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Austin Dillon won Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway but had to go to overtime laps and then hold off Justin Allgaier to do it.

Also helping Dillon was leader Brad Keselowski running out of fuel during the eighth and final caution of the evening.

Dillon crossed the finish line .227 seconds ahead of Allgaier.

Kyle Larson finished third and Elliott Sadler fourth.

“It was just a war of attrition,” said Dillon, whose new crew chief, Justin Alexander, got his first victory. “We had a pretty good car – maybe not the fastest car – but the car that won. I made a mistake in (Turn) 3 coming to the white, but, luckily, everybody else got loose…

“It was just a war of attrition, and we did what we had to do to win.”

Among those succumbing in the war were Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Surarez. On Lap 243, pole winner Jones spun Daniel Suarez in Turn 3, triggering a six-car wreck that sent both Jones and Suarez to the garage.

“I just made a mistake,” Jones said ruefully. “I basically turned the 19 (Suarez). It’s unfortunate. I feel bad for Daniel and I feel bad for this team and my guys. The (car) was really good, and it deserved a good finish and was probably good enough to win.

“I just threw it away on that restart and tried to make too much happen too quick. Just trying to get back in line behind them before the others got there, and I wasn’t clear. Just mad at myself.”

Another skirmish occurred on Lap 296 when Keselowski and Kyle Busch were fighting for the lead. Busch tried a pass in the lower lane and slid up the track in front of Keselowski.

Keselowski clipped the right rear of Busch’s car and that sent both cars into the outside wall. Keselowski kept going, but Busch blew a tire and shot up into the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4, collecting Ty Dillon.

“Kyle is, of course, real good at this track, and he was quite a bit faster,” Keselowski said. “I was just trying to hold him off anyway I could. He got a good run on the bottom, and the bottom groove was just a little bit faster in (Turns) 1 and 2 than it was in 3 and 4. He knew that and made a really smart move and got up next to me, but I had a big run on exit and he wasn’t quite clear.

“I knew he needed to come up because 3 and 4, like I said, the bottom groove wasn’t as good. He knew he needed to come up and there just wasn’t enough room. I was already there and it clipped him in the right rear. I don’t really know what happened from there, but it was tough. We were battling really hard and definitely didn’t want to see it end that way.”

When the race went past its posted distance and Keselowski had issues picking up fuel under the yellow, that left Dillon to hold off Larson, who had led 200 laps at that point.

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Food City 300

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tennessee

Friday, August 19, 2016

1. (5) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 308.
2. (8) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 308.
3. (7) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 308.
4. (15) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 308.
5. (14) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 308.
6. (12) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 308.
7. (6) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 308.
8. (17) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 308.
9. (4) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 307.
10. (20) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 307.
11. (9) Regan Smith(i), Chevrolet, 306.
12. (11) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 306.
13. (21) Gray Gaulding, Ford, 303.
14. (28) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 302.
15. (18) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 301.
16. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, 301.
17. (25) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 301.
18. (29) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 301.
19. (26) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 300.
20. (27) Travis Kvapil(i), Ford, 299.
21. (32) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 299.
22. (31) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 299.
23. (38) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 299.
24. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, Accident, 296.
25. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 296.
26. (39) Camden Murphy, Chevrolet, 295.
27. (19) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 293.
28. (13) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 291.
29. (35) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 290.
30. (3) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 286.
31. (37) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, 286.
32. (16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 278.
33. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, Accident, 244.
34. (36) Hermie Sadler III, Toyota, Fuel Pump, 228.
35. (22) Ryan Reed, Ford, 226.
36. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Brakes, 168.
37. (23) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, Suspension, 165.
38. (34) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Engine, 36.
39. (33) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 27.
40. (24) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Brakes, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  84.827 mph.

Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 07 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.277 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  8 for 54 laps.

Lead Changes:  16 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   E. Jones # 1; D. Wallace Jr 2-5; E. Jones # 6-31; K. Larson(i) 32-33; E. Jones # 34; K. Larson(i) 35-77; E. Jones # 78; K. Larson(i) 79-153; E. Jones # 154; K. Larson(i) 155-234; E. Jones # 235; B. Keselowski(i) 236-287; K. Busch(i) 288; B. Keselowski(i) 289; T. Dillon 290; B. Keselowski(i) 291-304; A. Dillon(i) 305-308.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Larson(i) 4 times for 200 laps; B. Keselowski(i) 3 times for 67 laps; E. Jones # 6 times for 31 laps; D. Wallace Jr 1 time for 4 laps; A. Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps; K. Busch(i) 1 time for 1 lap; T. Dillon 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler – 737; D. Suarez – 686; J. Allgaier – 685; T. Dillon – 684; B. Gaughan – 667; E. Jones # – 657; B. Poole # – 631; B. Jones # – 627; D. Wallace Jr – 574; R. Reed – 532.

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