NOAPS Race Recap: Food City 300

Qualifying for the Food City 300 was rained out, leaving Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed on the front row for the start. Sam Mayer and Carson Kvapil started behind them. Second in points, Justin Allgaier started the race in ninth. The stage lengths were 85 laps for the first and second, with the final stage being 130 laps. The Food City 300 was the third race of the Chase and the first of two short tracks.

Love Out Front

Love got a great launch and took the lead into turn one. Creed settled in behind him and in front of Kvapil. Brent Crews took the outside line to try and pass Kvapil. Kvapil was able to hold him off.

On lap 13, Crews got to the inside of Kvapil and forced him up the track. Crews was able to take the spot, dropping Kvapil to fourth.

Allgaier charged his way to sixth. He was among the fastest on track and caught the rear bumper of Taylor Gray to challenge for the top five. He took advantage of Gray getting up the track to make the pass. Allgaier passed Creed and Kvapil in quick succession to get onto the podium.

Allgaier stuck to the bottom line and took advantage of some lapped traffic. He battled with Crews, who was stuck on the outside. Allgaier grabbed the runner-up spot on lap 48.

With all that going on, Love pulled away from the field by over three and a half seconds. He was able to cut through the rear of the field with relative ease.

Tires Going Down

On lap 63, Jeb Burton slowed on the track with a flat right front tire. Rajah Caruth was next to slow on the track with tire issues. They were both able to make it to the pits. Burton was 15th when he had his issues, and Caruth was 11th.

Austin Hill had a tire go down. He got into the wall right in front of Burton and Nick Sanchez. Hill got onto pit road safely to fix his issues.

Love was hindered by some lapped traffic, which allowed Allgaier to shrink the gap to under half a second. They battled lapped traffic together. They caught three cars battling to stay on the lead lap. Allgaier scampered on the outside of all three to take the lead with two to go in the stage. Love fell to fourth after being stuck in the absolute wrong spot on track.

Allgaier sustained significant nose damage in the fight for the lead.

Allgaier pulled away to win stage one of the Food City 300! Kvapil, Crews, Love, and Sam Mayer finished in the top five.

Jeremy Clements and Anthony Alfredo also had tire issues late in the stage.

Kvapil Comes Alive

Kvapil and Love restarted on the front row. Kvapil was shot out of a cannon to take the lead into turn one. Allgaier followed him and got alongside him in turn two. Allgaier used the high side and a slip by Kvapil to take the lead briefly.

Crews was shoved into the wall with Allgaier and Kvapil alongside him.

Kvapil pulled away into the lead. He built his lead to over half a second over Love and Allgaier.

On lap 124, the second caution came out when Natalie Decker turned sideways on the backstretch. Alfredo got into her rear bumper to help her get loose.

Allgaier and Kvapil brought the green flag back out on the front row. Kvapil quickly got back to the lead.

Love took the inside line to try and pass Allgaier, but was unable to get it done.

Kvapil pulled away by almost a second with 30 to go in the stage.

On lap 143, Lavar Scott got into the back of Jeremy Clements. Scott sustained damage to his nose, which forced him to pit road.

Alfredo had more tire issues on lap 154. He made an unscheduled pit stop and fell several laps down.

With 15 to go, Kvapil had his lead at two seconds over his teammate in second.

Kvapil stayed out front to win stage two in the Food City 300! Allgaier, Love, Mayer, and Gray finished the stage in the top five.

Problem For the Leader

Kvapil and Allgaier led the field into stage three. Love had a bad restart from the second row. Kvapil pulled away in the lead.

On lap 195, Blaine Perkins had a track bar issue and was forced to pit.

5 laps later, Kvapil led by a second. He and Taylor Gray were the fastest two on track. He doubled that lead over the next 15 laps.

Allgaier slowly began to close the gap to his teammate.

Austin Hill had more tire issues and slowed on track. He crawled to the pits.

Kvapil began complaining of a loose wheel. As his lead shrunk, the problem got worse.

Coming to 50 laps to go, Allgaier took the lead in turn four. Gray also got around Kvapil for second. Kvapil then began to smoke from his car and reported he lost his brakes. On lap 256, he pulled into the pits.

Nick Sanchez got together with Corey Day and began to smoke.

Patrick Staropoli spun on the backstretch with 26 to go in the race. He was on the apron and spun by himself. That brought out the fourth caution.

25 to go

The top five all stay out of the pits under the caution.

With 15 to go, Love restarted on the inside of Allgaier. Allgaier got a great restart and pulled away. Love stayed as close to him as he could. Love dove to the inside of Allgaier in turns one and two. He overdrove the corner and into the side of Allgaier. Allgaier hit the wall.

Taylor Gray got to the inside of Love but could not hold onto the spot.

Allgaier fell to fourth.

Gray caught back to and challenged Love for the lead. Gray did to Love what Love did to Allgaier. Love fell to seventh. William Sawalich jumped to the lead. Sheldon Creed took the runner-up spot.

With three to go, Corey Day got into Ryan Sieg. Sieg was sent into Parker Retzlaff. Sieg smacked the wall and slowed with a flat tire.

Overtime in Bristol

Creed joined Sawalich on the front row. Allgaier and Crews pushed them on the restart. Crews and Creed got the better launch, giving Creed the lead. Sawalich tried to make a run on the outside on the white flag lap, but Creed held on. Creed got it done in the Food City 300! Sawalich, Crews, Allgaier, and Day rounded out the top five.

Marvin’s Minute:

It was a very clean(ish) race at Bristol. There was some beating and banging, which is expected. Not a ton of cautions gave a great race with great racing.

Sheldon Creed is making his presence known in this year’s Chase. He has two wins and a second-place finish so far. Has he surpassed Allgaier as the favorite for the championship? He now has an eleven-point gap over Allgaier for the points lead.

Allgaier had a great run with pretty significant damage to his nose. That showed his veteran ability to stay patient and figure out what he was working with. He will look to turn it around after a week off when the series heads to Vegas!