Race Results | Xfinity Series Points
Race 13 of 33: B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Track Specs: 2.258-mile road course / 75 laps
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees
Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
Annett's Finish: 7th
Paludo's Finish: 27th
Allgaier's Finish: 35th
Gragson's Finish: 40th
Michael Annett
Michael Annett overcame a balky clutch pedal and some late-race fireworks on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to earn a seventh-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series' B&L Transport 170. Annett's finish in the Pilot Flying J Summer Is a Go Chevrolet was his sixth top-10 result of the season and it helped him rise two positions to 10th in the series point standings after 13 races.
Stage One Finish: 9th
Annett started the blue-and-white No. 1 Pilot Flying J Summer Is a Go Chevrolet from the 15th position and moved up two positions just after the first turn when several cars ran off the tarmac and into the grass. One of them, JR Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson, crashed after hitting one of circuit's access roads and dropped a large quantity of oil for track crews to clean up. After four laps of cleanup, the field reset for another try, and Annett maintained 13th position. He stayed there until lap 22, when the lead cars began trickling to pit road for fuel only ahead of the lap-25 stage break. Modified pit rules in place for the day's race meant that teams could stop for fuel only or tires, not both. Over the next three laps, Annett climbed the order to take the green-and-white checkered flag in ninth position, earning two valuable stage points. Annett told crew chief Mike Bumgarner that his car was tight in the left-hand corners and he couldn't roll the corners like he wanted. Additionally, his clutch pedal was no longer operating correctly. Bumgarner brought his driver to pit road for four tires and took a look at the clutch before sending Annett back out in 13th position for the start of Stage Two.
Stage Two Finish: 9th
When the green flag waved to start the second 25-lap stage, Annett again moved forward and climbed to 11th over the first circuit of the 2.258-mile course. Battling a still-tight Camaro and dealing with the clutch, Annett was 14th on lap 40 when the caution waved again for the stopped car of Jeremy Clements. Bumgarner brought Annett down pit road at that point to get fuel. When he returned to the track, Annett was 23rd, but as in Stage One, the lead cars began to come down for service at lap 47. Annett cracked the top 10 at lap 48 and moved to ninth on the final lap of Stage Two to bank two more stage points. Having already gotten the fuel he needed to make the finish, Annett pitted for tires and a chassis adjustment to help his handling in the left-hand corners on lap 53 under the caution and emerged in third position when the field was reset for the final 25-lap stage.
Final Stage:
As the field took the green flag for the final stage, Annett was locked in a battle with Ryan Sieg, and he passed for second behind leader Austin Cindric as the field reached the Keyhole on the first lap of green. Annett stayed put in second as Cindric built a lead, but early front runner Ty Gibbs was on the move and passed the Iowa native on lap 64. Brett Moffitt and AJ Allmendinger got by on the next lap to put Annett fifth, and Annett radioed to Bumgarner that he was at a disadvantage in the Carousel turn leading onto the short front straightaway. The caution flag waved at lap 70 when Jeb Burton was beached in the gravel trap in Turn 4, and Bumgarner kept his driver on the track for the ensuing cleanup. When the race restarted with just five laps remaining, Annett caught part of a three-car scramble for position, making contact with two cars on the rush to the Keyhole and losing one position to sixth. He was seventh at lap 73 when a three-car crash at Turn 9 brought out the seventh and final caution of the afternoon and sent the race to overtime.
Conscious of a rapidly diminishing fuel supply, Annett lined up seventh for the final restart at lap 76. Heading toward the pivotal Keyhole, Riley Herbst and JRM teammate Miguel Paludo tangled and sent Paludo spinning. That moved Annett up to seventh, and he crossed the line there a lap later.
Allmendinger won the race in overtime, with Justin Haley, Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Andy Lally the rest of the top five. Brandon Brown was sixth, followed by Annett, Josh Berry, Sieg and Josh Williams.
Michael Annett, driver No. 1 Pilot Flying J Summer Is a Go Chevrolet team
"We fought hard all day long, and it turned into a good day in the points for this Pilot Flying J Summer Is a Go team. Those last two restarts were wild. On the first one I lost momentum from bouncing off a couple of cars too many times. We had good strategy, and Bummy (crew chief Mike Bumgarner) and the team did a great job on pit road. We were a little close on fuel there at the end, but we got a good finish out of it and scored points in both stages, so that's a solid weekend."
Miguel Paludo
Making his third and final start of 2021 for JR Motorsports, Miguel Paludo, driver of the No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, ran up front and fought inside the top five in the closing laps of Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Then, while battling for fourth during NASCAR's version of overtime, Paludo’s promising run came to an abrupt halt as contact with another driver on the white flag lap sent the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet sliding off into the grass. As a result of the incident, the Brazilian driver was relegated to a 27th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 34th
Paludo lined up for the 75-lap event around the 2.258-mile road course in 29th after the field was set via the rulebook earlier in the week. Once underway the Nova Prata, Brazil native looked to settle in as he tried to learn the 12-turn road course as these were his first laps on the Mid-Ohio circuit. Unable to get in a groove early due to a lap-1 yellow, Paludo was able to improve five positions before the caution waved. Once the field went back green Paludo steadily climbed forward as he gained three additional positions before the field was once again slowed by a yellow on lap 8 with Paludo scored in the 21st. The field settled in after the ensuing restart and Paludo worked his way to 18th before trying a different pit strategy from the front-runners, entering pit road on lap 23 for fuel only. With two laps remaining in Stage One, Paludo was in position to stay on the lead lap until a lap-25 off-track excursion forced Paludo to fall one lap behind the leaders as the green-and-white checkered waved shortly after on lap 25.
