JR Motorsports — NXS Phoenix Raceway Preview

JR Motorsports Team Preview
TRACK – Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
NXS RACE – NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship (200 laps / 200 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 5:30 p.m. (MT)

Sam Mayer

No. 1 – 10X Health Chevrolet

Mayer 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 32

Wins: 3

Top 5s: 8

Top 10s: 13

Laps Led: 224

Avg. Finish: 18.2

Points: 9th

  • Sam Mayer heads out west for the final race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series 2024 season at Phoenix Raceway.
  • Mayer will be making his seventh start at the one-mile oval where his best finish of fifth came at this event last season.
  • With one race remaining in the season, the young driver has tallied three wins (Texas, Iowa and Charlotte Roval), eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes this 2024 season.
  • 10X Health will ride along side the No. 1 Chevrolet for the final time this season as primary partner.

Sam Mayer

“It has been a super fun season with this No. 1 JR Motorsports team and I am ready to ride one last time with these guys at Phoenix this weekend. Although this will be my last race at JRM, I am very grateful for all Dale, Kelley, LW, and everyone at JRM for what they have done for me over the years. This team has helped me grow tremendously in my career and it is truly bitter-sweet. I know Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and the guys have worked up a great car for this weekend and hopefully we can park it in Victory Lane one last time for JRM.”

Justin Allgaier

No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet

Allgaier 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 32

Wins: 2

Top 5s: 9

Top 10s: 19

Laps Led: 705

Avg. Finish: 13.9

Points: 4th

  • Justin Allgaier heads to Phoenix this weekend as one of four drivers fighting for the NXS Championship. This marks the seventh time that Allgaier has entered the season-finale event as a Championship 4 contender.
  • Allgaier is a two-time winner in “The Valley of the Sun” in the NXS, taking the checkered flag in the spring of 2017 and in this event in 2019.
  • In addition to his two victories, the Illinois native has amassed 10 top-fives and 18 top-10s in 28 career NXS starts at the one-mile oval.
  • According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Allgaier currently ranks first in quality passes (673), laps run inside the top 15 (5,170), green flag passes (903) and second in laps led (596) at Phoenix.

Justin Allgaier

“It’s an unbelievable feeling knowing that we are heading to Phoenix with a chance at the championship this weekend. Everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team has worked their tails off all season long to get to this point and I know that they are all ready to go. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) built us a great car here in the spring that had us in contention for the win and I know that is going to be the case again when we unload for practice. If we can just go out and execute like we did throughout the Round of 8, I feel like we will be in position to have a great night on Saturday.”

Sammy Smith

No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet

Smith 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 32

Wins: 1

Top 5s: 7

Top 10s: 16

Laps Led: 65

Avg. Finish: 15.2

Points: 11th

  • Sammy Smith heads back to Phoenix where he earned his first NXS victory in the spring of 2023.
  • Accompanying Smith’s victory, the JRM driver has finished inside the top 10 in each of his four career starts at the one-mile oval.
  • Throughout the Iowa native’s ARCA Menards Series career, he tallied one win and five top fives in “The Valley of the Sun.”
  • Smith has 31 NXS starts on tracks measuring one-two miles in length. In those he has amassed one win, five top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.

Sammy Smith

“I’m bummed that we aren’t heading to Phoenix as part of the Championship 4, but the track is special to me since I got my first Xfinity Series win there so I’m looking forward to it. This season has thrown a lot of challenges at this No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet team, but no one ever gave up and we fought until the very last lap at Martinsville to earn our spot in the top four, but it wasn’t meant to be this year. We’re still going to give it our all this weekend to get back to Victory Lane and finish the year on a positive note.”

Brandon Jones

No. 9 Menards / Klearvue Cabinetry Chevrolet

Jones 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 32

Wins: 0

Top 5s: 1

Top 10s: 8

Laps Led: 45

Avg. Finish: 19.4

Points: 14th

  • Brandon Jones will return to Phoenix for the final race of the season after earning a top-10 finish there in the spring.
  • Since his first start at “The Valley of the Sun” in 2016, Jones has earned one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes at the one-mile track.
  • In 49 starts on tracks one mile or less, the 27-year-old Georgia native has one win, seven top-five and 18 top-10 results.
  • Klearvue Cabinetry, a leading manufacturer of cabinets that can do more, will be the final partner displayed on the hood of Jones’ Camaro this season.

Brandon Jones

“This season may have had its ups and downs, but I am proud of all the hard work this team has put in every week. We plan to keep up the intensity for Phoenix and hopefully can avoid the mess and end the year on a high note. I would love to give these guys the finish they deserve.”

Connor Zilisch

No. 88 Jarrett Chevrolet

Zilisch 2024 NXS Stats

Starts: 3

Wins: 1

Top 5s: 2

Top 10s: 2

Laps Led: 45

Avg. Finish: 5.7

Points: 37

  • Connor Zilisch will make his fourth start for JRM this weekend at Phoenix in the NXS season finale.
  • In his first three starts this season, Zilisch has one victory (Watkins Glen), a fourth-place finish (Kansas Speedway) and a 12th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
  • Zilisch will carry the red, black and silver colors of Jarrett Logistics at Phoenix, his first appearance for the Ohio-based company.
  • The 18-year-old Charlotte, N.C. native enters his first race on a short oval with a stellar 5.7 average finish to his credit in the NXS.

Connor Zilisch

“It will be interesting to see what we can do this weekend at Phoenix, since it’s a short 1-mile oval with kind of a different layout. This is the third different type of track I’ve raced on this year, and we’ve managed to do pretty well on the others. Looking forward to seeing what Phoenix has in store for the Jarrett Camaro on Saturday.”

JRM Team Updates

JR Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Phoenix Raceway a combined 104 times in the NXS. In those starts at the 1-mile oval, the organization has recorded four wins, 26 top-fives and 55 top-10s. The average finish is 13.2. The most recent trip to Victory Lane at Phoenix was in March 2022 with Noah Gragson.

Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Connor Zilisch will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. MT.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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