Race 29 of 33: Blue Cross NC 250 at the Charlotte Roval
Track Specs: 2.28-mile road course / 67 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Smith’s finish: 3rd
Mosack’s finish: 5th
Allgaier’s finish: 8th
Kvapil’s finish: 15th
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch scored a dominating victory on Saturday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, his 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the 2025 season and his 20th top-10 finish. Zilisch also kept alive his streak of top-five finished, racking up his 17th consecutive. His race couldn’t have started much better, as he earned the pole position and led 18 of 20 laps on the way to winning Stage One, his 11th stage win of the season. The driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet led most of Stage Two before making a scheduled pit stop on lap 38. He was credited with a 10th-place finish when the segment ended at lap 40 and cycled to the lead on lap 43. Once our front, Zilisch never looked back. He was comfortably out front when the caution waved at lap 65, pushing the race into overtime. He survived a chaotic restart and had scampered away from the field when the final caution flag of the day waved for oil on the track at lap 68, securing the victory for Zilisch. He will enter the opening race of the Round of 8 next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the top seed, 57 points above the cut line.
“Enough people stayed out with me at the end to give me a gap. The JR Motorsports cars were so fast this weekend. My WeatherTech Chevrolet was really fast all day long. We were fastest in practice, won the pole, led a lot of laps and won the race. It feels really good to get 10 wins and it’s pretty awesome for my first year in the series. Mardy Lindley and all the guys on the No. 88 team did a great job and our pit crew was awesome today. Now we just have to go win the championship.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, advanced into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in dramatic fashion on Saturday evening at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Entering the night 14 points below the cutline, Smith earned 50 points to advance into the penultimate round a single point to the good.
Smith and his four JR Motorsports teammates made history after qualifying first through fifth for the Blue Cross NC 250. The driver of the Pilot Chevrolet lined up fourth to start the 67-lap race and held that position until a lap-14 caution when the team chose to pit for adjustments, restarting seventh. With only four laps left in the stage, Smith wasted no time taking back the fourth position, where he closed out the stage, earning seven stage points. The field took the green flag for Stage Two on lap 21 and only made it five laps until the caution waved. Smith restarted third with 11 laps to go and powered to the runner-up position at the end to earn nine more extremely valuable points.
After pitting prior to the start of the third and final stage, Smith restarted in 19th. Once again, Smith made quick work of the cars ahead of him, driving into the top 10 with 13 laps remaining. Crew chief Phillip Bell gambled and made the call to bring Smith down pit road with just three laps to go after Smith called out an issue with his right front tire. Bell knew they had to pit or else miss a chance to advance, and the gamble paid off as a caution came out while Smith was on pit road. After a few cars pitted under yellow, Smith restarted 12th in overtime and rocketed into the top three over the final laps, taking the checkered flag in third to advance into the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs.
“We knew it was a long shot coming into this race and props to Phillip for that great call at the end to pit. We executed all day long and had a touch of luck when the caution came out. I’m just so relieved that we advanced, it’s been a stressful week. I’m thankful for Pilot, TMC, Allstate Peterbilt and everyone at JRM for everything they have done and continue to do.”
Connor Mosack
Connor Mosack scored a hard-fought fifth-place finish on Saturday evening in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Making his first start for JR Motorsports in 2025, Mosack lined up from the third position and raced hard inside the top 10 for much of the 67-lapmatinee. Following a late-race pit stop under green in the final stage, the driver of the No. 9 CLT Wholesale Chevrolet went on the attack, as Mosack utilized a late-race restart to charge through the field and into the top five to secure the fifth-place result. With the strong showing, Mosak matched his career-best finish in the NXS and earned his first top-five finish with JRM.
“We had a great CLT Wholesale Chevrolet today. Cory (Shea, crew chief) and everyone on this team made great changes all day long and it feels great to come away with a top-five finish. A huge thank-you to everyone at JR Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to get back behind the wheel of one of their cars. It was a really good day.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier closed out the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs on Saturday evening with a solid eighth-place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Allgaier, who took the green flag from the runner-up position, ran inside the top 10 throughout the night and, despite an inopportune caution in the closing laps, was able to hold steady to take the checkered flag in eighth. The driver of the No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet heads into the opening race of the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the second seed, 24 points above the cutline. Additionally, Allgaier is the most recent winner in “Sin City,” having taken the checkered flag at the 1.5-mile oval earlier this season after leading a race-high 102 laps.
“We had a really fast Hellmann’s Chevrolet today. It was nice to go out there and not have to worry about the points for a weekend before we get the next round started. I can’t thank Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all my guys enough. A big congrats to Connor (Zilisch) on the win and to Sammy (Smith) and Carson (Kvapil) for getting into the Round of 8. Having all four JRM cars in the next round is incredible and a testament to all of the hard work back at the shop. We are all ready to go.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil advanced into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs on Saturday evening, following his first start on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. After qualifying his Registix Chevrolet in fifth, Kvapil held strong within the top 10 throughout the first two stages, finishing fifth in both and earning valuable stage points. After taking a trip down pit road at the end of Stage Two, Kvapil rejoined the field in 20th. Making quick work of the field, the 22-year-old rookie was knocking on the door of the top 15 within the first 10 laps of the final stage. He continued to work his way forward into 10th when a late on-track incident forced the race into NASCAR’s version of overtime. Lining up one final tire in 22nd after pitting for four fresh tires and fuel, the JR Motorsports driver made one last charge through the field, making it all the way to 15th when one final caution ended the race. With the points Kvapil earned, he was able to advance into the Round of 8. Kvapil is now seeded seventh in the Playoff Grid heading into this weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“This No. 1 team gave me a strong car that was capable of running up toward the front all day. We came into the weekend knowing what we had to do to move on and we were able to make it happen. I can’t thank Registix enough for all of their support this season and we hope to carry this momentum into the Round of 8 next weekend in Las Vegas.”