Xfinity Fastest Lap: A.J. Allmendinger Quickest Again at Bristol

Just like during the Food City 500 in April at Bristol Motor Speedway, A.J. Allmendinger claimed the Xfinity Fastest Lap Award on Saturday in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race.

Allmendinger qualified on the pole and led the first 23 laps of Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series event. While leading, Allmendinger logged a lap of 15.549 seconds around the 0.533-mile facility, which held up as the Xfinity Fastest Lap for the 29th race of the Cup Series season.

The veteran driver finished 36th, tangled up in a late incident with Denny Hamlin and William Byron, leading to an early end to his night. However, he left with his fourth Xfinity Fastest Lap award of the season.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Connor Zilisch added yet another Xfinity Fastest Lap award to his collection. Zilisch finished fifth and clocked a lap of 16.024 seconds while leading the Food City 300 on Friday.

Zilisch now has five Xfinity Fastest Lap awards, including four in the last five races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. With Aric Almirola scoring the victory, Zilisch remains atop the Xfinity Series points standings after one race in the Playoffs.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics saw a first-time Xfinity Fastest Lap award winner in Jake Garcia. Garcia set a lap of 15.658 seconds on the 13th lap of Thursday's race, won by Layne Riggs.

Garcia suffered mechanical issues and finished 33rd in the event. He is 14 points below the cutoff for the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs heading into the last race of the Round of 10 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Cup Series will head to New Hampshire this weekend. The Craftsman Truck Series Team EJP 175 takes the green flag at 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, with the Mobil 1 301 for the NASCAR Cup Series racing at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 21.

-Photo credit: John K. Harrelson, Lumen Digital Agency for Toyota Gazoo Racing