2023 Cabo Wabo 250
{{Short description|21st race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=CUST|Location=Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan|Announcers=Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.|Year=2023|Race_Name=Cabo Wabo 250|Scheduled_mi=250|Course_mi=2.0|Scheduled_laps=125|Scheduled_km=400|Avg={{Convert|124.931|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}|Car=20|First_Driver=John Hunter Nemechek|First_Team=Joe Gibbs Racing|Most_Driver=John Hunter Nemechek|Most_laps=65|Most_Team=Joe Gibbs Racing|Pole_Time=37.985|Pole_Team=JR Motorsports|Date=August 5|Network=NBC|Pole_Driver=Josh Berry|Description=Race 21 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series|Official_name=31st Annual Cabo Wabo 250|Course_km=3.2|Radio=MRN|Image=Michigan International Speedway track map.png|Distance_mi=250|Distance_laps=125|Distance_km=400}}
The 2023 Cabo Wabo 250 was the 21st stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 5, 2023, in Brooklyn, Michigan at Michigan International Speedway, a {{Convert|2.0|mi|km}} permanent quad-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 125 laps to complete. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would take advantage of a late-race restart, and hold off the rest of the field to earn his seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his fifth of the season. Nemechek would also dominate the majority of the race, leading a race-high 65 laps.{{Cite web |last=Stoddard |first=Andrew |date=August 5, 2023 |title=John Hunter Nemechek Overcomes Early Spin, Dominates Late for Xfinity Win at Michigan |url=https://frontstretch.com/2023/08/05/john-hunter-nemechek-overcomes-early-spin-dominates-late-for-xfinity-series-race-at-michigan/ |access-date=August 5, 2023 |website=Frontstretch}} To fill out the podium, Josh Berry and Brandon Jones, both driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Background
Michigan International Speedway is a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
= Entry list =
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor |
| 00
|Ford |
| 1
|Accelerate Pros Talent |
| 02
|Blaine Perkins (R) |AUTOParkIt |
| 2 |
| 4
| Buck's Oil |
| 6
|KSDT CPA |
| 07 |
| 7
|BRANDT |
| 08
|Mason Maggio (i) |Ford |Phoenix HVAC |
| 8
|LubeZone |
| 9
|Criterion Appliances, Menards |
| 10
|Ross Chastain (i) |
| 11 |
| 16
|Chandler Smith (R) |Quick Tie Products |
| 18
| nowrap="" |Sammy Smith (R) |
| 19
|Ty Gibbs (i) |
| 20 |
| 21 |
| 24
|Connor Mosack (R) |
| 25
|Ford |AM Technical Solutions |
| 26 |
| 27
|[https://bommarito.com Bommarito.com], EasyCare |
| 28
| nowrap="" |RSS Racing |Ford |
| 31
|Parker Retzlaff (R) | nowrap="" |Jordan Anderson Racing |FUNKAWAY |
| 35
|Ford |Sci Aps |
| 38
|Ford |GTECHNIQ |
| 39
|Ford |CMR Construction & Roofing |
| 43
|1-800-TOM-KEEN |
| 44
|Eighth Order |
| 45
|Mondo Sports Group |
| 48
|Big Machine Spiked Light Coolers |
| 51
|Wings Etc. Grill & Pub |
| 53
|Sci Aps |
| 66
|Ford |
| 74 |
| 77
|Carson Hocevar (i) |Premier Security Solutions |
| 78
|Sim Seats |
| 91
|Fresh Water |
| 92
|Alloy, General Formulations |
| 98
|Ford |
| colspan="5" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/4/21-nxs-2023-entry-final.pdf Official entry list] |
|---|
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, August 4, at 3:35 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.{{Cite web |title=2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Michigan Race Page |url=https://www.jayski.com/xfinity-series/2023-nxs-michigan-race-page/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |website=Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site |language=en-US}} Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.875, and an average speed of {{Convert|185.209|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |date=August 4, 2023 |title=Practice Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan |url=https://tobychristie.com/practice-results-2023-nascar-xfinity-series-cabo-wabo-250-at-michigan/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=TobyChristie.com}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|7 |38.875 |185.209 |
|---|
| 2
|18 |Sammy Smith (R) |39.056 |184.351 |
| 3
|19 |Ty Gibbs (i) |39.067 |184.299 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/4/21-nxs-2023-practice.pdf Full practice results] |
