TRACK – Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
NXS RACE – Food City 300 (300 laps / 159.9 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Sam Mayer: “Bristol is one of my favorite tracks so I am super pumped that we are finally headed back there this week. Last year we had some bad luck, but this track has treated me so well in the past and Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and the team have been working so hard in the shop. So I have no doubt that when we unload in Bristol, we will be in contention for a solid finish. Carolina Carports is back on board as well and I am looking forward to hopefully sending them to Victory Lane Friday night under the lights.”
Justin Allgaier: “Bristol has been such a special place throughout my career. I’ve always loved coming here and hopefully we can be just as strong this weekend as we have been over the last few years with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet. We know what we need to do when we unload, and I feel extremely confident that we will be in contention for the win when it counts and come away with the regular season championship.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to running under the lights this Friday at Bristol as we contend for our position in the playoffs. I’ve had good runs there in the past and JRM has always brought strong cars there so I’m excited to get there and close out the regular season on a high note.”
Brandon Jones: “Bristol is one of my favorite tracks, so I am looking forward to going back this weekend. We have had a lot of speed there in the past and I know this No. 9 team is working hard to make sure we unload another fast car on Friday. This is our last chance to make it into the playoffs, so we are going to give it everything we have. This team is capable of winning races and I am ready for the results to show what we’re able to do.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “We are bringing back the same car as last year, that we totally stripped and rebuilt. I hope it handles as well because we were so fast here last year in the Hellmann’s Chevrolet. The Bristol Night race is just an awesome event, and I always look forward to running here with the crowd, the lights, and the excitement.”
- Sam Mayer heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start at “The Last Great Colosseum.”
- In three previous starts at the Tennessee short-track, Mayer has tallied one-top five and two top-10’s with a best of fourth coming at this event in 2022.
- The young driver has a winning history at Bristol as he won two races in one night in 2020 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. Crew chief, Mardy Lindley was atop the pit box for his ARCA victory that evening.
- In 22 starts on tracks measuring a mile or less in length, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet has earned one win (Iowa, 2024), nine top-five and 12 top-10 efforts.
- Justin Allgaier heads to Bristol as the defending NXS winner at the hallowed short track, taking the victory after leading a race-high 110 laps in this event last season.
- Additionally, Allgaier has led 90 or more laps in seven consecutive events at Bristol, dating back to the spring of 2019.
- Overall, Allgaier has led a total of 1,114 laps in “Thunder Valley,” the most of any track that the veteran driver has competed on in the NXS.
- To accompany the 1,114 laps led, Allgaier has scored a combined two wins (including the first of his NXS career in 2010), 11 top fives and 15 top 10s at Bristol.
- With one race remaining in the regular season, Allgaier currently holds a 43-point lead in the championship standings.
- On tracks up to one mile in length, Sammy Smith has 17 starts in the NXS. In those starts, he has tallied one win (Phoenix 2023), five top-fives, 12 top 10s.
- Smith has run at Bristol twice in his NXS career, qualifying sixth both times and finishing with one top-10.
- Heading into the last race of the regular season, Smith sits 43 points above the playoff cutline.
- This week, Sept. 15-21, is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. To celebrate, JRM and Pilot Flying J created a special paint scheme to run at Bristol as a thank you to our hauler drivers and Pro Drivers everywhere.
- Brandon Jones has made 14 starts at Bristol in the NXS and has recorded three top fives and six top 10s, including a runner-up finish during the 2022 season.
- Additionally, Jones has five starts at Bristol in the NCTS, earning one top-five and three top-10s.
- Over 47 starts on short tracks in the NXS the 27-year-old Georgia native has one win, seven top fives and 17 top 10s.
- Pelonis, a trusted brand in home comfort for over 25 years, will be making its third of four appearances on the hood of Jones’ Camaro this weekend. This will be the brand’s second appearance in Thunder Valley with Jones.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Bristol this weekend for the NXS race, hoping to build on last year’s performance where he led 47 laps and was in the hunt for victory until a mechanical issue cut his evening short.
- When driving JRM machines in the NXS at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. owns three top-five finishes in five starts, the best being a third-place effort in 2011.
- Twenty years ago, in 2004, Earnhardt Jr. swept the weekend at Bristol, winning the NXS race on Friday night and dominating the NASCAR Cup Series event on Saturday. Combined, he led 420 of the 756 laps run that weekend.
- This weekend, drivers in both the NXS and NCS series will wear Earnhardt Jr.’s signature skeleton gloves, which will be auctioned off for benefit of The Dale Jr. Foundation next month. Each driver will sign one of the gloves and Earnhardt Jr. will autograph the other.
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway a combined 93 times in the NXS since its first trip there in 2006. In those starts at the .533-mile short-track, the organization has recorded four wins, 25 top-fives and 56 top-10s, with an average finish of 12.7.
- Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Friday, Sept. 20 from 4:20 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. ET.