NASCAR Xfinity Series

Kyle Busch wins 102nd Xfinity race, completes 2021 sweep in possible final start

2 Mins read
Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Daniel Hemric might be the most snakebitten driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series today, if not all national series. Despite a strong final stage in Saturday’s Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his hopes of finally breaking through for his first career victory in any series were dashed with a late wreck. Instead, Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch won his 102nd career race in what is likely his final start in the series, which would cap off the most successful career in Xfinity history.

Busch started on the pole while Austin Dillon was sent to the rear as an injury replacement for Michael Annett. He would go on to lead every lap in the opening stage and win the second.

Hemric found himself in position for much of the final stage as he led 45 laps. However, the incidents began to pile up with less than twenty laps to go beginning with Carson Ware‘s accident. The slower car of Kyle Weatherman stayed out on the ensuing restart, but he spun his tyres and fell back before being clipped by Brandon Brown and Harrison Burton, causing him to go around and set up another restart.

Weatherman apologised to Burton and Brown in a Twitter video, explaining the “shifter got stuck in second (gear) and literally can’t get it to come out of second gear. Of course it happened at the worst time. We were out of tyres, didn’t have any tyres to take. Had good speed, we were running sixteenth, seventeenth all day. Figured we could possibly maintain. I chose the outside to try to give the leaders the inside, of course just a crappy situation.”

Hemric took off and Busch attempted to give him a draft, but he provided too strong of a push that instead sent his team-mate into A.J. Allmendinger and the wall; he would be relegated to a thirtieth-place finish as his drought continues.

The Hemric caution resulted in overtime, which saw Busch hold off Jeb Burton to win his third career Xfinity race at Atlanta. He also won all five of his allowed starts in 2021 alongside COTA, Texas, Nashville, and Road America; it is the second season in which he had a 100% win rate in a lower division after doing so in the Camping World Truck Series in 2019.

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
1154Kyle Busch*Joe Gibbs RacingToyota164Running
21110Jeb BurtonKaulig RacingChevrolet164Running
399Noah GragsonJR MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
4711Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet164Running
53023Ty DillonOur MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
62002Brett MoffittOur MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
787Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
81951Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet164Running
9228Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
10422Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord164Running
1161Austin Dillon*JR MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
121639Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord164Running
13316A.J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet164Running
14326Ryan VargasJD MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
151736Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet164Running
161444Tommy Joe MartinsMartins MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
172748Jade BufordBig Machine RacingChevrolet164Running
181892Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet164Running
191098Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord164Running
203615Colby HowardJD MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
21152Myatt SniderRichard Childress RacingChevrolet164Running
22370Jeffrey EarnhardtJD MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
232831Josh BerryJordan Anderson RacingChevrolet164Running
24520Harrison BurtonJoe Gibbs RacingToyota164Running
253307Joe Graf Jr.SS-Green Light RacingChevrolet164Running
26245Matt MillsB.J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet164Running
272990Ronnie Bassett Jr.DGM RacingChevrolet164Running
283178Jesse LittleB.J. McLeod MotorsportsToyota164Running
292399Mason MasseyB.J. McLeod MotorsportsToyota164Running
30218Daniel HemricJoe Gibbs RacingToyota164Running
311268Brandon BrownBrandonbilt MotorsportsChevrolet163Accident
323847Kyle WeathermanMike Harmon RacingChevrolet162Accident
332526Santino FerrucciSam Hunt RacingToyota162Running
343974Bayley Currey*Mike Harmon RacingChevrolet162Running
354052Gray GauldingJimmy Means RacingChevrolet160Running
362617Carson WareSS-Green Light RacingChevrolet139Accident
373466C.J. McLaughlin*MBM MotorsportsFord139Running
38214Landon CassillJD MotorsportsChevrolet128Running
391319Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota118Accident
403561David StarrMBM MotorsportsToyota50Accident
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points
Avatar photo
4023 posts

About author
Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
Articles
Related posts
NASCAR Xfinity SeriesOff Road

Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst running off-road throwbacks at Darlington

3 Mins read
Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst, off-road racers before pursuing stock car careers, will respectively honour Ivan Stewart and Terrible Herbst Motorsports for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington.
NASCAR Xfinity Series

Young's Motorsports adds Xfinity programme with Honeyman

1 Mins read
NASCAR Truck team Young’s Motorsports will expand to the Xfinity Series in 2024 with Leland Honeyman Jr. as the driver of the #42.
NASCAR Xfinity Series

Blaine Perkins joining RSS Racing for 2024 Xfinity

1 Mins read
Blaine Perkins will race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024 for RSS Racing.