Race Lineup

The official 2021 Food City 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race lineup, determined by qualifying results, shows the starting positions of all drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Food City 300

Friday, September 17th, 2021

Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN

  • 30 Chevrolet
  • 8 Toyota
  • 3 Ford

  • Bristol Motor Speedway
  • Food City 300
  • Pole Winner: Noah Gragson
  • Age: 23
  • Team: No. 9 - Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC Chevrolet
  • Owner: JR Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: David Elenz
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Noah Gragson won the Pole Award for the Food City 300 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.

  • Friday, September 17th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
AJ Allmendinger triumphs at Bristol, wins Xfinity regular-season crown in slugfest

With cars bouncing off each other like pinballs through two laps of overtime, AJ Allmendinger took his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet three-wide to the bottom, passed Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric on the final lap and won Friday night's Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The victory gave Allmendinger the NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship by 10 points over Cindric, who held the race lead when the 10th and final caution flag flew on Lap 297 of 300 after Allgaier turned JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer in Turn 1.

In the overtime, things got crazy. Cindric and Allgaier picked the top lane, and Allmendinger chose the inside of the front row. On the white-flag lap, Allmendinger drove hard into Turns 3 and 4 and slid up into Cindric's No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Allmendinger fell back to third, but contact between Allgaier's Camaro and Cindric's Mustang gave Allmendinger a chance to slip beneath both cars into the lead.

But the race wasn't over. On the final lap, Cindric charged off the final corner, slammed into Allmendinger, and both cars slid sideways across the finish line, with Allmendinger the winner by .082 seconds.

After taking the checkered flag, Allmendinger careened off the inside wall, slid across the track into traffic and took a huge hit from Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley.

But the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship was his.

"I expected to get run into," Allmendinger said. "It happened that previous corner. It's frustrating getting hit that hard coming to checker, but we're battling for the win. It's Bristol, baby. That's what it's all about.

"I haven't had a lot of chances to get a win at Bristol, so you know what? When you have a chance to do it, you've got to go do it. If I don't take that chance, I don't belong in a race car, because my team deserves the win."

Under the circumstances, Cindric exhibited remarkable restraint in his post-race interview.

"I thought we had a great battle all season long up to this point, so congratulations to Kaulig and AJ," said Cindric, who led 75 laps, third-most behind Allgaier's 92 and Daniel Hemric's 78. "Those guys didn't want us to win really bad, and I hate that it completely destroyed our Ford Mustang.

"That's all I've got, man...It's looks like the 7 (Allgaier) just got loose there (in spinning Mayer), and AJ obviously just drove straight through us. You'll have that in green-white-checkered racing."

The victory was Allmendinger's first at Bristol, his fourth of the season and the ninth of his career. The final lap of overtime was the only lap he led, as the race went six laps past its scheduled distance of 300 circuits.

The regular-season cutoff race also set the final positions for the Round of 12 in the Xfinity Series Playoff. With no new winner, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements clinched the final three spots on points, as expected, as the series heads for the Playoff opener Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Herbst finished third behind the wrecking cars of Allmendinger and Cindric. Allgaier fell to fourth on the final lap, with Jones and Haley running fifth and sixth. Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider, Mayer and Hemric completed the top 10.

  • Drivers Entered: 41 (3 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 300
  • Laps Actual: 306 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.082 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 10 Minutes 26 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 75.026
  • Cautions: 10 for 72 laps
  • Lead Changes: 11
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,071 (4.6 passes per green flag lap)

