TRACK – Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile short track)
NXS RACE – US Marine Corps 250 (250 laps / 131.5 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 5:00 p.m. (ET)
- Carson Kvapil will return to Martinsville Speedway this weekend where he made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at this event one year ago.
- In his debut, the 21-year-old Mooresville native qualified 12th and drove his way to a fourth-place finish, his first in the top-five.
- Kvapil has had great success at Martinsville in Late Model competition. In three starts, the young driver has finished first (2024), second (2022) and third (2023), all for JR Motorsports.
- Roto-Rooter, the largest provider of plumbing, drain cleaning and water cleanup services in North America, will ride along with the No. 1 car this weekend in the first of two primaries this season.
- Justin Allgaier heads to Martinsville this weekend on a streak of two consecutive wins in the NXS, having scored victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in the last two weeks.
- Allgaier is a previous NXS winner at the Virginia short track, having brought home the checkered flag in the fall of 2023.
- In nine NXS starts at Martinsville, Allgaier has recorded six top-fives and eight top-10s to accompany the 2023 win.
- Throughout his NXS career, Allgaier has earned a combined six wins, 29 top-fives and 47 top-10s in 78 starts on short tracks.
- Sammy Smith will make his sixth NXS start this weekend on the Martinsville paperclip.
- In Smith’s five starts on the 0.526-mile short-track, he has an impressive record of three top-fives, four top-10s and an average finish of 6.4.
- The Iowa native has led 196 laps at Martinsville, the most of any track that he has competed on in the NXS.
- Smith has twice finished in the runner-up position at Martinsville, including in the most recent event at the Virginia track last fall.
- Connor Zilisch will make his first NXS start on Saturday at Martinsville. Zilisch competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville in November 2024, posting a 12th-place finish despite starting outside the top 25.
- The driver of the Carolina Carports Chevrolet enters Martinsville following a 12th-place finish, last weekend at Homestead. Zilisch overcame a pit-road penalty with 46 laps to go, picking up seven positions during the final run to the checkered flag.
- Zilisch started second at Homestead, his best qualifying effort on an oval this season. His average starting position this season is 6.7 and he has started fourth or better in the last four races.
- For the fourth consecutive race, Zilisch has gained positions in the NXS driver standings. He enters Martinsville seventh in the standings, 85 points behind leader Justin Allgaier, and is just 23 outside the top-five. Zilisch has gained 25 positions in the driver standings over the past four races.
Carson Kvapil: “Martinsville is a special track to me and I have had a lot of success there in the past. This team has learned a lot since my first Xfinity race there last year, so I am hopeful we can build off that and come away with a great finish for Roto-Rooter.”
Justin Allgaier: “Martinsville has been a really strong track for us since it came back on the schedule. I’ve always enjoyed racing there and I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team will give me a great car when we unload for practice on Friday. We’ve had a lot of momentum on our side here lately and hopefully we can keep that going this weekend.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to going to Martinsville this weekend with this JR Motorsports team since we’ve run well there in the past and that gives us a lot of confidence going into it. I feel like this is a place that we can connect the pieces by having strong stage finishes and bring it home for Pilot.”
Connor Zilisch: “Martinsville is a tough track, it’s the shortest track we go to with really tight corners and it’s really important to have the car handling good. We are doing everything to make sure when we do show up it’s going to be as close as possible. Racing is always aggressive there, so it is easy to get frustrated and make mistakes. It’s always close quarters and a lot of bumping and late-race restarts. I’m just going to try to get through as clean as possible and get this Carolina Carports Chevrolet up front when it counts at the end of the day.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway:JR Motorsports has competed at Martinsville Speedway a combined 39 times in the NXS since 2006. In those starts at the 0.526-mile short-track oval, the organization has recorded three wins, 20 top-fives and 26 top-10s. The average finish is 10.9.
- 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, March 29 from 2:20 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. ET.