Race 21 of 33: Pennzoil 250
Track Specs: 2.5-mile oval / 100 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Smith’s finish: 7th
Kvapil’s finish: 30th
Allgaier’s finish: 36th
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch took the lead with two laps to go to win Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The victory was the 100th for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a milestone for the Mooresville, N.C.-based organization. Zilisch won for the third consecutive race and for the fifth time this season. With the victory, he also became the youngest NXS winner at Indy. Zilisch started seventh and worked his way up to second during Stage One, but finished fifth after his WeatherTech Chevrolet became too tight on corner exit. In Stage Two, he and teammate Justin Allgaier raced hard for the stage win with Allgaier edging Zilisch by less than a car length when the segment ended on lap 60. Zilisch pitted during the stage caution for tires and a round of adjustments, but a mechanical problem on the stop shuffled him back to fifth place for the restart on lap 66. He worked his way up to third by lap 86 and was just behind Allgaier and Kyle Larson when the duo made contact in Turn 2 one lap later, ending both drivers’ chances at victory. Zilisch took the lead and was out front when a brief rain shower halted the race on lap 92, eight laps from the finish. Zilisch lost the lead when the race went back green on lap 96, but two laps later, he regained the top spot and never looked back, officially scoring the victory by .339 seconds.
“It’s incredible to get the 100th victory for JR Motorsports. I’ve been with the company just under a year and if you had told me a year ago that I would be sitting here with six wins, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m so happy for Dale, Kelley, L.W., Mr. H and everyone at JR Motorsports. This one is so special for them. It’s such a cool accomplishment. I’m so proud of Mardy’s (crew chief Mardy Lindley) and all the guys on the WeatherTech team for all their hard work. Hopefully we can continue the momentum next week in Iowa. There’s still a lot that we want to accomplish this season.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, qualified 11th for the Pennzoil 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fighting hard throughout the day, Smith was able to bring home a solid seventh-place finish on Saturday afternoon, the 11th top-10 finish for the team this season.
Stage One saw Smith take the green flag in 11th and after an early caution, the field went green for the remaining 23 laps. Smith battled for a top-10 position, but after managing a tight-handling car, Smith took the green-and-white checkered flag in 13th.
Smith continued to fight for position inside the top 15 throughout the second stage before returning to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel during the stage-ending caution.
The field took the green flag for the final stage with weather looming in the area. Fifteen laps into the stage, the caution waved for rain, followed soon after by the red flag. Fortunately, it was only a brief shower and NASCAR was able to dry the track quickly to finish out the remaining laps of the event. Smith utilized the delay to strategize with crew chief Phillip Bell and spotter Frankie Kimmel on what would give them the best restart and track position advantage. It all paid off in the final laps, as Smith was able to drive through the field for a seventh-place finish.
“It was a tough day of fighting for track position here at Indy, We felt like we had a fast car in practice and qualifying, so I wish we could have had a better result for TMC and Gerdau but we’ll turn our sights to Iowa next week. Congrats to the entire JR Motorsports organization. One hundred wins is a great accomplishment and I’m proud to be a small part of that.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, took the green flag in the 10th position for his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Throughout the first two stages, Kvapil raced within the top 10, earning valuable stage points at both green-and-white-checkered flags. Lining up for the final stage in eighth, the rookie driver prepared to continue his charge forward over the final 40 laps. Unfortunately, Kvapil was involved in an on-track incident on the initial lap and sustained significant damage to his Chevrolet. While he was able to continue, there was not enough time for him to recover and he finished 30th.
“This No. 1 team gave me a fast piece this weekend and I hate that our day ended the way it did. I wish we could have gotten the finish we were hoping for, for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies, but I’m proud of this team for never giving up. Huge congrats to Connor (Zilisch) and everyone at JRM on getting to 100 wins today.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet, looked poised to capture the checkered flag on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading for a race-high 37 laps and claiming the green-and-white checkered flag in Stage Two. However, while fighting for the lead following a lap-86 restart, Allgaier was knocked sideways and sent hard into the outside retaining wall. The subsequent damage as a result of the incident was deemed too severe for Allgaier to continue, bringing a promising run to an abrupt and sudden halt. In the end, Allgaier scored with a 36th-place finish. Despite the result, Allgaier remains the point leader in the NXS standings as the series heads to Iowa Speedway next weekend.
“Our Spicy Hellmann’s Mayo Chevrolet was unbelievable today. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and everyone on this team gave me a great car. We were in the right position there at the end but we just unfortunately didn’t get the change to race it out to the finish. Huge congrats to Connor (Zilisch) and everyone at JRM on getting our 100th win today. It’s such an amazing accomplishment and I’m proud to be a small part of it.”