Twenty years ago today the world came to a halt for America when terrorist flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center and attempted to fly one into the Pentagon. Twelve days later NASCAR returned at Dover Speedway where Dale Earnhardt Jr won the race.
Today in the first race of a doubleheader day of racing, Junior makes his solo start of the year driving the number eight JR Motorsports car in the Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway. Junior will be starting the race from back in the pack in 30th place. And for the first time, wife Amy and the girls are at the track to see Junior race.
Austin Cindric sits on the pole and will bring the field to green with Harrison Burton starting alongside on the front row.
NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 35.
The starting lineup for the Go Bowling 250:
Austin Cindric
Harrison Burton
Noah Gragson
Justin Haley
Justin Allgaier
Jeb Burton
Jeremy Clements
AJ Allmendinger
Myatt Snider
Michael Annett
Ryan Sieg
Daniel Hemric
Alex Labbe
Josh Williams
Ty Gibbs
Brandon Jones
Brandon Brown
Jade Buford
Ty Dillon
Riley Herbst
Matt Mills
Patrick Emerling
Joe Graf Jr
Tommy Joe Martins
Ryan Vargas
Jeffrey Earnhardt
John Hunter Nemechek
Bayley Currey
JJ Yeley
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Landon Cassill
Kyle Weatherman
Josh Berry
Mason Massey
Spencer Boyd
Stephen Leicht
David Starr
Sam Mayer
CJ McLaughlin
Akinori Ogata
In giving their picks for the race winner, Kyle Petty chose Dale Jr for the win; adding that he would mow Junior’s lawn if he wins the race.
Stages one and two of the race are 75 laps each with stage three lasting 100 laps for a total of 250 laps around the ¾ mile track. The teams only have four sets of tires for the race – three in the pits.
The only sport to add a prayer as a part of the pre-race festivities, today, the prayer included a “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let’s go racing!”
With Dale Earnhardt Jr in the race, Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett joins Steve Letarte and Vinc Welch in the broadcast booth.
Austin Cindric brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane and edges out Harrison Burotn to take the lead.
Ty Dillon and Bayley Currey had to start the race from the back of the field after a driver change and Aginori Ogata started the race from the back of the field after missing driver introductions.
Austin Cindric leads lap one.
Lap six, the top five are Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier. Dale Jr has moved up seven spots to 23rd.
CJ McLaughlin is off the track.
Every fan at the race was given a small American flag and from laps nine to eleven, they wil be waving those flags in remembrance of events 20 years ago. The broadcast booth also went silent and only the sound of the cars could be heard.
Lap 12, Austin Cindric has a half second lead on Harrison Burton; Jeb Burton, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five. Dale Jr has entered the top 20 in 19th.
Lap 23, Austin Cindric has led every lap so far with Harrison Burton a half second back; Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five. Dale Jr is in 19th battling with Josh Berry.
Lap 27, Ty Gibbs passes Justin Allgaier for fifth.
There are 37 cars on the lead lap with CJ McLaughlin off the track.
Lap 30, Austin Cindric has increased his lead to a second on Harrison Burton; AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, and Noah Gragson round out the top five. Stephen Leicht is on pit road.
Lap 34, CJ McLaughlin has returned to the track 32 laps down.
NASCAR displays the yellow flag for the competition caution on lap 36.
Dale Earnhardt Jr reports on the radio that he is having fun.
Only a few drivers come down pit road for service.
Jeb Burton is on pit road, reporting no power. The crew had plans to replace the battery. Burton reports that he has power. It appeared that there was a short somewhere or something had come loose.
Austin Cindric brings the field dow nfor the green flag restart on alp 43 and battle with AJ Allmendinger for the lead.
Lapa 44, Austin Cindric leads the race with AJ Allmendinger in second; Harrison Burton, Justin Allgaier, and Justin Haley round out the top five with 34 cars on the lead lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr restarts the race in 19th place.
Lap 46, AJ Allmendinger passes Austin Cindric for the lead.
Lap 47, Justin Allgaier passes Austin Cidric for second.
Lap 48, Harrisn Burton passes Austin Cindric for third and battles with Justin Allgaier for second.
Lap 50, AJ Allmendinger leads the race with Harrison Burton in second; Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Lap 52, AJ Allmendinger has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Harrison Burton; Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, and Tommy Joe Martins on fresh tires round out the top five. Martins is the only driver who took fresh tires at the caution.
