TRACK – Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile short track)
NXS RACE – IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 (250 laps / 131.5 miles)S
TUNE IN – CW, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
- Entering the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway for the Round of 8, Carson Kvapil sits fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Standings, 11 points above the cutline.
- Kvapil will be returning to Martinsville this weekend where he made his NXS debut last season and took the checkered flag in fourth.
- Kvapil has had great success at Martinsville in Late Model competition. In three starts, the young driver has finished first (2024), second (2022) and third (2023), all for JR Motorsports.
- With five career starts on short tracks in the NXS, the 22-year-old rookie has earned three top-fives and four top-10s with a best finish of second at Bristol earlier this season.
- Justin Allgaier heads into the final race of the Round of 8 in the NXS Playoffs having already clinched his place in the Championship 4 following last weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway. Allgaier will now look to defend his 2024 NXS title next weekend at Phoenix Raceway following this Saturday’s race at Martinsville.
- Allgaier is a previous NXS winner at the hallowed Viriginia short track, taking the checkered flag in a dramatic photo finish in this event in 2023.
- Overall, in 10 NXS starts at Martinsville, Allgaier has amassed seven top-fives and nine top-10s to accompany the 2023 victory.
- In 82 career starts on short tracks in the NXS, Allgaier has earned a combined six wins, 31 top-5s and 50 top-10s.
- Sammy Smith will make his seventh NXS start at Martinsville this Saturday as he competes for one of the last two spots in the Championship 4. He is looking to race for the championship for the first time in his NXS career.
- In six NXS starts, Martinsville is one of Smith’s strongest tracks. He has tallied three top-five and five top-10 finishes with an average finish of 7.0, his best among all NXS tracks that he has made more than one start at.
- According to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics, Smith is ranked third for all-time most laps led at Martinsville in the NXS. Smith has led 202 laps, just behind Aric Almirola and Ty Gibbs.
- Smith ran the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in the spring of 2024, finishing eighth after 200 laps around the half-mile short track.
- Connor Zilisch clinched a spot in the NXS Championship 4 last weekend at Talladega. The driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet will be joined in the race for the series title by JRM teammate Allgaier, who also cliched a spot in the championship race. Zilisch enters Martinsville with a seven-point advantage over Allgaier in the driver standings while the No. 88 team holds a 12-point lead in the owner standings.
- Zilisch will make his second NXS start at Martinsville on Saturday. Earlier this season, Zilisch won the pole and swept both stages at the short track. Zilisch also led the most laps (100 of 256), one of nine races this season where he accomplished the feat.
- Zilisch’s historic streak of consecutive top-five finishes ended last week at Talladega at 18. The remarkable streak began in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway and includes nine victories.
- Zilisch became the first driver since the NASCAR Playoff systems was created to win the regular-season championship despite missing a race.
Carson Kvapil: “While we were not able to get the win in Talladega, we were able to gain some ground on the cutline going into Martinsville. This No. 1 team knows what we have to do to move on to the final four, so we plan to go into the weekend and execute all day. We had a fast car in the spring, so I know we will unload another one on Saturday. With two more chances to get a great finish for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies, we are going to capitalize and put ourselves in the best position for success.”
Justin Allgaier: “It’s definitely a huge relief knowing that we are already locked into the Championship 4 heading into this weekend at Martinsville. That really lets us go into this race with a mindset of having fun and just go out and race for the win. I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and all the guys on this Jarrett team will give me a great car. We just need to keep executing like we have been and hopefully we can be up front in the end battling for the win.”
Sammy Smith: “Heading into Martinsville under the cutline is not where we envisioned ourselves but we’ve been strong here in the past and this No. 8 Pilot team is hungry to advance to the Champ 4. Just like Talladega last week, anything can happen on these short tracks so we just need to be smart and keep our nose clean. If we can do that, I see no reason why we won’t be right where we need to be at the end of the race.”
Connor Zilisch: “I’m looking forward to Martinsville this Saturday. We had a good car there in the spring, qualified on the pole and led for quite a while with a shot at winning until chaos ensued. It’s a relief to be locked into the Champ 4 already so that we can have some fun this weekend with our No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet. We can go out there this weekend and fight for a redemption victory without all the pressure before we get ready to race for a championship in Phoenix.”
- JR Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway: JR Motorsports has competed at Martinsville Speedway a combined 43 times in the NXS since 2006. In those starts at the 0.526-mile oval, the organization has recorded three wins, 21 top-fives and 28 top-10s. The average finish is 11.3.
- 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 Saturday, Oct. 25 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.