (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 70 – Will Rodgers (Cope Family Racing)
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No. 39 – Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing)
After a cycle of pit stops, Zilisch and SVG line up again for the restart. The two stay door to door until Zilisch clears into turn 4. Austin Hill jumps up to fourth as Sawalich cuts in front of SVG for second.
SVG repassed Sawalich on lap 53.
Big damage to Christian Eckes after Ryan Seig and Brennen Poole scuffled, and Eckes suffered the most damage. He pitted to retire on lap 54.
R. Seig goes down pit road smoking on lap 57.
On lap 60, Jeremy Clements spins around but keeps clear of other drivers and is able to continue.
Harrison Burton spins around at turn 11 after getting turned around by Corey Day and Jones on lap 65.
In the closing laps of the stage, SVG closed the gap on Zilisch and was right on his bumper.
With 3 to go, Day goes off the track and narrowly misses the wall after A. Hill hits the sausage curb and bounces into Day. No caution was called.
SVG tapped the bumper of Zilisch into turn 7 with 2 laps to go, but doesn’t have the grip to get ahead.
They go side by side into turn 11, but the 88 drives away!
Connor Zilisch takes the checkered flag ahead of Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma!
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No. 88 – Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports)
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No. 9 – Shane van Gisbergen (JR Motorsports) [FL]
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No. 18 – William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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No. 48 – Nick Sanchez (Big Machine Racing)
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No. 19 – Riley Herbst (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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No. 7 – Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports)
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No. 54 – Taylor Gray (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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No. 1 – Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports)
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No. 8 – Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
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No. 00 – Sheldon Creed (Haas Factory Team)
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No. 32 – Austin Green (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 21 – Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
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No. 20 – Brandon Jones (Joe Gibbs Racing)
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No. 91 – Josh Bilicki (DGM Racing x JIM)
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No. 11 – Josh Williams (Kaulig Racing)
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No. 70 – Will Rodgers (Cope Family Racing)
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No. 41 – Sam Mayer (Haas Factory Team)
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No. 26 – Dean Thompson (Sam Hunt Racing)
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No. 31 – Blaine Perkins (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 27 – Jeb Burton (Jordan Anderson Racing)
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No. 25 – Harrison Burton (AM Racing)
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No. 44 – Brennen Poole (Alpha Prime Racing)
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No. 42 – Anthony Alfredo (Young’s Motorsports)
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No. 17 – Corey Day (Hendrick Motorsports)
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No. 28 – Kyle Sieg (RSS Racing)
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No. 99 – Matt DiBenedetto (Viking Motorsports)
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No. 71 – Ryan Ellis (DGM Racing + JIM)
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No. 4 – Parker Retzlaff (Alpha Prime Racing)
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No. 5 – Kris Wright (Our Motorsports)
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No. 51 – Jeremy Clements (Jeremy Clements Racing) +1 lap
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No. 45 – Brad Perez (Alpha Prime Racing) +1 lap
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No. 10 – Daniel Dye (Kaulig Racing) +1 lap
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No. 14 – Connor Mosack (SS-Green Light Racing) +2 laps
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No. 16 – Christian Eckes (Kaulig Racing) +3 laps
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No. 39 – Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing) +3 laps
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No. 53 – Sage Karam (Joey Gase Motorsports) [DNF]
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No. 07 – Alex Labbe (SS-Green Light Racing) [DNF]
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No. 2 – Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing) [DNF]
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No. 35 – Austin J. Hill (Joey Gase Motorsports) [DNS]
Next week, NASCAR Xfinity heads to Dover Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 19, at 15:30 EST (20:30 BST). Be there, or be square.
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