The Xfinity Series kicks off their playoff with the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Thirty-nine teams brought cars to Bristol for 38 starting spots including Trevor Bayne and the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr driving the 88 car in his once a year race.  At 48, Earnhardt is the oldest driver in the field.  While running a few late model races over the past year, Earnhardt has not been in an Xfinity car since April 2022 at Martinsville.

There are seven drivers in the field that are making their debut at Bristol including playoff driver Chandler Smith.

Tonight’s race is the first time the 12 playoff drivers have to earn their way into the next round with a win.

Patrick Emerling gets into the wall during practice; requiring the crew to make some adjustments and repairs to the car.

Connor Mosack slides into the wall and needs some attention from the crew.

Playoff driver gets into the wall and has some significant damage to his car.  Burton reports that there was a tire issue that sent him into the wall; adding that they are going to have to move to a backup car.  Currently Jeb Burton is in tenth place in the playoffs – two spots below the “cut line”.

The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Running two laps, Jr has to qualify to get into the race.  He posts a time of 15.911 seconds.

BJ McLeod has withdrawn his car from the competition; as a result, all 38 of the remaining drivers will make the race.

Dale Earnhardt Ju notes that wants to have fun tonight but does not want to interfere with any of the playoff driver’s chances to succeed.

With eleven drivers having made a qualifying run, Dale Earnhardt Jr is at P1 with nephew Jeffrey alongside on the front row.

The 15th driver out – Ryan Sieg – posted a run of 15.793 seconds to beat out Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With a time of 15.664 seconds, Cole Custer sits on the pole with Josh Berry starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Food City 300:
Cole Custer
Josh Berry
John Hunter Nemechek
Chandler Smith
Daniel Hemric
Sammy Smith”
Ryan Sieg
Brandon Jones
Jeremy Clements
Justin Allgaier
Sam Mayer
Trevor Bayne
Parker Kligerman
Parker Retzlaff
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Riley Herbst
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Derek Kraus
Joe Graf Jr
Josh Williams
Sheldon Creed
Ryan Ellis
Chad Finchum
Josh Bilicki
Rajah Caruth
Austin Hill
Kyle Sieg
Brennan Poole
Connor Mosack
Kyle Weatherman
Kaz Grala
Anthony Alfredo
Blaine Perkins
Timmy Hill
Stefan Parsons
Brett Moffitt
Patrick Emerling
Jeb Burton

Jeb Burton and Patrick Emerling failed to make a qualifying run.  BJ McLeod withdrew from the race.

Derek Kraus, Anthony Alfredo, and Riley Herbst will have to start the race from the back of the field after the crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars.  Jeb Burton and BJ McLeod  are starting the race from the back of the field after crashes during practice put them in a backup car.

Justin Allgaier has led over 1,000 laps at Bristol but has not won a race in Thunder Valley in over 10 years.

Stages one and two of the rare are 85 laps each with stage three lasting 130 laps for a total of 300 laps around the half mile track. 

Cole Custer brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane and jumps out in front for the lead with Chandler Smith in second.

Drivers are getting three wide across the track.

Lap four, the top five are Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, and Josh Berry.

Lap seven, Cole Custer has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Chandler Smith; John Hunter Nemechek, Sammy Smith, and Brandon Jones round out the top five.  Dale Earnhardt Jr has not moved up from his 15th place starting spot.

Lap eleven, Justin Allgaier passes teammate Brandon Jones for fifth.

Lap 12, Cole Custer has increased his lead to over a second and a half on Chandler Smith; John Hunter Nemechek, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.  Dale Earnhardt Jr has moved up just two spots to 13th.

Lap 17, Cole Custer continues to increase his lead and is now over two seconds in front of Chandler Smith.

Lap 20, John Hunter Nemechek passes Chandler Smith for second.

Lap 21, the top five are Colle Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier.

Lap 24, leaders have caught the back of the field and are beginning to lap the slower cars.

Lap 26, there are 31 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 31, Cole Custer has led every lap so far and is over a second and a half in front of Johbn Hunter Nemechek; Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, and Chandler Smith round out the top five with 25 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 37, Cole Custer has pulled out to a two and a half second lead on John Hunter Nemechek; Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.  Dale Earnhardt Jr is in 13th place with nephew Jeffrey behind him.

Lap 41, Cole Custer has pulled out to a lead of over three seconds on John Hunger Nemechek.

Lap 43, Justin Allgaier battles with John Hunter Nemechek to take second.

Lap 48, Cole Custer has increased his lead to nearly four seconds with just 22 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 48, Justin Allgaier has closed the gap on leader Cole Custer to three seconds; John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.

Lap 51, Cole Custer has passed playoff driver Jeb Burton.Lap 54, Cole Custer’s lead is now down to just two and a half seconds on Justin Allgaier.

Lap 59, Dale Earnhardt Jr has moved up to eleventh place.

Lap 60, continues to dominate the race with Justin Allgaier in second; John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.

Lap 66, there are only 19 cars on the lead lap with playoff driver Sheldon Creed the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 68, Cole Custer has pulled out to a three second lead on Justin Allgaier.  Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek battle for third.

