Richmond NXS Race Report
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021
Race 25 of 33: Go Bowling 250
Track: Richmond Raceway
Buford’s Finish: 36th
Jade Buford was kept from his shot at racing for a top-20 result at Richmond Raceway after being in the wrong place at the wrong time at the end of the second stage in Saturday’s Go Bowling 250. Buford was caught up in an on-track incident that caused damage to his No. 48 Chevrolet. The crew worked hard on repairs throughout the remainder of the race and Buford limped his injured Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro across the finish line to score a 36th-place finish.
Turning his first laps at the Richmond short track at the drop of the green flag, Buford held his own after starting in the 18thposition. The 33-year-old driver continued to run inside the top 25 in the opening laps and was in the 23rd position when the competition caution came out on lap 35. The team opted to stay out on the track with most of the field and Buford lined up just outside the top 20 for restart. As the run went on, the No. 48 got tighter through the center of the turns and was loose off, causing Buford to lose some positions. When the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end Stage One, he was scored in the 31st position.
When pit road open, the team went to work on multiple adjustments to the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevy during their pit stop for four tires and fuel to try to help with the car’s drive off the corner. Buford took the green flag for Stage Two in 26th and was running in the 30th position in the final laps of the stage when the No. 74 car came down across the front of Buford’s Camaro. The contact caused heavy damage to the right front of the No. 48 Chevrolet and brought out the caution, ultimately bringing an end to the second stage.
Crew chief Patrick Donahue called Buford to pit road to survey the damage and make repairs. The team fixed as much as they could over the course of the final stage and the Big Machine Racing driver battled hard in his damaged Camaro down to the final lap, taking the checkered flag in the 36th position.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet:
“Today was extremely unfortunate for our Big Machine Racing team. Something happened that was completely out of our control, and it ruined our chances of having a good finish, but we made the most of it and we never gave up. This team never does. We’ll keep fighting and we’ll look ahead to Bristol next week and try to turn things around.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Richmond Raceway for the Food City 300 on Friday, Sept. 17th. Tune in to NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET.