By Matt Marr
For the second week in a row, Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag from the pole position.
On lap 104, the caution came out for a four-car pileup involving Alex Bowman, Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon and Corey Lajoie.
Denny Hamlin won Stage One.
The caution came back out at lap 216, as Ryan Newman (driving the #51) spun out of turn four.
Ryan Blaney managed to pass Denny Hamlin and hang on to win Stage Two.
With just under 200 laps remaining in the race, Ty Gibbs got hooked by Carson Hocevar, prompting another caution.
About 20 laps later, Erik Jones made contact with Michael McDowell and turned him around, bringing out the final caution of the day.
Suddenly Aric Almirola, who had just announced his retirement from full-time racing, made his way to the front. But the storybook ending was not to be. With 22 laps to go, Blaney passed Aric Almirola for the lead, and hung on until the end to win.
Blaney’s win earned him a spot in the Championship Four, alongside Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and William Byron. Eliminated in this round were Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher.
Xfinity 500 Top 5:
1. Ryan Blaney
2. Aric Almirola
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Joey Logano
Notables:
9. Austin Cindric
10. Todd Gilliland
15. Harrison Burton
21. Erik Jones