On lap 54, A.J. Allmendinger ended up sideways, but that did not faze him as he led the final twenty laps including double overtime to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
The accident occurred when Ty Gibbs spun while fighting for the lead on a restart, and Allmendinger attempted to sneak by along the outside wall before Gibbs slid up and clipped him in the left rear. While Allmendinger was left sideways in the middle of the track, he re-fired the car and continued, drawing complaints from pole-sitter Cole Custer who accused him of gaining an aerodynamic advantage from the body damage.
Allmendinger’s car was eventually found to be legal in post-race inspection, meaning the pace he showed for the rest of the day to get back to the front was genuine. Still, he also had to put up with multiple restarts as nine cautions for wrecks including the lap 54 crash were flown, including three in the first twenty laps of the race.
Parker Kligerman‘s spin after a bump from Kaz Grala set up overtime, and two more cautions took place afterwards for Chad Chastain and Chandler Smith spinning. Allmendinger took off on both restarts while Riley Herbst was stuck battling with Sam Mayer and Austin Hill to hold onto second, enabling Alllmendinger to pull away.
The win is Allmendinger’s seventeen at the Xfinity level and sixth on an oval. He also won at COTA in March.
“I love winning on ovals because I know a lot of people doubt me on an oval,” Allmendinger remarked.
Mason Massey finished thirty-second in his first Xfinity start of 2023. At Emerling-Gase Motorsports, David Starr was thirtieth in his maiden race for the team while co-owner Joey Gase took over for C.J. McLaughlin after his practice crash and placed one spot behind.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 11 | 10 | A.J. Allmendinger* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 2 | 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 3 | 34 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 4 | 7 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 5 | 23 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Toyota | 196 | Running |
| 6 | 21 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 196 | Running |
| 7 | 6 | 28 | Zane Smith* | RSS Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 8 | 33 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 9 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 10 | 10 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 11 | 13 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 12 | 2 | 16 | Chandler Smith | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 13 | 12 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 14 | 26 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 196 | Running |
| 15 | 16 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 16 | 20 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 196 | Running |
| 17 | 19 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 18 | 32 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 19 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 195 | Running |
| 20 | 35 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 21 | 17 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 195 | Running |
| 22 | 24 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 23 | 28 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 24 | 15 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | Running |
| 25 | 9 | 29 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 195 | Running |
| 26 | 27 | 02 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 27 | 30 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 28 | 25 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 29 | 22 | 91 | Chad Chastain* | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 30 | 36 | 35 | David Starr | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 193 | Running |
| 31 | 37 | 53 | Joey Gase | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 193 | Running |
| 32 | 31 | 08 | Mason Massey | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 186 | Running |
| 33 | 29 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | Alternator |
| 34 | 3 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 68 | Accident |
| 35 | 38 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 61 | DVP |
| 36 | 8 | 77 | Carson Hocevar* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53 | Accident |
| 37 | 4 | 19 | Ty Gibbs* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53 | Accident |
| 38 | 18 | 07 | Stefan Parsons | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 0 | Accident |
| 39 | 44 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | 66 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Ford | |||
| DNQ | 74 | Dawson Cram | CHK Racing | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for points