TRACK – Bristol Motor Speedway (0.533-mile short track)
NXS RACE – SciAps 300 (300 laps / 159.9 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 5:00 p.m. (ET)
- Coming off a top-five finish at Darlington Raceway; Carson Kvapil will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at “The Last Great Colosseum” this Saturday.
- The 21-year-old Mooresville native has one previous start at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In 2023 he qualified 27th and drove through the field to finish just outside the top-10 in 12th.
- According to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics, Kvapil is ranked fourth for late-race speed directly behind JRM teammates Justin Allgaier and Connor Zilisch.
- Kvapil will be sporting the colors of High Rock Vodka on his Chevrolet this weekend. He will also be making an appearance at the High Rock Vodka display in the Fan Zone Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.
- Justin Allgaier returns to the site of his first career NXS victory this weekend in Bristol on a string of four consecutive top-three finishes dating back to his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month.
- Overall, in 24 career starts in “Thunder Valley,” the veteran driver has earned two wins, 11 top fives and 15 top 10s.
- To accompany those strong numbers, Allgaier has led more laps at Bristol than any other track on the circuit, pacing the field for 1,174 laps to date.
- Allgaier’s most recent victory at Bristol came in the fall of 2023, when the Illinois native started 10th and led the way for 110 laps before securing the checkered flag.
- Sammy Smith has raced at Bristol three times in the NXS and finished within the top-15 in each of those starts.
- Smith has earned a best finish of ninth at the Tennessee short-track, doing so in the fall of 2023.
- On short tracks measuring under 1 mile in length, Smith has 12 NXS starts with four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. His average finish is 9.3.
- According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Smith’s average running position this season is 10.05, fourth best in the series.
- After the first eight races of the season, NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics reports Smith running 87.9 percent of laps in the top-15, trailing close behind JRM teammate Justin Allgaier’s 92.9 percent.
- Connor Zilisch will make his first NXS start at Bristol on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet competed in both the Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series races at Bristol in 2024, winning the pole position in both races at the 0.533-mile track. The pole was his second in both the Truck and ARCA series competition.
- Zilisch scored a sixth-place finish last week at Darlington, his third top-10 of the 2025 season and second on an intermediate track. He enters Bristol sixth in the NXS driver standings, 122 points behind leader and JRM teammate Justin Allgaier, and is 23 outside the top-five. Zilisch has gained 26 positions over the past six races.
- Zilisch enters Bristol as the only NXS driver to win multiple poles this season, capturing the top starting position at Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville Speedway.
- This weekend marks the first race with Axalta onboard the Np. 88 Chevrolet as the primary partner.
Carson Kvapil: “We had a great finish at Darlington last weekend, so we plan to capitalize on that momentum for Bristol. This is one of my favorite tracks, so I am looking forward to getting our High Rock Vodka Chevrolet out there and seeing what we can do. I know this No. 1 team will bring a fast race car so that we will be contending for the win to give these guys another finish they deserve.”
Justin Allgaier: “Bristol has always been one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. There’s just something about this place that has suited my driving style. It’s definitely a special feeling whenever we get to race here and I can’t wait to get to the track this weekend and see what we can do with our Jarrett Chevrolet. We’ve had extremely strong cars here in the past and I know that will be the case again come Saturday.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to Bristol this week. I’ve had some good runs there the last several years and this No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet team has been putting in the work to unload a competitive car. We’re focusing on running up front so we’re there at the end when it counts.”
Connor Zilisch: “Bristol is such a cool racetrack, high-banked, high grip. I won the pole for the Truck race last fall and had one of the fastest Trucks all day. We had a really good race going, so I feel really confident going back to Bristol. The Xfinity cars have a little bit less grip and are going to be a little bit tougher, but I’m excited to see what that’s like and how it’s different. Sometimes you have to be aggressive to get by people and that can make or break your race as well. I’m confident that we’ll have a good Axalta Chevrolet and I feel like we’ll be really fast.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway:JR Motorsports has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway a combined 98 times in the NXS since 2006. In those starts at the 0.533-mile short-track oval, the organization has recorded four wins, 25 top-fives and 59 top-10s. The average finish is 12.7.
- Food City Stage Q&A:JRM drivers Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Connor Zilisch will be at the Food City Stage for a Q&A on Saturday, April 12 from 2:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET.
- Souvenir Rig:JRM drivers Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / HMS-Byron/Bowman souvenir rig on Saturday, April 12 from 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 m. ET.