Race 16 of 33: Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 at Nashville Superspeedway
Track Specs: 1.33-mile oval/188 laps
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier
Kvapil’s finish: 7th
Larson’s finish: 8th
Smith’s finish: 10th
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, earned a Nashville hat-trick on Saturday night at Nashville Superspeedway. Starting 17th after rain forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying, Allgaier charged through the field to capture his third NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at the concrete oval and his third Gibson guitar in The Music City. By virtue of the win, Allgaier moves into sole possession of sixth on the NOAPS all-time wins list with 32, surpassing NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Ingram. Additionally, tonight’s triumph gives Allgaier a series-leading four wins on the year and extends his lead in the championship standings to 179 points over the field.
“What a great TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet we had tonight. Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) gave me an unbelievable car from the drop of the green flag. Having to start toward the back because of the rain wasn’t ideal, but once we got to the front this car was awesome. I can’t thank JR Motorsports enough. It feels great to come out of here with the win and get our momentum back in the right direction. We’re firing on all cylinders right now and I can’t wait to get to Pocono and keep this going.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Jarrett Chevrolet, started in the fourth position for the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 at Nashville Superspeedway after qualifying was canceled due to rain on Saturday afternoon. Kvapil was fighting a tight-handling car from the drop of the green flag and held strong to finish the first stage in sixth. After a quick pit stop and adjustments, the handling of the No. 1 Jarrett Chevrolet was improved. The second stage started and Kvapil surged into the top five. When the green-and-white-checkered flag waved at the end of the second stage, Kvapil was scored in the third position. During the final stage, the JR Motorsports driver continued to battle inside the top 10. In the end, Kvapil crossed the line for the final time in the seventh position in the 16th NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event of the season.
“Today was a solid showing for the No. 1 Jarrett team. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the entire No. 1 Jarrett team improved the car the entire evening. We didn’t get the finish we wanted, but we were able to pick up valuable stage points in both stages. We will regroup during our off-week and be ready to go at Pocono in a couple of weeks.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, took on Nashville Superspeedway Saturday night with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Mother Nature continued the trend from the past few weeks and brought a few rain delays, canceling qualifying for the third time in the last four NOAPS events. The field was able to get in a practice session between storms and, per the NASCAR rule book, Smith was set to start eighth for the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250. After 188 laps, the JR Motorsports driver finished 10th and sits eighth in the championship standings.
Smith started eighth and ran in the top 10 throughout Stage One, battling a tight-handling Chevrolet, similar to his JRM teammates. After 45 laps around the 1.33-mile tri-oval, Smith finished ninth while accumulating stage points. The NOAPS field took the green on lap 54 to start Stage Two, and as the sun fell, the track surface changed along with dropping temperatures. Smith reported that the track had freed up and he was just too loose. Smith took the green-and-white-checkered flag in 13th before coming down pit road to prepare for the 98-lap final stage.
Smith started the final stage in 10th and stayed in the top 10 for 40 laps before falling back a couple of positions prior to a scheduled green-flag pit stop. It was perfect timing as Smith needed an adjustment to enhance his long-run handling. Upon returning to the track surface, Smith blended into 21st on lap 143 and began working his way back up through the field as other drivers made pit stops. On lap 150, Smith had worked his way back to 11th and scooped up one more position in the remaining laps to finish with his ninth top-10 results of the season.
“It was another warm and muggy race weekend in Nashville. After practice, we thought we knew the direction the track was going to go in, but we unfortunately ended up chasing it tonight. We had speed with top-five lap times but just needed stronger long runs. I think we’re all looking forward to this upcoming off-week to unwind and rest before heading into the next swing of races. Thanks to Pilot, TMC and Allstate Peterbilt for all their support and we’ll be back in a couple weeks to tackle Pocono.”
Kyle Larson:
Kyle Larson and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet battled handling issues throughout the night at Nashville Superspeedway, earning an eighth-place finish.
After qualifying was rained out, Larson started sixth and remained inside the top 10 despite fighting a tight-handling race car in the early going. The No. 88 team made adjustments during the Stage One break after Larson reported needing more overall grip, and he finished the opening stage in fifth.
Larson continued to battle the balance of his Chevrolet during Stage Two but worked his way to a ninth-place stage finish. After final adjustments by Mardy Lindley and the No. 88 team, Larson overcame falling outside the top 10 early in the final stage and rebounded to finish eighth.
“We struggled with the balance of our HendrickCars.com Chevrolet throughout the night, but Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and everyone on this No. 88 team never gave up. We kept working on it all race long and were able to fight through it and come away with a top-10 finish.”