A beautiful night in Bristol, Tennessee hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season finale. Chandler Smith and Cole Custer started the race on the front row for the Food City 300. Justin Allgaier went into the race with the points lead and looked to win the regular season championship. He started the race in fourth. Three hundred laps split between two 85-lap stages and the remaining 130 laps made up the final stage. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made his season debut in the “Mayo Missile.”
Can You Hear Me?
Smith got a great launch to start the race. Allgaier followed him and passed C. Smith to take second. Custer, on the second lap, got a flat tire and smacked the wall. The first caution came out for him slowing on the track. However, he was able to limp it back to the pits. Earnhardt, Jr. had radio issues to start the race. He complained that he could not hear anyone from turn four to the flag stand. He pitted early to try and fix the issue.
Allgaier and C. Smith restarted on the front row. Allgaier had a great restart and shot out into the lead. C. Smith did not let up and stayed on his bumper. Custer and Earnhardt, Jr. had to restart in the rear of the field due to their issues. However, they cut through the field quickly. Allgaier and C. Smith caught the lapped traffic quickly. The second caution came out when two lapped cars got into each other.
I Can’t Hear You
Austin Green hit the wall and as he came down the track, he hit the rear quarterpanel of Allgaier. That hit ripped the rear bumper cover off of Allgaier’s car. The pit crew for Allgaier ripped the entire rear bumper cover off. Parker Retzlaff was caught in no man’s land as he ran into Green. This caution gave Earnhardt, Jr. another opportunity to fix his radio issues. His team decided to switch his helmet. The new helmet did not fix the issue. They then replaced the wiring harness.
C. Smith and Anthony Alfredo restarted on the front row with twenty to go in the stage, with C. Smith getting another great restart. Alfredo fell to fourth. Earnhardt, Jr. reported that he finally had reliable communications with his team. Replacing the wiring harness fixed the issue. C. Smith was able to lead the last twenty laps and win stage one!
General Custer is Back
Several cars stayed out during the caution including Earnhardt, Jr. and Allgaier. Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones began the second stage on the front row. Sam Mayer had a great restart from the second row and passed the top two for the lead. Earnhardt, Jr. used the caution to get himself into the top ten. Then, Matt DiBenedetto slowed up on the track. He came over the radio saying he just lost power. He was able to get to the pits safely.
Cole Custer, on fresher tires, carved through the top ten. His newer tires allowed him to be able to use the whole track and go where the others weren’t. Parker Kligerman brought out the fourth caution when he got spun out by Brendan Poole.
More Issues for the Favorite
Mayer and Jones restarted on the front row. Jones had a horrible restart which allowed Mayer to scamper away. Allgaier moved into second and Custer into third. Jones fell to fifth. Custer used the bottom of the track to attack Allgaier. Custer passed Allgaier on the outside for second place. He did not stop there as he tracked Mayer down and made the pass for the lead. Allgaier got spun out after making a mistake. He moved up the tracking thinking it was clear but only found Sheldon Creed.
The restart came with nine to go. Jeremy Clements and S. Smith took the green flag on the front row. Clements got a great restart and assumed the lead. Kligerman squeezed Custer into the wall and moved into second. All this battling let Clements get away and get his first career stage win!
The Lead Vanished
Custer and Creed started the final stage on the front row. Custer took back the lead but slid up the track which allowed Creed to take the lead. Ryan Truex used contact between Jesse Love and C. Smith to move into third place. C. Smith and Love were both able to get to and by Truex. Allgaier brought out another caution after he spun out and cut a tire. His car was severely damaged from previous wrecks and it finally caught up to him.
Creed and C. Smith brought us back to green. Creed got a great restart on the outside line. Custer followed him, got by C. Smith, and back into second. Creed got loose and Custer pounced his way back into the lead. Earnhardt, Jr. sat in sixth and fought Truex for the fifth position. The battle allowed Jones to catch up behind them. Jones used a mistake by Earnhardt, Jr. to get by him and into sixth.
It All Comes Down to This
Custer caught the lapped traffic but was able to slice through them. He used Allgaier’s misfortune to move into the lead in the regular season points standings. With 28 to go, Custer maintained a two-second lead. Creed was able to bring it down to a second and a half but could not get closer. Custer moved Shane Van Gisbergen up the track to make the pass. SVG showed his displeasure by running Custer down the track a bit but did let him by.
Creed cut the lead down to a second with ten laps left. Smith caught the back of Creed but was unable to make the pass. Custer led the final 91 laps to win not only the race but the regular season championship! This marked Custer’s second win of the season. He was the fastest car all night and benefited from a bunch of misfortune for Allgaier. Creed got his thirteenth second-place finish.
Marvin’s Moment:
The race to Phoenix and a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship begins in Kansas next week. Custer has to be a favorite after winning the regular season. Allgaier had a huge points lead before the Bristol race and watched it crumble away. Ten races stand between the Playoff drivers and lifting the final trophy.
Custer is my pick to win it all.
