JRM NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Preview: Circuit of The Americas

Ron Lemasters

1 year ago

TRACK – Circuit of the Americas Road Course (2.4-mile road course)
NXS RACE – Focused Health 250 (65 laps / 156 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 2:30 p.m. (ET)

Carson Kvapil will make his first start at Circuit of the Americas in the NASCAR Xfinity series this Saturday.
Kvapil has one start on the previous layout of the Texas road course in the Trans Am 2 series. He qualified on the pole and finished one spot outside the top five in sixth.
Crew chief Andrew Overstreet also has one start at COTA, leading the No. 1 team to a top-10 finish in 2023.Atlanta is the only 1.5-mile drafting track on the NASCAR circuit. Zilisch ran solid last weekend at Daytona, bouncing back from an incident early at Daytona to lead the race and was running among the top five in the closing laps before an accident ended his day.
Justin Allgaier makes his fifth career start at COTA in the NXS on Saturday afternoon.
In four previous starts at the Austin, Texas road course, Allgaier has earned two top-fives, with a best finish of third coming in the inaugural event in 2021.
Allgaier is a three-time winner on road courses in the NXS, with two of the wins coming behind the wheel of a JRM Chevrolet in 2018 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America. Allgaier’s first victory on a road course in the NXS came during in the 2012 season at Montreal.
This weekend Allgaier’s BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet will be sharing their colors with REV1 Energy, the global leader in integrated commissioning and electrical services.
Saturday afternoon marks Sammy Smith’s third start at COTA in the NXS.
In his two previous starts at the Texas road course, Smith has earned a best finish of fourth, coming in 2023.
Over the past three seasons, Smith has competed on a road course in the NXS 14 times, tallying three top fives and five top 10s.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Smith is second in best average running position at COTA, averaging just over a 10th place running position throughout the course of a race at the 2.4-mile road course.
Ross Chastain makes his third career NXS start at COTA this weekend, as well as his first start for JRM.
Saturday afternoon’s race marks Chastain’s first of five races behind the wheel of the No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet for JRM this year.
The Chevrolet driver earned a best finish of 17^th at the Texas road course in the 2022 NXS race.
Chastain has one NASCAR Cup Series win at COTA. In March 2022, he led 31 laps and captured the win in a thrilling finish. In addition to piloting the No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet in the NXS, he will also compete in Sunday’s 95-lap Cup Series race.
Connor Zilisch will compete at COTA for the first time in his NXS career on Saturday. The driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet will be making just his second NXS road-course start as well.
Zilisch made his first NASCAR national series start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at COTA in March 2024. He won the pole position on the way to scoring a fourth-place finish.
Zilisch made his NXS debut (and first road course start) in September 2024 with JRM at Watkins Glen International. In a remarkable accomplishment, Zilisch won the pole, led the most laps (45) and won the race.
NASCAR weekend at COTA will be a busy one for Zilisch. The 18-year-old Mooresville, N.C., native will be making his Cup Series debut with Trackhouse Racing March 2 in the Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix at the Austin, TX, road course, marking the first time the JRM driver will be doing double duty.

Carson Kvapil: “We did not have the race we wanted last weekend, so this team is looking for redemption at COTA. I have run well there in the past with the TA2 series and I know this No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies team is working hard to unload a fast car this weekend. Hopefully we can apply what we have been working on and everything will fall into place to have us running up front when it counts. I want to bring home a great finish for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies.”

Justin Allgaier: “COTA has always been a fun road course to race on, but this weekend brings a whole new set of challenges with this reconfigured layout. We’ve always had strong Chevrolets on the road courses and I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) will give me another strong BRANDT Professional Agriculture / REV 1 Energy Chevrolet when we hit the track for practice and qualifying on Friday. Hopefully we can keep all four fenders on the car all weekend long and be there when it counts on Saturday.”

Sammy Smith: “I’m ready to get to COTA this weekend to continue the momentum from Atlanta and redeem ourselves from this race last year when we had a fast No. 8 Chevrolet but unfortunately got caught up in a late-race incident. This JR Motorsports crew has kept their heads down and focused on getting results so I know we’ll have a really competitive No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet to start off our first road course of the season.”

Ross Chastain: “I’m excited to get to COTA with Acceptance Insurance on the car and for the other four Xfinity Series races we have coming up. Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks, Acceptance Insurance and JR Motorsports have helped provide me with an opportunity to get more seat time in the Xfinity Series which I’m really looking forward to. JRM has always been strong and I can’t wait to see what we can do.”

Connor Zilisch: “I think we’re going to be one of the best cars on road courses all year long just because of my background and my confidence on these kinds of tracks. Going into this weekend at COTA I feel confident that we’re going to be able to run really well. I’m excited to feel it out and just get a feel for what the WeatherTech Chevrolet is like there.”

JRM Team Updates

JR Motorsports at Circuit of the Americas: JR Motorsports has competed at COTA a combined 18 times in the NXS. In those starts at the 2.5-mile road course, the organization has recorded four top fives and eight top 10s. The average finish is 15.6.
Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS-Byron/Bowman souvenir rig on Saturday, March 1 from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. CT.