BRISTOL, Tenn. – No matter how you slice it or dice it, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular still won Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but there were several performances by XFINITY Series regulars that left Austin Dillon’s second win of the season a little lackluster.
Of course, the traditional Bristol elements of close racing, beating and banging and even some tempers provided a different landscape of the finishing positions, even at the front of the field when leaders Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski tangled with four laps to go.
Still, drivers who needed good finishes earned them and did so rightfully.
What’s even better? Some drivers earned their career-best finish in “Thunder Valley,” making the performance even more memorable for some.
Here’s a look at a few:
Jeremy Clements finished sixth in Friday night’s Food City 300. It was Clements’ second top-10 finish of the season and best since a career-best fourth place effort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in May.
From the drop of the green flag, Clements’s No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet Camaro showcased speed and the capabilities of earning a top-10 finish. Clements, the Spartanburg, South Carolina native utilized the high line during the early stages of the race to climb as high as third, but feel victim to handling conditions as the race pressed on.
Still, Clements with guidance from his crew chief and father Tony Clements played their strategy card right, delivering the Clements Racing team their 10th top-10 finish in their 222nd career XFINITY Series start.
“This is just a huge boost of confidence for our team,” Clements told CATCHFENCE.com. “Bristol showed us that we can run up front and one of the toughest places to race. We never gave up. I’m so proud of our small test for busting butt. It paid off with a sixth place finish and believe me, we’re not out of this XFINITY Chase just yet.”
Looking to take a new team into the XFINITY Series Chase, Blake Koch and his Kaulig Racing team delivered their career-best effort in the Food City 300. Widely known for his road course racing skills, Koch with the security and support from crew chief and team manager Chris Rice battled back from a subdue qualifying position in 17th to earn their third top-10 finish of the season.
More importantly, it was a career-best finish for the No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro team since debuting in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.
“It feels amazing and a top ten finish is huge,” said Koch. “We needed those points tonight. I had my wife and son here tonight watching even. But a big thank you to Matt and Lisa (Kaulig) for this opportunity. Top-10 finishes are definitely awesome.”
Utilizing their alliance with Richard Childress Racing, Koch, Rice and team owner Matt Kaulig are flexing their muscle and sending off mid-season championship vibes that they likely could become a sleeper in the Chase as its liftoff approaches.
What more can you ask for a startup team?
You would think that with a potent organization like Joe Gibbs Racing they would be the number one seed to deliver the best effort for Toyota during 308 grueling laps in Thunder Valley,
right?
Wrong.
A welcomed surprise for the JGL Racing Camp saw short track stud Corey Lajoie earn his career-best XFINITY Series finish in the No. 28 youtheory Toyota Camry to close out the top-10 in Friday night’s Food City 300.
Making the most of a limited schedule with the two-car operation, Lajoie battled back from a mid-pack starting position of 20th to elevate his way through the field and use the beneficiary of the free pass during the event’s last caution to be the top-fielding car from Toyota surpassing drivers Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez.
“We didn’t have great speed, but we were in the right places to capitalize,” Lajoie told CATCHFENCE.com. “We should be rolling out two top-1s if we didn’t cut that tire down at Loudon. But, it’s a great to get a good finish for youtheory and the JGL guys.”
Lajoie, the son of former XFINITY Series champion Randy Lajoie will have to wait until October though to have another shot in the No. 24 JGL Racing Toyota Camry. Before the green flag at Bristol, Lajoie told CATCHFENCE.com his next scheduled race is at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in October.
Before the start of the 22nd XFINITY Series race of the season, you would have thought a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series powerhouse driver was behind the wheel of the No. 60 Krispy Kreme Ford Mustang.
But it wasn’t, it was a XFINITY Series rookie and potential superstar in the making.
Surrounded by friends, family and sponsors, Gray Gaulding reflected on making his XFINITY Series debut earlier in the day – but knew finishing his first series’ race was crucial to build
moment towards his other planned start of the season at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway next month.
Qualifying 21st Gaulding utilized patience to the fullest while making strong process through the field approaching the halfway mark. However, on Lap 193 at the 0.533-mile concrete oval, Gaulding said he had a flat tire which sent his car into the spin and making contact with the outside wall.
What literally seemed liked as significant contact to his No. 60 Krispy Kreme Ford Mustang, the Roush Fenway Racing team was able to send him back out into the race. Incredibly, Gaulding’s Ford seemed to be faster after the wreck than before which propelled him to a solid 13th place finish when the checkered flag flew for the first time in his XFINITY Series career.
“We could have had a top-ten finish if not for that cut tire,” Gaulding said. “We had a good car, and I learned a lot in my first XFINITY race. We can’t wait to go to Richmond and do it again.”
Moving ahead, Gaulding’s next step is Richmond International Raceway.
Better to embrace and experience the track for yourself than lean on an expert.
After starting 28th in his second XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ray Black Jr. had to swim from the back to the front to earn his career-best series finish in just his 23rd start.
Black’s No. 07 Scuba Life Chevrolet stayed out of trouble and the Palm Coast, Florida native offered vital feedback that kept his SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet in a good position when it counted most.
“That was a great weekend for us!” said Black, who finished 14th. “We finished the race strong, and it’s great to get our first Top-15 finish as a team. We’ve put in a lot of hard work over the past couple weeks, so it’s nice to see it pay off.
“The team did a really good job with changes throughout the night,” said Black. “They kept digging all night, and we played it smart and got a good finish out of it. We got trapped down a couple laps early on but we kept working hard the whole race and the finish showed that.”
Sitting 19th in the series championship standings, Black’s efforts on Friday night were able to pay some dividends in his quest to finish inside the top-15 by Homestead in November.
Honorable mentions: Ryan Preece (15th), David Starr (16th), B.J. McLeod (19th), Travis Kvapil (20th) and Brandon Gdovic (21st).
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
