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Jim Utter

Allmendinger rebounds from wreck to win Nashville Xfinity race

Allmendinger suffered some damage to his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in a four-car wreck on lap 53 of 196 that also knocked out the race leader at the time, Ty Gibbs.

With repairs completed, Allmendinger was able to drive back up through the field and took the lead for the first time with 55 laps remaining.

After maintaining his lead through a round of green-flag pit stops, Allmendinger had to fend off Chandler Smith in one overtime and then Riley Herbst by 1.323 seconds in the second to claim the victory.

The win is the second this season in three series starts for Allmendinger and 17th of his career. In three races this season, he’s finished first, second and first.

“Car was real good. Got caught up in that one wreck on that restart and thought our chance of winning was over but the guys did such a great job of fixing it,” Allmendinger said.

“This is one of those iconic trophies (a guitar) you want to win. What a cool way to do it.”

Sam Mayer finished third, Austin Hill fourth and Josh Berry fifth.

Completing the top-10 were John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer and Parker Retzlaff.

Stage 1

Gibbs got by Custer on a restart on lap 22 of 45 and cruised to the Stage 1 win by 1.749 seconds. Allmendinger was third, Carson Hocevar fourth and Sammy Smith fifth.

A multi-car wreck erupted on the first lap that did significant damage to the cars of Stefan Parsons and Justin Allgaier. Parsons was forced to retire from the race.

Stage 2

Chandler Smith grabbed the lead on a late restart and easily held off Custer to claim the Stage 2 win. Hemric was third, Mayer fourth and Herbst completed the top five.

A multi-car wreck at the start of the stage knocked Gibbs and Hocevar out of the race early and left the No. 10 of Allmendinger with damage.

Another wreck on lap 69 collected Shelton Creed and Brandon Jones and knocked Sammy Smith out of the race.

Stage 3

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Chandler Smith first off pit road. He led the way on the restart on lap 98.

Nemechek was forced to pit on lap 127 under green with a bad vibration (loose right-front wheel) but within the window to get new tires and fuel to make it to the end of the race.

With 50 laps remaining, Chandler Smith, Custer and Allmendinger were involved in a wild three-car battle for the lead, with Smith holding a small advantage.

Allmendinger finally got around Smith and Custer on lap 142 to take the lead for the first time in the race.

Chandler Smith was among the first lead-lap cars to hit pit road on lap 145 to kick off a final round of green-flag pit stops to get new tires and fuel.

Once the cycle was completed on lap 177, Allmendinger returned to the lead followed by Custer and Chandler Smith.

Chad Chastain spun around on lap 183 to bring out the caution and send the race into a two-lap overtime. A handful of lead-lap cars pit, including Custer, for old but colder tires. Allmendinger remained out front on the restart followed by Chandler Smith and Hill.

Chandler Smith spun on the restart to place the race back under caution and set up a second overtime with Allmendinger still out front.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Laps Led
1 10 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 196 2:40'20.252     25
2 98 United States Riley Herbst Ford 196 2:40'21.575 1.323 1.323  
3 1 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 196 2:40'21.857 1.605 0.282 6
4 21 United States Austin Hill Chevrolet 196 2:40'22.065 1.813 0.208 3
5 8 Josh Berry Chevrolet 196 2:40'22.348 2.096 0.283 1
6 20 United States John Hunter Nemechek Toyota 196 2:40'22.487 2.235 0.139  
7 28 Zane Smith Ford 196 2:40'22.691 2.439 0.204  
8 11 United States Daniel Hemric Chevrolet 196 2:40'22.727 2.475 0.036 1
9 00 United States Cole Custer Ford 196 2:40'22.878 2.626 0.151 32
10 31 Parker Retzlaff Chevrolet 196 2:40'23.146 2.894 0.268 3
11 48 United States Parker Kligerman Chevrolet 196 2:40'23.613 3.361 0.467 22
12 16 Chandler Smith Chevrolet 196 2:40'24.430 4.178 0.817 74
13 27 United States Jeb Burton Chevrolet 196 2:40'25.081 4.829 0.651  
14 25 United States Brett Moffitt Ford 196 2:40'25.270 5.018 0.189  
15 7 United States Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 196 2:40'25.348 5.096 0.078  
16 26 United States Kaz Grala Toyota 196 2:40'30.871 10.619 5.523  
17 2 United States Sheldon Creed Chevrolet 195 2:40'23.518 1 Lap 1 Lap  
18 4 United States Kyle Weatherman Chevrolet 195 2:40'24.216 1 Lap 0.698  
19 39 United States Ryan Sieg Ford 195 2:40'24.289 1 Lap 0.073  
20 6 United States Brennan Poole Chevrolet 195 2:40'25.266 1 Lap 0.977  
21 38 Joe Jr. Ford 195 2:40'25.484 1 Lap 0.218  
22 51 United States Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 195 2:40'25.644 1 Lap 0.160  
23 78 Anthony Alfredo Chevrolet 195 2:40'27.074 1 Lap 1.430  
24 9 United States Brandon Jones Chevrolet 195 2:40'27.898 1 Lap 0.824  
25 29 Kyle Sieg Ford 195 2:40'30.872 1 Lap 2.974  
26 02 Blaine Perkins Chevrolet 194 2:40'26.576 2 Laps 1 Lap  
27 45 United States Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 194 2:40'31.331 2 Laps 4.755  
28 43 United States Ryan Ellis Chevrolet 194 2:40'32.422 2 Laps 1.091  
29 91 Chad Chastain Chevrolet 194 2:40'34.065 2 Laps 1.643  
30 35 United States David Starr Chevrolet 193 2:40'32.278 3 Laps 1 Lap  
31 53 United States Joey Gase Toyota 193 2:40'36.002 3 Laps 3.724  
32 08 Mason Massey Ford 186 2:40'39.676 10 Laps 7 Laps  
33 92 United States Josh Williams Chevrolet 111 1:54'55.058 85 Laps 75 Laps  
34 18 Sammy Smith Toyota 68 1:05'17.731 128 Laps 43 Laps 1
35 24 Connor Mosack Toyota 61 59'13.444 135 Laps 7 Laps  
36 77 Carson Hocevar Chevrolet 53 48'24.282 143 Laps 8 Laps  
37 19 Ty Gibbs Toyota 53 49'09.363 143 Laps 45.081 28
38 07 Stefan Parsons Chevrolet 0 1.299 196 Laps 53 Laps  
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