Allmendinger takes first victory of the season in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — A.J. Allmendinger took his first win of the season, and second win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, clinching the Xfinity Series Ambetter Health 302.

Allmendinger won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by leading a race-high 102 laps in the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, then holding off Ryan Sieg in a final sprint. He said the win came at the right time in what he described as an “up-and-down year.”

“We stick together, we keep fighting,” Allmendinger said. “Confidence isn’t a word that I think we’ve used all year … we know we got a lot of work to do at Phoenix.”

As Allmendinger heads for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on Nov. 9 at the Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona, he said he sees no reason his team can’t take the top prize.

“Why not us,” Allmendinger asked.

Sieg, who is not in the playoffs, finished second in a Ford and was followed by playoff driver Justin Allgaier in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

Chandler Smith, another playoff driver, finished fourth in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The next two spots went to non-playoff drivers Riley Herbst and Parker Kligerman, who were both eliminated last week at Charlotte.

The Vegas-sized South Point 400 is set for Sunday, the main event of fall NASCAR weekend in the entertainment capital of the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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