JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
RACE: DC Solar 300 (200 laps / 300 miles)
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018
Elliott Sadler
No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet
• Heading into the final race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, Elliott Sadler and the No. 1 JR Motorsports team are the regular season defending champions.
• In 12 NXS starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the veteran driver has claimed three top-five and six top-10 finishes, along with one pole award (2012).
• This season on tracks measuring 1.5-miles in length, Sadler has earned three top fives and five top 10s, with an average finish of 6.8.
• Currently, Sadler and team sit fifth in the NXS standings.
Michael Annett
No. 5 Allstate Parts & Service Chevrolet
• Michael Annett ranks third in Quality Passes (NASCAR Loop Data statistics) at Las Vegas among NXS regulars, trailing only JRM teammates Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler.
• Annett has finished 13th in half of his six NXS starts at the 1.5-mile desert oval, including in the race earlier this year.
• Allstate Parts & Service is back on the No. 5 this week, the company’s third and final appearance of the season.
• Annett trails 12th-place Austin Cindric by 57 points heading to Las Vegas and will need to have a near-perfect day to make it into the NXS Playoffs for the second straight season. A win on Saturday would put him in the field of the 12 contending drivers.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier is coming off his fifth NXS win of 2018 after claiming the victory at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He leads the NXS point standings by 49 markers as the series heads into the final race of the regular season.
• In eight NXS starts at Las Vegas, the Illinois native has three top fives and seven top 10s. Earlier this season at the 1.5- mile facility, Allgaier finished third after leading 12 laps.
• Allgaier has four top-10 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks this season, including two top fives (Las Vegas and Kentucky).
• This weekend marks the 32-year-old driver’s 350th start across NASCAR’s three premier series.
Tyler Reddick
No. 9 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevrolet
• Tyler Reddick will make his second career NXS start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
• Reddick earned an eighth-place finish in his lone start in Sin City in March 2018.
• Reddick has made three previous starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Las Vegas, earning a win in the 2016 event after starting from the 16th position and leading 70 laps en route to the victory.
• The Corning, Calif. native sits third in the NXS Playoff seeding with one race remaining in the regular season by way of his victory at Daytona International Speedway in Feb. 2018.
Driver Quotes
“It’s good to know we’re locked into the playoffs heading into the last race of the regular season at Las Vegas. Kevin (Meendering, crew chief) and my guys have worked hard all season long to get us to this point. This weekend, it gives us the opportunity to be aggressive and battle to get our OneMain Financial Chevrolet back in Victory Lane. Hopefully we can get ourselves that solid finish we’re looking for and head into the playoffs with good momentum.” – Elliott Sadler
“We have had really fast cars all season long, and making the playoffs has been our goal all year. We have one more chance to get it done this weekend and our whole Allstate Parts & Service team is going to go all-out to make it happen. We were in a good position at Indy, but had a mechanical problem that kept us from capitalizing on it. We’re going to go as hard as we can to get that playoff spot.” – Michael Annett
“The success our No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team has had so far this season is nothing short of incredible. We’re heading into Las Vegas with the points lead and it will be huge if we’re able to keep that momentum going and get that regular-season championship along with those 15 extra playoff points. This team has been working so hard all year long and we’ve been pretty fast at Las Vegas in the past, so if we can stay out of trouble I think we’ll have a good shot at getting it done.” – Justin Allgaier
“We are surging at the right time with our Nationwide Children’s Hospital Chevrolet. Coming off of two straight top three finishes gives us a lot of momentum heading into Vegas this weekend. It’s pretty cool that we get to race there twice this season. It’s a fast mile-and-a-half track but there is some good tire fall off as well. The playoffs are in sight now and everyone on this JR Motorsports team knows what we need to do to keep this positive momentum going to ensure that we will contend for a championship when we get to Homestead. We’re ready to go.” – Tyler Reddick
JRM Team Updates
• JRM at Las Vegas: In 32 NXS starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports has one win, 11 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. Mark Martin earned the victory for the organization in 2008 after leading 81 laps en route to the checkered flag. In its first trip to Las Vegas earlier this season, JRM had two teams finish within the top five and all teams finish within the top 13.
• NXS Point Standings: With only one race remaining in the regular season, JRM holds the top seed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings, with three of its four drivers within the top 12. Throughout the regular season, the organization has held the first-place standing between its drivers following 19 of the 26 events.
• Allgaier, Reddick Trackside Live Q&A Session: Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet, and teammate Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, are schedule to join fellow NXS Playoff contenders on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. local time for a fan Q&A session at Trackside Live in the Midway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
