TRACK – Bristol Motor Speedway (0.533-mile short track)
NXS RACE – Food City 300 (300 laps / 159.9 miles)
TUNE IN – CW, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
- Kicking off the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, Carson Kvapil will make his second start at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night.
- In his one previous start at “The Last Great Colosseum,” Kvapil maintained position in the top-10 throughout the majority of the race and took the checkered flag in second.
- In four career NXS starts on short tracks, the 22-year-old rookie has two top-five and three top-10 finishes, with his best finish of second coming at Bristol this Spring.
- Kvapil enters the NXS Playoffs as the ninth seed with three races remaining in the Round of 12.
- Justin Allgaier heads into the opening race in the Round of 12 for the NXS Playoffs as the second seed, 30 points above the cutline with three races remaining in the round.
- In 25 career starts at Bristol in the NXS, Allgaier has scored two wins including his first career win in 2010, 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s.
- According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Allgaier currently ranks first among all drivers in the NXS in laps led (1,183), quality passes (577) and laps run inside the top 15 (5,974) at Bristol.
- Additionally, Allgaier’s 1,183 laps led at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” rank first among all tracks the JRM driver has competed on in the NXS.
- Sammy Smith heads to Bristol for the fifth time in his NXS career on Friday evening. Of his four previous starts, he has tallied one top-five and two top-10 finishes with his best of fourth coming this past Spring.
- In 14 starts on short tracks in the NXS, Smith has five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 9.4.
- Smith is a previous winner Bristol, taking the checkered flag from the pole in dominating fashion in 2022 in the ARCA Menards Series.
- Smith sits as the sixth seed on the NXS Playoffs grid, four points above the cutline heading into the Round of 12.
- Connor Zilisch enters the first race of the NXS Playoffs Friday night at Bristol as the top seed. Zilisch has a 29-point edge over second-place Justin Allgaier and is 59 points ahead of the cutline with three races remaining in the Round of 12.
- Zilisch will be making his second NXS start at Bristol. Earlier this season he started second and scored a 12th-place finish, completing all 300 laps of the race. The driver of the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet competed in both the NASCAR Craftsman 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 Truck and ARCA series competition.
- Zilisch won his fourth consecutive NXS race this past weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. The 19-year-old joins Sam Ard (1983) and Noah Gragson (2022) for most consecutive NXS victories in a single season.
- Last weekend’s win was also the ninth victory of the season for Zilisch. He has won seven of the last eight NXS races dating back to his victory at Sonoma Raceway in July. He also has extended the record for wins by a rookie.
- Zilisch used his victory at WWTR to clinch the 2025 NXS Regular Season championship, edging teammate Allgaier by 53 points for the honor. The No. 88 team enters the Playoffs with 34-point lead in the owner standings.
Carson Kvapil: “Last weekend definitely did not go how we planned, but we are putting that behind us and focusing all of our attention to the playoffs. This No. 1 team brought a fast piece to Bristol in the spring, so I know we will have that same speed when we unload on Friday. Making it to the playoffs is a huge accomplishment, but we plan to keep up the intensity and hopefully finish one spot better than we did last time. I can’t thank Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies enough for their support this season and I am ready to get them the finish they deserve.”
Justin Allgaier: “I love racing at Bristol. It’s a track that has always seemed to suit my driving style. We’ve always had really strong Chevrolets here and I know this BRANDT Professional Agriculture/ Precision Build team will bring another one to the track this Friday night. The playoffs are here and we know what sits right in front of us. We just need to go out and do what we know we are capable of to put us in the best place to advance into the next round. We’re ready to go.”
Sammy Smith: “I’m looking forward to going back to Bristol this weekend. We’ve had good runs there in the past and hopefully that will help us get the momentum rolling as we kickstart the playoffs. I’m grateful to have the support of Pilot, TMC and Allstate Peterbilt as we work to get this No. 8 Chevrolet in Victory Lane again and move on in the Playoffs.”
Connor Zilisch: “This No. 88 team has been on a run this year and four wins in a row is a rare feat, but we aren’t going to take any of that for granted going into the Playoffs. Mardy (Lindley, crew chief), my whole team and my pit crew continue to execute every week and we don’t plan on turning down the intensity anytime soon. It has been awesome to have the success we have had this season and we plan to unload another fast WeatherTech Chevrolet this Friday.”
JRM Team Updates
- JR Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway a combined 102 times in the NXS since 2006. In those starts at the 0.533-mile short-track oval, the organization has recorded four wins, 28 top-five and 62 top-10s. The average finish is 12.4.
- Record-Breaking Season for JRM: With the win last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, JR Motorsports has surpassed its single-season record for wins with 16. The previous mark of 15 was set in 2022.
- 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 Friday, Sept. 12 from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET.