Zilisch Gives JR Motorsports a Big Win at Circuit of the Americas

March 1, 2025

Race 3 of 33: Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas
Track Specs: 2.40-mile road course / 65 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Chastain’s finish: 8th
Smith’s finish: 11th
Kvapil’s finish: 23rd
Allgaier’s finish: 29th

Connor Zilisch

Connor Zilisch overcame a mid-race penalty to score his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season Saturday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Zilisch, who started from the pole, was leading the race when he made his first scheduled stop for tires and fuel on lap 18. Unfortunately, the driver of the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet entered the pit lane moments after the caution flag waved, earning a penalty for pitting before the pits were open. Zilisch restarted 32nd when the race went green on lap 24 and immediately began working his way through traffic. He pitted late in Stage Two and cycled up to third when the final stage began. Zilisch survived a couple of bumps and a wrinkled right-front fender during the final segment, taking the lead for the final time with 10 laps to go before securing the second checkered flag of his NXS career.

“We were cruising out front at the start to the race and then we got a penalty for a commitment-line violation which set our day back a little bit. I knew how fast my WeatherTech Chevrolet was today. We had to start Stage Two from the tail and fight our way up to the front. It was not easy, but we were able to get the win. It was way more of a chaotic day than I was hoping for it to be but I can’t thank everyone at JR Motorsports enough.”

Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain held steady in his second-place starting position on SAturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Circuit of the Americas. Ending the stage in second, the driver of the No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet hit pit road for four fresh tires and fiel, starting Stage Two from 16th after varying pit strategies. With 12 laps to go in the second stage, the caution came out for debris with Chastian in eighths. After taking the lead with three laps to go, Chastain visited pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop and completed the second stage in 13th. A pit-road speeding penalty sent Chastain to the back of the field for the final stage. With 10 laps to go in the race, the Florida native was ninth in the Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet and ultimately finished in the eighth position.

“We had a good Acceptance Insurance Chevy today at COTA. If the driver didn’t make an unforced error there speeding on pit road on the final stop under green we would have been in a better position. Today was fun in the Xfinity car and I’m looking forward to my next race with JRM at Darlington in a few weeks. It’s incredible to drive this JRM car and congratulations to Connoe (Zilisch) and the No. 88 team.”

Sammy Smith

For the first road-course event of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Sammy Smith drove his No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet in the Texas heat at Circuit of the Americas. During a late Friday afternoon qualifying session, Smith ran 16th quickest, for the Focused Health 250. Despite starting in the middle of the pack, the No. 8 JR Motorsports team made a strong game plan for the 65-lap feature to gain as many stage points as possible and be there at the end to compete for the trophy. In Stage Two, the Pilot Chevrolet took on some right-front damage on the restart, but the young drivers stayed focused and drove to third to total 11 valuable stage points in the first 40 laps. Crew chief Philip Bell called Smith down pit road to repair the right front damage and he restarted deeper in the field, but steadily worked his way back to cross the line in 11th.

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, qualified in the fifth position for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Circuit of the Americans on Saturday afternoon. After being involved in an early caution, Kvapil was forced to restart at the tail end of the field and spent the remaining laps of Stage One working his way back to the front. A strategy call by crew chief Andrew Overstreet saw the rookie take a trip down pit road for tires and fuel before the stage end which allowed Kvapil to restart Stage Two in sixth. Kvapil held his position in the top five, working his way up to second before coming down pit road once again before the end of the stage. The 21-year-old Mooresville, N.C. native led the field to green for the final stage and led seven laps until a flat tire forced him down pit road one last time and then rejoin the tail of the field where he would ultimately finish in 23rd position.

“We had a really fast car today and I wish I could have gotten it done for Johnny Morris, everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies and all the guys on my team who work so hard every day. I don’t think anyone expected us to be running toward the front, so even though we didn’t get the finish we wanted I hope we can capitalize on this momentum and keep contending for wins.”

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture/Rev1 Energy Chevrolet, looked poised for a strong run on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Circuit of the Americas. However, after earning stage points in the opening stanza, Allgaier’s hopes were dashed as damage to the left-front fender forced the JR Motorsports driver to make an unscheduled pit stop under green. A subsequent flat tire following the stop again brought Allgaier to pit road just one lap later. Working feverishly to regain the lost track position throughout the remainder of the race, Allgaier pressed forward before ultimately being scored with a 29th-place finish.

“Today’s end result doesn’t do justice for the speed we had in our BRANDT Professional Agriculture/Rev 1 Energy Chevrolet. We had a lot of speed all weekend long and I can’t thank Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) and the guys enough on this JR Motorsports team. We’ll regroup from today and be ready to get after it at one of our favorite tracks next week in Phoenix.”