2023 Road America 180

Race details
Race 20 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	July 29, 2023
Official name	14th Annual Road America 180
Location	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.048 mi (6.515 km)
Distance	49 laps, 198 mi (318 km)
Scheduled Distance	45 laps, 182 mi (293 km)
Average speed	65.265 mph (105.034 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing
Time	1:10.574
Most laps led
Driver	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports
Laps	42
Winner
No. 1	Sam Mayer	JR Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Dave Burns (play-by-play), Jeff Burton and Dale Jarrett (color commentators), Kevin Lee and Matt Yocum (pit reporters)
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2023 Road America 180 was the 20th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 14th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America, a 4.048 miles (6.515 km) permanent road course. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 45 laps, but was extended to 49 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. In an incredible overtime finish that saw the leaders make numerous mistakes, Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, would take advantage of those mistakes, and held off Parker Kligerman on the final lap to earn his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. ^[1] Justin Allgaier would dominate the entire race, winning both stages and leading a race-high 42 laps, before he spun in turn 8 with two laps to go. To fill out the podium, Kligerman, driving for Big Machine Racing, and Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background

Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club of America GT World Challenge America and Trans-Am Series and the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Practice

The first and only practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 4:00 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes. ^[2] Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:12.360, and an average speed of 110.100 mph (177.189 km/h). ^[3]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:00 PM CST. ^[2] Since Road America is a road course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in that round will win the pole. ^[4] A. J. Allmendinger, driving for Kaulig Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:10.574, and an average speed of 111.606 mph (179.612 km/h). ^[1]

Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 22

Stage 2 Laps: 12

Stage 3 Laps: 15

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Austin Hill 775 1 2 John Hunter Nemechek 761 (-14) 3 Justin Allgaier 735 (–40) 4 Cole Custer 691 (–84) 1 5 Josh Berry 612 (–163) 3 6 Sam Mayer 593 (–182) 2 7 Chandler Smith 588 (–187) 1 8 Daniel Hemric 579 (–196) 1 9 Sammy Smith 557 (–218) 1 10 Riley Herbst 530 (–245) 1 11 Sheldon Creed 527 (–248) 12 Parker Kligerman 505 (–270) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References