XFINITY Series Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Entry List

Andy's Frozen Custard 335

Saturday, October 16th, 2021

Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX

  • 29 Chevrolet
  • 4 Ford
  • 7 Toyota

  • Texas Motor Speedway
  • Andy's Frozen Custard 335
  • Pole Winner: AJ Allmendinger
  • Age: 39
  • Team: No. 16 - Andy's Frozen Custard Chevrolet
  • Owner: Kaulig Racing
  • Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • AJ Allmendinger won the Pole Award for the Andy's Frozen Custard 335 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Saturday, October 16th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
John Hunter Nemechek overcomes penalty for second Xfinity Series victory

John Hunter Nemechek overcame a late race pit penalty to rally through the field and take his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in the Andy's Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway – the first of three Playoff events that will set the Championship 4 field for the season finale.

Nemechek, whose full-time job is contending for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, is the third different driver to win an Xfinity Series race in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota joining Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell – the group combining for 10 wins in 2021 in assorted part-time starts.

Nemechek's victory by 1.316-seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Hemric marked the third win in four series Playoff races by a non-Playoff driver this season. It was the second Xfinity Series win in the 24-year old Nemechek's career – the other coming at Kansas Speedway in 2018.

A penalty during a pit stop – a crewman coming over the wall too soon – took Nemechek from the lead to 18th position for a restart with 51 laps remaining. Far from crushing his hopes, it motivated Nemechek and his team.vDuring a pit stop on the 10th and final caution period with 28 laps remaining, Nemechek's team called for a two-tire change while the rest of the contenders took four tires. The strategy put him on the front row for the re-start and he navigated his way forward and re-took the lead for good with 20 laps remaining.

"[Spotter] Stevie Reeves and [crew chief] Chris Gayle kept me calm," said Nemechek, who led a race best 92 laps on the afternoon. "I've grown a lot as a driver and been put in positions like that in the truck series as well.

"Man, I can't say enough about this whole team. The 54 has been fast every single week. My goal coming in was to win. I had to win to prove to myself I can do this."

It marked the third runner-up finish for Hemric this season and the 10th of his Xfinity Series career as he races for his first career victory. He was the top Playoff driver on Saturday.

"They just made a really good call to take two [tires] there, obviously," an understandably subdued Hemric said of Nemechek, adding, "Congratulations to those guys. We just weren't quite good enough [to catch him]."

Those two Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were pretty much the story of the day. NASCAR Xfinity Series championship leader A.J. Allmendinger led the opening 13 laps and then his chief challenger, defending series champion Austin Cindric, took the lead, earning his 10th stage victory.

The JGR Toyotas pushed forward and started racking up the laps led. Nemechek won Stage 2 and primarily exchanged the lead with Hemric for the remainder of the race. The exception was a bold pit move – defending Texas winner Harrison Burton (also a JGR driver) opted not to pit on the last caution and led six laps before Nemechek overtook him and held the lead until the checkered flag.

JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson finished third rallying from damage early in the race, followed by his teammate Justin Allgaier and Cindric.

Allmendinger was sixth, followed by Justin Haley, Burton, Michael Annett and Brandon Jones. All eight of the Playoff drivers were among the top 10 with Nemechek and Annett the exceptions.

The sixth-place finish for Allmendinger was good enough to keep him atop the championship standings by four points over Cindric. Allgaier is third, 26 points back and Gragson is fourth.

Despite his runner-up effort, Hemric is fifth, two points behind Gragson. Hailey is sixth (-6), Burton (-21) and Jones (-32) round out the Playoff standings.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for the second race of this Playoff round next Saturday afternoon, the Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Current NASCAR Cup Series rookie Chase Briscoe is the defending race winner. However, Jones is a two-time Kansas winner, taking back-to-back wins in Fall, 2019, and Spring, 2020.

  • Drivers Entered: 41 (3 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 200
  • Margin of Victory: 01.316 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 35 Minutes 48 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 115.533
  • Cautions: 10 for 54 laps
  • Lead Changes: 8
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,359 (9.3 passes per green flag lap)

