LAS VEGAS — AJ Allmendinger won a two-lap sprint to the finish Saturday night for his first victory of the season and an automatic berth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship finale.
Allmendinger won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by leading a race-high 102 laps in the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing then holding off Ryan Sieg in a final sprint.
A caution with six laps remaining gave Sieg a late chance to snatch the win from Allmendinger, but he got a huge shove from Justin Allgaier on the restart and pulled away to beat Sieg by 0.156 seconds.
Allmendinger started the race — the opener of the semifinal round of the Xfinity playoffs — seventh out of eight and below the cutline.
The veteran, who will make a full-time return to the Cup Series next year, was in need of either a victory or three good finishes to make the championship finale. Allmendinger raced for the Xfinity title in 2021.
“It’s good to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had,” Allmendinger said. “Let’s go win a championship! Let’s go!”
He dedicated the win to team owner Matt Kaulig, saying he had promised his boss he would win the race as a birthday gift.
Sieg, who is not in the playoffs, finished second in a Ford and was followed by playoff-driver Allgaier in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
Chandler Smith, another playoff driver, finished fourth in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The next two spots went to non-playoff drivers Riley Herbst and Parker Kligerman, who were both eliminated last week at Charlotte.
Cole Custer, who is still in title contention, finished seventh. The remaining playoff drivers were Jesse Love (ninth), Austin Hill (12th), Sam Mayer (13th) and Sammy Smith (26th).
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.