{"id":35914,"date":"2021-10-02T19:40:24","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T00:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=35914"},"modified":"2021-10-04T11:38:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T16:38:34","slug":"as-darkness-falls-on-talladega-brandon-brown-gets-breakthrough-nascar-xfinity-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2021\/10\/02\/as-darkness-falls-on-talladega-brandon-brown-gets-breakthrough-nascar-xfinity-win\/","title":{"rendered":"As darkness falls on Talladega, Brandon Brown gets breakthrough NASCAR Xfinity win"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 As he crossed the finish line under caution on a dark race track, Brandon Brown surrendered to the emotion of his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brandon Brown, driver of the #68 The Original Larry’s Hard Lemonade Chevrolet, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 02, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThank God,\u201d Brown exulted. \u201cWe did it. We did it. We won!\u201d<\/p>\n

On a day of unexpected victories at Talladega Superspeedway\u2014a track where the unexpected sometimes seems commonplace\u2014Brown had a narrow lead three-wide with Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones at the previous scoring loop when NASCAR called the fifth caution of the race on Lap 102 for a multicar wreck in Turn 4.<\/p>\n

With darkness preventing the resumption of the race, NASCAR showed the checkered flag to Brown under yellow on Lap 107 of a scheduled 113, with Jones credited with second and Allgaier third.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s excitement hadn\u2019t abated one iota by the time he got to Victory Lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can ask my neighbors at Coastal Carolina, I did plenty of burnouts to practice for this moment,\u201d said Brown, who drives for his family-owned team, Brandonbilt Motorsports. \u201cOh, my god. It\u2019s a dream come true. A Talladega winner. Oh my god, Dad, we did it!<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is everything we hoped and dreamed for. Everything I\u2019ve ever wanted to do is take the trophy home to Mom and Dad. Oh, my god. Thank you so much Larry\u2019s Lemonaid\u2026all of our partners. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 02, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Brown was a keen student of the action during the first two stages of the race, won by John Hunter Nemechek and Blaine Perkins. He noticed major changes in momentum between the top and bottom lanes at the 2.66-mile track.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything shifted top to bottom so much, it was like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s just stay patient where we\u2019re at and hope for the best,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe saw our moment and we seized it. God, I\u2019m just so proud of Brandonbilt Motorsports and so proud of our team, here and at home and everyone that worked on our team since the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did it. We did it. We did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown, Jones and Allgaier were trading the lead three-wide when the No. 20 Toyota of Harrison Burton broke loose in Turn 4 and ignited an eight-car crash that slowed the race for the final time. <\/p>\n

Daniel Hemric finished fourth, followed by Jordan Anderson, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and defending series champion Austin Cindric, who clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the Xfinity Playoff with an insurmountable points edge over ninth-place Jeb Burton.<\/p>\n

On the final lap of the first stage, the cars of Sam Mayer and regular-season champion AJ Allmendinger collided in Turn 3, demolishing both vehicles. The No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Mayer slammed the outside wall so heavily that NASCAR had to red-flag the race for repairs to the SAFER barrier.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, Justin Haley, driver of the #11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, and Brandon Brown, driver of the #68 The Original Larry’s Hard Lemonade Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 02, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Allmendinger took a heavy hit in the points, but he\u2019s still 33 above the cut line heading to next Saturday\u2019s Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Roval, a track where he is expected to excel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you work so hard during the regular season to build up bonus points,\u201d Allmendinger said after a trip to the infield care center. \u201cWe\u2019ll see where it puts us going into the Roval\u2026 It\u2019s a minor setback in a great year.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Allmendinger\u2019s setback was minor, the hit Noah Gragson suffered in a Lap 88 wreck was a major one. Gragson was running at the front of the field in the inside lane when slight contact from Jeb Burton\u2019s Chevrolet to the left rear of Brett Moffitt\u2019s Camaro\u2014after Moffitt\u2019s car had gotten loose\u2014triggered the first major wreck of the event.<\/p>\n

Moffitt\u2019s Chevy slid down the track into Gragson\u2019s No. 9 Camaro, which rocketed nose-first into the outside wall. As Gragson slipped back down the track, Myatt Snider\u2014with nowhere to go\u2014plowed into the rear of Gragson\u2019s car. <\/p>\n

Like Allmendinger, Gragson suffered a significant blow in the standings but remained 18 points above the current cut line for the Round of 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 02 (Moffitt) just got turned by the 10 (Burton), and I got it head-on and got cleaned out by the 2 (Snider),\u201d Gragson said. \u201cSo, just a bummer. We had a fast car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s victory was the nightcap\u2014literally\u2014of a Playoff doubleheader with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Earlier on Saturday, Tate Fogleman secured his first Truck Series win in the Chevrolet Silverado 250.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Brandon Brown (NXS- No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet) – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/TSS2NXSBrandonBrown100221.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 2nd Annual Sparks 300 at Talladega<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega Superspeedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega, Alabama<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, October 2, 2021<\/b><\/p>\n