  • Bristol Motor Speedway
  • 40th Annual Food City 300
  • Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
  • Age: 39
  • Team : No. 16 - Barger Precast Chevrolet
  • Owner: Kaulig Racing
  • Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
  • AJ Allmendinger won the 40th Annual Food City 300, his ninth victory in 53 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his fourth victory and 17th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Austin Cindric (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in seven races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his 19th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Riley Herbst (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Sam Mayer (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • AJ Allmendinger has won the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship.
Bristol Motor Speedway Xfinity Series Food City 300
Bristol, Tennessee - September 17, 2021 : The sun has set upon the Great Smoky Mountains and drivers of the NASCAR Xfinity Series compete in the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Darren FauthOriginal content used by permission
Race lineup for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway
ST # DRIVER MAKE SPD TIME BHND SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 9 Noah Gragson Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC Jr Motorsports Dave Elenz
2 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Brandt Jr Motorsports Jason Burdett
3 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Monster Energy Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
4 18 Daniel Hemric Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Poppy Bank Joe Gibbs Racing Dave Rogers
5 11 Justin Haley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Alex Yontz
6 20 Harrison Burton Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 DEX Imaging Joe Gibbs Racing Jason Ratcliff
7 10 Jeb Burton Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Dynagro Seed Kaulig Racing Bruce Schlicker
8 98 Riley Herbst Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Monster Energy Stewart-haas Racing Richard Boswell
9 22 Austin Cindric Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Menards / Richmond Team Penske Brian Wilson
10 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Barger Precast Kaulig Racing Jason Trinchere
11 68 Brandon Brown Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Jabs Construction Brandonbilt Motorsports Doug Randolph
12 39 Ryan Sieg Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 CMR Construction and Roofing / A-Ga… Rss Racing Kevin Starland
13 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 All South Electric Jeremy Clements Racing Mark Setzer
14 36 Alex Labbe Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Globocam / Rousseau Dgm Racing Mario Gosselin
15 Michael Annett 0.000 0.000 0.000
16 19 Brandon Jones Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 YeeYee Joe Gibbs Racing Jeff Meendering
17 2 Myatt Snider Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Crosley Furniture Richard Childress Racing Andy Street
18 92 Josh Williams Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Workpro Tools Dgm Racing Nathan Kennedy
19 47 Kyle Weatherman Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Axe Crossbows Mike Harmon Racing Mike Tyska
20 02 Brett Moffitt Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Fr8Auctions Our Motorsports Pat Tryson
21 26 Brandon Gdovic Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 SnapMobile.Shop Alternate Sam Hunt Racing Andrew Abbott
22 8 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Tire Pros Jr Motorsports Taylor Moyer
23 44 Tommy Joe Martins Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Gilreath Farms Red Angus Martins Motorsports Dan Stillman
24 66 David Starr Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Whataburger Motorsports Business Management Johnny Roten
25 178 Jesse Little Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 David's Electric Bj Mcleod Motorsports Adam Brooks
26 199 Matt Mills Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 SOKAL Digital Bj Mcleod Motorsports Keith Wolfe
27 105 Stefan Parsons Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 JF Electric Bj Mcleod Motorsports David Ingram
28 106 Ryan Vargas Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Voyager Jd Motorsports Kase Kallenbach
29 0 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 ForeverLawn Jd Motorsports Paul Clapprood
30 48 Jade Buford Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Big Machine Racing Patrick Donahue
31 23 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Home Town Lenders Our Motorsports Kenneth Roettger
32 31 Sage Karam Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bommarito Automotive Group Jordan Anderson Racing Arthur Haire
33 90 Spencer Boyd Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 DGM Racing Dgm Racing BJ Tucker
34 17 Carson Ware Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Pounds Property Management Ss Green Light Racing Jason Miller
35 104 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TeamJDMotorsports.com Jd Motorsports Tommy Machek
36 07 Joe Graf Jr Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bucked Up Energy Ss Green Light Racing Joe Williams
37 15 BJ McLeod Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TeamJDMotorsports.com Jd Motorsports Wayne Carroll Jr
38 61 Chad Finchum Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Black Oak Contracting Hattori Racing Enterprises Doug Richert
39 52 Gray Gaulding Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Panini American UFC Prizm Means Motorsports Tim Brown
40 74 Bayley Currey Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Date Mining / JM Steel Mike Harmon Racing Ed Jewett