Entry List : Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course

• Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
• Drive for the Cure 250
• Pole Winner: Austin Cindric
• Age: 23
• Team: No. 22 - Menards / Richmond Ford
• Owner: Team Penske
• Crew Chief: Brian Wilson
• Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
• Austin Cindric won the Pole Award for the Drive for the Cure 250 by having the highest total PMQ.
• PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
• 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
• 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
• 25% of the owner's final race position.
• 35% of the Owner Points position.

• Saturday, October 9th, 2021
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

AJ Allmendinger streaks to third straight NASCAR Xfinity win at Charlotte Road Course

AJ Allmendinger stayed undefeated at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet won his third straight race at the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Roval and achieved several milestones in the process.

With his overtime victory in the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Allmendinger clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. He won for the fifth time this season and the 10th time in his career.

Winning for the sixth time on a road course, Allmendinger broke a tie with race runner-up Austin Cindric for most-ever Xfinity road course victories.

Allmendinger, who worked his way forward from the 14th starting position, took the lead for good on Lap 48 when Ty Gibbs suffered brake problems, blew the chicane on the backstretch and had to come to a full stop before continuing.

From that point, Allmendinger stretched his lead to 8.8 seconds before a caution for Tommy Joe Martins' wreck on Lap 64 sent the race to overtime.

After the subsequent restart on Lap 67, Allmendinger pulled away again and beat Cindric to the finish line by 3.192 seconds.

Cindric, the defending series champion, already had clinched a spot in the Round of 8. Third-place finisher Daniel Hemric joined him, along with Justin Haley (fourth Saturday), Brandon Jones (fifth), Noah Gragson (sixth), Justin Allgaier (ninth) and Harrison Burton (15th).

Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst were eliminated from the Playoffs.

"I knew it was coming out," Allmendinger said of the final caution. "It wasn't going to go simple like that. That was a fight today. We had to be kind of on defense early, worrying about the points. This place was tough to pass—the track was really slick to start with, obviously, because of all the rain.

"Once we got the lead, the (car) was stupid-fast."

As the final run progressed, Cindric didn't have the pace to keep up with Allmendinger.

"I feel like this has honestly been one of my weakest road courses for probably exactly what you saw—the rear tires fall off way too much," Cindric said. "I felt like I was driving a skid-pad car after about 10 laps.

"I feel a little bit lucky and a bit fortunate, honestly. I didn't get moved or put in the wall, so either way we had a fast car. I think we set a fast lap time and got a good finish, so that sets us up well for Texas. I just wish we could have taken advantage of getting a Playoff point."

Instead, it was Hemric who added to his Playoff point total by winning the first two stages of the race. Allmendinger gained five additional Playoff points for the victory.

The race featured six lead changes among five drivers, with Allmendinger leading the final 21 circuits. There were seven cautions for 13 laps, the fourth of which also caused a brief stoppage when the brakes failed on the No. 07 Chevrolet of Josh Bilicki, with the car plowing through the backstretch chicane and dislodging pieces of curbing in its path.

Track workers had to remove the exposed bolts that had held the curbing in place before the race could continue.

• Drivers Entered: 41 (3 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 67
• Laps Actual: 68 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
• Margin of Victory: 03.192 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 7 Minutes 14 Seconds
• Average Speed: 74.396
• Cautions: 7 for 13 laps
• Lead Changes: 6
• Green Flag Passes: 1,520 (27.6 passes per green flag lap)

• Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
• 40th Annual Drive for the Cure 250
• Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
• Age: 39
• Team : No. 16 - Hyperice Chevrolet
• Owner: Kaulig Racing
• Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
• AJ Allmendinger won the 40th Annual Drive for the Cure 250, his 10th victory in 56 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
• This is his fifth victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2021.
• This is his third victory and third top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Austin Cindric (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his 22nd top-10 finish in 2021.
• Daniel Hemric (third) posted his third top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Sam Mayer (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• AJ Allmendinger now leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series in road course with six victories.
• Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements and Riley Herbst did not advance to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 8.