Race Lineup

The official 2021 Sparks 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race lineup, determined by qualifying results, shows the starting positions of all drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sparks 300

Saturday, October 2nd, 2021

Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, AL

  • 28 Chevrolet
  • 9 Toyota
  • 3 Ford

  • Talladega Superspeedway
  • Sparks 300
  • Pole Winner: Justin Allgaier
  • Age: 35
  • Team: No. 7 - Brandt Chevrolet
  • Owner: JR Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Jason Burdett
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Justin Allgaier won the Pole Award for the Sparks 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.

  • Saturday, October 2nd, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
As darkness falls on Talladega, Brandon Brown gets breakthrough NASCAR Xfinity win

As he crossed the finish line under caution on a dark race track, Brandon Brown surrendered to the emotion of his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. "Thank God," Brown exulted. "We did it. We did it. We won!"

On a day of unexpected victories at Talladega Superspeedway—a track where the unexpected sometimes seems commonplace—Brown had a narrow lead three-wide with Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones at the previous scoring loop when NASCAR called the fifth caution of the race on Lap 102 for a multicar wreck in Turn 4.

With darkness preventing the resumption of the race, NASCAR showed the checkered flag to Brown under yellow on Lap 107 of a scheduled 113, with Jones credited with second and Allgaier third.

Brown's excitement hadn't abated one iota by the time he got to Victory Lane.

"You can ask my neighbors at Coastal Carolina, I did plenty of burnouts to practice for this moment," said Brown, who drives for his family-owned team, Brandonbilt Motorsports. "Oh, my god. It's a dream come true. A Talladega winner. Oh my god, Dad, we did it!

"This is everything we hoped and dreamed for. Everything I've ever wanted to do is take the trophy home to Mom and Dad. Oh, my god. Thank you so much Larry's Lemonaid…all of our partners. It's unbelievable."

Brown was a keen student of the action during the first two stages of the race, won by John Hunter Nemechek and Blaine Perkins. He noticed major changes in momentum between the top and bottom lanes at the 2.66-mile track.

"Everything shifted top to bottom so much, it was like, 'OK, let's just stay patient where we're at and hope for the best'," Brown said. "We saw our moment and we seized it. God, I'm just so proud of Brandonbilt Motorsports and so proud of our team, here and at home and everyone that worked on our team since the beginning.

"We did it. We did it. We did it."

Brown, Jones and Allgaier were trading the lead three-wide when the No. 20 Toyota of Harrison Burton broke loose in Turn 4 and ignited an eight-car crash that slowed the race for the final time.

Daniel Hemric finished fourth, followed by Jordan Anderson, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and defending series champion Austin Cindric, who clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the Xfinity Playoff with an insurmountable points edge over ninth-place Jeb Burton.

On the final lap of the first stage, the cars of Sam Mayer and regular-season champion AJ Allmendinger collided in Turn 3, demolishing both vehicles. The No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Mayer slammed the outside wall so heavily that NASCAR had to red-flag the race for repairs to the SAFER barrier.

Allmendinger took a heavy hit in the points, but he's still 33 above the cut line heading to next Saturday's Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Roval, a track where he is expected to excel.v"That's why you work so hard during the regular season to build up bonus points," Allmendinger said after a trip to the infield care center. "We'll see where it puts us going into the Roval. It's a minor setback in a great year."

If Allmendinger's setback was minor, the hit Noah Gragson suffered in a Lap 88 wreck was a major one. Gragson was running at the front of the field in the inside lane when slight contact from Jeb Burton's Chevrolet to the left rear of Brett Moffitt's Camaro—after Moffitt's car had gotten loose—triggered the first major wreck of the event.

Moffitt's Chevy slid down the track into Gragson's No. 9 Camaro, which rocketed nose-first into the outside wall. As Gragson slipped back down the track, Myatt Snider—with nowhere to go—plowed into the rear of Gragson's car.

Like Allmendinger, Gragson suffered a significant blow in the standings but remained 18 points above the current cut line for the Round of 8.

"The 02 (Moffitt) just got turned by the 10 (Burton), and I got it head-on and got cleaned out by the 2 (Snider)," Gragson said. "So, just a bummer. We had a fast car."

