2023 Food City 300
The 2023 Food City 300 was the 27th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the first race of the Round of 12, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, September 15, 2023, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would complete a successful pit road strategy, driving through the field and passing Daniel Hemric for the lead with over 10 laps to go, earning his 22nd career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. He would also earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs. Allgaier and pole-sitter Cole Custer would end up dominating the entire race, leading 110 and 109 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Hemric, driving for Kaulig Racing, and John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.Entry list
' denotes rookie driver.- '
Practice
For practice, drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and B. Both sessions will be 15 minutes long, and will be held on Friday, September 15, at 2:35 PM EST. Chandler Smith, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time between both sessions, with a lap of 16.038, and an average speed of.Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, September 15, at 3:10 PM EST. Since Bristol Motor Speedway is a short track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole. Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 15.684, and an average speed of.Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 85| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 00 | Cole Custer ' | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier ' | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek ' | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | Chandler Smith ' | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Parker Kilgerman ' | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Sam Mayer ' | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Sammy Smith ' ' | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 85
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier ' | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 00 | Cole Custer ' | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Austin Hill ' | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Trevor Bayne | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek ' | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 10 | Daniel Hemric ' | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 16 | Chandler Smith ' | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 ''Laps: 130''
Standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings- Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.