The official 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship NASCAR XFINITY Series entry list features top NASCAR drivers set to compete at Phoenix Raceway, highlighting the full lineup of race participants and teams.
Saturday, November 6th, 2021
Phoenix Raceway, Phoenix, AZ
Daniel Hemric picked the perfect time to win his first NASCAR national series race—and a title came with it.
Executing an aggressive bump-and-run in Saturday night's NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race, Hemric passed Austin Cindric in the final two corners at Phoenix Raceway.
Approaching the finish line, the cars collided side-to-side, with Hemric crossing the stripe .030 seconds ahead of Cindric—roughly five feet—denying the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford a second straight championship.
The victory came in Hemric's 208th NASCAR national series start, silencing critics who kept asking, "Will Hemric ever win a race?"
The answer came from crew chief Dave Rogers moments after the winning driver crossed the stripe and clinched the title.
"How about that, champion?" Rogers said. "You'll never have to hear that stupid question again."
"Never again!" Hemric shouted in reply.
Hemric, who is leaving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in favor of a ride with Kaulig Racing next year, was unapologetic about moving Cindric's Ford up the track to win the race at the end of a two-lap overtime that extended the event from 200 to 204 laps.
"I'm blacked out, blacked out," Hemric said at the start/finish line after turning a back flip off the roof of his car. "Just knew I had to be the first one to the line. I thought I let him get too much of a run off of (Turn) 4 (on the first lap of overtime).
"Drove into (Turn) 1, knew I was close, not to completely use them up, but we work our asses off for an opportunity like this—excuse my language. This is what it's all about, winning at the second highest level in all of motorsports. What an honor...
"How about those race fans? That back flip good enough for you? I've been waiting a long damn time to do that."
Cindric took the loss with consummate grace.
"Until you spin somebody out, it's not dirty racing," said Cindric, who entered the championship event with five wins to his credit this season. "If everyone in the stands enjoyed it, it's good racing.
"I'm appreciative of the opportunity to race on such a big stage, race for Roger Penske, represent Ford Performance, all of our sponsors that helped us this season. It would have been awesome to finish this out. I felt like we had a dominant race car, felt like we did everything right. Come up a little short."
As a consolation prize, Cindric secured the Xfinity Series Owners Championship for Roger Penske with his runner-up result.
The other two Championship 4 drivers - Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger - were in contention at the end. Gragson slammed the wall shortly after a restart on Lap 193 and fell to 12th at the finish.
Allmendinger suffered a loose wheel late in the race and spun in Turn 2 on Lap 181, causing the eighth of 10 cautions. Cindric, who led a race-high 113 laps, had a commanding lead at the time, but the yellow bunched the field and set up the late-race shootout.
Harrison Burton ran third on Saturday, followed by Riley Herbst and Justin Haley. John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dec 16, 1981 | 39 | Chevrolet | Hyperice | Kaulig Racing | Jason Trinchere |
2 | 07 | JJ Yeley | Phoenix, AZ | Oct 5, 1976 | 45 | Chevrolet | Firman Power Equipment | SS Green Light Racing | Jason Miller |
3 | 66 | David Starr | Houston, TX | Nov 11, 1967 | 53 | Toyota | Whataburger | Motorsports Business Management | Johnny Roten |
4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Riverton, IL | Jun 6, 1986 | 35 | Chevrolet | Brandt | JR Motorsports | Jason Burdett |
5 | 1 | Michael Annett | Des Moines, IA | Jun 23, 1986 | 35 | Chevrolet | PFJ Veterans Salute | JR Motorsports | Mike Bumgarner |
6 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Grimes, IA | Aug 7, 1992 | 29 | Chevrolet | Destiny Homes | Our Motorsports | Pat Tryson |
7 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Halifax, VA | Aug 6, 1992 | 29 | Chevrolet | Nutrien Ag Solutions | Kaulig Racing | Bruce Schlicker |
