A.J. Allmendinger (16) spins across the finish line after an incident with Austin Cindric (22) to win Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images
With cars bouncing off each other like pinballs through two laps of overtime, A.J. Allmendinger took his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet three-wide to the bottom, passed Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric on the final lap and won Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The victory gave Allmendinger the NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship by 10 points over Cindric, who held the race lead when the 10th and final caution flag flew on lap 297 of 300 after Allgaier turned JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer in turn 1.
In the overtime, things got crazy. Cindric and Allgaier picked the top lane, and Allmendinger chose the inside of the front row. On the white-flag lap, Allmendinger drove hard into turns 3 and 4 and slid up into Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Allmendinger fell back to third, but contact between Allgaier’s Camaro and Cindric’s Mustang gave Allmendinger a chance to slip beneath both cars into the lead.
But the race wasn’t over. On the final lap, Cindric charged off the final corner, slammed into Allmendinger, and both cars slid sideways across the finish line, with Allmendinger the winner by .082 seconds.
After taking the checkered flag, Allmendinger careened off the inside wall, slid across the track into traffic and took a huge hit from Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley.
But the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship was his.
“I expected to get run into,” Allmendinger said. “It happened that previous corner. It’s frustrating getting hit that hard coming to checker, but we’re battling for the win. It’s Bristol, baby. That’s what it’s all about.
“I haven’t had a lot of chances to get a win at Bristol, so you know what? When you have a chance to do it, you’ve got to go do it. If I don’t take that chance, I don’t belong in a race car, because my team deserves the win.”
Under the circumstances, Cindric exhibited remarkable restraint in his post-race interview.
“I thought we had a great battle all season long up to this point, so congratulations to Kaulig and A.J.,” said Cindric, who led 75 laps, third-most behind Allgaier’s 92 and Daniel Hemric’s 78. “Those guys didn’t want us to win really bad, and I hate that it completely destroyed our Ford Mustang.
“That’s all I’ve got, man… It’s looks like the 7 (Allgaier) just got loose there (in spinning Mayer), and A.J. obviously just drove straight through us. You’ll have that in green-white-checkered racing.”
The victory was Allmendinger’s first at Bristol, his fourth of the season and the ninth of his career. The final lap of overtime was the only lap he led, as the race went six laps past its scheduled distance of 300 circuits.
The regular-season cutoff race also set the final positions for the Round of 12 in the Xfinity Series Playoff. With no new winner, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements clinched the final three spots on points, as expected, as the series heads for the Playoff opener September 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Herbst finished third behind the wrecking cars of Allmendinger and Cindric. Allgaier fell to fourth on the final lap, with Jones and Haley running fifth and sixth. Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider, Mayer and Hemric completed the top 10.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN
Food City 300 – September 17, 2021
1. (10) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 306.
2. (9) Austin Cindric, Ford, 306.
3. (8) Riley Herbst, Ford, 306.
4. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 306.
5. (16) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 306.
6. (5) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 306.
7. (6) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 306.
8. (17) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 306.
9. (22) Sam Mayer #, Chevrolet, 306.
10. (4) Daniel Hemric, Toyota, 306.
11. (3) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 306.
12. (1) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 306.
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14. (11) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 306.
15. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 305.
16. (32) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 305.
17. (36) Joe Graf, Jr., Chevrolet, 305.
18. (39) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 305.
19. (14) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 305.
20. (18) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 305.
21. (21) Brandon Gdovic, Toyota, 305.
22. (27) Stefan Parsons, Toyota, 304.
23. (23) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 304.
24. (7) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 303.
25. (29) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 303.
26. (37) B.J. McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 303.
27. (30) Jade Buford #, Chevrolet, 302.
28. (25) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 302.
29. (19) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 301.
30. (24) David Starr, Toyota, 300.
31. (33) Spencer Boyd(i), Chevrolet, 298.
32. (34) Carson Ware, Chevrolet, 297.
33. (38) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 282.
34. (12) Ryan Sieg, Ford, Fuel Pump, 259.
35. (15) Josh Berry #, Chevrolet, 215.
36. (26) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 108.
37. (28) Ryan Vargas #, Chevrolet, Brakes, 94.
38. (40) Bayley Currey(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 53.
39. (35) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Electrical, 40.
40. (20) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, Accident, 9.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 75.026 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 26 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.082 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 10 for 72 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: N. Gragson 1-4;D. Hemric 5-35;J. Allgaier 36-108;D. Hemric 109-135;J. Allgaier 136-153;D. Hemric 154-173;J. Burton 174-180;S. Mayer # 181-229;A. Cindric 230-241;J. Allgaier 242;A. Cindric 243-305;A. Allmendinger 306.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) Justin Allgaier 3 times for 92 laps; Daniel Hemric 3 times for 78 laps; Austin Cindric 2 times for 75 laps; Sam Mayer # 1 time for 49 laps; Jeb Burton 1 time for 7 laps; Noah Gragson 1 time for 4 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,18,9,11,8,16,22,19,54,20
Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,7,9,11,22,16,54,19,39,10
Playoff Standings: 1. Austin Cindric – 2044 (5 Wins); 2. A.J. Allmendinger – 2044 (4 Wins); 3. Justin Allgaier – 2020 (2 Wins); 4. Noah Gragson – 2017 (2 Wins); 5. Justin Haley – 2015 (1 Win); 6. Daniel Hemric – 2014; 7. Jeb Burton – 2009 (1 Win); 8. Harrison Burton – 2008; 9. Myatt Snider – 2005 (1 Win); 10. Brandon Jones – 2003; 11. Riley Herbst – 2001; 12. Jeremy Clements – 2000.
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