The 2024 Focused Health 250 was the 5th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 4th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, a permanent asphalt road course. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 46 laps, but was increased to 50 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. In a thrilling race that featured a wild finish, Kyle Larson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would benefit from newer tires and steal the win after Shane van Gisbergen made contact with Austin Hill on the final lap. Van Gisbergen bumped into the back of Hill in turn 16, forcing both drivers up the racetrack and allowing Larson to sneak past both of them. This was Larson's 15th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season. Van Gisbergen and teammate A. J. Allmendinger were the most consistent drivers of the race, both leading a race-high 20 laps. To fill out the podium, Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, and John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Van Gisbergen, who originally finished in 2nd, was given a 30-second time penalty on the final lap for cutting the course. He was officially credited with a 27th place finish.

Report

Background

Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a grade 1 FIA-specification motorsports facility located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. It features a road racing circuit. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship. It previously hosted the Supercars Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and IndyCar Series.

Entry list

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

#DriverTeamMake00Cole CusterStewart–Haas RacingFord1Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet2Jesse Love (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet4Patrick GallagherJD MotorsportsChevrolet5Anthony AlfredoOur MotorsportsChevrolet6Ty Dillon (i)JD MotorsportsChevrolet07Daniil KvyatSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet7Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet8Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet9Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet11Josh WilliamsKaulig RacingChevrolet14R. C. EnersonSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet15Hailie Deegan (R)AM RacingFord16A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet17Kyle Larson (i)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet18Sheldon CreedJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Ty Gibbs (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota20John Hunter Nemechek (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota21Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet24Ed JonesSam Hunt RacingToyota26Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota27Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet28Kaz Grala (i)RSS RacingFord29Blaine PerkinsRSS RacingFord31Parker RetzlaffJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet32Austin GreenJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet35Alex LabbéJoey Gase MotorsportsToyota39Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord42Leland Honeyman (R)Young's MotorsportsChevrolet43Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet44Brennan PooleAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet45Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet48Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet50Preston PardusPardus RacingChevrolet51Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet81Chandler SmithJoe Gibbs RacingToyota91Kyle WeathermanDGM RacingChevrolet92Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet97Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet98Riley HerbstStewart–Haas RacingFordOfficial entry list

Notes

Practice The first and only practice session was held on Friday, March 22, at 4:30 PM CST, and would last for 20 minutes. Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 2:14.728, and a speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed197Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:14.72891.117216A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet2:15.08790.875317Kyle Larson (i)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:15.39490.669Full practice results

Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, March 22, at 5:00 PM CST. Since Circuit of the Americas 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.

Under a 2021 rule change, the timing line in road course qualifying is "not" the start-finish line. Instead, the timing line for qualifying will be set at the exit of Istanbul 8. Kyle Larson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a track record lap of 2:12.076, and a speed of .

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Kaz Grala and Preston Pardus.

Qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTime (R1)Speed (R1)Time (R2)Speed (R2)117Kyle Larson (i)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.37492.7372:12.07692.946297Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:12.75492.4722:12.49992.650319Ty Gibbs (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:12.66992.5312:12.66092.537481Chandler SmithJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2:13.32392.0772:13.13092.211516A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet2:13.09492.2362:13.16292.188626Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota2:13.06792.2542:13.27992.108718Sheldon CreedJoe Gibbs RacingToyota2:13.77391.7672:13.41292.016800Cole CusterStewart–Haas RacingFord2:13.47791.9712:13.48691.965911Daniel Hemric (i)Kaulig RacingChevrolet2:13.24092.1342:13.52391.939101Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:12.47392.6682:13.55491.918Eliminated in Round 11121Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2:13.58591.897——1248Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet2:13.75491.780——138Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:13.78991.756——142Jesse Love (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet2:13.80191.748——157Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:14.06791.566——1624Ed JonesSam Hunt RacingToyota2:14.53491.248——1731Parker RetzlaffJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2:14.54191.244——189Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet2:14.57791.219——1998Riley HerbstStewart–Haas RacingFord2:14.69091.143——2020John Hunter Nemechek (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2:14.76791.091——2127Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2:15.58990.538——2207Daniil KvyatSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet2:15.59690.534——2392Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet2:15.64490.502——2451Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet2:15.66190.490——2532Austin GreenJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet2:15.80490.395——2635Alex LabbéJoey Gase MotorsportsToyota2:15.86290.356——2739Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord2:15.90790.326——286Ty Dillon (i)JD MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.15090.165——2944Brennan PooleAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2:16.15590.162——305Anthony AlfredoOur MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.19790.134——3145Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2:16.24190.105——3291Kyle WeathermanDGM RacingChevrolet2:16.27490.083——334Patrick GallagherJD MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.41789.989——Qualified by owner's points3442Leland Honeyman (R)Young's MotorsportsChevrolet2:16.52289.920——3515Hailie Deegan (R)AM RacingFord2:16.59089.875——3629Blaine PerkinsRSS RacingFord2:16.74289.775——3714R. C. EnersonSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet2:17.15889.503——3843Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet2:17.35689.374——Failed to qualify3928Kaz Grala (i)RSS RacingFord2:16.44589.970——4050Preston PardusPardus RacingChevrolet2:38.47277.465——Official qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup

