Heartbreak for Hemric, Kyle Busch closes out Xfinity career with win No. 102

               The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway on a hot summer afternoon for the Credit Karma Money 250. Late news broke as Michael Annett was unable to race due to a leg injury, so Jr Motorsports had to scramble to fit a driver into his seat. They had talked to Josh Berry, BJ McLeod, and Jordan Anderson, but ultimately they decided to put Austin Dillon in the #1 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet. As for Kyle Busch, he ran what he has confirmed to be his final NASCAR Xfinity race, as he looked to chase one last win as part of his promise that he would quit Xfinity racing once he hit 100 wins.

Kyle Busch and Daniel Hemric led the field to the green flag at Atlanta! AJ Allmendinger jumped into second with Justin Haley in third. Austin Dillon dropped to the rear due to a driver change, this was such a last-second change that Dillon asked who his spotter and crew chief were for the race.  Jeremy Clements looks like an early mover as he made his way up to sixth place. The competition caution came out on lap 20 as the NBC commentators suggested that in order to win, do not pit on lap 20. Austin Cindric only made adjustments and not pit for tires as an example. Austin Cindric would struggle for speed after the restart. It was an easy stage one for one Kyle Busch, as he took the stage win.

Stage 1 Results:

1. Kyle Busch
2. AJ Allmendinger
3. Harrison Burton
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Noah Gragson
6. Brett Moffitt
7. Alex Labbe
8. Justin Haley
9. Brandon Jones
10. Austin Dillon

During pit stops, Kyle Busch would lose four positions, thus handing the lead to Harrison Burton. Noah Gragson would take the lead right after the restart as Kyle Busch was charging on the outside line. Nine laps into Stage two and Kyle Busch got to Gragson’s outside, giving him back the lead. On lap 51, David Starr hit the wall hard on the front stretch to bring out the caution. Starr slid up the track and made contact with the #5 of Matt Mills, causing Starr to smack the wall. The next restart came on lap 56 as Kyle Busch once again took off with the lead. Josh Berry went spinning on lap 63, driving the #31 for Jordan Anderson, after damaging their tires, they had to use another set of tires. During the break, Dale Jr said he is working with Josh Berry and would like to run him full time in 2022. The next restart came on lap 67 with Busch clearing Allmendinger for the lead. Kyle Busch would go on to sweep both stages for the day.

Stage 2 Results:

1. Kyle Busch
2. AJ Allmendinger
3. Noah Gragson
4. Justin Allgaier
5. Daniel Hemric
6. Harrison Burton
7. Brett Moffitt
8. Ty Dillon
9. Justin Haley
10. Austin Dillon

AJ Allmendinger was hit with a speeding penalty on pit road and had to start from the rear. The race resumed with the final stage with 77 laps to go. Gragson looked to chase down Busch early on as Brett Moffitt made a surge into the top five. A tire went down on the #90 Chevrolet of Ronnie Bassett Jr and would have to send the car to pit road, the race was able to continue without a caution. Trouble for Gray Gaulding on lap 97 would bring out the caution as he went spinning, then tapping the inside wall. Gaulding, driving for Jimmy Means, failed to qualify at Road America last week. Some leaders pit and some didn’t as Noah Gragson went to pit road right before the restart due to a puncture in his left rear. Justin Allgaier led at the restart with Justin Haley second and Jeb Burton third. Gragson meanwhile had to fight to stay on the lead lap. With 59 laps to go, Daniel Hemric, with fresh tires, took the lead from Allgaier. CJ McLaughlin has stepped out of his car due to exhaustion and David Starr, who crashed out earlier, will take over for him. Brandon Jones hit the wall with 45 to go to bring out another caution. Jones was done for the day. Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, and Myatt Snider stayed out as Justin Allgaier was penalized for running over the choose cone. Hemric is the first with fresh tires. Ty Dillon pulled away on the restart at first with 39 to go, but Daniel Hemric quickly took the lead as they came back around. Brett Moffitt and AJ Allmendinger would end up fighting back and forth for third while Daniel Hemric tries to hold off Kyle Busch. With 20 to go, Hemric still led the way as he was told Kyle Busch was burning up his tires due to trying to find a faster line. With 17 to go, the caution came out from Carson Ware spinning. Bad news for Hemric and Kyle Busch as they had no more new sets of tires left. Everyone ended up pitting as Hemric barely outdueled Kyle Busch on pit road for the lead. Some teams still had a fresh set of tires left, unlike Hemric and Busch, who had to pit for scuff tires. For those that didn’t pit, Kyle Weatherman will be the leader at the restart with Daniel Hemric in second, then Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon in the second row.

The race resumed with 11 to go. Instantly Weatherman fell straight back as he was ran into by Harrison Burton and Brandon Brown. Radio indicated that Weatherman was still stuck in fourth gear at the time of the accident. We try again with six laps to go with Hemric and Allmendinger leading the way on the front row. As Hemric and Allmendinger went, Kyle Busch went to push Hemric and it knocked him up the track, putting Hemric in the wall after another tap from Justin Allgaier. Hemric has had several chances lately to win a race and something has always kept him from winning. When will it end for Hemric?

Jeb Burton gave it his all on the green-white-checkered restart, but it was Kyle Busch once again winning in what he says is his final NASCAR Xfinity race. Or will it be?

“It’s been awesome to run here. Certainly wish there were some better circumstances to go out on.” Busch said in his post-race interview, adding “Never say never, but this is it.”

Noah Gragson made comments about how long the caution laps were at the end, saying “Something’s gotta be done about these caution laps. We’re running more laps under yellow than green and it could’ve been a good race.”

2021 Credit Karma Money 250 Final Results

1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeb Burton
3. Noah Gragson
4. Justin Haley
5. Ty Dillon
6. Brett Moffitt
7. Justin Allgaier
8. Jeremy Clements
9. Sam Mayer
10. Austin Cindric
11. Austin Dillon
12. Ryan Seig
13. AJ Allmendinger
14. Ryan Vargas
15. Alex Labbe
16. Tommy Joe Martins
17. Jade Buford
18. Josh Williams
19. Riley Herbst
20. Colby Howard
21. Myatt Snider
22. Jeffrey Earnhardt
23. Josh Berry
24. Harrison Burton
25. Joe Graf Jr
26. Matt Mills
27. Ronnie Bassett Jr
28. Jesse Little
29. Mason Massey
30. Daniel Hemric
31. Brandon Brown
32. Kyle Weatherman
33. Santino Ferrucci
34. Bayley Currey
35. Gray Gaulding
36. Carson Ware
37. CJ McLaughlin
38. Landon Cassill
39. Brandon Jones
40. David Starr