2024 Ag-Pro 300
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| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 33 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 20, 2024 | ||
| Official name | 33rd Annual Ag-Pro 300 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.66 miles (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 124 laps, 329 mi (529 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 113 laps, 300 mi (483 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.323 mph (211.344 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | 52.723 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 41 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Suárez | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
The 2024 Ag-Pro 300 was the 9th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval shaped superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 113 laps, but was increased to 124 laps due to numerous NASCAR overtime attempts. In an action packed race with numerous lead changes, Jesse Love, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would take advantage of the lead on an overtime restart, and held off the field to earn his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in his ninth career start.[8] RCR continued to show their dominance at superspeedways, with Austin Hill leading a race-high 41 laps and Love leading 28 laps. Hill was involved in a wreck in the late stages, and ultimately finished 14th.[9] To fill out the podium, Riley Herbst, driving for Stewart–Haas Racing, and Anthony Alfredo, driving for Our Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
This was also the third race of the Dash 4 Cash. Drivers who were eligible for the Dash 4 Cash were Sam Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Justin Allgaier, and A. J. Allmendinger, since they were the highest finishing Xfinity Series regulars following the race at Texas.[10] Sieg would claim the $100K bonus cash after finishing 17th, two positions ahead of his closest competitor, A. J. Allmendinger.[11]
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, April 19, at 4:30 PM CST.[12] Since Talladega Superspeedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers will be on track by themselves and will have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second and final round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 will win the pole.[13]
Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would advance from the preliminary round and set the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 52.723, and a speed of 181.629 mph (292.304 km/h).[14]
Garrett Smithley was the only driver who failed to qualify. Smithley had original made the race, but his time would be disallowed after a roof hatch came loose during his qualifying attempt. Mason Massey, who originally failed to qualify, would take his place on the grid.