                   1. (19)  Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   2. (7)  Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 107.<\/p>\n

                   3. (1)  Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   4. (6)  Daniel Hemric (P), Toyota, 107.<\/p>\n

                   5. (29)  Jordan Anderson(i), Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   6. (8)  Justin Haley (P), Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   7. (14)  Jeb Burton (P), Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   8. (2)  Austin Cindric (P), Ford, 107.<\/p>\n

                   9. (3)  Josh Berry #, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   10. (40)  Joe Graf Jr., Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   11. (17)  Ryan Sieg, Ford, 107.<\/p>\n

                   12. (26)  Jade Buford #, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   13. (23)  Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   14. (24)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   15. (39)  Joey Gase, Ford, 107.<\/p>\n

                   16. (38)  JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   17. (33)  Santino Ferrucci, Toyota, 107.<\/p>\n

                   18. (18)  Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   19. (35)  Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   20. (25)  Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   21. (32)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 107.<\/p>\n

                   22. (11)  John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 107.<\/p>\n

                   23. (30)  Matt Mills, Toyota, 106.<\/p>\n

                   24. (15)  Jeremy Clements (P), Chevrolet, 104.<\/p>\n

                   25. (9)  Harrison Burton (P), Toyota, Accident, 101.<\/p>\n

                   26. (16)  Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, Accident, 101.<\/p>\n

                   27. (13)  Riley Herbst (P), Ford, Accident, 101.<\/p>\n

                   28. (34)  Jason White, Ford, Accident, 101.<\/p>\n

                   29. (31)  Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Accident, 93.<\/p>\n

                   30. (4)  Noah Gragson (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   31. (10)  Myatt Snider (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   32. (37)  Caesar Bacarella, Chevrolet, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   33. (22)  Ryan Vargas #, Chevrolet, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   34. (36)  CJ McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   35. (27)  Mason Massey, Toyota, Accident, 88.<\/p>\n

                   36. (20)  Bayley Currey(i), Chevrolet, Driveshaft, 73.<\/p>\n

                   37. (21)  Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Engine, 50.<\/p>\n

                   38. (12)  Sam Mayer #, Chevrolet, Accident, 24.<\/p>\n

                   39. (5)  AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 24.<\/p>\n

                   40. (28)  David Starr, Toyota, Engine, 20.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  128.486 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 4 Mins, 55 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Under Caution Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  5 for 21 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  33 among 17 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   A. Cindric (P) 1-2;J. Berry # 3;A. Cindric (P) 4-6;J. Berry # 7-8;A. Cindric (P) 9;A. Allmendinger (P) 10-12;B. Jones (P) 13-16;H. Burton (P) 17-18;B. Jones (P) 19;J. Nemechek(i) 20-26;B. Currey(i) 27;R. Herbst (P) 28-31;J. Nemechek(i) 32;R. Herbst (P) 33-49;B. Perkins 50-51;J. Graf Jr. 52;R. Herbst (P) 53-54;J. Allgaier (P) 55;A. Cindric (P) 56-57;J. Allgaier (P) 58-63;B. Moffitt 64;J. Burton (P) 65;A. Cindric (P) 66-67;J. Burton (P) 68-70;A. Labbe 71;B. Currey(i) 72;M. Massey 73-76;R. Herbst (P) 77-79;N. Gragson (P) 80-87;B. Moffitt 88-89;J. Burton (P) 90-92;B. Jones (P) 93-99;B. Brown 100-107.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Riley Herbst (P) 4 times for 26 laps; Brandon Jones (P) 3 times for 12 laps; Austin Cindric (P) 5 times for 10 laps; Noah Gragson (P) 1 time for 8 laps; John Hunter Nemechek(i) 2 times for 8 laps; Brandon Brown 1 time for 8 laps; Justin Allgaier (P) 2 times for 7 laps; Jeb Burton (P) 3 times for 7 laps; Mason Massey 1 time for 4 laps; Brett Moffitt 2 times for 3 laps; Josh Berry # 2 times for 3 laps; AJ Allmendinger (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Harrison Burton (P) 1 time for 2 laps; Bayley Currey(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Blaine Perkins 1 time for 2 laps; Alex Labbe 1 time for 1 lap; Joe Graf Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,10,98,22,20,2,7,19,23,18<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 23,02,54,98,7,10,20,11,22,9<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–30–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 As he crossed the finish line under caution on a dark race track, Brandon Brown surrendered to the emotion of his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. \u201cThank God,\u201d Brown exulted. \u201cWe did it. We did it. We won!\u201d On a day of unexpected victories […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":35918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[847,16,181,208],"class_list":["post-35914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brandon-brown","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-xfinity-series","tag-talladega-superspeedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/GettyImages-1344497782-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-9lg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35914"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35920,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35914\/revisions\/35920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}