Rain shortens Saturday’s Agri-Pro 300 at Talladega
Jeb Burton earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in Saturday’s Agri-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Burton became the fourth first-time winner of the 2021 NXS season, joining Myatt Snider, Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry on the list.
Burton led 21 laps and held off Austin Cindric, who led 25 laps, the most of any driver in Sunday’s race.
Burton’s teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, finished third, but did not lead any laps.
There were 22 lead changes among 12 drivers and four cautions for 15 laps.
The first caution fell on Lap 25 for the end of Stage 1, with the Top 10 stage finishers as follows: Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, A.J. Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Brandon Brown, Justin Allgaier.
The second caution fell on Lap 50 for the end of Stage 2, with the Top 10 stage finishers as follows: Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon, Myatt Snider, Daniel Hemric, Brett Moffitt, Michael Annett, Brandon Brown.
The third caution fell on Lap 75 and was the race’s first non-stage caution. It was brought out by Josh Berry spun in turn four as green flag pit stops started.
The fourth and final caution fell on Lap 84 when Joe Graf Jr., Michael Annett, Brandon Jones, Colin Garrett, Joey Gase, Ty Dillon, Caesar Bacarella wrecked exiting turn two. Jones, Dillon and Bacarella each scored a DNF as a result of the wreck.
With one lap left of caution before the green flag, the rain started to fall with Jeb Burton leading Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger. After the red flag fell, the rain intensified, causing to the track to be lost and no time left to dry it before sunset. The race was called after 90 laps, with Jeb Burton winning.
The Top 10 finishers were as follows: Jeb Burton, Austin Cindric, A.J. Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Noah Gragson, Brandon Brown, Justin Haley, Myatt Snider, Harrison Burton.
Finishing in the Top 20 were Tommy Joe Martins (11th), Timmy Hill (13th), Colin Garrett (15th), David Starr (16th), Jade Buford (18th). Each of them earned their best finish of the NXS season in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300.
Noah Gragson won the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash4Cash, earning him and his team a $100,000 bonus. Gragson previously won the bonus at Atlanta last year and at Martinsville this year, which made him eligible for the bonus Saturday that he plans to give back to the team.
“With the three, it really started with the first one,” Gragson said. “It’s not me that’s winning it, it’s the team and the least I can do is spread the money out throughout the team and the pit crew guys.”
Noah Gragson won Stage Two and led eight laps en route to a sixth-place finish.
Austin Cindric currently leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings by 59 over Daniel Hemric. Michael Annett currently holds the 12th and final playoff spot by 10 points over Brandon Brown.
The next Xfinity race is the May 8 Steakhouse Elite 200 at Darlington (1 p.m. ET; TV: FS1, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com