Avondale, Arizona – Eighteen-year-old Sammy Smith scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win, catching the checkered flag Saturday at Phoenix Racing.
Smith scored the winning streak in his 13th career series start. Smith led 92 of the 200 laps, including the final 52.
“This is a dream come true,” said the high school student.
MORE: Phoenix race results, driver points
Ryan Truex finished second to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2.
“I think he (Smith) was a row in the field all day,” Truex said. “His car looked very good, and he could do whatever he wanted.”
Sheldon Creed was third. Riley Herbst finished fourth. Chandler Smith finished fifth. Chandler Smith and Kyle Busch made contact on the last lap. Busch fell back and finished ninth.
First stage winner: Justin Alger
Second stage winner: Justin Alger
Who had a good run: His fourth straight finish marked Riley Herbst’s seventh consecutive top 10 finish, dating back to last season. … Sheldon Creed beat a lap to finish third in his best finish of the season.
Who had a bad race: It was the strategy call to stay out when several others pitted before the end of stage two, which allowed Algaier to win that stage, but put him to the back of the field after the stage break when he pitted. Allgaier could not regain this track position and was involved in a crash late in the race. He finished 36th. … Josh Berry was spun twice, including once by teammate Sam Meyer. Perry overcame those crashes to finish eighth.
the next: The series races March 18 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (5 p.m. ET on FS1).
More Stories
NFL Week 1 2024 Predictions, Today’s Picks: Expert provides accurate results for all 16 games
7 Big Deals We Want to See Before the NFL Season Opens
Fever star Kaitlyn Clark breaks WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers in game with Connecticut Sun