  • Texas Motor Speedway
  • 17th Annual Andy's Frozen Custard 335
  • Race Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
  • Age: 24
  • Team : No. 54 - Romco Equipment Toyota
  • Owner: Coy Gibbs
  • Crew Chief: Chris Gayle
  • John Hunter Nemechek won the 17th Annual Andy's Frozen Custard 335, his second victory in 56 Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in five races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Daniel Hemric (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in seven races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 19th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Noah Gragson (third) posted his third top-10 finish in seven races at Texas Motor Speedway.
  • Sam Mayer (13th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • AJ Allmendinger leads the point standings by 4 points over Austin Cindric.
Austin Cindric
Fort Worth, Texas - October 16, 2021 : Austin Cindric, driver of the #22 Snap On Ford, enters his car to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy's Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Logan RielyGetty Images
Andy's Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway Entry List
ENTRY # DRIVER HOMETOWN DOB AGE MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 16 AJ Allmendinger Los Gatos, CA Dec 16, 1981 42 Chevrolet Andy's Frozen Custard Kaulig Racing Jason Trinchere
2 17 JJ Yeley Phoenix, AZ Oct 5, 1976 48 Chevrolet DFW Security SS Green Light Racing Jason Miller
3 104 Landon Cassill Cedar Rapids, IA Jul 7, 1989 35 Chevrolet Voyager JD Motorsports Tommy Machek
4 66 David Starr Houston, TX Nov 11, 1967 56 Ford Whataburger Motorsports Business Management Johnny Roten
5 7 Justin Allgaier Riverton, IL Jun 6, 1986 38 Chevrolet Hellmann's / Sam's Club JR Motorsports Jason Burdett
6 1 Michael Annett Des Moines, IA Jun 23, 1986 38 Chevrolet Allstate Peterbilt Group JR Motorsports Mike Bumgarner
7 02 Brett Moffitt Grimes, IA Aug 7, 1992 32 Chevrolet Home Town Lenders Our Motorsports Pat Tryson
8 52 Joey Gase Cedar Rapids, IA Feb 8, 1993 31 Chevrolet Donate Life Texas Means Motorsports Tim Brown
9 10 Jeb Burton Halifax, VA Aug 6, 1992 32 Chevrolet Ferguson Kaulig Racing Bruce Schlicker
10 0 Jeffrey Earnhardt Mooresville, NC Jun 22, 1989 35 Chevrolet ForeverLawn JD Motorsports Paul Clapprood
11 26 Dylan Lupton Wilton, CA Dec 7, 1993 30 Toyota Toyota Racing Sam Hunt Racing Andrew Abbott
12 39 Ryan Sieg Tucker, GA Jun 20, 1987 37 Ford CMR Construction and Roofing / A-Game RSS Racing Kevin Starland
13 47 Kyle Weatherman Wentzville, MO Aug 28, 1997 27 Chevrolet RAGE Mike Harmon Racing Mike Tyska
14 18 Daniel Hemric Kannapolis, NC Jan 27, 1991 33 Toyota Craftsman Joe Gibbs Racing Dave Rogers
15 178 Jesse Little Sherrills Ford, NC Apr 15, 1997 27 Chevrolet Apex Wireless BJ McLeod Motorsports Keith Wolfe
16 23 Tanner Berryhill Bixby, OK Nov 29, 1993 30 Chevrolet Eclipse Claims Consulting Our Motorsports Kenneth Roettger
17 15 Bayley Currey Driftwood, TX Oct 29, 1996 27 Chevrolet Fort Worth Screen Printing JD Motorsports Wayne Carroll Jr
18 11 Justin Haley Winamac, IN Apr 28, 1999 25 Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Alex Yontz
19 90 Spencer Boyd Creve Coeur, MO Jun 26, 1995 29 Chevrolet MiniDoge DGM Racing Alex Timmerman
20 54 John Hunter Nemechek Mooresville, NC Jun 11, 1997 27 Toyota Romco Equipment Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
21 31 Kaz Grala Boston, MA Dec 29, 1998 25 Chevrolet Bommarito Automotive Group Jordan Anderson Racing Arthur Haire
22 36 Alex Labbe Saint-Albert, Canada Apr 29, 1993 31 Chevrolet Can-Am DGM Racing Mario Gosselin
23 22 Austin Cindric Columbus, OH Sep 2, 1998 26 Ford Snap On Team Penske Brian Wilson
24 61 Austin Hill Winston, GA Apr 21, 1994 30 Toyota Toyota Tsusho Hattori Racing Enterprises David McCarty
25 68 Brandon Brown Woodbridge, VA Sep 14, 1993 31 Chevrolet DFKitCar.com Brandonbilt Motorsports Doug Randolph
26 19 Brandon Jones Atlanta, GA Feb 18, 1997 27 Toyota Century AC Supply Joe Gibbs Racing Jeff Meendering
27 74 CJ McLaughlin Framingham, MA Jul 1, 1992 32 Chevrolet SciAps Mike Harmon Racing Ryan Bell
28 20 Harrison Burton Huntersville, NC Oct 9, 2000 24 Toyota DEX Imaging Joe Gibbs Racing Jason Ratcliff
29 51 Jeremy Clements Spartanburg, SC Jan 16, 1985 39 Chevrolet Straitline Jeremy Clements Racing Mark Setzer
30 07 Joe Graf Jr Mahwah, NJ Jul 12, 1998 26 Chevrolet Market SS Green Light Racing Joe Williams
31 92 Josh Williams Port Charlotte, FL Aug 3, 1993 31 Chevrolet WorkPro Tools DGM Racing Nathan Kennedy
32 199 Matt Mills Lynchburg, VA Nov 14, 1996 27 Chevrolet JF Electric BJ McLeod Motorsports Adam Brooks
33 2 Myatt Snider Charlotte, NC Dec 30, 1994 29 Chevrolet Crosley Furniture Richard Childress Racing Andy Street
34 9 Noah Gragson Las Vegas, NV Jul 15, 1998 26 Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC JR Motorsports Dave Elenz
35 98 Riley Herbst Las Vegas, NV Feb 24, 1999 25 Ford Monster Energy Stewart-Haas Racing Richard Boswell
36 44 Tommy Joe Martins Como, MS Dec 7, 1986 37 Chevrolet Market Rebellion Martins Motorsports Dan Stillman
37 105 Mason Massey Douglasville, GA Jan 24, 1997 27 Toyota Gerber Collision & Glass BJ McLeod Motorsports David Ingram
38 48 Jade Buford Brentwood, TN Feb 15, 1988 36 Chevrolet Big Machine Spiked Coolers Big Machine Racing Patrick Donahue
39 106 Ryan Vargas La Miranda, CA Sep 23, 2000 24 Chevrolet Swann Communications JD Motorsports Kase Kallenbach
40 8 Sam Mayer Franklin, WI Jun 26, 2003 21 Chevrolet QPS Employment Group JR Motorsports Taylor Moyer