Race Results | Xfinity Series Points
Race 15 of 33: Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway
Track Specs: 1.33-mile oval / 188 laps
Weather: Sunny, 83 degrees
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Allgaier's Finish: 2nd
Berry's Finish: 4th
Gragson's Finish: 8th
Annett's Finish: 12th
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men’s Grooming Chevrolet, scored his second consecutive runner-up result on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series' return to Nashville Superspeedway. In a replay of last week, Allgaier again dueled with Kyle Busch throughout the closing laps and through NASCAR's version of overtime before securing his sixth top-three finish of the 2021 season. With the result, Allgaier now ranks third in the playoff grid and remains fifth in the championship standings, 12 points outside of fourth.
Stage One Finish: 5th
Allgaier rolled off from the 11th position for the 188-lap event following Saturday morning's qualifying session at the 1.33-mile oval. Although starting outside of the top 10, Allgaier charged forward, needing just 10 laps to improve four positions up to seventh. The driver of the Dollar General Legacy Foundation Men's Grooming Chevrolet’s ascent up the leaderboard continued from there as Allgaier took advantage of the caution-free opening stage to move into the top five and up to fifth by the time the green-and-white checkered flag was displayed on lap 45. With the stage result, Allgaier earned six valuable points to kick off the afternoon.
Stage Two Finish: 2nd
During the stage-ending caution, Allgaier came to pit road for four tires and a chassis adjustment after reporting to crew chief Jason Burdett that the Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men's Grooming Chevrolet was free on the entry of the corner and loose on the exit. Returning to the track for the start of Stage Two in fifth, Allgaier wasted little time climbing forward as the JR Motorsports driver raced into the third position just prior to a lap-69 caution period. Allgaier patiently worked towards the front on the lap-75 restart that followed, utilizing the outside line to march into the second position and remain there through the conclusion of Stage Two on lap 90 to earn an additional nine stage points on the day and bring the No. 7 team’s total for the race to 15.
Final Stage:
Prior to the beginning of the third and final stage, Allgaier brought the Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men's Grooming Chevrolet to pit road for four tires and fuel after reporting to Burdett that he was still fighting a tight-handling condition on the exit of the corner. The Illinois native lined up in sixth following the stop due to a variety of strategies among the race leaders, but needed just two laps to rejoin the top three following the lap-96 restart. Now back inside the top three, Allgaier set his sights on regaining second, which the JRM driver accomplished on lap 110 and remained there until the caution flag was displayed once again on lap 142. While under caution, Burdett called Allgaier back to pit road for four fresh tires, sending the driver of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men’s Grooming Chevrolet back out in second for the lap-148 restart. Lining up on the inside line next to Busch, the pair ran wheel-to-wheel for the three laps that followed before Allgaier cleared the driver of the No. 54 and settled into the race lead uncontested.
Now out front, Allgaier looked to drive away, but a caution on lap 156 brought the field back together. Opting for the inside line for the lap-159 restart, Allgaier again ran side-by-side with Busch as the duo continued to trade the lead back and forth before a multi-car incident brought the caution flag out again, this time with Busch scored as the race leader. Lining up again on the inside for the lap-168 restart, Allgaier remained in lockstep formation with Busch before two successive caution periods on laps 174 and 181 prevented the JRM driver from making a move for the race lead.
The lap-181 caution period setup NASCAR's version of overtime, with Allgaier again lining up on the inside line next to Busch for the final restart of the afternoon on lap 187. Entering Turn 1 side-by-side for the lead, Busch took advantage of the momentum from the outside line to pull ahead and break free as the field came to the white flag.
In the end, Allgaier was able to fend off challenges from Harrison Burton and JRM teammate Josh Berry on the final lap to take the checkered flag in second and secure his second consecutive runner-up result.
Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men's Grooming Chevrolet team
"We had a great Dollar General Literacy Foundation Men's Grooming Chevrolet today and I can's thank Jason (Burdett, crew chief) and all the guys on this team enough for all of their work throughout the weekend. I wish we could've gotten that one spot better this week, but this is definitely something for us to continue to build on to keep our momentum going. I'm ready to go next week in Pocono and hopefully we can just be one spot better."
