Atlanta II NXS Race Report
Saturday, July 10, 2021
Race 18 of 33: Credit Karma Money 250
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 163 laps / 251.02 miles
Buford’s Finish: 17th
Jade Buford and the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team survived the caution-filled final stage of Saturday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway to earn a 17th-place finish. The result was the 10th top 20 of Buford’s rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It was also his fourth top-20 effort on mile-and-a-half tracks in 2021.
Rolling off the grid from the 27th position, the 33-year-old driver went to work. The Big Machine Racing crew worked hard on a prevalent tight condition, fine-tuning Buford’s Camaro to loosen it up on exit through the first two stages.
After a fast stop by the No. 48 team at the end of Stage Two, Buford took the green flag for the final stage just outside of the top 15 on lap 86. He was running in 23rd when the caution flag came out just 10 laps later, still complaining of a tight condition. Under the yellow flag, Buford brought his Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro into the pits for four tires, fuel and another round of adjustments.
On the lap-101 restart, Buford methodically worked his way forward, moving into the 18th position by lap 110. He advanced one more spot to 17th before another on-track incident brought out the caution flag on lap 119. Crew chief Patrick Donahue brought Buford to pit road for the team’s final set of fresh tires, joining much of the field. With some cars opting the stay out, Buford restarted in 21st on lap 124 and remained inside the top 25, running in the 22nd position when another caution flag came out with 17 laps to go.
Under the yellow flag, the team made their final pit stop of the race for four scuffed tires and fuel. The Nashville, Tennessee native took the green flag with 12 laps to go from the 20th position, and from that point on the cautions just kept coming. Buford was able to avoid all the melee in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in 17th, earning his 10th top-20 finish of the season.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet:
“Overall, it was a good day for Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team. We were able to avoid other people’s mistakes and run our own race. Patrick (Donahue, crew chief) and the guys did a great job with adjustments, and we had good speed. It makes me excited for our next mile-and-a-half race. We’re still looking for that first top-10 finish, but we keep getting closer.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 on Saturday, July 17. Tune in to NBCSN at 3 p.m. ET.