NASCAR’s Justin Allgaier and Jason Leffler are used to going head to head for a win, but the pair of Nationwide drivers entered a new level of competition when they visited the Mechanicsville Kroger this week.

As a promotion for the April, 30 BUBBA burger 250 Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway, Allgaier and Leffler took part in the Signature BUBBA burger Contest on Wednesday.  The pair faced off against media celebrities; WRIC-TV8 meteorologist Matt DiNardo, WTVR traffic reporter Amanda Meadows and Y101 radio host “Sludge” to see who could come up with the best burger creation.

A large gathering of local race fans gathered on the sidewalk outside Kroger to both watch the contest unfold and get an up close visit with the NASCAR drivers.

“This is a great competition and what a great way to kick off the racing season at Richmond International Raceway,” Allgaier said. “We have so much fun when we come to the races here. This is a good way to come out a little early, connect with the fans and hopefully they’ll come out and support us when we come to race.”

“It’s pretty awesome to see all of these fans come out here to support everybody,” Leffler said. “You can tell there’s some serious race fans here in Richmond for them to come out here to the Kroger supermarket, to taste some burgers and cheer us on. So it’s pretty cool to see that.”

On a 15 minute time limit, the contestants darted through the aisles of Kroger looking for ingredients, much to the bewilderment of local grocery shoppers.

The contestants then had to build their BUBBA burger and submit it to a panel of three judges; Richmond.com’s Karri Peifer, RIR president Doug Fritz and BUBBA burger’s Jamie Sakin.

First to hit the table was DiNardo with his Italian-styled Eggplant Parmesan burger, which won praise for creativeness, but also a rebuke from the judges’ table. “Stick to forecasting the weather,” one of the judges commented.

Next up was Leffler. “I had a little Thousand Island, just some shredded lettuce and some good (Havarti) cheese,” he said. “You know what I was going for was a little California In and Out Burger feel. Real simple but really good and the BUBBA Burger made that happen.”

While the judges enjoyed the taste of Leffler’s burger it was not as adventurous as the other creations. “It wasn’t quite good enough,” Leffler said. “I don’t know if there was enough effort in there to sway the judges but they enjoyed the taste. But maybe if I’d have tried a little harder, a little more exotic, maybe I could have pulled this one off.

“Luckily, I don’t do a lot of cooking, for everybody around me, so I faked it though,” he added. “I faked it today. These guys over there cooked the burger for me and I just put the toppings on it. All in all it was a fun day.”

Allgaier was third to the table, with his highly secretive creation; which he did not unveil until after the judges bitten in. Last year’s Nationwide Rookie of the Year then revealed that he used a toasted whole wheat bun sliced thinly to surround a double-burger covered with cheese, A-1 steak sauce and topped with crushed saltine crackers.

Next up was Meadows, who admittedly had never cooked on a grill before in her life. Her Hawaiian style burger with pineapple and red onions also won praise from the judges.

Finally, long after the other contestants, Sludge delivered his bizarre and monstrous concoction to the table. Revealing that the recipe came to him while taking a morning shower, Sludge used a large asiago cheese encrusted loaf stuffed with burger, red onions, green chilies, buttered mashed potatoes and cheese.

While creative, it was just too odd for the judges’ tastes; but not odd enough to keep Leffler from wanting to try it out.

After deliberating, the judges decision came back tied between Allgaier and Meadows and the local fans were turned to in order to determine a winner.

Allgaier came out as the fan favorite.

The Signature BUBBA burger contest in Mechanicsville is part of the larger competition open to all Nationwide drivers. Drivers submit their recipes online at www.rir.com and fans vote on who has come up with the best creation.

Voting ends Monday, April 26. The top five vote-getters will be invited to participate in a final “Signature BUBBA burger®” Challenge at RIR on April 30. The burgers will be showcased for a panel of judges to taste and to determine the winner. The champion burger and creator will be recognized during BUBBA burger 250 pre-race ceremonies and the driver’s team will win a BUBBA burger® lunch at their race shop.