The 2023 Food City 300 was the 27th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the first race of the Round of 12, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, September 15, 2023, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would complete a successful pit road strategy, driving through the field and passing Daniel Hemric for the lead with over 10 laps to go, earning his 22nd career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. He would also earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs.[1] Allgaier and pole-sitter Cole Custer would end up dominating the entire race, leading 110 and 109 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Hemric, driving for Kaulig Racing, and John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 15, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 42nd Annual Food City 300 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 300 laps, 160 mi (257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 300 laps, 160 mi (257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 85.521 mph (137.633 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Time | 15.684 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 110 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
Background
editThe Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (P) denotes playoff driver.
Practice
editFor practice, drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and B. Both sessions will be 15 minutes long, and will be held on Friday, September 15, at 2:35 PM EST.[2] Chandler Smith, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time between both sessions, with a lap of 16.038, and an average speed of 119.641 mph (192.544 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 16.038 | 119.641 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 16.047 | 119.574 |
| 3 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 16.076 | 119.358 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, September 15, at 3:10 PM EST.[2] Since Bristol Motor Speedway is a short track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[4] Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 15.684, and an average speed of 122.341 mph (196.889 km/h).[5]
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 85
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Parker Kilgerman (P) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 85
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 130
| Pos.[6] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 300 | 110 | Running | 59 |
| 2 | 5 | 10 | Daniel Hemric (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 33 | Running | 39 |
| 3 | 3 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 300 | 1 | Running | 46 |
| 4 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 300 | 109 | Running | 52 |
| 5 | 4 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) (P) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 7 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 300 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 12 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 300 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 8 | 16 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 300 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 9 | 6 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 300 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 10 | 31 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 300 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 21 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 18 | 11 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 38 | 27 | Jeb Burton (P) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 29 | 24 | Connor Mosack (R) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 300 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 14 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 299 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 36 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 299 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 25 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 18 | 22 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 35 | 07 | Stefan Parsons | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 20 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 27 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 298 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 28 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 9 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 32 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 296 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 19 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 295 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 24 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 294 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 294 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 23 | 08 | Chad Finchum | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 276 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 15 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 271 | 47 | Ignition | 16 |
| 31 | 13 | 48 | Parker Kligerman (P) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 246 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 32 | 17 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 229 | 0 | Brakes | 6 |
| 33 | 26 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 217 | 0 | DVP | 12 |
| 34 | 8 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 178 | 0 | Suspension | 11 |
| 35 | 11 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 166 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 36 | 2 | 8 | Josh Berry (P) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 166 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 37 | 35 | B. J. McLeod | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 117 | 0 | Power | 1 |
| 38 | 34 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 81 | 0 | Rear Gear | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
edit
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Watson, Wyatt (September 15, 2023). "Justin Allgaier Locks into Round of 8 with Xfinity Win at Bristol". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Bristol Motor Speedway Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ "Practice Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol". TobyChristie.com. September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ Kornhoff, Taylor (September 15, 2023). "Cole Custer on Pole for Bristol Xfinity Race". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Food City 300 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved September 15, 2023.