Nashville NXS Race Report
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Race 15 of 33: Tennessee Lottery 250
Location: Nashville Superspeedway (1.33-mile oval)
Format: 188 laps / 150.04 miles
Buford’s Finish: 33rd
Jade Buford’s day started off strong at his home track of Nashville Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro qualified inside the top 10 for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 and was vying for a top-20 finish until he was involved in a late race incident that ended his day early.
Earning his best starting position of the season, Buford rolled off the grid from the ninth position and battled hard from the drop of the green flag. However, a tight-handling condition plagued the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro in the first stage and Buford took the green-and-white checkered flag in the 22nd position on lap 45.
Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Patrick Donahue called Buford to pit road for four tires, fuel and multiple adjustments. Buford lined up just inside the top 20 for the start of Stage Two and was running in 21st when a caution came out on lap 70. Under the yellow flag, the 33-year-old driver relayed to the team that the No. 48 was better but still on the tight side. Staying out and maintaining track position, Buford restarted 18th on lap 75 and tried to fight through the tough-handling condition, ultimately ending Stage Two in 25th.
The team made another round of adjustments during their pit stop under the stage break and that seemed to improve the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet’s handling. He took the green flag in 22nd for the final stage and drove up to 19th. Buford continued to turn impressive lap times and was running in the 21st position when the caution flag came out on lap 40.
Under the yellow, the team made their final pit stop for four tires and fuel. Buford restarted in 22nd and was battling for position on lap 154 when he was involved in an on-track incident with the No. 17 of Joe Graf Jr. Buford’s Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro suffered damage to the right rear and he brought it to pit road for repairs, but it was deemed that the damage was too severe to continue. The Big Machine Racing driver was relegated to a 33rd-place finish.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet:
“It was awesome to get to race at our home track of Nashville Superspeedway. The day started off strong for our Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team and I thought we were going to get a pretty good finish, but sometimes things don’t go your way. We learned a lot today and I’m ready to get our momentum back on track when we head to Pocono Raceway next weekend.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono Green 225 on Sunday, June 27. Tune in to NBCSN at 12 p.m. ET.