Josh Berry
Josh Berry, driver of the No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet, rallied from a 22nd-place starting position to finish fourth in Saturday afternoon's NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Nashville Superspeedway. Berry, who ran inside the top five for part of the day, earned valuable stage points throughout both stages and battled for position inside the top three during the opening laps of the final stage before the JR Motorsports driver was caught one lap down as a caution waved during scheduled green flag stops. Receiving the wave around to get back onto the lead lap during that same caution period, Berry charged forward, marching back into the top five and up to fourth following a late-race restart to earn his fourth top-five finish of the 2021 season.
Stage One Finish: 9th
Berry lined up for the scheduled 188-lap event in the 22nd position after the field was set through a one lap qualifying session on Saturday morning. From the drop of the green flag Berry charged forward, needing just eight laps to race into the top 15. The driver of the iRacing Chevrolet didn’t stop there as he joined the top 10 on lap 28. Maintaining his track position inside of the top 10, Berry crossed under the green-and-white checkered flag on lap 45 in the ninth position to earn two valuable stage points to begin the afternoon.
Stage Two Finish: 6th
During the stage-ending caution, Moyer brought the driver of the iRacing Chevrolet to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, sending the Hendersonville, Tenn. native back out for the start of Stage Two in the seventh position. Once back under way, Berry settled into the ninth position as he reported the iRacing Chevrolet had gone towards the tight side. A yellow on lap 70 bunched the field back together and Berry decided to utilize the choose cone to restart from the top of row five. Using the high line to his advantage, Berry raced his way into the sixth position as the field crossed under the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage Two on lap 90 and earn an additional five stage points to bring his race total to seven.
Final Stage:
Prior to the start of the third and final stage, Moyer made the call to bring the iRacing Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. Choosing to restart from the outside of row four, Berry raced into the sixth position and joined the top five for the first time on lap 104. Gaining two additional positions, Berry settled in to third just behind teammate Justin Allgaier. Berry entered pit road on lap 138 for a scheduled green flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment, but as Berry exited the pits, a caution flag slowed the field and trapped the iRacing Chevrolet one lap down. Using a wave around during the caution that followed, Berry restarted from the tail end of the longest line and rejoined the top 15 shortly before another yellow slowed the field on lap 154. Staying on track, Berry restarted from the outside of row seven and continued his ascent up the leaderboard as he joined the top 10 on lap 160 as the field was brought together again because of a caution.
Restarting from the outside of row five, Berry raced his way to sixth before two additional cautions waved on laps 174 and 181 as Berry ran in the fifth position. The iRacing Chevrolet restarted from the outside of row three for the first attempt at a Green-White-Checkered finish. Racing with teammate Allgaier and Harrison Burton, Berry gained one additional position before crossing under the checkered flag on lap 189 in the fourth position.
With this result, Berry now has four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the 2021 season.
Josh Berry, driver No. 8 iRacing Chevrolet Team
"i really wanted to get a good finish for Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and this entire No. 8 team since this was my last race with them for the 2021 season. We had a rough couple of weeks in Texas and Charlotte, so to have a run like we did today is a confidence booster and shows the strength of this team. I know these guys will continue to have strong runs with Sam in the car and hopefully they can get a couple more wins throughout the year."
Noah Gragson
For the second straight weekend, Noah Gragson earned a solid top-10 finish in the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet, overcoming handling issues through the first two stages to rally for an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Nashville Superspeedway. The result was his seventh top-10 finish of the 2021 season.
Stage One Finish: 11th
In qualifying earlier in the day, Gragson posted the 10th-fastest time and began Saturday’s race from the outside of the fifth row. On the initial break, Gragson took ninth place and held that spot for 10 laps before JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier passed him. Gragson settled into 10th for the next 17 laps before another teammate, Josh Berry, got past and set him back to 11th. With 14 laps remaining in the 45-lap opening stage, Gragson radioed to crew chief Dave Elenz that he had no grip and can’t get back to the throttle as fast as he wanted. As a result of the handling woes, Gragson maintained his track position, finishing Stage One in 11th. Following the stage-ending caution, Gragson came to pit road for four tires, fuel and a couple of chassis adjustments to help his grip level. The extended stop cost him five positions on pit road and he returned to the race in 16th position.