Brown's victory was the nightcap—literally—of a Playoff doubleheader with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Earlier on Saturday, Tate Fogleman secured his first Truck Series win in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

  • Drivers Entered: 40 (2 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 113
  • Laps Actual: 107 - Race Shortened
  • Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 4 Minutes 55 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 128.486
  • Cautions: 5 for 21 laps
  • Lead Changes: 33
  • Green Flag Passes: 5,834 (67.8 passes per green flag lap)

  • Talladega Superspeedway
  • 2nd Annual Sparks 300 at Talladega
  • Race Winner: Brandon Brown
  • Age: 28
  • Team : No. 68 - Original Larry's Hard Lemonade Chevrolet
  • Owner: Jerry Brown
  • Crew Chief: Doug Randolph
  • Brandon Brown won the 2nd Annual Sparks 300 at Talladega, his first victory in 115 Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in six races at Talladega Superspeedway.
  • Brandon Jones (second) posted his third top-10 finish in nine races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Justin Allgaier (third) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 14 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
  • Josh Berry (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Austin Cindric leads the point standings by 22 points over Justin Allgaier.
Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley and Brandon Brown race
Talladega, Alabama - October 2, 2021 : Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, Justin Haley, driver of the #11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, and Brandon Brown, driver of the #68 The Original Larry's Hard Lemonade Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
Race lineup for the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway
ST # DRIVER MAKE SPD TIME BHND SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Brandt Jr Motorsports Jason Burdett
2 22 Austin Cindric Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Carquest Auto Parts Team Penske Brian Wilson
3 1 Josh Berry Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TMC Transportation Jr Motorsports Mike Bumgarner
4 9 Noah Gragson Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / BRCC Jr Motorsports Dave Elenz
5 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Gold Fish Casino Slots Kaulig Racing Jason Trinchere
6 18 Daniel Hemric Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Poppy Bank Joe Gibbs Racing Dave Rogers
7 19 Brandon Jones Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Menards / Little Hugs Joe Gibbs Racing Jeff Meendering
8 11 Justin Haley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Alex Yontz
9 20 Harrison Burton Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 DEX Imaging Joe Gibbs Racing Jason Ratcliff
10 2 Myatt Snider Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TaxSlayer Richard Childress Racing Andy Street
11 54 John Hunter Nemechek Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Sport Clips Haircuts Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
12 8 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 QPS Employment Group Jr Motorsports Taylor Moyer
13 98 Riley Herbst Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Monster Energy Stewart-haas Racing Richard Boswell
14 10 Jeb Burton Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Nutrien Ag Solutions Kaulig Racing Bruce Schlicker
15 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 All South Electric Jeremy Clements Racing Mark Setzer
16 02 Brett Moffitt Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Fr8Auction Our Motorsports Pat Tryson
17 39 Ryan Sieg Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 CMR Construction and Roofing / A-Ga… Rss Racing Kevin Starland
18 44 Tommy Joe Martins Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 AAN Adjusters Martins Motorsports Dan Stillman
19 68 Brandon Brown Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 The Original Larry's Hard Lemonade Brandonbilt Motorsports Doug Randolph
20 15 Bayley Currey Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TeamJDMotorsports.com Jd Motorsports Wayne Carroll Jr
21 104 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Voyager Jd Motorsports Tommy Machek
22 106 Ryan Vargas Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 TeamJDMotorsports.com Jd Motorsports Kase Kallenbach
23 23 Blaine Perkins Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Circle B Diecast Our Motorsports Kenneth Roettger
24 92 Josh Williams Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Star Brite / Star Tron Dgm Racing Nathan Kennedy
25 47 Kyle Weatherman Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 BowhuntersUnited.com Mike Harmon Racing Mike Tyska
26 48 Jade Buford Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Big Machine Racing Patrick Donahue
27 178 Mason Massey Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Gerber Collision & Glass Bj Mcleod Motorsports Adam Brooks
28 61 David Starr Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Whataburger Hattori Racing Enterprises Johnny Roten
29 31 Jordan Anderson Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bommarito Automotive Group Jordan Anderson Racing Arthur Haire
30 105 Matt Mills Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 JF Electric Bj Mcleod Motorsports David Ingram
31 0 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Absaroka Jd Motorsports Paul Clapprood
32 36 Alex Labbe Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Can-Am Dgm Racing Mario Gosselin
33 26 Santino Ferrucci Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 HyVee Sam Hunt Racing Andrew Abbott
34 66 Jason A White Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 A Game Energy Drink Motorsports Business Management Michael Contarino
35 17 Garrett Smithley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Black Draft Farm Ss Green Light Racing Jason Miller
36 74 CJ McLaughlin Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Integrated Recycling Tech Mike Harmon Racing Ryan Bell
37 90 Caesar Bacarella Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 AP Regimen / AP PrimeBites Dgm Racing Ryan London
38 199 JJ Yeley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Figgers Wireless Bj Mcleod Motorsports Keith Wolfe
39 52 Joey Gase Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Sparks Energy / Cross Eyed Owl Means Motorsports Tim Brown
40 07 Joe Graf Jr Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bucked Up Energy Ss Green Light Racing Joe Williams