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 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. 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.
#DriverTeamMake00Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord1Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet02Blaine Perkins (R)Our MotorsportsChevrolet2Sheldon CreedRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Kyle WeathermanJD MotorsportsChevrolet6Brennan PooleJD MotorsportsChevrolet07Katherine LeggeSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet7Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet08Alex LabbéSS-Green Light RacingFord8Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet9Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet10A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet11Daniel HemricKaulig RacingChevrolet16Chandler Smith (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet18Sammy Smith (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota19Connor Mosack (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota20John Hunter NemechekJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet24Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota25Brett MoffittAM RacingFord26Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota27Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet28Kyle SiegRSS RacingFord31Parker Retzlaff (R)Jordan Anderson RacingChevrolet35Stanton BarrettEmerling-Gase MotorsportsToyota38Joe Graf Jr.RSS RacingFord39Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord43Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet44Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet45Leland HoneymanAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet48Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet51Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet53Patrick EmerlingEmerling-Gase MotorsportsChevrolet66Dexter StaceyMBM MotorsportsToyota78Anthony AlfredoB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet91Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet92Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet98Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFordOfficial entry list
Practice The first and only practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 4:00 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes. 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 . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed17Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.360110.100298Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord2:13.276109.343310A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:13.385109.254Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:00 PM CST. 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. 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 . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTime ()Speed ()Time ()Speed ()110A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:11.898110.4852:10.574111.606200Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord2:11.574110.7572:10.872111.35237Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:10.768111.4402:11.093111.164498Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord2:12.179110.2502:11.764110.59851Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:11.616110.7222:11.909110.476624Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota2:12.261110.1821:12.189110.242719Connor Mosack (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:11.848110.5272:12.410110.058820John Hunter NemechekJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.143110.2812:12.652109.857926Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota2:12.230110.2082:13.439109.2091018Sammy Smith (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.483109.9982:23.142101.807Eliminated from Round 11191Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet2:12.577109.920——122Sheldon CreedRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2:13.043109.535——138Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:13.146109.450——1421Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2:13.288109.333——1525Brett MoffittAM RacingFord2:13.309109.316——1616Chandler Smith (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:13.363109.272——1748Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet2:13.513109.149——1892Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet2:13.580109.094——1927Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2:14.417108.415——2031Parker Retzlaff (R)Jordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2:14.466108.375——2144Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2:14.577108.286——2245Leland HoneymanAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2:15.210107.779——2378Anthony AlfredoB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet2:15.532107.523——2407Katherine LeggeSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet2:15.673107.411——2502Blaine Perkins (R)Our MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.132107.049——266Brennan PooleJD MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.203106.993——2728Kyle SiegRSS RacingFord2:16.423106.821——2835Stanton BarrettEmerling-Gase MotorsportsToyota2:17.612105.898——2953Patrick EmerlingEmerling-Gase MotorsportsChevrolet2:19.411104.531——3066Dexter StaceyMBM MotorsportsToyota2:19.912104.157——3151Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet2:34.27394.461——3211Daniel HemricKaulig RacingChevrolet————339Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet————Qualified by owner's points3439Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord————3538Joe Graf Jr.RSS RacingFord————3643Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet————3708Alex LabbéSS-Green Light RacingFord————384Kyle WeathermanJD MotorsportsChevrolet————Official qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup
Race results Stage 1 Laps: 22 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts17Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet10200Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord9310A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet0420John Hunter NemechekJoe Gibbs RacingToyota7524Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota6698Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord5726Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota4821Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet391Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet21018Sammy Smith (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota1 Stage 2 Laps: 12 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts17Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet10200Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord9324Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota8410A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet051Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet6626Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota578Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet4848Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet3918Sammy Smith (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota21091Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet1 Stage 3 Laps: 15 Pos.St#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts151Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet492Running4821748Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet490Running3831421Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet490Running374624Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota490Running475498Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord490Running376138Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet490Running357926Kaz GralaSam Hunt RacingToyota490Running3981191Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet490Running309110A. J. Allmendinger (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet495Running010339Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet490Running27113211Daniel HemricKaulig RacingChevrolet490Running26121927Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet490Running25133439Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord490Running24142031Parker Retzlaff (R)Jordan Anderson RacingChevrolet490Running2315266Brennan PooleJD MotorsportsChevrolet490Running22162378Anthony AlfredoB. J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet490Running21172502Blaine Perkins (R)Our MotorsportsChevrolet490Running201837Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet4942Running39192144Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet490Running1820384Kyle WeathermanJD MotorsportsChevrolet490Running17211892Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet490Running16222953Patrick EmerlingEmerling-Gase MotorsportsChevrolet490Running15233538Joe Graf Jr.RSS RacingFord490Running14242835Stanton BarrettEmerling-Gase MotorsportsToyota490Running13253066Dexter StaceyMBM MotorsportsToyota490Running1226122Sheldon CreedRichard Childress RacingChevrolet490Running11273151Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet490Running10282245Leland HoneymanAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet450Transmission929719Connor Mosack (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota440Rear Gear830200Cole CusterStewart-Haas RacingFord410Accident25311018Sammy Smith (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota410Accident9322728Kyle SiegRSS RacingFord390Brakes5333708Alex LabbéSS-Green Light RacingFord380Accident434820John Hunter NemechekJoe Gibbs RacingToyota310Accident10353643Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet250Accident2361525Brett MoffittAM RacingFord230Hub1371616Chandler Smith (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet200Accident1382407Katherine LeggeSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet90Mechanical1Official race results
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