A.J. Allmendinger celebrates in victory lane after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images
A.J. Allmendinger held off a spirited field in double overtime to claim his first NASCAR Xfinity Series oval race victory of the season at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon.
The popular veteran led the final 20 laps and got an impressive final restart to launch away from the pack and drive off to a 1.323-second win over runner-up Riley Herbst in a race that included a record-tying 11 caution periods and 17 lead changes among 11 different drivers.
The caution-punctuated ending was perhaps suitable for a race that saw three yellow flags within the first 20 laps. Fifteen cars in the 38-car field had been involved in incidents before the Stage 2 break.
Yet the race it came down to a patient, afternoon-long pursuit. Allmendinger was up for the challenge, claiming his 17th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and second of the season.
“I love winning on ovals because I know a lot of people doubt me on an oval,” Allmendinger said, a nod to his former open-wheel days and his reputation as one of the best road course drivers in the series.
Certainly his experience paid off on Saturday with an especially active day. Ty Gibbs won the first segment and showed himself among the class of the field. But on the next restart, his Toyota was hit while racing for the lead with Winston, Georgia’s Austin Hill, who was restarting up front on older tires. Allmendinger’s Chevy also suffered a little damage in the five-car melee near the front of the pack, but he – and Hill – were able to continue, while Gibbs’ car suffered too much damage.
“We got a little fortunate there, when the accident happened, it didn’t really do anything too bad to the quarter panels .. and the guys did a good job of fixing it there,” Allmendinger said of the early damage, noting that the rash of early cautions actually helped his team have time to restore his car competitively.
“I will be honest, I was shocked on the initial start, I went down and made it three wide and thought nothing on it, didn’t even drive my car that hard and started wrecking so that kind of raised my eyebrows, it’s a lot slicker than I expected,” Allmendinger said. “So the next couple starts, just tried to chill and get into the rhythm of the race.
“I just knew more than anything I needed a good re-start and to get in turn 1 clean,” he said of the final restart and ultimate winning move.
Talking Rock, Georgia’s Chandler Smith, Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing teammate, won the race’s second segment and kept the lead pack honest for most of the day. He and Allmendinger exchanged the lead and ran 1-2 for much of the second half of the race around the 1.333-mile oval.
After a series of final scheduled pit stops, Parker Kligerman settled in for the biggest strategic gamble of the day. While the lead cars were making their way back through the field following stops, Kligerman kept his Chevrolet out front, willing to take a chance on a fuel-saving strategy. But with 12 laps remaining, Kligerman’s team told him to drop in line behind Allmendinger to start conserving and Allmendinger passed him for the lead with 11 laps of regulation to go.
Sam Mayer finished third, with Hill fourth and Tennessee native Josh Berry in fifth.
“That was the most up and down day I’ve ever had in racing,” Mayer said, managing a smile on pit road afterward.
John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth. Although he never led a lap, his rally forward after a 21st starting position was good enough for him to hold onto the championship lead by nine points over Hill.
Reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith turned in an impressive seventh-place, with Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer, and Parker Retzlaff rounding out the top 10.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Nashville Superspeedway – Nashville, TN
Tennessee Lottery 250 – June 24, 2023
1. (11) A.J. Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 196.
2. (5) Riley Herbst, Ford, 196.
3. (34) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 196.
4. (7) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 196.
5. (23) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 196.
6. (21) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 196.
7. (6) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 196.
8. (33) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 196.
9. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 196.
10. (10) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 196.
11. (13) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 196.
12. (2) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 196.
13. (12) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 196.
14. (26) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 196.
15. (16) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 196.
16. (20) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 196.
17. (19) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 195.
18. (32) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 195.
19. (14) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 195.
20. (35) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 195.
21. (17) Joe Graf, Jr., Ford, 195.
22. (24) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 195.
23. (28) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 195.
24. (15) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 195.
25. (9) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 195.
26. (27) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 194.
27. (30) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 194.
28. (25) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 194.
29. (22) Chad Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 194.
30. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, 193.
31. (37) Joey Gase, Ford, 193.
32. (31) Mason Massey, Ford, 186.
33. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Alternator, 111.
34. (3) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, Accident, 68.
35. (38) Connor Mosack, Toyota, DVP, 61.
36. (8) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 53.
37. (4) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, Accident, 53.
38. (18) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, Accident, 0.
Average Speed: 97.542 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 40 Mins, 21 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.323 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 58 laps.
Lead Changes: 17 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Custer 1-13;S. Smith # 14;C. Custer 15-20;T. Gibbs(i) 21-48;A. Allmendinger(i) 49;A. Hill 50-52;C. Custer 53-64;S. Mayer 65;C. Custer 66;C. Smith # 67-110;D. Hemric 111;C. Smith # 112-141;A. Allmendinger(i) 142-145;J. Berry 146;S. Mayer 147-151;P. Retzlaff # 152-154;P. Kligerman 155-176;A. Allmendinger(i) 177-196.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) Chandler Smith # 2 times for 74 laps; Cole Custer 4 times for 32 laps; Ty Gibbs(i) 1 time for 28 laps; AJ Allmendinger(i) 3 times for 25 laps; Parker Kligerman 1 time for 22 laps; Sam Mayer 2 times for 6 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 3 laps; Parker Retzlaff # 1 time for 3 laps; Sammy Smith # 1 time for 1 lap; Daniel Hemric 1 time for 1 lap; Josh Berry 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 19,00,10,77,18,16,98,1,20,48
Stage #2 Top Ten: 16,00,11,1,98,20,28,8,31,25
Playoff Standings: 1. Austin Hill – 576 (3 Wins); 2. John Hunter Nemechek – 585 (2 Wins); 3. Justin Allgaier – 544 (1 Win); 4. Cole Custer – 534 (1 Win); 5. Chandler Smith – 465 (1 Win); 6. Sammy Smith – 395 (1 Win); 7. Jeb Burton – 351 (1 Win); 8. Josh Berry – 470; 9. Sheldon Creed – 444; 10. Sam Mayer – 429; 11. Riley Herbst – 416; 12. Daniel Hemric – 399.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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