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, August 4, at 4:05 PM EST. Since Michigan International Speedway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.{{Cite web |title=2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures |url=https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/cup-qualifying-procedures/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |website=Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site |language=en-US}} Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 37.985, and an average speed of {{Convert|189.549|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |last=Watson |first=Wyatt |date=August 4, 2023 |title=Josh Berry on Pole for Xfinity Michigan Race |url=https://frontstretch.com/2023/08/04/josh-berry-on-pole-for-xfinity-michigan-race/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=Frontstretch}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|8 |37.985 |189.549 |
|---|
| 2
|7 |38.239 |188.289 |
| 3
|21 |38.261 |188.181 |
| 4
|1 |38.303 |187.975 |
| 5
|98 |Ford |38.314 |187.921 |
| 6
|16 |Chandler Smith (R) |38.329 |187.847 |
| 7
|77 |Carson Hocevar (i) |38.362 |187.686 |
| 8
|19 |Ty Gibbs (i) |38.382 |187.588 |
| 9
|18 |Sammy Smith (R) |38.433 |187.339 |
| 10
|20 |38.454 |187.237 |
| 11
|10 |Ross Chastain (i) |38.454 |187.237 |
| 12
|25 |Ford |38.454 |187.237 |
| 13
|00 |Ford |38.471 |187.154 |
| 14
|9 |38.531 |186.863 |
| 15
|2 |38.552 |186.761 |
| 16
|11 |38.554 |186.751 |
| 17
|48 |38.564 |186.703 |
| 18
|78 |38.642 |186.326 |
| 19
|24 |Connor Mosack (R) |38.643 |186.321 |
| 20
|91 |38.691 |186.090 |
| 21
|28 |Ford |38.749 |185.811 |
| 22
|39 |Ford |38.755 |185.782 |
| 23
|27 |38.799 |185.572 |
| 24
|31 |Parker Retzlaff (R) |38.823 |185.457 |
| 25
|26 |38.883 |185.171 |
| 26
|4 |39.001 |184.611 |
| 27
|51 |39.035 |184.450 |
| 28
|38 |Ford |39.199 |183.678 |
| 29
|92 |39.290 |183.253 |
| 30
|07 |39.409 |182.699 |
| 31
|08 |Mason Maggio (i) |Ford |39.451 |182.505 |
| 32
|74 |39.471 |182.412 |
| 33
|66 |Ford |39.494 |182.306 |
| colspan="7" |Qualified by owner's points |
| 34
|45 |39.601 |181.814 |
| 35
|43 |39.619 |181.731 |
| 36
|35 |Ford |39.626 |181.699 |
| 37
|6 |39.644 |181.616 |
| 38
|02 |Blaine Perkins (R) |39.826 |180.786 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to qualify |
| 39
|44 |39.502 |182.269 |
| 40
|53 |39.742 |181.169 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/4/21-nxs-2023-qual-results.pdf Official qualifying results] |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/4/21-nxs-2023-lineup.pdf Official starting lineup] |
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 30
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Pts |
| 1
|7 |Justin Allgaier |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |10 |
|---|
| 2
|8 |Josh Berry |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |9 |
| 3
|00 |Cole Custer |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |8 |
| 4
|16 |Chandler Smith (R) |Kaulig Racing |Chevrolet |7 |
| 5
|98 |Riley Herbst |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |6 |
| 6
|9 |Brandon Jones |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |5 |
| 7
|21 |Austin Hill |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |4 |
| 8
|39 |Ryan Sieg |RSS Racing |Ford |3 |
| 9
|1 |Sam Mayer |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |2 |
| 10
|78 |Anthony Alfredo |B. J. McLeod Motorsports |Chevrolet |1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 30
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Pts |
| 1
|20 |John Hunter Nemechek |Joe Gibbs Racing |Toyota |10 |
|---|
| 2
|7 |Justin Allgaier |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |9 |
| 3
|19 |Ty Gibbs (i) |Joe Gibbs Racing |Toyota |0 |
| 4
|98 |Riley Herbst |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |7 |
| 5
|21 |Austin Hill |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |6 |
| 6
|00 |Cole Custer |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |5 |
| 7
|8 |Josh Berry |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |4 |
| 8
|1 |Sam Mayer |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |3 |
| 9
|9 |Brandon Jones |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |2 |
| 10
|25 |Brett Moffitt |AM Racing |Ford |1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 65
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts |
| 1
|10 |20 |John Hunter Nemechek |Joe Gibbs Racing |Toyota |125 |65 |Running |50 |
|---|
| 2
