SMITHLEY 26th AT KENTUCKY

SPARTA, Ky. – Garrett Smithley advanced through the field to finish 26th in Saturday’s Alsco 300 Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

       The race was scheduled Friday but was postponed by rain to Saturday.

       Smithley qualified 32nd in the NKYFAME/Mark Spaulding Construction/AE Door and Window Chevrolet.

       “We had a pretty good race,” Smithley said. “We would have liked to finish up a little higher, but we got some good laps in and will be improved here next time.”

       Kyle Busch won the race, and Elliott Sadler stayed in first place in points.

       The series moves on to New Hampshire Motor Speedway July 15.

RHODES FINISHES 28TH AT KENTUCKY

SPARTA, Ky. – Harrison Rhodes finished 28th Saturday in the Alsco 300 Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

       Rhodes started 33rd in the Ken Houston Electric Chevrolet.

       “It was a tough race,” Rhodes said. “We toughed it out and got a pretty good finish. We’ll be back here strong.”

       Kyle Busch won the race, and Elliott Sadler kept the point lead.

       New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the next Xfinity race July 15.

CHASTAIN RED HOT AS KENTUCKY LOOMS

SPARTA, Ky. – Ross Chastain is on a roll.

       The Florida driver has put together back-to-back finishes of fourth (at Iowa) and sixth (at Daytona) entering Friday’s Alsco 300 Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

       “It was really cool to have two strong back-to-back finishes on very different race tracks,” Chastain said. “It shows the strength of our team and what our guys can do when everything works right and we have strong cars. I’m looking forward to what we can do at Kentucky.”

       Chastain has a history at the 1.5-mile Kentucky track. He has raced in five Xfinity and three Camping World Truck Series races at Kentucky, scoring a 10th place in an Xfinity run in 2014.

       Chastain will drive the A&E Door and Window Chevrolet at Kentucky.

       The series reaches the halfway point of its season with the Friday night run. Kentucky’s second race (Sept. 23) will begin the playoffs.

       Practice is scheduled at Kentucky at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. (ET) Thursday. Qualifying is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 8 p.m.

SMITHLEY READY FOR KENTUCKY

SPARTA, Ky. – Garrett Smithley will race at Kentucky Speedway for the fourth time in Friday night’s Alsco 300 Xfinity Series race.

       Smithley has driven in two Xfinity and one Camping World Truck Series event at the tough 1.5-mile track. Last year, he finished 24th and 17th in Xfinity races at Kentucky.

       “I feel like I’ve gotten used to the ins and outs of the track,” Smithley said. “It’s a little bit quirky, but if you have a good car you can move around and find the best groove.”

       Smithley, who will drive the KY FAME/Mark Spaulding Construction/A&E Door & Window No. 0 Chevrolet Friday, sits 23rd in Xfinity driver points entering the race.

The series reaches the halfway point of its season with the Friday night run. Kentucky’s second race (Sept. 23) will begin the playoffs.

       Practice is scheduled at Kentucky at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. (ET) Thursday. Qualifying is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 8 p.m.

RHODES ‘VETERAN’ AT KENTUCKY

SPARTA, Ky. – Harrison Rhodes knows his way around Kentucky Speedway.

       Rhodes has raced in six Xfinity Series races at the 1.5-mile track.

       “I think I know more about Kentucky than maybe any other Xfinity track,” Rhodes said. “Having a history at a place gives you a leg up going there. I’m hoping that will give us somewhat of an advantage Friday night.”

       Rhodes is 24th in the Xfinity driver standings entering Friday’s 200-lapper.

The series reaches the halfway point of its season with the Friday night run. Kentucky’s second race (Sept. 23) will begin the playoffs.

       Practice is scheduled at Kentucky at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. (ET) Thursday. Qualifying is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 8 p.m.

CHASTAIN SIXTH AT DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ross Chastain drove his G&K Services Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

       NASCAR’s original race report listed Chastain in 26th, but officials corrected the report after the race and moved the G&K Services Chevrolet into the sixth spot.

       Chastain qualified 20th. He raced in the first wake of the lead pack much of the race, maintaining a consistent speed and setting up for the finish.

       “I’m happy to see they put us where we finished,” Chastain said. “We were up there with the front group and had a spectacular night. It’s been a great two weeks for this team.”

       The race was the second straight great run for Chastain, who finished fourth at Iowa Speedway last week.

       William Byron won the Daytona race, and Elliott Sadler kept the point lead.

       The race was completed Saturday after rain interrupted the event on Friday.

       Kentucky Speedway will host the next Xfinity race July 7.

SMITHLEY 28th AT DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Garrett Smithley finished 28th in Saturday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway despite being involved in a crash as the race finished in overtime.

       Smithley crashed along with four other cars as a tight pack raced toward the finish. He hit the outside wall on the backstretch and bounced into traffic.

       “Not a good way to end the race but we ran pretty well otherwise,” Smithley said. “We were sort of just taking our time and cruising around, and then we got in that mess at the end.”

       Smithley is 23rd in Xfinity points.

       William Byron won the race, and Elliott Sadler kept the point lead.

       The race started on Friday, as scheduled, but was completed Saturday after rain hit the track Friday.

       The series moves to Kentucky Speedway for a July 7 race.

RHODES PARKS WITH GEAR ISSUE

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Harrison Rhodes finished 36th in Saturday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

       Rhodes parked his No. 01 Chevrolet after 94 of 104 laps with rear gear problems.

       “We couldn’t make it to the finish,” Rhodes said. “It’s tough to have to park the car early like that – just a problem we couldn’t deal with.”

       William Byron won the race, and Elliott Sadler kept the point lead.

       After a Friday start, the race was suspended by rain and was concluded on Saturday before the weekend’s Monster Energy Cup Series race.

       The Xfinity Series rolls on to Kentucky Speedway for a July 7 race.

CHASTAIN RIDES MOMENTUM INTO DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ross Chastain rolls into Daytona International Speedway this week fresh off the best run of his Xfinity Series career.

       Chastain finished fourth in last week’s Xfinity race at Iowa Speedway, marking the best run of his young career in NASCAR’s No. 2 series. He hopes the momentum will carry over as the series moves from a short track to one of its biggest for Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.

       “We had a great run at Iowa,” Chastain said. “It should be a big boost at Daytona, where we’ve also had some good finishes. I’m looking forward to another big weekend.”

       Chastain will drive the G&K Services No. 4 Chevy at Daytona.

       He owns a pair of top-10 finishes in Xfinity races at the 2.5-mile track.

       Practice is scheduled at 2 and 4 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 2:10 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30.

SMITHLEY LOOKS FOR DAYTONA REPEAT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Garrett Smithley is more than ready to race again at Daytona International Speedway.

       In February, in the Xfinity Series season-opener, Smithley recorded what has been his best finish of the season – an eighth place. He roared along in the tight draft at the finish of the race and scored one of the top finishes of his NASCAR career.

       “It was a great day,” Smithley said. “To run up front and draft along with the lead pack was great. We’re hoping to duplicate that this weekend.”

       Smithley will drive the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet in Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 race. He’s coming off a strong 10th-place finish in last week’s race at Iowa Speedway.

       Daytona practice is scheduled at 2 and 4 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 2:10 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30.