RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - APRIL 01: Chandler Smith, driver of the #16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, leads John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the #20 Safeway/ACME Toyota, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway on April 01, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
NASCAR’s Xfinity Series moves on to Richmond Raceway for the seventh race of the 2023 season. Who took home the trophy?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series took on Richmond Raceway for the first short track race of the year. Last year’s first Richmond race was won by eventual series champ Ty Gibbs, who has since moved up to the Cup Series on a full-time basis.
Entering the day, Justin Allgaier, the most experienced driver in the field who has two wins at Richmond, sat on the pole. Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top five.
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Chandler Smith gets it done at Richmond for first career victory
Chandler Smith, the eventual race winner, won Stage 1 while Josh Berry, who is in the Cup Series full-time as an injury replacement for Chase Elliott, won Stage 2.
To end the day, Smith was locked in a heated battle with fellow championship contender John Hunter Nemechek. Cars in the back of the field kept getting into each other and causing caution after caution, taking away from the great racing at the front of the field.
In the end, it was the 20-year-old Smith who took home the trophy. It was the first victory of his Xfinity Series career in just his 10th start.
NASCAR Xfinity Series: ToyotaCare 250 results
- Chandler Smith
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Josh Berry
- Kaz Grala
- Cole Custer
- Sheldon Creed
- Ryan Sieg
- Parker Kligerman
- Austin Hill
- Derek Kraus (series debut, first career top 10)
- Alex Labbe
- Jeb Burton
- Justin Allgaier
- Chris Hacker
- Ryan Ellis
- Parker Retzlaff
- Sam Meyer
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Sammy Smith
- Kyle Sieg
- Brandon Jones
- Brett Moffitt
- Riley Herbst
- Daniel Hemric
- Leland Honeyman
- Blaine Perkins
- Joey Gase
- Connor Mosack
- Patrick Emerling
- Garrett Smithley
- Mason Maggio
- Stefan Parsons
- Josh Williams
- Brennan Poole
- Gray Gaulding
- Jeremy Clements
- Joe Graf Jr.
- Anthony Alfredo (OUT – ACCIDENT)