8 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Mooresville, NC | Jun 22, 1989 | 32 | Chevrolet | ForeverLawn | JD Motorsports | Paul Clapprood |
9 | 26 | Dylan Lupton | Wilton, CA | Dec 7, 1993 | 27 | Toyota | Marques General Engineering | Sam Hunt Racing | Andrew Abbott |
10 | 38 | Ryan Sieg | Tucker, GA | Jun 20, 1987 | 34 | Ford | CMRroofing.com / A-Game | RSS Racing | Kevin Starland |
11 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Wentzville, MO | Aug 28, 1997 | 24 | Chevrolet | DaaBin | Mike Harmon Racing | Mike Tyska |
12 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Kannapolis, NC | Jan 27, 1991 | 30 | Toyota | Poppy Bank | Joe Gibbs Racing | Dave Rogers |
13 | 15 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 25 | Chevrolet | TeamJDMotorsports.com | JD Motorsports | Wayne Carroll Jr |
14 | 11 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 22 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Alex Yontz |
15 | 54 | John Hunter Nemechek | Mooresville, NC | Jun 11, 1997 | 24 | Toyota | Mobil 1 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle |
16 | 36 | Alex Labbe | Saint-Albert, Canada | Apr 29, 1993 | 28 | Chevrolet | Rousseau / Prolon Controls | DGM Racing | Mario Gosselin |
17 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Columbus, OH | Sep 2, 1998 | 23 | Ford | CarShop | Team Penske | Brian Wilson |
18 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Woodbridge, VA | Sep 14, 1993 | 28 | Chevrolet | TradeTheChain.com | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Doug Randolph |
19 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Atlanta, GA | Feb 18, 1997 | 24 | Toyota | Menards / Pelonis | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jeff Meendering |
20 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Huntersville, NC | Oct 9, 2000 | 21 | Toyota | DEX Imaging | Joe Gibbs Racing | Jason Ratcliff |
21 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartanburg, SC | Jan 16, 1985 | 36 | Chevrolet | First Pacific Funding | Jeremy Clements Racing | Mark Setzer |
22 | 17 | Joe Graf Jr | Mahwah, NJ | Jul 12, 1998 | 23 | Chevrolet | Model Electronics | SS Green Light Racing | Joe Williams |
23 | 92 | Josh Williams | Port Charlotte, FL | Aug 3, 1993 | 28 | Chevrolet | Josh Williams Hospital Tour | DGM Racing | Nathan Kennedy |
24 | 105 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 24 | Chevrolet | JF Electric | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Keith Wolfe |
25 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Charlotte, NC | Dec 30, 1994 | 26 | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street |
26 | 9 | Noah Gragson | Las Vegas, NV | Jul 15, 1998 | 23 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC | JR Motorsports | Dave Elenz |
27 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Las Vegas, NV | Feb 24, 1999 | 22 | Ford | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing | Richard Boswell |
28 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Como, MS | Dec 7, 1986 | 34 | Chevrolet | AAN Adjusters | Martins Motorsports | Craig Martins |
29 | 48 | Jade Buford | Brentwood, TN | Feb 15, 1988 | 33 | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Coolers | Big Machine Racing | Patrick Donahue |
30 | 106 | Ryan Vargas | La Miranda, CA | Sep 23, 2000 | 21 | Chevrolet | Swann Communications | JD Motorsports | Kase Kallenbach |
31 | 199 | Stefan Parsons | Cornelius, NC | Jun 15, 1998 | 23 | Chevrolet | Rich Mar Florist / Springrates | BJ McLeod Motorsports | Adam Brooks |
32 | 178 | Sheldon Creed | Alpine, CA | Sep 30, 1997 | 24 | Chevrolet | Global Industries | BJ McLeod Motorsports | David Ingram |
33 | 23 | Blaine Perkins | Bakersfield, CA | Feb 28, 2000 | 21 | Chevrolet | Raceline | Our Motorsports | Ronnie Osmer |
34 | 39 | Kyle Sieg | Tucker, GA | Apr 16, 2001 | 20 | Ford | CMR Construction and Roofing / A-Game | RSS Racing | Pat Cole |
35 | 8 | Sam Mayer | Franklin, WI | Jun 26, 2003 | 18 | Chevrolet | Tire Pros | JR Motorsports | Taylor Moyer |
36 | 31 | Sage Karam | Nazareth, PA | Mar 5, 1995 | 26 | Chevrolet | Montage Mountain | Jordan Anderson Racing | Arthur Haire |