Race Results | Xfinity Series Points
Race 10 of 33: Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway
Track Specs: 1-mile oval / 200 laps
Weather: Sunny; 71 degrees
Race Winner: Austin Cindric
Berry's Finish: 2nd
Allgaier's Finish: 3rd
Annett's Finish: 7th
Gragson's Finish: 15th
Josh Berry
Josh Berry, driver of the No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet, rallied from a sixth-place starting position to earn a strong second-place finish and secure the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Dover International Speedway. Berry, who ran inside the top three for much of the day, led for 48 laps, won Stage Two and earned 19 stage points en route to the runner-up result.
Stage One Finish: 2nd
With the field being set via the rulebook, Berry lined up for the 200-lap event from the sixth position. From the drop of the green flag Berry charged forward, needing just seven laps to race into the top two. The driver of the Tire Pros Chevrolet maintained his track position from there until the scheduled competition caution on lap 20. While under caution, crew chief Taylor Moyer made the call to keep the JR Motorsports driver on track to save a set of fresh tires for later in the race. Choosing to restart from the top of row two behind teammate Justin Allgaier, Berry once again set his sights forward as he ran in the third position until a lap-31 yellow bunched the field back together. Restarting from inside of the front row, Berry charged to second and rode behind Allgaier as they crossed under the green-and-checkered flag to end Stage One on lap 45 in the second position.
Stage Two Finish: 1st
Moyer brought the driver of the Tire Pros Chevrolet to pit road during the stage-ending caution for four fresh tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment, sending the Hendersonville, Tenn. native back out for the start of Stage Two in the seventh position due to varying pit strategies. Once back under way, Berry continued his ascent up the leaderboard as he followed Allgaier to the front as the pair moved into first and second as the caution waved on lap 57. The red flag waved for the first time on lap 60 as the backstretch of the 1-mile oval was clogged with cleanup crews and wrecked racecars. Once the cleanup process was finished, Berry chose to restart from inside of the front row. Clearing the outside row behind Allgaier, Berry settled bacl in to the second position. The field was once again bunched back up for a yellow on lap-67 and Berry once again chose to restart on the inside of the front row. Following a strong restart, Berry grabbed the lead and did not look back as he took the Stage Two win to earn 10 stage points and one playoff point to bring his grand total to 19 on the afternoon.
Final Stage:
Prior to the start of the third and final stage, Moyer made the call to bring the Tire Pros Chevy to pit road for four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. Leaving pit road in second, Berry once again decided to restart from inside of the front row. Following the restart, Berry settled in just behind Allgaier and set his sights back on taking the lead. Using lapped cars to his advantage, Berry drove to the inside of Allgaier and once again took the lead on lap-112. After driving to more than a 1.5 second lead, the yellow flag flew and bunched the field back together on lap-138 for fluid on the track.
Pitting for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, Berry exited the pits as the race-leader. Restarting from the outside, Berry dropped to third following the ensuing restart just behind Austin Cindric and Allgaier. Battling Allgaier for the runner-up position, Berry prevailed as he was able to move around the No. 7 Chevy on lap-172.
Berry would hold steady from there, crossing under the checkered flag on lap-200 in the second position to earn his third top-five and fifth top-10 finish in his nine races so far in the 2021 season. The runner-up finish also secured the 30-year-old his first-career Dash 4 Cash win and the $100,000 payday.
Josh Berry, driver No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet
“Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and this entire No. 8 group brought a fast Tire Pros Chevrolet to Dover and we almost put this thing in Victory Lane. We were able to lead some laps and they definitely knew we were there. We may not have won but we brought home the fourth-straight Dash 4 Cash check for JRM and my first one. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this yet, but it feels good to be holding this large check. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of this No. 8 in a few weeks at Charlotte.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, ran inside the top three throughout Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Dover International Speedway, pacing the field for a total of 94 laps and claiming a Stage One victory before taking the checkered flag in the third position. The top-three result is the second consecutive for Allgaier and third of the season overall. Additionally, the third-place effort gives the JR Motorsports driver his 200th career top-10 finish in the NXS, moving Allgaier into fifth on the all-time list and first among active drivers.
Stage One Finish: 1st
Allgaier lined up for the 200-lap event from the second position after the field was again set via NASCAR’s mathematical formular earlier in the week. From the drop of the green flag Allgaier charged forward as the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet took the lead for the first time on just the second lap of the day. Once out front Allgaier set sail, driving out to over a one second lead before the scheduled competition caution was displayed on lap 20. Opting to stay out during this caution, Allgaier again drove away on the ensuing restart and held on to the top spot for the remainder of stage, taking the green-and-white checkered on lap 45 to earn an extremely valuable playoff point to begin the afternoon.
Stage Two Finish: 2nd
While under the stage-ending caution, Allgaier reported to crew chief Jason Burdett that he was fighting a loose-handling condition rolling through the corner. As a result, Burdett called the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet to pit road for four tires and a chassis adjustment in the hopes of improving the loose condition. However, due to a variety of pit strategies following the stage, Allgaier returned to the track for the lap-54 restart in fourth. Despite restarting on the outside of the second lane, Allgaier once again powered forward, making a strong three-wide move in between Turns 1 and 2 to propel the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet back into the race lead. Back out front, Allgaier looked to again drive away before a lap-67 caution period bunched the field back together. Looking to maintain the lead following a lap-74 restart, Allgaier battled with JRM teammate Josh Berry before ultimately settling into the second position. The Illinois native remained in second for the final 15 laps of the stage to earn an additional nine points on the day.
Final Stage:
Burdett called the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet back to pit road prior to the start of the third and final stage for four tires and another round of adjustments after Allgaier had reported he was still a little on the free side on the exit of the corner. A strong stop catapulted Allgaier back into the lead, but the JRM driver was forced to settle back into second after battling for several laps with Berry. Despite sliding back to second, Allgaier held steady and maintained his track position until a lap-138 caution period provided Burdett with one last chance to make adjustments. Lining up in second following the stop, Allgaier chose to be the first car on the inside line and used the bottom to his advantage as the JRM driver muscled back into the race lead. Although he was back out front, a hard charging Austin Cindric closed in and ultimately moved passed Allgaier on lap 149. Despite not being out front Allgaier continued to fight, swapping positions back-and-forth with teammate Berry throughout the closing 50 laps as the pair battled for the final $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize of the season.
In the end, Allgaier took the checkered flag in the third position.
The top-three result was the third of the season for Allgaier and gives the JRM driver 200 top-10s for his NXS career.
Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDR Professional Agriculture Chevrolet team
“We had a really great BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet today and I can’t thank Jason (Burdett, crew chief) and everyone on this No 7 team enough for their hard work. I wish we could’ve been two spots better there at the end, but hats off to Josh (Berry) on bringing home the Dash 4 Cash to give JRM all four this season. Today was definitely a good day for our whole group and I can’t wait to get to COTA next week and keep this positive momentum going.”
Michael Annett
Michael Annett held a steady pace throughout Saturday’s Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway and leveraged a pair of key pit stops that brought the No. 1 Pilot Flying J My Rewards Plus Chevrolet to life to earn a seventh-place finish. The effort stands as Annett’s second consecutive top-seven finish and gives the No. 1 team its fifth top 10 of the 2021 season. It also netted a jump to 11th in the championship points battle.
Stage One Finish: 12th
Annett fired off from 11th at the Monster Mile, a facility he calls one of his “favorite tracks.” Despite cracking the top 10 in the opening laps, the early going of Stage One was a challenge, however, with Annett reporting an extremely loose condition that forced him to take a shallow corner entry. Annett added that he felt he “was just hanging on” to the No. 1 Chevrolet. He finished out the opening stage in 12th.
Stage Two Finish: 7th
After calling Annett to pit road for four tires, fuel and a “big swing” on chassis adjustments, crew chief Mike Bumgarner sent the No. 1 onto the track for the Stage Two restart in 17th. A quick caution slowed the field, but gave Annett enough time to feel out the changes, which were much to his liking. “It’s 100 times better on entry,” he reported to the team. Annett utilized the bulk of Stage Two to drive his way back inside the top 10, finding the seventh position for the stage’s conclusion.
Final Stage:
Back on pit road under the stage-ending caution, Bumgarner called for more adjustments to help the loose condition on the No. 1. Annett lined up in seventh for the restart and, once back to green-flag conditions, settled in. Clicking off consistent lap times, Annett and the Pilot Flying J My Rewards Plus team maintained a strong pace over the final 50 laps to finish seventh.
Austin Cindric won the race. He was followed by Annett’s JRM teammates Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier. AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs rounded out the day’s top-five finishers.
Michael Annett, driver No. 1 Pilot Flying J My Rewards Plus Chevrolet team
“I love coming to Dover and our Pilot Flying J My Rewards Plus team did a fantastic job today. The guys were fast on pit road and Bummy (crew chief, Mike Bumgarner) made some great changes that really helped us improve. I felt like we were pretty sporty there toward the end. I think, overall, all of our JRM cars were really competitive today and that’s going to be important heading into the summer stretch.”
Noah Gragson
After showing a solid hand through the first two stages of Saturday’s Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway, Noah Gragson and the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Company team looked to be on the cusp of another top 10. But an unplanned trip down pit road in the closing laps relegated the team to a 15th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 6th
With high expectations for the day, Gragson took the green flag in third place and was in contention from the race’s outset. In an effort conserve tires, Gragson quickly settled in the fifth spot. As the initial stage wore on, Gragson diagnosed a prevalent loose in and tight off condition on the No. 9 that saw him finish out Stage One in sixth.
Stage Two Finish: 6th
After coming to the attention of the crew on pit road, Gragson fired off well in the opening lap of Stage Two, finding his way from ninth to fourth. He reported the car’s handling was starting to feel better and slid into fifth for the bulk of the stage. Gragson was hopeful for a long green-flag run that would help rubber in the track and allow him to be more aggressive with the throttle. But after enduring a string of cautions, Gragson took the conclusion of Stage Two in sixth.
Final Stage:
Following a stop for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, Gragson lined up in fourth for the restart on the final stage. Still battling a loose condition, the No. 9 drifted to seventh with just under 100 laps to go. A caution with 61 laps remaining again brought Gragson to pit road. The Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee pit crew made quick work of the stop and gained Gragson three spots on pit road, sending him back to the racing surface in fourth.
Once back to green-flag conditions, Gragson found the seventh spot, where he looked to finish out the day. However, with three laps remaining, loose lug nuts brought him to pit road in order to avoid a costly post-race penalty. Gragson was scored in 15th by race’s end.
Austin Cindric won the race. He was followed by Annett’s JRM teammates Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier. AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs rounded out the day’s top-five finishers.
Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber ? Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet team
“We had a decent day going with our Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet. Dover is a challenging place and if we had some longer green-flag runs, I think things would have worked out better for us. The track just never rubbered up the way we expected it to. So we’ll just have to take this one and move on to the next. I’m really looking forward to doing some road racing over the next few weeks.”