Stage Two Finish: 23rd
With Stage One in the books, the Nova Prata native received the lucky dog and was put back on the lead lap. Once back on the lead lap, crew chief Taylor Moyer made the call for Paludo to bring the No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet to pit road for four fresh tires. Taking the green for the start of Stage Two from the tail end of the lead lap, Paludo set his sights forward, needing only three laps to race back inside of the top 20 and was up to 19th as a lap-40 caution bunched the field back together. Remaining on track during this caution, the No. 8 Camaro restarted from the 16th position and joined the top 15 for the first time on lap 44. Moyer made a strategy call to bring the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro to pit road for fuel only on lap 47 and reentered the race in front of the leaders to hold on to the 23rd position and remain on the lead lap as Stage Two came to a close on lap 50.
Final Stage
With the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro filled with fuel before the end of Stage Two, Moyer made the call to bring Paludo back down pit road in order to change four fresh tires during the stage break. Restarting from 11th, the Six-Time Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil Champion started his ascent inside of the top 10 as he raced into ninth following the restart to begin Stage Three. Running in seventh, the field was again brought back together on lap 68 as a caution slowed the field. Staying on track, Paludo restarted from the seventh position and joined the top five shortly after on lap 72 before another caution set up NASCAR's version of overtime. Coming to the green flag for the first attempt at a Green-White-Checkered finish, Paludo was set to move forward as he immediately raced into fourth.
Crossing under the White Flag in the fourth position, Paludo exited Turn 1 looking to make a move on third before contact with another car knocked the JRM driver sideways, sending him off the track. As a result of the contact, Paludo ultimately slid back to the 27th position as the checkered flag waved.
Miguel Paludo, driver No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet team
"I have had a great time working with Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and the entire No. 8 BRANDT Professional Agriculture crew this year. They are some of the best I have worked with and they made it really fun to be out on the track. I can't thank BRANDT and everyone at JR Motorsports enough for this opportunity. I just wish I could have gotten them a better result today and we almost had it."
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, battled for position inside the top 10 and scored valuable stage points following Stage One of Saturday afternoon's NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. However, what had the makings of a promising day quickly went awry following Stage One as Allgaier was forced to head behind the wall after an issue was discovered in the rear-end of his JR Motorsports Camaro. Returning to the track following the repairs, Allgaier soldiered on, ultimately being scored with a 35th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 5th
Allgaier took the green flag for the 75-lap event from the fifth position after the field was set via NASCAR's mathematical formula earlier in the week. In the opening laps, the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet held steady in fifth, despite the field being slowed by two separate caution periods in the opening seven laps. On the ensuing restart following the lap-7 yellow, Allgaier battled wheel-to-wheel for position before settling into seventh and reporting to crew chief Jason Burdett that he needed help with both forward drive and lateral grip while going through the distinct corners of Mid-Ohio. Despite not handling to his liking, Allgaier pressed forward over the green flag run that followed, marching back into the top five and taking the green-and-white checkered on lap 25 in the fifth position.
With the stage-ending result, Allgaier netted the No. 7 team six valuable points to begin the day.
Stage Two Finish: 35th
Following the strong finish to Stage One, Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires and a round of adjustments in the hopes of improving the forward drive and lateral grip. However, following the stop, an issue in the car's rear-end was discovered that forced the JRM driver to bring the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet behind the wall to the garage for repairs prior to the start of Stage Two.
Allgaier returned to the event following the repairs with seven laps remaining in the second stage and patiently rode around until the green-and-white checkered was displayed on lap 50. The JRM driver closed out Stage Two in 35th.
Final Stage:
The Illinois native returned to pit road following Stage Two for four tires with the goal in mind of returning to the track to avoid any potential chaos and run as quick a lap time as possible in order to help with the No. 7 team's starting position ahead of next weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Both missions were accomplished as Allgaier turned his fastest laps of the event throughout Stage Three and was able to avoid any on-track altercation over the course of the final 28 laps.
In the end, Allgaier took the checkered flag in the 35th position.
Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agricultural Chevrolet team
"I hate that we ran into some issues today because we had a really fast BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. But I can't say enough about our guys on this JR Motorsports team. They never gave up and we were able to get back out there to fight for everything we could. This is a strong group and I know we are going to come back strong next week in Texas."
Noah Gragson
An off-course excursion in Turn 1 at the initial start cost Noah Gragson his chance for a good finish in the B&L Transport 170 for NASCAR Xfinity Series cars on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. As a result, Gragson's No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet could not continue, relegating him to a 40th-place finish.
Stage One Finish: 40th
Rolling off from the 13th position on the initial start, Gragson made a solid start to pick up two positions through Turn 1. On the exit, several cars ahead of him edged into the dirt and grass, and Gragson followed the car in front of him. Unfortunately, one of the access roads that make up the inner circuits was right there, and the front end of Gragson's car hit the asphalt at full speed. The impact knocked something on the bottom of the car askew and the oil pressure went to zero. The damage was severe enough to end Gragson's day, and it cost him a couple of spots to 11th in the series point standings.
AJ Allmendinger won the race in overtime, with Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Andy Lally the rest of the top five. Brandon Brown was sixth, followed by JR Motorsports teammate Michael Annett, Josh Berry, Ryan Sieg and Josh Williams.
Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet team
"I was exiting Turn 1 and following the car in front of me. They went into the dirt, and I couldn't see. I don’t know what I hit. There's a little cutout there and when I hit it, it tore the oil pan out of it I'm guessing. I really enjoy this track, but it's a bummer. It's frustrating. I'm very thankful for our partners, Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber® Camo and Black Rifle Coffee. It's been a rough start to the year so far, but hopefully it will go our way one day."