Turn Off the Lights, Brandon Brown Beats the Darkness at Talladega; Scores 1st Xfinity Victory: 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!”(Read more)(10-2-2021)
When NASCAR declared the Sparks 300 Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway official with six laps remaining due to darkness, #68-Brandon Brown was ahead of the field. Brown gave his family-ran Brandonbilt Motorsports team its first victory.
NASCAR had to go back to the last scoring line the field crossed when a caution flew on lap 103 to determine the finishing order. Brown was narrowly ahead of #19-Brandon Jones and #7-Justin Allgaier in a three-wide battle, awarding him the victory.
#18-Daniel Hemric and #31-Jordan Anderson rounded out the top five. Daytona winner #11-Justin Haley placed sixth, while #10-Jeb Burton, #22-Austin Cindric, #1-Josh Berry and #07-Joe Graf Jr. made up the rest of the top 10.
Making his first start of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, #54-John Hunter Nemechek won the opening stage. Rookie driver #23-Blaine Perkins won the second stage for Our Motorsports.
There were 33 lead changes among 17 drivers and five cautions for 21 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 128.486 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Talladega Paint Schemes
Race Fast Facts – Talladega:
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.
Where the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoff drivers finishes at Talladega:
#19-Brandon Jones, 2nd
#7-Justin Allgaier, 3rd
#18-Daniel Hemric, 4th
#11-Justin Haley, 6th
#10-Jeb Burton, 7th
#22-Austin Cindric, 8th
#51-Jeremy Clements, 24th
#20-Harrison Burton, 25th
#98-Riley Herbst, 27th
#9-Noah Gragson, 30th
#2-Myatt Snider, 31st
#16-AJ Allmendinger, 39th
Xfinity Series Standings after Talladega (Race 28 of 33):
1)Austin Cindric 2,131 points, +77 ahead of ninth (advanced on points)
2)Justin Allgaier 2,109, +55
3)Daniel Hemric 2,095, +41
4)AJ Allmendinger 2,087, +33
5)Justin Haley 2,078, +24
6)Brandon Jones 2,075, +21
7)Noah Gragson 2,072, +18
8)Harrison Burton 2,062, +8
Currently Below Round of 8 cutoff
9)Jeb Burton 2,054, -8
10)Myatt Snider 2,038, -24
11)Riley Herbst 2,030, -32
12)Jeremy Clements 2,014, -48
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.
Cars to the rear: #11-Justin Haley had to serve a pass through penalty for an inspection violation (improperly applied decals).
Pit Stall Selections
For just the second time this season, #7-Justin Allgaier will start from the pole in an Xfinity Series race, when he leads the field to the green flag on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.
#22-Austin Cindric will start alongside in second, with #1-Josh Berry, #9-Noah Gragson and #16-AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five. #18-Daniel Hemric will start sixth, as #19-Brandon Jones, #11-Justin Haley, #20-Harrison Burton and #2-Myatt Snider make up the rest of the top 10. Making his first Xfinity start for Joe Gibbs Racing, #54-John Hunter Nemechek lines up 11th.
Based on points, #13-Timmy Hill did not qualify.
The lineup was set by the qualifying metrics, based on race finish, points position, and fastest race lap.
See the complete Sparks 300 Starting Lineup.
Crew Rosters
Goodyear Tire Notes
The Entry List for the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway is posted, 41 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Based on points, #13-Timmy Hill will miss the show.
Notables: #1-Josh Berry, #15-Bayley Currey #17-Garrett Smithley, #23-Blaine Perkins, #26-Santino Ferrucci, #31-Jordan Anderson, #52-Joey Gase, #54-John Hunter Nemechek, #66-Jason White, #78-Mason Massey, #99-JJ Yeley.
See the full entry list on the Entry List page.