Lap 58, on fresh tires, Tommy Joe Martins has moved up to second place behind AJ Allmendinger.
Lap 61, AJ Allmendinger leads the race with Tommy Joe Martins in second over a half second back; Austin Cindric, Ty Gibbs, and Harrison Burton round out the top five. Dale Earnhardt Jr is in 20th place over 12 seconds back.
Ten laps remain in stage one, AJ Allmendinger’s lead is down to under half a seocnd on Tommy Joe Martins.
Eight laps remain in stage one, Tommy Joe Martins battles with AJ Allmendinger for the lead.
With six laps to go in the stage, Tommy Joe Martins passes AJ Allmendinger for the lead.
Fifth place driver JJ Yeley also took fresh tires at the competition caution.
Lap 72, AJ Allmendinger battles back to retake the lead form Tommy Joe Martins.
AJ Allmendinger edges out Tommy Joe Martins to win stage one for his ninth stage win of the season…and another playoff point.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
AJ Allmendinger
Tommy Joe Martins
Austin Cindric
Ty Gibbs
JJ Yeley
Harrison Burton
Daniel Hemric
Noah Gragson
Spencer Boyd
Patrick Emerling
Michael Annett has some damage to his car after some on track contact.
Austin Cindric wins the race off of pit road. AJ Allmendinger lost five spots after having to back up to get out of his pit stall.
Justin Allgaier is reporting some major issues with his car. The crew checked the car over and could not find an issue.
Austin Cindric brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the inside lane on lap 85. Drivers get three wide in a battle for position.
Daniel Hemric takes the lead from the outside lane.
Tommy Joe Martins brings out the caution flag on lap 86 when he spins out after making contact with Spencer Boyd. Martins was in 15th place at the time of the incident.
Daniel Hemric brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 92 from the inside lane and goes three wide with Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson for the lead.
Daniel Hemric takes the lead with Austin Cindric in second; Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, and John Hunter Nemechek rounding out the top five. Dale Jr is just outside the top 10 in 12th place.
Lap 96, Daneil Hemric leads the race with Ty Gibbs just two tenths of a second back; Austin Cindric, John Hunter Nemechek, and Noah Gragson round out the top five.
Lap 98, Ty Gibbs passes Daniel Hemric for the lead.
Dale Jr reports that “it’s like Christmas back here”. Jr has entered the top 10 in tenth place.
Lap 102, Ty Gibbs has a lead of over half a second on Daniel Hemric; Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 110, Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a led of over a second on Austin Cindric; Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, and Daniel Hemric round out the top five. Dale Jr is in ninth place.
There are 33 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 115, Ty Gibbs continues to lead the race by over a second on Austin Cindric; AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, and Noah Gragson round out the top five.
Lap 121, AJ Allmendinger passes Austin Cindric for second; Ty Gibbs has a lead of over a second and a half.
Lap 125, AJ Allmendinger has closed the gap on leader Ty Gibbs to just over a second.
Brandon Brown has reported a number of issues in his car including some smoke in the cockpit.
Lap 134, Ty Gibbs holds on to a one second lead on AJ Allmendinger with Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric, and Noah Gragson rounding out the top five.
Ty Gibbs has made 13 Xfinity Series starts and has led eleven of them.
There are 30 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 140, Ty Gibbs continues to lead the race but is now less than a second in front of AJ Allmendinger; Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric, and Noah Gragson round out the top five.
With five laps remaining in stae two, Ty Gibbs has a led of just over half a second on AJ Allmendinger.
CJ McLaughlin brings out the caution flag when he spins out and makes contact with Jade Buford. McLaughlin was off the pace and was trying to make his way to pit road when the incident occurred.
With the stage ending under caution, Ty Gibbs wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ty Gibbs
AJ Allmendinger
Harrison Burton
Noah Gragson
Daniel Hemric
Austin Cindric
Sam Mayer
Riley Herbst
Ryan Sieg
John Hunger Nemechek
Drivers come down pit road for service. Several of the drivers are asking to be “freed up” in the center. Daniel Hemric wins the race off of pit road.
AJ Allmendinger had another slow stop on pit road when a tire got away from them. He came out in fifth place; losing three spots.
Daniel Hemric brings the field down fro the green flag start of stage three from the outside lane but it is Noah Gragson who gets out in front from the inside lane on lap 160.
The top five are Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Ty Gibbs, Harrison Burton, and Sam Mayer. There are 27 cars on the lead lap.
After having numerous car issues, Justin Allgaier has recovered and is in sixth place.
Lap 165, Ty Gibbs passes Noah Gragson from the outside lane to take the lead.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has not been in a race car in over a year; despite not being able to have any practice time, he has moved up to seventh place after starting the race in 30th place.
Bayley Currey brings out the caution flag on lap 170 when he spins out and gets into the wall.
Ryan Sieg is the only driver who comes down pit road for fresh tires. Sieg will have to restart the race from the back of the field after having an uncontrolled tire on pit road.
With 74 laps remaining in the race, Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane but it is Harrison Burton who gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, Sam Mayer, Noah Gragson, and Justin Allgaier. Dale Jr is in eighth place.
Landon Cassill hits the wall and gets stopped on the track while trying to make his way to pit road; bringing out the caution flag.
Several drivers come down pit road; while others stay out on the track. Leaders are among the drivers who made a pit stop.
After staying out on the track, Sam Mayer brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with 63 laps remaining in the race. Drivers get five wide on the restart.
Same Mayer takes the lead with Justin Haley in second; Riley Herbst, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Ryan Sieg rounding out the top five.
On fresh tires, Harrison Burton passes Sam Mayer for the lead.
With 44 laps remaining in the race, Harrison Burton leads the race with Ty Gibbs in second; AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
CJ McLaughlin is the only driver out of the race with Landon Cassill off the track. There are 26 cars on the lead lap.
There are 34 laps remaining in the race; Harrison Burton has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Thirty to go, after restarting the race in the top 10, Dale Earnhardt Jr has fallen to 21st place on old tires.
The caution flag comes out on lap 224 when Josh Williams gets into the wall after spinning out. Akinori Ogata also spins out.
All of the driver of the drivers who have a fresh set of tires come down pit road; as well as, some of the other drivers taking cold scuffs. Harrison Burton wins the race off of pit road.
Jeb Burton had an uncontrolled tire on pit road and Dale Earnhardt Jr was caught speeding on pit road. Both drivers will have to start from the back of the field.
After staying out on the track, AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with 20 laps remaining in the race. Drivers get three and four wide across the track in a battle for position.
Tommy Joe Martins gets into the wall and brings out the caution flag with 19 laps to go.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 14 laps remaining in the race. AJ Allmendinger jumps out for the lead with Noah Gragson in second.
Noah Gragson passes AJ Allmendinger for the lead. Jeremy Clements spins out and brings out the ninth caution flag of the race. The drivers were three wide in a battle for position when Clements got loose on the inside of a three wide battle.
Austin Cindric comes down pit road for a tire change.
Noah Gragson brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with just seven laps to go. Gragson gets out in front for the lead with John Hunter Nemechek in second; Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek battle for second.
Five to go, Noah Gragson has a lead of over half a second on John Hunter Nemechek.
Four to go, on fresher tires, Justin Haley takes second.
Noah Gragson takes the white flag.
For the second week in a row, Noah Gragson wins the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr finished back in the field in 14th but he is still a winner as the car owner of the number nine car.
After an impressive burn out, Noah Gragson stands on the roof of his car holding an American flag as the crowd chants U.S.A. After his post race interview, Gragson climbs the fence in celebration.
The unofficial results of the Go Bowling 250:
Noah Gragson
Justin Haley
John Hunter Nemechek
Justin Allgaier
Riley Herbst
Daniel Hemric
Ty Gibbs
Brandon Brown
Harrison Burton
Jeb Burton
Ty Dillon
Sam Mayer
Ryan Sieg
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Kyle Weatherman
Austin Cindric
Mason Massey
AJ Allmendinger
Alex Labbe
Brandon Jones
Matt Mills
Michael Annett
Josh Williams
Josh Berry
Myatt Snider
Jeremy Clements
Bayley Currey
David Starr
JJ Yeley
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Joe Graf Jr
Patrick Emerling
Spencer Boyd
Akinori Ogata
Ryan Vargas
Jade Buford
Tommy Joe Martins
Stephen Leicht
Landon Cassill
CJ McLaughlin
JR Motorsports Bowls Over Competition for Xfinity Series Win at Richmond
DAYTONA MOTOR SPEEDWAY, Fla. -- The Air Force Ford-sponsored Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford Taurus, driven by Ricky Rudd, is shown here during a practice run Feb 11. He is preparing for the Daytona 500 race, which will be held here Feb. 15. (U.S. Air Force photo by Larry McTighe)