The 2019 Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on September 28, 2019, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 67 laps on the 2.28-mile (3.67 km) road course, it was the 28th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, second race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12.
Background
Track
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 67 laps, .
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 0 Lawson Aschenbach JD Motorsports Chevrolet 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 8 Ryan Truex JR Motorsports Chevrolet 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 13 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 18 Harrison Burton (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 35 Joey Gase MBM Motorsports Toyota 36 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 38 Bayley Currey (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 43 Preston Pardus Pardus Racing Inc. Chevrolet 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 61 Tommy Joe Martins MBM Motorsports Toyota 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 68 Brandon Brown (R) Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 74 Joe Nemechek (i) Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 78 J. J. Yeley B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 86 Will Rodgers Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 90 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 93 Josh Bilicki RSS Racing Chevrolet 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 99 Cody Ware B. J. McLeod Motorsports ChevroletOfficial Entry List
Practice
First practice Christopher Bell was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 84.489 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:24.489 98.853 2 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 1:24.536 98.798 3 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:24.570 98.758
Final practice A. J. Allmendinger was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 83.938 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:23.938 99.502 2 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 1:24.367 98.996 3 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 1:24.400 98.957
Qualifying Chase Briscoe scored the pole for the race with a time of 83.232 seconds and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 1:23.232 2 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 83.247 3 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 83.369 4 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 83.439 5 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 83.567 6 90 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 83.638 7 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 83.772 8 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 84.407 9 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 84.709 10 86 Will Rodgers Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 85.056 11 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 99.367 12 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 84.831 13 8 Ryan Truex JR Motorsports Chevrolet 84.858 14 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 84.875 15 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84.940 16 43 Preston Pardus Pardus Racing Inc. Chevrolet 84.991 17 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 85.142 18 61 Tommy Joe Martins MBM Motorsports Toyota 85.426 19 0 Lawson Aschenbach JD Motorsports Chevrolet 85.758 20 36 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 85.768 21 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 85.841 22 18 Harrison Burton (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 85.904 23 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 85.914 24 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 85.944 25 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 86.028 26 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 86.155 27 4 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 86.377 28 93 Josh Bilicki RSS Racing Chevrolet 87.064 29 78 J. J. Yeley B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 87.501 30 74 Joe Nemechek Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 87.503 31 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 88.016 32 99 Cody Ware B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 88.248 33 35 Joey Gase MBM Motorsports Toyota 88.595 34 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 89.279 35 68 Brandon Brown (R) Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 90.307 36 5 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 91.827 37 13 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 92.212 38 38 Bayley Currey (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 0.000 . – Playoffs driver
Race
Summary Chase Briscoe started on pole and maintained his lead, winning Stage 1. Cole Custer overtook teammate Briscoe at the conclusion of Stage 1, and won Stage 2, which did not see any cautions. Alex Labbé notably won points in both stages and also had a career-best finish of 6th.
On lap 45, a caution occurred and four playoff drivers, including Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, were involved. Afterwards, Briscoe attempted to overtake Christopher Bell for second place. Briscoe drove hard into Bell, running him off the track. Bell was obligated to serve a penalty due to going off-track, but instead chased Briscoe down and deliberately spun him. Bell was ruled by NASCAR to have to restart at the rear of the field. Briscoe suffered as his team spent a long time repairing his car. Neither driver was able to fully recover from the incident, though Bell was already locked into the next round of the playoffs from his win at the previous week's race.
For the other playoffs drivers, Ryan Sieg dealt with fuel pressure issues early in the race, finishing two laps down. Justin Haley experienced mechanical issues and went to the garage for repairs, finishing six laps down.
A. J. Allmendinger had a strong run on the final restart, winning the race with a 2-second lead over Tyler Reddick.
Nemechek, Jones, Sieg, and Haley all exited the race below the cut line for the playoffs.
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 102 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 93 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 84 90 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 75 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 66 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 57 8 Ryan Truex JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 210 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 1
Stage Two Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 102 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 93 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 84 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 75 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 66 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 90 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 48 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 210 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 1
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 27
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 5 10 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 67 402 2 2 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 67 433 3 22 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 67 454 7 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 67 485 12 9 Noah Gragson (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 67 406 6 90 Alex Labbé DGM Racing Chevrolet 67 427 14 23 John Hunter Nemechek (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 67 358 4 00 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 67 409 1 98 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing withBiagi-DenBeste Ford 67 4710 13 8 Ryan Truex JR Motorsports Chevrolet 67 3111 8 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 67 3312 11 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 67 2813 22 18 Harrison Burton (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 67 014 19 0 Lawson Aschenbach JD Motorsports Chevrolet 67 2315 23 1 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 67 2216 15 19 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 67 2917 35 68 Brandon Brown (R) Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 67 2018 21 66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 67 1919 26 01 Stephen Leicht JD Motorsports Chevrolet 67 1820 20 36 Josh Williams DGM Racing Chevrolet 67 1721 33 35 Joey Gase MBM Motorsports Toyota 67 1622 30 74 Joe Nemechek (i) Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 67 023 34 15 B. J. McLeod JD Motorsports Chevrolet 67 1424 32 99 Cody Ware B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 67 1325 36 5 Vinnie Miller B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 67 1226 28 93 Josh Bilicki RSS Racing Chevrolet 67 1127 16 43 Preston Pardus Pardus Racing Inc. Chevrolet 67 1028 10 86 Will Rodgers Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 67 929 17 08 Gray Gaulding (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 67 830 25 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 65 731 9 11 Justin Haley (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 61 632 24 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 60 533 27 4 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 54 434 31 52 David Starr Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 28 335 18 61 Tommy Joe Martins MBM Motorsports Toyota 26 236 37 13 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Toyota 26 137 38 38 Bayley Currey (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 10 038 29 78 J. J. Yeley B. J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota 5 1 . – Playoffs driver
During the race, Stefan Parsons, replaced Cody Ware who was not feeling well after the coolbox of his car didn't work during the race so he felt the heat exhaustion. Since Ware started the race, he is officially credited with the 24th-place finish.
References