Race results Stage 1 Laps: 14 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts148Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet1028Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet9326Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota8431Parker RetzlaffJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet7598Riley HerbstStewart–Haas RacingFord6621Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet5735Alex LabbéJoey Gase MotorsportsToyota4816A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet3992Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet21097Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet1 Stage 2 Laps: 16 Pos.#DriverTeamMakePts198Riley HerbstStewart–Haas RacingFord10200Cole CusterStewart–Haas RacingFord9316A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet8417Kyle Larson (i)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet0597Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet6635Alex LabbéJoey Gase MotorsportsToyota5739Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord4892Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet3919Ty Gibbs (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota01081Chandler SmithJoe Gibbs RacingToyota1 Stage 3 Laps: 20 FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts1117Kyle Larson (i)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet501Running021121Austin HillRichard Childress RacingChevrolet501Running4032020John Hunter Nemechek (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota500Running04800Cole CusterStewart–Haas RacingFord500Running4251248Parker KligermanBig Machine RacingChevrolet504Running426142Jesse Love (R)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet500Running3172532Austin GreenJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet500Running308481Chandler SmithJoe Gibbs RacingToyota500Running309101Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet500Running2810516A. J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet5020Running38111731Parker RetzlaffJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet500Running3312305Anthony AlfredoOur MotorsportsChevrolet500Running2513157Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet500Running24142739Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord500Running27152944Brennan PooleAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet500Running2216189Brandon JonesJR MotorsportsChevrolet501Running2117626Sage KaramSam Hunt RacingToyota500Running28183145Brad PerezAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet500Running19192451Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet500Running18203442Leland Honeyman (R)Young's MotorsportsChevrolet500Running17212207Daniil KvyatSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet500Running16223629Blaine PerkinsRSS RacingFord500Running15233515Hailie Deegan (R)AM RacingFord500Running1424319Ty Gibbs (i)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota501Running025334Patrick GallagherJD MotorsportsChevrolet500Running12262635Alex LabbéJoey Gase MotorsportsToyota500Running2027297Shane van Gisbergen (R)Kaulig RacingChevrolet5020Running17283714R. C. EnersonSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet500Running9293291Kyle WeathermanDGM RacingChevrolet500Running8302127Jeb BurtonJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet490Running7312392Josh BilickiDGM RacingChevrolet480Suspension1132718Sheldon CreedJoe Gibbs RacingToyota470Running5333843Ryan EllisAlpha Prime RacingChevrolet450Accident4341998Riley HerbstStewart–Haas RacingFord452Accident19351624Ed JonesSam Hunt RacingToyota420Accident236138Sammy SmithJR MotorsportsChevrolet360Accident1037286Ty Dillon (i)JD MotorsportsChevrolet330Suspension038911Josh WilliamsKaulig RacingChevrolet240Overheating1Official race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Austin Hill 222 1 2 Chandler Smith 213 (-9) 3 Cole Custer 192 (–30) 1 4 Jesse Love 166 (–56) 1 5 Riley Herbst 165 (–57) 1 6 A. J. Allmendinger 162 (–60) 4 7 Parker Kligerman 147 (–75) 8 Justin Allgaier 143 (–79) 9 Brandon Jones 139 (–83) 4 10 Sheldon Creed 135 (–87) 1 11 Sammy Smith 124 (–98) 12 Anthony Alfredo 123 (–99)Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 188 2 Toyota 174 (–14) 3 Ford 153 (–35) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References