Texas II NXS Race Report
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021
Race 30 of 33: Andy’s Frozen Custard 335
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Buford’s Finish: 39th
Jade Buford and the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers team had a tough day at Texas Motor Speedway. After overcoming an axle issue in the first stage of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Buford was ultimately collected in a multi-car incident in the final stage that ended his day early. The Big Machine Racing team was scored with a 39th-place result.
Buford started the 200-lap race from the 17th position and was running 22nd when the competition caution came out on lap 20. Under the yellow flag, the 33-year-old driver relayed to crew chief Patrick Donahue that the No. 48 Camaro was a touch on the free side. Opting to stay out with a majority of the field, Buford was getting set for the restart when he noticed something off with his Chevrolet. Donahue called Buford to the garage so the team could take a closer look. After discovering an axle issue, the team make quick repairs and got Buford back out on the track 17 laps down.
Despite being several laps down, Buford had a competitive car and continued to run his race, trying to pick up positions where he could. The Nashville, Tennessee, native lined up for the final stage of the race on lap 97 after pitting for four tires, fuel and adjustments, and was running in 38th when two cars ahead of him got together on lap 100. Buford had nowhere to go and got caught up in the incident, which caused heavy damage to the front end of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro.
The damage was too severe for Buford to continue, and he was ultimately scored with a 39th-place finish.
Jade Buford, driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet:
“Today was just not our day. It was unfortunate that we had that early issue because we had a pretty good Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Camaro. The team did a great job of making repairs and getting me back out there. Then when that wreck happened, we really just had no way of avoiding it. Sometimes days like this happen though. We’ll bounce back.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, Oct. 23. Tune in to NBC at 3 p.m. ET.