Lap 72, Dale Earnhardt Jr has entered the top 10 with 17 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 73, Cole Custer has a two and a half second lead on Justin Allgaier; Brandon Jones, John Hunter Nemechek and Trevor Bayne round out the top five.

Back in 21st place, Jeb Burton is running the high line and is making some of the fastest laps on the track.

Just seven laps remain in stage one with Cole Custer two seconds out in front of Justin Allgiaer.

Four laps remain in stage one, Cole Custer’s lead is down to a second and a half on Justin Allgaier; Brandon Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and Trevor Bayne round out the top five.

Leading every lap, Cole Custer wins stage one for his sixth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Cole Custer
Justin Allgaier
Brandon Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Trevor Bayne
Chandler Smith
Parker Kligerman
Sam Mayer
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Sammy Smith

For the first time ever I the Xfinity Series, the drivers ran stage one with no caution laps.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Cole Custer winning the race off of pit road.  JR comes out in fifth place.  Some of the lapped drivers took the wave around to get back on the lead lap.

Cole Custer brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Justin Allgaier alongside on lap 96. 

Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones make contact but the track stays green.

Lap 98, the top five are Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and John Hunter Nemechek.

Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones battle back and forth for second place with Allgaier getting the spot.  After the contact with Allgaier, Brandon Jones has some smoke coming from his car.

Lap 104, boss man Dale Jr passes Brandon Jones for third on the outside.

Lap 109, Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer battle for the lead.  New leader, Justin Allgaier gets around Custer but the battle continues…

Lap 114, Justin Allgaier leads the race with Cole Custer and Dale Earnhardt Jr in a battle for second.

Lap 117, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Brandon Jones, and John Hunter Nemechek.

Lap 120, Brandon Jones battles with the boss Dale Jr for third.

Lap 128, Justin Allgaier leads the race with Cole Custer in second; Dale Earnhardt Jr, Brandon Jones, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Lap 130 Justin Allgaier has a one second lead on Cole Custer with Brandon Jones taking third from the boss Dale Jr.

Drivers are getting three wide across the track as the drivers begin to get aggressive.

Lap 137, Justin Allgaier has a lead of over a second on Cole Custer; Brandon Jones, Dale Jr, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five with just 17 cars on the lead lap.

BJ McLeod iss off the track with Timmy Hill out of the race.

Lap 143, Parker Kligerman brings his car down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop with a tire issue.  He takes the car to the garage.

The first caution flag of the race comes out for an on track incident when Joe Graf Jr gets hit by Connor Mosack and gets into the wall.

Brandon Jones and Cole Custer make contact with some possible damage to the cars.

The drivers are in their window to make a pit stop and make it to the end of the race.  Some of the drivers come down pit road for service including Dale Jr who reports a loose condition in his car.

Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 17 laps remaining in stage two.  Allgaier jumps out front for the lead.  Cole Custer and John Hunter Nemechek battle for second with Custer taking the spot.

Lap 156, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With eleven laps to go in stage two, Cole Custer battles with Justin Allgaier for the lead.

BJ McLeod is out of the race.

Five to go in stage two, Justin Allgaier has a half second lead on Cole Custer.

The caution flag comes out with just three laps remaining in stage two for a crash involving playoff driver Josh Berry whose car is on fire under the hood.  Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones, and Ryan Sieg were also involved.

Justin Allgaier wins stage two for his eighth stage win at Bristol.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Austin Hill
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Trevor Bayne
John Hunter Nemechek
Daniel Hemric
Riley Herbst
Chandler Smith
Jeffrey Earnhardt

Drivers come down pit road for service with Justin Allgaier winning the race off of pit road.  The drivers who came down pit road during the last caution stayed out on the track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr leads the race.

Dale Earnhardt brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Chandler Smith on the inside.  Dale Jr and Chandler Smith battle for the lead with 121 laps remaining in the race.

The top five are Dale Earnhardt Jr, Trevor Bayne, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, and Riley Herbst.

Justin Allgaier and Chandler Smith battle for third and there may be some damage to Allgaier’s car.

Lap 165, Jeremy Clements brings out the caution flag when he spins out.  Jeb Burton and Jeffrey Earnhardt make contact.

Dale Earnhardt Jr brings the field down for the green flag restart with 120 laps remaining in the race.  JR jumps out in front of Justin Allgaier for the lead but Allgaier comes up to battle for the position.  There are just 16 cars on the lead lap.

Parker Kligerman returns to the  track 51 laps down.

Lap 187, the top five are Dale Earnhardt Jr, Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, and John Hunter Nemechek.

John Hunter Nemechek and Riley Herbst make contact; sending Herbst up to the wall.

Lap 203, Dale Earnhardt Jr has a lead of over a second and a half on Trevor Bayne.

Saying that he was very nervous about getting back in the car, Dale Earnhardt Jr has pulled out to a two second lead on Cole Custer.  He told his crew chief that he is fine and to “leave me alone”.  Prior to the race, JR said that he would be very happy to finish in the top 15; but didn’t see a win in his future.

Eighty laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr has a two second lead on Cole Custer; Justin Allgaier, John Hunter Nemechek, and Trevor Bayne round out the top five.

Austin Hill and teammates Sheldon Creed make contact and brings out the caution flag on lap 217 when Hill spins out and gets into the wall.  Hill takes his car down pit road for repairs.  An angry Austin Hill asked on the radio, “who needs enemies when you have teammates”.

Drivers come down pit road including leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Justin Allgaier stays out on the track and leads the race.

Justin Allgaier brings the field down for the green falg restart with 76 laps remaining in the race.

The top five are Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Austin Hill is out of the race.

Jeffrey Earnhardt is slowed on the track with a tire issue.  He gets the car to pit road and the track stays green.

Just 70 laps remain in the race; Justin Allgaier has a lead of over half a second on Daniel Hemric; Ryan Sieg, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Daniel Hemric’s crew reports that he has no sticker tires; just a set of eleven lap scuffs.

Dale Earnhardt Jr passes Ryan Sieg for third; with Justin Allgaier less than half a second out in front.

With 62 laps to go, Dale JR battles with Daniel Hemric for second.

With 54 laps to go, Daniel Hemric battles Justin Allgaier for the lead.

The 91 car of Josh Bilicki brings out the sixth caution flag of the race with 52 laps to go when he spins out after contact from Rajah Caruth.

Justin Allgaier gives up the lead to make a pit stop for fresh tires.  Daniel Hemric is the new leader.

Daniel Hemric brings the field down for the green flag restart with 44 laps to go and battles with John Hunter Nemechek for the lead.  Hemric takes the lead.

The top five are Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Cole Custer, and Chandler Smith.

Just 37 laps to go, John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hemric continue to battle for the lead; Dale Earnhardt Jr and Cole Custer battle for third.

Cole Custer passes Dale Jr and John Hunter Nemechek to take second.

Just 33 laps to go, Cole Custer tries to take the lead but falls back in the field to battle with Dale JR for third.

Thirty to go, Justin Allgaier has moved up to fifth and passes the boss man for fourth.

With 29 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr brings his car down pit road reporting that the car is on fire.  He is out of the car and the track stays green.  Earnhardt is out of the race.

With 25 to go, Daniel Hemric leads the race with Justin Allgaier in second; John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier battles with Daniel Hemric for the lead with 23 laps to go.

Twenty to go, Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier continue to battle for the lead.  There are 15 cars on the lead lap.

Fifteen to go and the battle continues between Daniel Hemric and Justin Allgaier; so far Hemric has held Allgaier off.

With 12 laps to go, Justin Allgaier finally gets around Daniel Hemric for the lead with lapped traffic in front of Hemric.

Ten to go, the top five are Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, and Chandler Smith.

Dale Earnhardt Jr will end up finishing the race in 30th place.

Five to go, Justin Allgaier has pulled out to a one second lead on Daniel Hemric.

With just two laps to go, Justin Allgaier is looking for his first Bristol win since 2010.

Justin Allgaier takes the white flag.

Earning his 22nd career win, Justin Allgaier lead 110 laps and is the first driver to secure a spot in the next round of the playoffs.

Allgaier comes out of the car through the roof hatch as the crew comes up to celebrate.  Dad is on the wall and an American flag is draped on the windshield.  He noted that it was “cool” to battle with the boss man – Dale JR.  The crew climbed the fence in celebration; and then walks along the fence fist pumping all the fans.

Heading to victory circle, Justin Allgaier’s Dad was riding on the window of the right side of the car. Then Allgaier stopped by the infield care center and picked up the boss Dale JR.

The trophy for this race is gladiator’s sword.

The unofficial results of the Food City 300:
Justin Allgaier
Daniel Hemric
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Chandler Smith
Ryan Sieg
Trevor Bayne
Riley Herbst
Sammy Smith
Kaz Grala
Sheldon Creed
Derek Kraus
Jeb Burton
Connor Mosack
Parker Retzlaff
Brett Moffitt
Rajah Caruth
Ryan Ellis
Stefan Parsons
Josh Williams
Kyle Sieg
Brennan Poole
Kyle Weatherman
Jeremy Clements
Anthony Alfredo
Joe Graf Jr
Josh Bilicki
Blaine Perkins
Chad Finchum
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Parker Kligerman
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Austin Hill
Brandon Jones
Sam Mayer
Josh Berry
BJ McLeod
Timmy Hill

Dale Earnhardt Jr said that he has a hole in his pants from a fire in the tunnel shifter.  He said that he had a “blast”; adding that the Helman’s car was fast.  He led 47 laps during the race.

While still a driver, Earnhardt was involved in a wreck that led to some second degree burns.

After the first race in the playoffs, the standing are:
Justin Allgaier – locked in for the next round
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Austin Hill
Chandler Smith
Daniel Hemric
Sammy Smith
Sheldon Creed
Jeb Burton
Sam Mayer
Parker Kligerman
Josh Berry