NXS Race Recap: Food City 300

The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway began the playoffs for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Justin Allgaier was the quickest in qualifying, earning him the pole. Sam Mayer joined him on the front row for the start. Aric Almirola and Connor Zillisch started the race from the second row. The stage lengths were 85 laps for the first two stages, with the final stage being 130 laps.

JRM on Top

Allgaier got a great launch at the green flag and took the lead into turn one. However, Mayer did not lie over. He tried to get underneath Allgaier to take the spot, but could not complete the pass. Zilisch stuck his nose inside Mayer and was able to get around him to take second. Mayer immediately got back by Zilisch to retake the spot.

Ryan Sieg worked his way around Almirola to take fourth.

The first caution came out on lap 11. Kyle Sieg got turned sideways after connecting with Leland Honeyman. Ryan Ellis was also involved in the incident.

Allgaier and Zilisch restarted the race on the front row. Allgaier quickly scampered out into the lead. Taylor Gray got around Almirola to take fifth. Allgaier pulled away by almost a second over his JR Motorsports teammate.

Sammy Smith complained that his car was “blowing up.”  Smoke began to pour from his exhaust, and he brought his car down the pit road.

Allgaier caught the back of the field. That allowed Zilisch to close the gap for the lead. They both cut through the lapped cars easily, which allowed Allgaier to begin pulling away again.

All Gas for Allgaier

With seven to go in the stage, the second caution came out when Corey Day got turned sideways. Day squeezed Jesse Love into the corner. Love got away cleanly, while Day was not so lucky. Stefan Parsons tried to avoid Day but could not get slowed down quickly enough, and they made contact.

Sheldon Creed was sent to the rear for the restart after speeding on pit road.

With two laps remaining in the first stage, the green flag came back out. Love and Harrison Burton restarted on the front row. Love took the lead off of turn two. He made a mistake in turn one on the final lap. Allgaier drove underneath Love and took the lead. Allgaier would take the field to the green checkered flag to win stage one in the Food City 300!

Zilisch to the Outside

Allgaier and Zilisch brought the field back to the green flag. Allgaier got a fantastic jump and retook his lead. Mayer used the outside line to get around Zilisch for second. Zilisch got loose and turned sideways. He managed to save it and hold on to third.

Mayer got underneath Allgaier and was able to complete the pass to take the lead. Zilisch followed Mayer around Allgaier, who fell to third.

Mayer was unable to pull away from Zilisch, who was less than half a second behind. Lapped traffic closed the gap even further. They both sliced through efficiently. Allgaier was able to pull up to the trunk of Zilisch.

As the stage came to a close, the leaders caught lapped traffic again. The lapped cars occupied both the outside and inside lines. They were able to handle the traffic easily. Zilisch made a final attempt at the lead, trying to use a lapped car as a pick to get around Mayer. That did not work. Zilisch then used the outside lane and got a run. He completed the pass off of turn four to win stage two in the Food City 300!

Battling at the Front

Zilisch and Mayer restarted the race out front. Zilisch was able to take the lead into turn one. Allgaier powered past Mayer to take second. Mayer fought back on the inside line and was able to take second back.

Aric Almirola and Sheldon Creed were both able to get past Taylor Gray and into the top five. Creed then challenged Almirola for fourth. He was unable to take the position.  Almirola caught Allgaier and began the fight for third. He drove Allgaier deep into turns one and two. Almirola got a huge run off the turn and took third.

On lap 211, the fifth caution came out when Daniel Dye got loose and turned around. He was able to keep it off the wall and did not sustain damage.

Zilisch and Almirola were on the front row for the restart. Zilisch got a huge restart to get back out front. Mayer followed him to try to fight for second, but Almirola was not having it. Almirola held his ground and was able to snatch the spot. Brandon Jones followed Almirola and was able to get to third. Mayer fell back to fifth after being passed by Sheldon Creed.

Almirola did not allow Zilisch to pull away. He held the leader within half a second. Almirola maintained his car in the rear view mirror of Zilisch. Jones did not give up either. He followed the top two as they caught lapped traffic.

The sixth caution came out when Carson Ware got turned on the track. Ware got some help getting turned around from the much faster Sam Mayer. Zilisch, Jones, and Creed used this opportunity to pit for new tires. Almirola stayed out to hold on to the track position.

Almirola Brought Experience

Carson Kvapil joined Almirola on the front row for the restart. Mayer and Allgaier restarted from the second row. Almirola got a good launch and took the lead into turn one. Kvapil held his position on the inside. Mayer jumped to the outside line but got into the wall.

The seventh caution came out with 25 to go in the race. Sheldon Creed squeezed Jeb Burton into the outside wall. J. Burton bounced off the wall and into Taylor Gray, who got turned around. Harrison Burton had nowhere to go and ran into the side of Gray.

Almirola and Kvapil restart the race from the front row. Almirola powered his way back into the lead. Mayer passed Kvapil on the outside to take second. Creed and Zilisch, on much fresher tires, cut through the slower traffic. They both got back into the top five.

Creed used his newer rubber to get by Kvapil for the third spot. Then, Creed caught and passed Mayer for second.

Zilisch fought Kvapil for the fourth spot but was unable to take the position.

Almirola would hold the lead and take the white flag, then the checkered flag to win the Food City 300! Creed, Mayer, Kvapil, and Zilisch would round out the top five.

Marvin’s Minute:

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride for Sheldon Creed. He will win in the Xfinity series one day, right? Almirola showed his years of experience. He was able to be patient and not make any mistakes at the end. He managed his older tires and his track position to perfection. The Xfinity series continues its first round of playoffs at Kansas after a week off.