Returning to the racetrack after being off for over two months could have been a difficult task for drivers that usually spend time behind the wheel of their cars multiple times a week. However, it didn’t seem so bad for the JR Motorsports camp of Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett and Daniel Hemric.
Three of those JR Motorsports teams finished in the top 10 on Thursday at Darlington Raceway. Allgaier started 10th and finished sixth in Stage 1. He went on to finish second in Stage 2 and finished third at the conclusion of the 147-lap race.
Gragson, who started on the pole, won Stage 1 and finished third in Stage 2. He finished the race in fifth.
Right behind Gragson was Hemric. Hemric runs a part-time schedule for JR Motorsports in the No. 8 Chevrolet. Hemric finished Stage 1 in seventh and Stage 2 in sixth. At the end of the race, Hemric ralled to a sixth-place finish.
Lastly, Annett, who started alongside his teammate Gragson on the front row, finished Stage 1 in ninth and Stage 2 in fifth. Unfortunately in the final stage, Annett went for a spin and ultimately had to head to pit road for repairs, resulting in a 25th-place finish for the No. 1 Chevrolet team.
However, JR Motorsports has shown so much strength in the opening races of the Xfinity Series, especially on Thursday’s return to racing. The team has put up good numbers at the upcoming Charlotte Motor Speedway, too.
Allgaier has 17 starts at the track with four top fives, nine top 10s and one pole award. Annett has 14 starts with three top 10s and Gragson made his first Xfinity Series start at Charlotte last season and finished fourth. Hemric has three starts at the track and finished seventh in his last two starts.
