Race 31 of 33: United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway
Track Specs: 2.66-mile tri-oval / 100 laps
Race Winner: Austin Hill
Kvapil’s finish: 2nd
Allgaier’s finish: 3rd
Smith’s finish: 9th
Zilisch’s finish: 23rd
Carson Kvapil
After a strong day at Talladega Superspeedway, Carson Kvapil catapulted himself into fourth place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings, 11 points above the cut line. Coming into his third NXS start at Talladega, the driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet qualified fourth for the United Rentals 250 on Saturday afternoon. Kvapil held his position within the top 10 throughout Stage One and avoided an on-track accident on lap 15 which resulted in the first red flag of the day. After restarting 10th, Kvapil battled his way up to third before taking the green-and-white-checkered flag in ninth. After a solid stop by his pit crew, Kvapil lined up for Stage Tow in 10th, and after avoiding another on-track incident that resulted in a red flag, utilized the draft to finish Stage Two in third. A strategy call by crew chief Andrew Overstreet that saw him take just two tires saw the young driver line up fourth for the final segment. From there, the 22-year-old rookie fought hard through the final laps and with help from teammate Justin Allgaier, he took the checkered flag in the runner-up position.
“Coming into this weekend, we knew we had to have a solid day to keep us in the fight to advance and that is exactly what we did. While I would have loved to get the win, going into Martinsville 11 points above the cut line feels pretty good. This No. 1 team brought me a fast car and we plan to carry this momentum into next weekend to hopefully get this Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet into the final four. I can’t thank Johnny Morris and everyone else at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies enough for their support this season and we are going to keep chasing wins for them.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier clinched his place in the Championship 4 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon, charging through the field on a green-white-checkered restart to improve 14 positions and cross the finish line for the final time in third place. Allgaier, who led the field for 11 laps and scored the most stage points of any playoff driver throughout the day, has now locked into the Championship 4 for the eighth time in his career.. Taking the green from the eighth position, the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet methodically worked his way through the field, claiming the runner-up spot at the end of each stage before securing the top-three result. The 2024 NXS champion will now set his sights on a title defense in two weeks at Phoenix Raceway following next weekend’s final race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway.
“I am so proud of Jim Pohlman and everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team. To be able to lock ourselves in to that Championship 4 a week early is really special and just a testament to everyone back at the shop. To have us and the No. 88 already in is a great feeling and hopefully we can get the Nos. 1 and 8 in next weekend. It’s a great feeling knowing we can just have some fun next weekend in Martinsville.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, entered the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon with a goal of closing the gap on the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff cutline with just two races left in the Round of 8. Smith and his JR Motorsports team were able to cut the deficit by more than half after the 94-lap race, earning seven stage points with a ninth-place finish.
Smith took the initial green flag in 11th, and after 15 laps, the first big crash happened and Smith was able to work through unscathed. The Pilot driver restarted 10th with five laps to go in Stage One and utilized those laps wisely as he finished out the stage in sixth while tallying up stage points. After a pit stop for fuel and fresh tires, Smith started Stage Two in 12th and after 10 laps was competing in the top three until a caution flag forced the field into a green-white-checkered restart to close out the stage. Smith finished eighth to once again earn more stage points on the day.
Crew chief Phillip Bell brought Smith down pit road for four tires and fuel before taking the green for the final stage in seventh. The field was fairly calm after a few laps and settled into a single-file line with Smith in 10th. After 20 green-flag laps, Smith worked his way into fifth where he was when the final caution of the day flew on lap 92. Under yellow, Smith ran out of fuel and coasted to pit road where his team refueled him and ensured the fuel pressure was back up before releasing him to rejoin the field. With that, Smith restarted 20th in overtime and was able to make up substantial ground in the final two laps to finish ninth.
“It was a good day overall. I wish we were able to get a little closer to the cutline heading into the final race of the Round of 8, so Martinsville is pretty much a must-win for us. Racing Carson (Kvapil) next week at Martinsville for a spot in the Championship 4 is going to be tough. We’ll buckle down this week and try to prepare for all scenarios.”
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch clinched a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 on Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. The race itself was not ideal for Zilisch, who was involved in an on-track incident just before halfway and was later forced to make multiple stops for cut tires and damage repair. Zilisch and the First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet team brushed away the misfortune to collect a 23rd-place finish, good enough to qualify for a championship run on Nov. 1 at Phoenix Raceway. Zilisch started seventh and was in contention to win Stage One. He pitted on lap 18 for four tires and fuel and restarted 15th for the five-lap dash to finish the segment. Zilisch powered his way through traffic, climbing up to second place on the first lap of the stage before getting shuffled back to fourth when the segment ended on lap 25. Late in Stage Two, Zilisch’s day began to unravel. He was collected in a six-car accident on lap 46, just four laps from the conclusion of the stage. Zilisch pitted multiple times under caution for repairs and made an unscheduled stop under green at lap 48 due to a tire rub. He pitted twice more during the stage caution for more repairs to the left rear and restarted 19th when the race restarted at lap 55. He was running in the lead draft at lap 71 when he cut a right front tire and bounced off the wall in Turn 2, forcing the No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for tires and repairs. From there, Zilisch stayed out of trouble and was credited with a 23rd-place finish. The result ended Zilisch’s record streak of consecutive top-10 finishes at 18. The streak began in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I wish our day would have gone a little better and we could have raced for a little more. We had a bunch of damage and we were just struggling to make laps. It was definitely a little frustrating that we couldn’t have had a better run today but it’s still really cool to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 and to have a chance to race for a championship in Phoenix, which was our goal entering today. I’m really proud of my entire First Bak of Alabama team. Our car was really fast until we hit the wall. But in the end, I’m still excited to go race for a championship in Phoenix.”