Race 9 of 33: SciApps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Track Specs: .533-mile oval / 300 laps
Race Winner: Kyle Larson
Kvapil’s finish: 2nd
Allgaier’s finish: 3rd
Smith’s finish: 4th
Zilisch’s finish: 12th
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet, had a strong day at Bristol Motor Speedway battling for position within the top 10 for the majority of the 300-lap feature before coming home with a strong second-place finish. After taking the green flag in third, the rookie driver stayed focused and skillfully navigated traffic to finish the first two stages in ninth and fourth, respectively, earning valuable stage points. Finally, after starting the final stage in sixth, Kvapil took his time working through the remainder of the top five. After battling with teammate Justin Allgaier for several laps, Kvapil was able to make a white-flag pass to earn a runner-up result. The finish was the 21-year-old second-generation driver’s best finish of the season so far and will put him in contention for the final round of the Dash 4 Cash next week at Rockingham Speedway.
“This No. 1 High Rock Vodka team gave me a really fast piece this weekend and while I wish we had a few more laps to chase down the leader, I am happy with our finish. I am looking forward to going back to Rockingham next week and we plan to learn everything we can and hope to continue with this momentum and win that Dash 4 Cash bonus.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Jarrett Chevrolet, scored a strong third-place finish on Saturday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway to secure his second $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Running up front throughout the 300-lap event, Allgaier earned valuable stage points at the conclusion of both Stage One and Stage Two, and led for the ninth consecutive race at “Thunder Valley.” With the result, the veteran JR Motorsports driver has now placed inside the top three in five consecutive races dating back to his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month. Additionally, Allgaier extended his point lead in the championship standings to 83 and has qualified for the final Dash 4 Cash event of the season next weekend at Rockingham Speedway.
“We had a fast Jarrett Chevrolet today. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and everyone on this JR Motorsports team worked their tails off today and I can’t thank them enough. To come home with this Dash 4 Cash check is definitely great, and it feels good to keep this positive momentum going. Hopefully that will continue next week in Rockingham at a track with a lot of unknowns. We are looking forward to getting there and I know that we are going to have another strong Chevrolet capable of bringing home another Dash 4 Cash.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, posted a solid qualifying run to start eighth in the SciAps 300 on Saturday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. Smith ran inside the top 10 for the entirety of the 300-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series matinee, as the JR Motorsports driver paces the field, gained valuable stage points and brought home a hard-fought fourth-place finish to secure his place in next weekend’s final Dash 4 Cash event at Rockingham Speedway.
Smith had already gained two positions to sixth in the opening laps of Stage One before a caution waved and he stayed there until another yellow waved with just 10 laps remaining. The No. 8 JRM team elected to put during the stoppage to make a few small adjustments for the end of the stage. Smith was able to gain two more positions before the end of the stage to place fourth, gaining seven stage points in the process. Smith started Stage Two in second position and ran there for most of stage until falling to third in in the closing laps and collecting eight more stage points on the day.
Smith restarted third for the final stage and ran there until a mid-stage caution saw him fall back to fifth on the restart. The Iowa native charged to fourth with less than 15 laps remaining and took the checkered flag there behind JRM teammates Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. With the strong finish, Smith earned a spot in the final Dash 4 Cash race next weekend at Rockingham Speedway. He also gained one position in the point standings.
“I’m proud of this No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet team. They brought a fast car and really, this whole JR Motorsports team brought competitive cars which was apparent that we dominated the top 10 most of the day. We of course want to be the ones in Victory Lane, but we had a really solid and consistent day that we can be proud of, especially for our partners, Pilot, TMC Transportation and Allstate Peterbilt Group.”
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch’s strong run at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday evening was hampered when he was hit from behind moments after the caution flag waved with less than 100 laps to go. Zilisch qualified second and ran solidly among the top five for much of Stage One. A caution on lap 74 set up a round of pit stops for the leaders and a three-lap sprint to the finish of the opening segment. Zilisch was credited with sixth place when the stage ended on lap 85 and moved up to fourth for the restart on lap 96. He scored a fifth-place finish in Stage Two despite the balance on the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet being too tight and not turning well in the center of the corner. Zilisch pitted for four tires and a chassis adjustment under caution at lap 176 and restarted fifth when the race went green on lap 181. He was running sixth when he slowed for a caution on lap 213, but a driver running behind him didn’t stop as quickly and hit the No. 88 Chevrolet, damaging the rear of Zilisch’s machine. He restarted seventh on lap 225, but the damage slowed his pace relative to the other lead-lap cars. He ultimately finished 12th.
“We qualified well and ran strong for much of the night until we got some damage. Someone ran into the back of our car when a caution came out. I was already checked up. I thought I was good and, all of a sudden, I got hit. That was a little frustrating. I just didn’t have much grip after that. I felt like our Axalta Chevrolet was as good as our teammates who all ran in the top five before the damage, but it was still a good day for our team and we’ll move on to Rockingham next week.”
