NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE RECAP
Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 | Darlington Raceway | Darlington, SC
DARLINGTON GRIT: McQUEEN RALLIES TO TOP-10 AFTER LATE-RACE SPIN
NO. 55 FIGHTS BACK THROUGH TRAFFIC TO SALVAGE 9TH AT “THE TRACK TOO TOUGH TO TAME”
Darlington Raceway demands patience, toughness, and a little forgiveness from the racing gods.
For Logan McQueen III and the No. 55 Toxic Waste Chevrolet, Sunday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 delivered all three.
McQueen qualified 19th, putting the Peak Motorsports team mid-pack to start the afternoon at the notoriously narrow egg-shaped oval. Early on, the No. 55 showed steady pace, hugging the outside wall and methodically climbing forward as long green-flag runs set the tone.
Stage 1 proved clean but difficult to advance through traffic, with McQueen bringing the car home 10th to collect a valuable stage point.
In Stage 2, the No. 55 continued to improve. McQueen found rhythm against the Darlington stripe and cracked the top 10, finishing 8th in the stage and keeping himself within striking distance heading into the final segment.
Then came the chaos.
Inside the final run, heavy traffic and tight quarters triggered contact ahead of McQueen. The No. 55 was tagged and spun, sending the Toxic Waste Chevrolet sliding down the track and dropping well outside the top 25. At Darlington, where passing is premium and clean air is everything, that kind of setback can end a day.
Instead, McQueen dug in.
Restart after restart, the 55 carved through traffic with controlled aggression. Using the high line and capitalizing on mistakes in front of him, McQueen sliced his way back inside the top 15, then the top 12, and finally back into the top 10 in the closing laps.
When the checkered flag flew, McQueen crossed the stripe 9th, a hard-earned result that felt far bigger than the box score suggests.
Up front, Justin Allgaier continued his dominant stretch, capturing the victory over Austin Hill and Aric Almirola in a competitive late-race run.
For McQueen, it was about resilience.
“We got knocked around there late and I thought we were done for a top-10,” McQueen said afterward. “But this team doesn’t quit. The car was better than where we restarted. We just kept digging. At Darlington, a top-10 feels like a win sometimes.”
Crew chief Alex Ward praised the recovery drive.
“That could’ve been a 25th-place day easy,” Ward said. “Instead, Logan kept his head down and methodically worked forward. That’s growth. That’s championship mentality.”
At “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” the No. 55 left with sheet metal scuffed, but momentum intact.
Official Results | Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 | Darlington Raceway | Race 8 of 31
| Pos | Driver | Mfr | Team | Interval |
|---|
| 1 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | 14:42.306 |
| 2 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | +0.184 |
| 3 | Aric Almirola | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +0.443 |
| 4 | Brandon Jones | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +2.506 |
| 5 | Jesse Love | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | +2.652 |
| 6 | Harrison Burton | Ford | AM Racing | +3.871 |
| 7 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +5.528 |
| 8 | Sam Mayer | Ford | Haas Factory Team | +6.117 |
| 9 | Logan McQueen III | Chevrolet | Peak Motorsports | +6.209 |
| 10 | Sheldon Creed | Ford | Haas Factory Team | +6.237 |
| 11 | Ryan Sieg | Ford | RSS Racing | +6.645 |
| 12 | William Sawalich | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +7.101 |
| 13 | Carson Kvapil | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +7.259 |
| 14 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +7.457 |
| 15 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | +7.707 |
| 16 | Sammy Smith | Chevrolet | JR Motorsports | +7.718 |
| 17 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | Sam Hunt Racing | +7.897 |
| 18 | Jeb Burton | Chevrolet | Jordan Anderson Racing | +8.094 |
| 19 | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +8.209 |
| 20 | Nick Sanchez | Chevrolet | Big Machine Racing | +8.355 |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Chevrolet | Viking Motorsports | +8.358 |
| 22 | Anthony Alfredo | Chevrolet | Young’s Motorsports | +8.503 |
| 23 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +8.615 |
| 24 | Parker Retzlaff | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +8.926 |
| 25 | Josh Williams | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | +9.261 |
| 26 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | JCR | +9.403 |
| 27 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | RSS Racing | +9.454 |
| 28 | Josh Bilicki | Chevrolet | DGM Racing | +10.371 |
| 29 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | DGM Racing | +10.528 |
| 30 | Blaine Perkins | Chevrolet | Jordan Anderson Racing | +10.604 |
| 31 | Leland Honeyman Jr. | Chevrolet | SS GreenLight Racing | +10.690 |
| 32 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | +10.876 |
| 33 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | SS GreenLight Racing | +11.050 |
| 34 | Nick Leitz | Chevrolet | SS GreenLight Racing | +11.536 |
| 35 | Brad Perez | Chevrolet | Alpha Prime Racing | +11.778 |
| 36 | Greg Van Alst | Chevrolet | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | +11.901 |
| 37 | Dawson Cram | Chevrolet | Mike Harmon Racing | +12.286 |
| 38 | Chad Finchum | Ford | MBM Motorsports | +12.947 |
Logan McQueen III — Darlington Recap
| Driver | Qualified | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Finish | Pts |
|---|
| Logan McQueen (#55) | 19 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 32 |
They Said It
Alex Ward (Crew Chief): “That spin could’ve buried us. Logan never panicked. He picked cars off one by one. That’s how you survive Darlington.”
Logan McQueen III: “We got knocked around, but this team kept digging. To come back to ninth after that? I’m proud of that fight.”
Next Up: SciAps 300 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Bristol, TN
