Parsons’ Hot Xfinity Run Derailed By Early Bristol Crash

BRISTOL, Tenn. – What seemed like it might turn into a career night for Stefan Parsons went sour just 77 laps into Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After a stellar qualifying effort and showing top-15 pace early, the driver of the No. 35 Chevrolet was collected in a crash involving Hendrick Motorsports development driver Corey Day, ending his underdog night.

Parsons was originally scheduled to drive the No. 5 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet entering the weekend, but made the move to take over the Joey Gase Motorsports No. 35 in a strategic owner-points deal, utilizing the same car APR entered but with added support from Gase.

He made noise in Thunder Valley early on Friday, putting down a 16.107-second lap time at 119.180 mph to start 13th of 38 cars for the 300-lap showdown.

The Cornelius, N.C., driver dropped two spots in the first five laps, but maintained from there and battled among the likes of JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, while also keeping the APR trio of Parker Retzlaff, Brennan Poole, and Josh Williams in his rearview mirror for the majority of the opening 85-lap stage.

Stefan Parsons (35) races Sammy Smith early in Friday's Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Declan Wayman/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

While Parsons was running 15th on lap 77, Day tried to make a move to the outside of Jesse Love in the middle of turn one, resulting in the two Californians making contact which sent Day first into the No. 31 of Blaine Perkins and eventually spinning.

Parsons attempted to get on the brakes to avoid the sliding Day, but pounded his right front fender into the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, sustaining damage to the front end.

Though Parsons, APR, and JGM wanted to fix the car, they were ruled out of the race for having to go behind the wall while on the Damaged Vehicle Policy. Unlike the NASCAR Cup Series, in the Xfinity Series the DVP rules are slightly different and don’t permit crash repairs in the garage.

“I’m very thankful for Joey Gase (Motorsports) for allowing us to run with his team and bring our partners on board,” Parsons said following his early exit. “I think our car showed a lot of potential of what that stuff (Alpha Prime Racing equipment) can do.”

As the window net came down from the No. 35, Parsons was greeted by his father – former NASCAR Cup Series winner Phil Parsons – as well as Xfinity Series car owner and 2021 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was spectating the outcome of his four full-time entries.

From there, Earnhardt Jr. had a short but meaningful conversation with Parsons about the outcome of his short night, showing the unwavering support that Earnhardt Jr. has had for the young journeyman.

“He (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) gave me some words of encouragement,” Parsons added. “I’ve been fortunate to know Dale for quite a few years, and he’s just one of the best people in our sport and really cares about all the people who support him. Unfortunately, we were just wrapping up the first stage, and ended up in the infield care center.”

Parsons, who has been competing in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series since he broke into NASCAR in 2018, has floated around with numerous teams on a part-time basis over the course of his tenure in the sport.

He has four top 10s across NASCAR’s three national touring series, including his lone Xfinity Series top 10 at Bristol in 2022.

Regarding the rest of the season for Parsons, it is uncertain what races he might participate in for both the Xfinity and Truck Series. He has already completed his scheduled number of Truck races for Young’s Motorsports, as well as his allotted starts for APR.

But no matter what the immediate future holds for the second-generation driver, Parsons knows Friday night was a big step toward showing what he can do in the right situation.

“It means a lot,” he said. “We’re all fighting for everything we can get in this sport, and runs like we had going tonight help prove that guys like me just need a chance with the right people to really shine.”