JR Motorsports Xfinity 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 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Carson Kvapil
No. 1 – Bass Pro Shops / Clarience Technologies Chevrolet
Kvapil 2025 NXS Stats
Starts: 32
Wins: 0
Top 5s: 7
Top 10s: 14
Laps Led: 104
Avg. Finish: 13.8
Points: 2nd
Carson Kvapil will compete for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship this weekend at Phoenix Raceway after racing his way into the Championship 4 at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.
Kvapil will be making his second career NXS start at Phoenix this weekend.
In 16 career starts on intermediate tracks in the NXS, Kvapil has amassed two top-fives and four top-10s with best finishes of fifth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Kvapil has earned a best finish of second thus far in the 2025 NXS Playoffs, coming at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this month.
Carson Kvapil
“We’re definitely coming into this weekend as the underdog, but I am so proud of this No. 1 team for working so hard to get us to this point. We didn’t have the best run at Phoenix in the spring so we are definitely looking for redemption this weekend. We plan to go out and do our best to minimize mistakes and execute all day and hopefully we will be in contention for the big prize at the end. We have one more chance this season to get a great finish for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience technologies and we plan to make the most of it.”
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
Allgaier 2025 NXS Stats
Starts: 32
Wins: 3
Top 5s: 14
Top 10s: 19
Laps Led: 973
Avg. Finish: 12.5
Points: 3rd
2024 NXS Champion Justin Allgaier heads to Phoenix this weekend looking to defend his title as one of four drivers fighting for the 2025 championship.
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.
Earlier this year, Allgaier led for a race-high 130 laps at the desert oval before taking the checkered flag in fifth.
Overall, in 30 NXS starts at Phoenix, Allgaier has earned 12 top-fives and 20 top-10s to accompany his two victories.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Allgaier currently ranks first in laps run inside the top 15 (5,527), green-flag passes (1,055), laps led (730) and quality passes (754) among all NXS drivers at Phoenix.
Justin Allgaier
“This is what we have all worked so hard for, to get to Phoenix with a chance to race for a championship. To have three JRM Chevrolets in this final four is amazing and just a testament to everyone back at JR Motorsports. I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team is ready to go this weekend. We had a great car here in the spring and I feel like we have a really strong notebook for what we will need when we unload on Friday. If we can just go out and execute to the best of our abilities, I think we are going to have a strong chance to accomplish something great on Saturday night.”
Sammy Smith
No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet
Smith 2025 NXS Stats
Starts: 32
Wins: 1
Top 5s: 8
Top 10s: 17
Laps Led: 62
Avg. Finish: 14.3
Points: 8th
Sammy Smith heads into the final NXS race of the 2025 season eighth in points, 13 behind seventh and only 15 points from fifth.
Smith has competed at Phoenix six times with the NXS and in those, tallied one win, one top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Smith’s Victory at Phoenix came in the Spring of 2023 after starting 11th and leading 92 laps enroute to the win.
Pilot will share the TV panel with Shamrock Farms Rockin’ Protein. The company offers several different dairy-based drinks that can build, energize and recover your muscles after intense workouts.
Sammy Smith
“I’m disappointed that we’re not going into Phoenix competing for a championship but this No. 8 Pilot team is still going to fight for a win. We’ve done well there in the past so we’ll focus on the end goal of gaining points to close out the season strong and get this Pilot Chevrolet to Victory Lane.”
Connor Zilisch
No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet
Zilisch 2025 NXS Stats
Starts: 31
Wins: 10
Top 5s: 19
Top 10s: 22
Laps Led: 986
Avg. Finish: 8.2
Points: 1st
Connor Zilisch will compete for the NXS Championship Saturday afternoon at Phoenix. Other drivers in the Championship 4 are JRM teammates Allgaier and Kvapil plus Jesse Love from Richard Childress Racing.
The No. 88 WeatherTech team is also competing for the NXS Owner’s Championship at Phoenix. Other teams racing for the prestigious title include the JRM No. 7, Richard Childress Racing (No. 21) and Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 19).
Zilisch will be making his third NXS start at Phoenix this weekend, the most starts at one track in his young career. He scored a fourth-place finish at the 1-mile desert oval in November 2024.
The 2025 season has been remarkably successful for Zilisch. In addition to locking into the Championship 4, Zilisch has 10 victories in 31 starts, including nine wins in the last 17 races. Zilisch owns the record for most wins by a rookie and his four consecutive victories earlier this season tied him for most consecutive victories all-time with Sam Ard and Noah Gragson.
Connor Zilisch
“It’s really cool to be in the Championship 4 with my teammates Justin and Carson. It’s going to be a crazy busy weekend in Phoenix but I’m glad to be doing it alongside them. We just need to execute the day and make the most of it on Saturday. We’ve made sure that everything we do is calculated and are accounting for any and all situations to be prepared for anything. Before the season started my crew chief Mardy Lindley had me fill out a points and win prediction. I had us winning four races so to sit here today with 10 wins and winning the regular season championship plus locking into the Championship 4 early, this No. 88 team has certainly outdone my expectations. I’ve learned so much this season at JRM on a professional and personal level that I’ll carry with me into the Cup Series.”
JRM Team Updates
JR Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Phoenix Raceway a combined 113 times in the NXS since 2006. In those starts at the 1-mile oval, the organization has recorded four wins, 29 top-fives and 58 top-10s. The average finish is 13.1.
Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Connor Zilisch will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS-Byron/Bowman souvenir rig on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PT.
