Talladega NXS Race Report
Race 8 of 33: Ag-Pro 300
Location: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval)
Format: 113 laps / 300.58 miles
Buford’s Finish: 18th
Jade Buford drove to his fourth top-20 finish in just his seventh start of the season during Saturday’s rain-shortened NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro earned an 18th-place result in what was his first ever start on a superspeedway.
Buford rolled off the grid from the 20th position but opted to drop to the back prior to the start in an effort to learn the track and how his car would handle. Even outside the lead pack Buford showed speed, running the fastest lap times of the field. By time the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end the first stage on lap 25, he was scored in the 24th spot. Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Patrick Donahue called Buford in for a fuel-only pit stop.
After taking the green flag for the second stage in 35th, Buford used the help of spotter Keith Barnwell to try to make some moves and see what would work best for gaining position in the final segment. Steadily he continued to work his way further up the field, ending the caution-free stage in the 29th position. This time, the team opted to take four tires and fuel during their pit stop and came back in a second time to top off the tank and make a wedge adjustment.
The intensity picked up in the final stage with Buford gaining 10 positions in less than 10 laps. He was running in 26th when green flag pit stops began on lap 68. Buford stayed out a couple extra laps before Donahue called him in. He hit pit road from his top-10 running position and made his way to his stall for his first green flag stop of his NXS career. After getting back out on the track he worked his way to 28th before a caution flag waved on lap 76. Buford brought his No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro to pit road under the caution and topped it off for fuel prior to the lap-79 restart.
With the race back underway, Buford once again started his climb forward and was up to 24th by lap 83. Just one lap later, a multicar incident broke out at the front of the field. Buford quickly maneuvered his way around the damaged cars ahead of him, getting through the melee unscathed. While under the yellow flag, a rainstorm hit the track and the field was forced to come to pit road for a red flag. The track was deemed too wet to continue and the race was called with 90 laps complete.
Buford earned an 18th-place result, his best of the 2021 season.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro:
“I really wish we had those last 20 laps to see what we could do. We had really good pace with our No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro and we were able to get good runs and make a lot of good passes. The last 20 laps were when they were going to take the reins off me. But you never know what could have happened, so to still come away with a decent finish and our car in one piece was a good building block for going forward.”
Next Up:
Following an off weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Darlington Raceway on Saturday, May 8th for the Steakhouse Elite 200. Tune in at 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT on FS1.