JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Portland International Raceway
RACE: Pacific Office Automation 147 (75 laps / 147.75 miles)
DATE: Saturday, June 3, 2023
Broadcast Information – TV: 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 / Radio: 4 p.m. ET on MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90
Sam Mayer
No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet
- Sam Mayer heads to Portland International Raceway to make his second career start on the 1.967-mile road course. Mayer’s most recent road-course start at COTA earlier this year landed him a seventh-place finish.
- The young driver’s career-best road course finish came last season at COTA, where he scored a fifth-place effort.
- With 11 NXS starts on road courses, the Franklin, Wis. native has tallied one top-five and six top-10 finishes.
- Mayer and the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet currently hold the 11th spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings.
Josh Berry
No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet
- Josh Berry heads to Portland this week aiming for a second straight top-five finish on the road course. He was fourth there last year in his maiden trip to the Northwest circuit.
- Despite spending his early career on short tracks, Berry is quite the road-course ace. In eight starts, the Tennessee native has a pair of top-five finishes (Portland and Road America) and six top-10 finishes.
- Berry has been a model of consistency in 2023, with five top-five and nine top-10 results in 12 starts entering the second West Coast swing.
- Berry is solidly in the championship hunt following Charlotte,
standing fifth in points, 85 off the leader.
Brandon Jones
No. 9 Menards/Schultz Chevrolet
- Brandon Jones has made one start at Portland, coming in the inaugural running at the 1.967-mile road course last season. Jones started 22nd and finished 11th in the rainsoaked event.
- Jones has made 32 starts on road courses in the NXS and has accumulated five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. His best finish of second came at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course during the 2020 season.
- Jones has also made four starts on road courses in the ARCA Menards Series and recorded one win at Watkins Glen.
- Jones currently sits 13th in the series standings, 20 points below the playoff cutline with 14 races remaining in the regular season.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
- Justin Allgaier enters this weekend’s event at Portland as the most recent winner in the NXS, having gone to Victory Lane Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- In last season’s inaugural event at the Pacific Northwest road course, Allgaier recorded a fifth-place finish.
- In his NXS career on road courses, Allgaier has amassed a total of three wins, 14 top fives and 27 top 10s in 45 starts.
- Two of Allgaier’s three road-course wins came behind the wheel of a JRM Chevrolet, with both occurring during the 2018 season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America.
Driver Quotes
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Portland this week. I learned a lot last year and the weather is looking much better this weekend so hopefully we can use that to our advantage and have a good run. I have faith that my No. 1 team has built me a fast road course car and that we can pick our heads up from Charlotte.” – Sam Mayer
“Portland is definitely a unique and challenging road course. We were able to come away with a top-five finish here last year and hopefully we can replicate that same success again this weekend with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. We have a lot of momentum on our side right now, especially after getting the win last week in Charlotte and I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and the guys on this No. 7 team are ready to get after it again and race for the win on Saturday.” – Justin Allgaier
“This No. 8 team has been really good on road courses the past couple of seasons, and I’m hoping that we continue that this weekend in Portland. Last year was a bit of a mess with the rain, but we were able to navigate that for a top five finish. Our Tire Pros Chevrolet has been fast, but we’re still looking for a little consistency, and this weekend and next at Sonoma would be a great place to get some of that.” – Josh Berry
“This race was pretty crazy last year with all the rain and never having raced here before, but I felt like I had a pretty good day. This No. 9 team has been fast on road courses in the past and I know when we unload this weekend that we will have that same speed. We’ve been fast, so hopefully, we can keep that going and keep running up front where this team belongs.” – Brandon Jones
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Portland: JR Motorsports has competed at Portland International Raceway a combined four times in the NXS. Over the course of those starts at the Pacific Northwest track, JRM has tallied two top fives and three top 10s. Josh Berry led the charge for JRM in the inaugural race at the 1.967-mile road course with a fourth-place finish.
- Road Course Racing: JR Motorsports has competed on road courses a combined 186 times in the NXS. Over the course of those 186 starts at such tracks, JRM has recorded five wins, 46 top fives and 99 top 10s. The most recent win on a road course for the organization came with Kyle Larson at Watkins Glen International last season in the No. 88 Chevrolet.
- Xfinity Autograph Session: JRM drivers Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer will be signing autographs during the Xfinity autograph session on Saturday, June 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. local time.
