TRACK – Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile triangular-oval track)
NXS RACE – Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 (100 laps / 250 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 3:30 p.m. (ET)
- Carson Kvapil heads north this weekend for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Pocono Raceway.
- On tracks 2 miles in length and greater, the 22-year-old Mooresville native has made five starts amassing one top-five and two top-10s, his best finish is fourth at Daytona International Speedway earlier this season.
- According to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics Kvapil currently ranks fourth in quality passes in the NXS coming out of last week’s race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
- Through the opening 15 events of his rookie season, Kvapil has earned a best finish of second, coming at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.
- Justin Allgaier heads to Pocono on the strength of three top-fives and five top-10s in nine career NXS starts at the triangular track.
- Allgaier has twice finished in the runner-up position at Pocono, including in this event last year where the JRM driver led a race-high 30 laps and won the opening stage before coming home in second.
- Allgaier has led at least one lap in seven of his nine starts at Pocono, including in the last six consecutive races dating back to this event in 2019.
- This weekend marks the return of Carolina Carports onboard the No. 7 Chevrolet.
- Sammy Smith has competed at the “Tricky Triangle” three times in his NXS career. In those, Smith has started no worse than ninth and finished in the top 10 twice.
- Smith’s best finish at Pocono came in 2023 where he qualified and finished sixth.
- According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Smith is ranked third for the most laps run in the top-15 this season (2,272).
- TMC Transportation will share the TV panel this weekend with ARAUCO, a company who serves North America with excellence in manufacturing, distribution and service to customers in construction, casework, fixture, fabrication, commercial design, and paper making.
- Connor Zilisch will be making his first Pocono start in the NXS on Saturday afternoon. Zilisch finished fifth last week at Mexico City, his third consecutive top-five. In 14 starts this season, Zilisch has four top-fives and six top-10 finishes. He led twice for 17 laps at Mexico City and has now led a lap in 10 races this season (206 laps total).
- Zilisch won the pole at Mexico City, his fourth pole of the 2025 NXS season and his fifth in 18 career starts. He has won the pole in all three road-course starts in his young career. His four poles overall are the most by any NXS driver this season (no other driver has more than two).
- The driver of the Registix Chevrolet enters Pocono with four top-10 finishes on non-drafting superspeedway tracks, including second-place efforts at Charlotte and Nashville.
- Zilisch enters Pocono fifth in the NXS driver standings, 14 points ahead of sixth-place Sheldon Creed. He leads the battle for Sunoco Rookie of the Year by 21 points (430-409) over Carson Kvapil.
Carson Kvapil: “Pocono is another track I haven’t had the opportunity to race at yet, so I am really looking forward to getting out there this weekend. JRM is known for bringing strong cars so I am sure my No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies team will unload a fast piece on Saturday. Hopefully we can qualify well and put ourselves in position to contend for the win at the end.”
Justin Allgaier: “We have been so close at Pocono in recent years. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this Carolina Carports team have given me really strong cars in the past and I know we are going to be just as fast on Saturday. Pocono is such a unique track, but it’s one that I have always enjoyed coming to. Hopefully we can have a smooth day and execute the way we have all year long to this point and come away with a shot at the win in the end.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to Pocono this weekend. We’ve run well there in the past and I feel good about the work this team has put into preparing to get this No. 8 TMC Chevrolet in Victory Lane.”
Connor Zilisch: “I think Pocono will be a good track for us. We’ve had some good momentum lately. We’re coming off three top-fives in a row and we’re looking to keep that up and have another good showing. I’ve never been to Pocono, but I’ve done quite a bit of SIM time preparing for this weekend. Pocono is definitely a unique racetrack with all three corners being different but I know this No. 88 Registix team will bring a fast car for us to compete for a win.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Pocono Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Pocono Raceway a combined 35 times in the NXS since 2016. In those starts at the 2.5-mile track, the organization has recorded one win, 10 top-fives and 22 top-10s. The average finish is 11.6.
- 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, June 21 at 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET