Every once in a while there’ll be a race that doesn’t have a lot of attrition at a track that’s known to have just that.
Such was the case at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Food City 300 Friday night (Sept. 20).
It didn’t start out that way, though. There were four cautions for incidents in the first two stages and one two-thirds of the way into the race. But after that? Nothing but green-flag racing, with Cole Custer leading the majority of laps in that last stage.
Custer took the lead from Sheldon Creed on a restart and never looked back, earning not only the race win, but the regular season title as well.
Creed was second, polesitter Chandler Smith was third, Jesse Love took home fourth and Ryan Truex rounded out the top five.
The Winners
It was a much-needed win for the No. 00, as since his Pocono Raceway win he’s had two second-place finishes and four results of 21st or worse. While Custer had to bank on the misfortune of rival Justin Allgaier in order to win the regular season championship, he still needed to execute well to win the race.
In the end, he overcame a 43-point hole (as well as a flat tire near the start of the race) to claim the top spot in the regular season.
If the team can carry this momentum into the playoffs, there’s no reason why Custer can’t go back-to-back at Phoenix Raceway and earn his second straight Xfinity title.
Love earned his fourth straight top 10 at a place the rookie had never visited in Xfinity. He stayed in the top 10-15 spots much of the race, finishing second in stage one and sixth in stage two. In the final 50 laps, the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing driver battled Creed and Smith for second and third. He ended the race just behind them in fourth.
After a not-so-good August, Love has been steady the past four races. If he keeps this up, he could be a surprise contender for the championship.
Truex took home a top five in what is his final scheduled start of the year. In 10 races this season, he’s amassed two wins, three top fives and six top-10 finishes. It’s truly a shame that this sport is so dependent on sponsorship, because he’s certainly proven himself worthy to remain in the series at least in some capacity.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had quite the night in his lone start of the season (and perhaps final Xfinity race ever). He couldn’t hear his spotter over the radio for about the first 50 laps before the team did…
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