|1 |8 |Josh Berry |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |48 |
| 3
|14 |9 |Brandon Jones |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |41 |
| 4
|8 |19 |Ty Gibbs (i) |Joe Gibbs Racing |Toyota |125 |22 |Running |0 |
| 5
|4 |1 |Sam Mayer |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |37 |
| 6
|5 |98 |Riley Herbst |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |125 |1 |Running |44 |
| 7
|11 |10 |Ross Chastain (i) |Kaulig Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |0 |
| 8
|17 |48 |Parker Kligerman |Big Machine Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |29 |
| 9
|24 |31 |Parker Retzlaff (R) |Jordan Anderson Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |28 |
| 10
|23 |27 |Jeb Burton |Jordan Anderson Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |27 |
| 11
|3 |21 |Austin Hill |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |36 |
| 12
|15 |2 |Sheldon Creed |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |25 |
| 13
|22 |39 |Ryan Sieg |RSS Racing |Ford |125 |0 |Running |27 |
| 14
|2 |7 |Justin Allgaier |JR Motorsports |Chevrolet |125 |32 |Running |42 |
| 15
|16 |11 |Daniel Hemric |Kaulig Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |22 |
| 16
|13 |00 |Cole Custer |Stewart-Haas Racing |Ford |125 |0 |Running |34 |
| 17
|12 |25 |Brett Moffitt |AM Racing |Ford |125 |4 |Running |21 |
| 18
|18 |78 |Anthony Alfredo |B. J. McLeod Motorsports |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |20 |
| 19
|21 |28 |Kyle Sieg |RSS Racing |Ford |125 |0 |Running |18 |
| 20
|6 |16 |Chandler Smith (R) |Kaulig Racing |Chevrolet |125 |0 |Running |24 |
| 21
|25 |26 |Kaz Grala |Sam Hunt Racing |Toyota |124 |0 |Running |16 |
| 22
|29 |92 |Josh Williams |DGM Racing |Chevrolet |124 |0 |Running |15 |
| 23
|35 |43 |Ryan Ellis |Alpha Prime Racing |Chevrolet |124 |0 |Running |14 |
| 24
|34 |45 |Jeffrey Earnhardt |Alpha Prime Racing |Chevrolet |124 |0 |Running |13 |
| 25
|33 |66 |Sage Karam |MBM Motorsports |Ford |124 |1 |Running |12 |
| 26
|27 |51 |Jeremy Clements |Jeremy Clements Racing |Chevrolet |124 |0 |Running |11 |
| 27
|28 |38 |Joe Graf Jr. |RSS Racing |Ford |124 |0 |Running |10 |
| 28
|32 |74 |Dawson Cram |CHK Racing |Chevrolet |124 |0 |Running |9 |
| 29
|37 |6 |Brennan Poole |JD Motorsports |Chevrolet |123 |0 |Running |8 |
| 30
|26 |4 |Garrett Smithley |JD Motorsports |Chevrolet |123 |0 |Running |7 |
| 31
|30 |07 |Stefan Parsons |SS-Green Light Racing |Chevrolet |123 |0 |Running |6 |
| 32
|7 |77 |Carson Hocevar (i) |Spire Motorsports |Chevrolet |123 |0 |Running |0 |
| 33
|38 |02 |Blaine Perkins (R) |Our Motorsports |Chevrolet |123 |0 |Running |4 |
| 34
|36 |35 |Patrick Emerling |Emerling-Gase Motorsports |Ford |120 |0 |Running |3 |
| 35
|20 |91 |Kyle Weatherman |DGM Racing |Chevrolet |91 |0 |Electrical |2 |
| 36
|19 |24 |Connor Mosack (R) |Sam Hunt Racing |Toyota |39 |0 |Accident |1 |
| 37
|31 |08 |Mason Maggio (i) |SS-Green Light Racing |Ford |16 |0 |Accident |0 |
| 38
|9 |18 |Sammy Smith (R) |Joe Gibbs Racing |Toyota |11 |0 |Accident |1 |
| colspan="10" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/5/21-nxs-2023-results.pdf Official race results] |
Standings after the race
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
;Drivers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| ! Pos
! Driver ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 811 |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 811 (-0) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 777 (–34) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 725 (–86) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 660 (–151) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 630 (–181) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 612 (–199) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 601 (–210) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 574 (–237) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 558 (–253) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 11 | style="text-align:center;"| 552 (–259) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 12 | style="text-align:center;"| 534 (–277) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2023/8/5/21-nxs-2023-driver-points.pdf Official driver's standings] |
- Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=2023 Road America 180|Series=NASCAR Xfinity Series|Monsteryear=2023|Next_race=2023 Pennzoil 150}}
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