After a wild summer for JR Motorsports, the real test of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series lies dead ahead.
Drivers Connor Zilisch (6), Justin Allgaier (3) and Sammy Smith (1) have won a combined 10 of the 23 races so far this season and have locked into the Playoffs, while additional wins have come from Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Shane van Gisbergen. Rookie Carson Kvapil has five top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, which puts him sixth in points after 23 races. He’s also ninth on the Playoff grid, 112 points above the cut line with three races remaining in the regular season.
This recent run from the defending series champion team has been hotter than an August day at Talladega. Eight of the last 10 races have been won by a JRM driver. Zilisch won five of them with Allgaier (Nashville), Daniel Suarez (Mexico City) and Shane van Gisbergen (Chicago Street Course) the others.
The next 10 races—seven of which are in the Playoffs—are at tracks where JRM has won a combined 31 times. Daytona, the next race on the schedule this coming Friday, is the leader in that category with eight triumphs, while Bristol, Las Vegas, Talladega and Phoenix have seen JRM cars in Victory Lane four times each.
Martinsville has hosted three JRM wins and the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been the site of two victories—both of which came in the past two visits there.
On the flip side, the team is winless at both Portland International Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway). The Roval is the cutoff race for Round One of the Playoffs, while WWTR is the cutoff race for Playoff inclusion.
In other words, there is work yet to do to make it two straight NXS championships.
Tonight’s race at Daytona will be the 24th of 33 races, and the start of the playoff run that could result in the team’s second straight championship season.