Stage Two Finish: 8th
On the Stage Two restart, Gragson fired off from 17th position on the top side of the track and rode the advantage to 13th in just two circuits. The Nevada native would stay 13th until lap 65, when he took 12th place. Six laps later, the caution waved for a crash in the tri-oval, and Elenz called his driver down pit road to make further adjustments. Gragson told Elenz he needed more of the same adjustment he’d made on the first stop, as he was still tight and lacking rear grip. Elenz put four more tires on, added fuel and took another swing at freeing up Gragson’s handling, and the JRM driver returned to the track in 23rd position. Over the remaining laps in Stage Two, Gragson put his head down and started picking off positions. He was 18th after the first lap of green-flag racing and cracked the top 15 four laps later. The young driver was 11th at lap 86 and passed Ryan Sieg three laps later to get back into the top 10 and earn a valuable stage point.
Under caution, Gragson told Elenz he was much happier with the handling on his Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet and could get back to the throttle much more quickly than before. As a result of pitting midway through Stage Two, Gragson would stay on the track during the break and assumed the lead for the final segment.
Final Stage:
As the leader to start the final stage, Gragson chose the faster top line for the restart, but Kyle Busch took the top spot before the field got around the first time. Two laps later, he fell to fifth on his older tires and Berry got past again at lap 107 to drop him to sixth. By lap 123, Gragson had fallen to 10th, still on tires several laps older than his rivals, but was silent on the team radio. Gragson was ninth on lap 142 when the caution waved for debris. The caution came at a good time for Gragson, as he was low on fuel, and it allowed Elenz to call him back to pit road for fresh Goodyear tires and fuel to put Gragson back on equal footing with the competition. The No. 9 pit crew gained a position for their driver with a quick stop. Restarting eighth, Gragson used the new rubber to gain two positions up to sixth after two laps. The changes on the stop didn't hold up, as Gragson soon told Elenz he was too tight again and he dropped to 11th. Following a caution flag at lap 156, Gragson was still 11th when a wild restart spawned another yellow, this time involving JRM teammate Michael Annett. Missing the melee in front of him, Gragson jumped three positions to eighth, and he would stay in the latter half of the top 10 until another caution flag halted the action. This one involved Gragson, as a spinning car on the low line made contact and sent him into the side of Justin Haley's Chevrolet in Turn 4.
Gragson pitted at that point for four tires, fuel and an adjustment, returning to the track in 18th position and betting that fresh tires would help over the remaining distance. On the restart at lap 179, Gragson moved up four positions to 14th, and he was 11th at lap 183 when the final caution flag of the day waved for a crash in Turn 2. That set up the final green-white-checkered scenario, where Gragson fired off 10th and improved two positions by the time the checkered flag waved.
Busch won the race in overtime, edging JRM's Allgaier at the finish. Harrison Burton was third, with Berry and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five. Brandon Jones headed the second five, with Jeb Burton, Gragson, Austin Hill and Riley Herbst the top 10.
Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet team
"We were just way too tight all day long in the Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet. I couldn't get back on the gas as soon as I wanted to, and that made it difficult to gain track position. Dave (Elenz) and the No. 9 team kept working on it and got it to where I could race with it and we got a top-10 finish out of it. We're gaining on getting back to where we were earlier in the season, and I'm looking forward to going to Pocono next week."
Michael Annett
Michael Annett was battling in the top five in the waning stages of Saturday's Tennessee Lottery 250 for NASCAR Xfinity Series cars at Nashville Superspeedway when he was caught up in a crash not of his making. Despite spinning across the track and into the infield, Annett was able to get to pit road for a quick check and fought his way back to 12th place at the checkered flag. The finish allowed Annett and the No. 1 team to strengthen their playoff standing as well, as he sits 53 points above the cut line after 15 races.
Stage One Finish: 13th
After posting the 21st quickest time during qualifying earlier in the day, Annett rolled off on the inside line when the field took the initial green flag. By the time 10 laps were in the book, Annett was up to 16th, and he would stabilize in 14th position at the halfway point of the 45-lap first segment. Running on the bottom line on the 1.33-mile concrete tri-oval, Annett worked on making what was not the preferred line better. He rose to 13th position with 11 laps remaining and finished Stage One there. On the break, Annett told crew chief Mike Bumgarner that he felt like the right front was worn out from sliding across the track, but the rear security was very good. Bumgarner brought his driver down pit road to bolt on four fresh Goodyear tires with an air-pressure adjustment and add fuel, sending him back out in 10th position, a gain of three positions. A penalty ahead of him moved him up to ninth for the Stage Two restart.
Stage Two Finish: 5th
When the green flag waved to start Stage Two, Annett was on the move, gaining one spot on the opening lap and another two laps later to run seventh. At lap 68, Annett slid into sixth place after adjusting to running the bottom line. The caution waved at lap 71 for an accident on the front straightaway, and Bumgarner elected to keep his driver on the track. On the ensuing restart, Annett went once again to the bottom line and moved forward, battling with defending series champion Austin Cindric. Annett passed Cindric for fifth place on lap 79 and held his position to the end of Stage Two. That earned the Iowa native six valuable stage points, and set him up with a solid platform for the final stage, which was scheduled for a whopping 98 laps. On the stage break, Bumgarner added four more tires, fuel and made an air-pressure change to help a tight condition that cropped up over the final 10 laps of Stage Two. The Pilot Flying J crew did its job again, gaining another position for their driver on the stop. Teammate Noah Gragson, who had pitted before the stage break, stayed out and assumed the lead, and Annett would fire off for the final stage from fifth place.
Final Stage:
Staying on the bottom lane for the restart, Annett lost three spots over the opening flurry and fell to ninth by lap 99 after the wild restart calmed down. Annett stayed ninth as the laps clicked away, advancing to eighth at lap 117 after passing Cindric for the second time in the race. Settling in, Annett ran down Harrison Burton on lap 137 for seventh and assumed sixth place two laps later when teammate Josh Berry hit pit road. The caution waved again at lap 142, which was inside the fuel window to the end, and Bumgarner called Annett down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The pit crew gained another position for their driver, setting him up for the 40-lap run to the checkered flag in fifth position. On the restart, Annett crossed the line in sixth, but quickly regained his top-five slot the next time by. At lap 150, Annett swept into fourth place with a head of steam. Six laps later, the caution waved again for a two-car accident, and Annett stayed out during the caution period. On the restart, Annett was in the middle of a five-car battle and was still there at lap 161, when teammate Justin Allgaier and leader Kyle Busch got together off Turn 4. Daniel Hemric, battling with Annett for fourth, turned down the track to avoid the contact and speared Annett’s Chevrolet in the process, sending Annett spinning into the infield in the tri-oval. Annett made only minor contact with one of the cars involved, but was forced to pit road for a quick check of his tires and the bodywork on the Pilot Flying J Chevrolet.
Due to pitting before pit road was open, Annett received a penalty that would see him start at the back of the field ashe dropped to 20th position for the restart. Over the final 21 laps, Annett moved from 21st to 12th, enduring two more caution flags along the way. The second one sent the race into a green-white-checkered ending and extended the race by a single lap to 189.
Kyle Busch won the race in overtime, edging Allgaier at the finish for the second straight week. Burton was third, with Berry and AJ Allmendinger the remainder of the top five. Brandon Jones was sixth, followed by Jeb Burton, Gragson, Austin Hill and Riley Herbst. Annett’s 12th-place finish strengthened his hold on 10th place in series points.
Michael Annett, driver No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet team
"If we keep running up there like we did today, we're going to get one of these pretty soon. Bummy (crew chief Mike Bumgarner) and the Pilot Flying J team gave me a great Camaro here at Nashville and we had the bottom groove working all day long. I hate that we got taken out in that crash on the frontstretch, but they knew we were here and we were fast. Everybody on our team fought hard all day."