Tennessee Lottery 250
It was a scorching hot day in Nashville for the Tennessee Lottery 250. The stages were set at 45 laps for stages one and two, and 95 laps for stage three. Ty Gibbs started the race in the top spot with Cole Custer alongside him. Justin Allgaier complained about the heat before the race comparing his car to a “pizza oven.” Luckily for the drivers, it was a relatively short race at 188 laps on the one and one thirds mile race track.
Dominant
Gibbs started the race but couldn’t get separation from Custer. They remained side by side for two laps. finally, Gibbs was able to get by coming off of turn four.
Then, Chandler Smith got into Allgaier. Allgaier complained about damage from the contact, but the race stayed green. Gibbs opened up a more than three second lead with 20 to go in the stage. Austin Hill and Jesse Love made moves after starting in the rear of the field. Hill managed to get to 15th quickly, and Love was able to get to 20th.
Riley Herbst’s bda day started as he complained about radio issues. Custer and AJ Allmendinger stayed together for most of the stage, battling until Allmendinger made the pass after Custer got loose and slid up the track. Brandon Jones was also able to get past Custer. Allmendinger was able to cut the lead a bit but Gibbs led every lap and won stage 1!
Custer was able to snatch the lead in the pits. Then, Herbst noted his cooling shirt wasn’t working so he complained about being very hot. With temperatures in the car over 127 degrees, it is no surprise drivers were yelling on the radio.
Comers and Goers
Custer and Jones restarted the race on the front row and Custer quickly moved out in front. Gibbs snuck into second. Nemechek was able to make up ground and he moved into the top three, looking to pass Gibbs for second. Eventually, Gibbs made a mistake that allowed Nemechek to pass. Allmendinger had to fight his way past Gibbs. Nemechek tracked the leader down and made the pass for the lead on Custer. Allmendinger was also able to pass Custer.
The field fanned out around the racetrack with Nemechek out in front to win stage two! Allmendinger and Custer finished the stage in second and third. Overheating Herbst managed to finish the stage in tenth. Nemechek was able to maintain the lead after pit stops.
Hot Car, Cool Heads
Custer had a bad restart that let Nemechek scamper off in the lead. The right rear tire was loose on the car for Sammy Smith and he had to have an unscheduled pit stop. Custer was able to catch and pass Nemechek for the lead. However, Nemechek made a mistake that allowed Custer to fly by him.
Then, Allgaier had a voltage issue. He was struggling with the car as he got loose and slid up the track, losing spots. Allmendinger caught Nemechek and passed him, but Nemechek did not go away. Custer lost some ground with Allmendinger in his rear-view mirror.
Suddenly, Gibbs got the right front bumper of Allgaier that turned him around to bring out the first racing caution. Chandler Smith, behind them, had nowhere to go but into the wall.
Custer was able to hold serve in the lead after pit stops. However, Allmendinger had different luck, he fell seven spots under the yellow flag stop. Allgaier had a slow stop after they changed batteries.
Custer and Nemechek restarted on the front row. They both had good restarts, but Nemechek was able to make the pass on a Custer mistake. C. Smith made the move into second. Herbst, in his hot cool suit, was able to overcome his hot car and moved into fifth.
Nemechek snagged some trash on the track in his grill. His engine temperatures rose as he had no air circulating, but he was able to use a lapped car to get the bottle off of his nose. Then, he was able to keep his lead without issue.
As the race was winding down, battles for valuable positions popped up. Nemechek used the last ten laps to grow his lead and win a hot one in Nashville! C. Smith, Love, who started last, Hill, and Gragson rounded out the top five. Herbst in all of his cooling troubles, finished sixth.
Marvin’s Minute
The Xfinity field is so talented. We had Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain in the field, and they didn’t make a ton of noise. Obviously, Gibbs got messed up when he spun. But, even before he did, Custer, Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Jesse Love proved to me that this field is full of talented drivers.
I know that most of the NASCAR Cup Series regulars weren’t in the best equipment, but that does not change my mind. This Xfinity field is stacked with talent on a variety of teams. I am ready for Austin Hill and Jesse Love to replace Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon (just a joke, but not really).
