Race 22 of 33: Hy-Vee Perks 250
Track Specs: 0.875-mile oval / 250 laps
Race Winner: Sam Mayer
Chastain’s finish: 3rd
Zilisch’s finish: 4th
Kvapil’s finish: 9th
Smith’s finish: 15th
Allgaier’s finish: 16th
Ross Chastain
Saturday afternoon marked Ross Chastain’s fifth and final NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season behind the wheel of the No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet. Chastain ran strong throughout the day, earning a Stage Two victory and leading for a race-high 120 laps. Over the course of the final stage, Chastain continued to battle for the top spot before contact following a lap-211 restart shuffled the JR Motorsports driver outside the top five. Undeterred by the loss of track position, Chastain marched forward in the final laps, gaining three positions to take the checkered flag in third, his third top-five finish and fourth top-10 in five NXS starts for JRM this season.
“Strong effort by JR Motorsports today. We just got too loose on that last set of tires. The car was good today and for Acceptance Insurance to come on board for these five races this year, it’s really special. It’s tough not to get a win when you have a car this fast, but I’ve had a blast this year in the Xfinity Series.”
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch scored a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway. Zilisch wrapped up his 10th straight top-five finish and is tied with teammate Justin Allgaier for the lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings. The Mooresville, N.C. native dominated Stage One, leading 58 of the 60 laps to score his fifth stage win of the 2025 season. He pitted for four tires and adjustments under the stage caution on lap 65, but a loose wheel forced him back to pit road one lap later. Zilisch restarted 24th when the race returned to green-flag status on lap 70. From there, the driver of the KOA Chevrolet steadily worked his way through traffic and back into contention. He pitted for tires and another round of adjustments on lap 135 and returned to the top 10 on lap 145. Zilisch continued to climb up the leaderboard and by lap 162, he was running third and closing in on the leaders. He made his final stop on lap 208 and restarted fourth when the race went green at lap 212. Over the final 35 laps, Zilisch picked his way through three cautions to claim the top-five finish.
“Our KOA Chevrolet was really fast. We were really good at the beginning of the race and were able to lead laps and win Stage One. It’s unfortunate that we lost track position there in the middle of the race, but we were able to come back from that. I’m really proud of all the guys on our team. We gained a lot of points today and that’s huge.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, fired off in the top 10 for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series visit to Iowa Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Throughout the first 60 laps, Kvapil battled the balance of his Chevrolet while advancing toward the top five, ultimately taking the first green-and-white checkered flag in sixth. Lining up for the second stage, the 22-year-old rookie was shuffled back in the opening laps, but avoided multiple on-track incidents and persevered to rejoin the top 10 by the end of the stage and add on more valuable stage points to his tally for the day. A quick stop by his pit crew earned Kvapil two positions to start the final stage. Over the course of the remaining laps, Kvapil battled within the top 15 and methodically made his final charge toward the front. After one last restart, Kvapil fought hard to maintain his position and took the checkered flag in ninth.
“We had a strong Roto-Rooter Chevrolet all day and I can’t thank this No. 1 team enough for giving me a car capable of battling towards the front. We worked our strategy, but it wasn’t enough in the end. It feels great to finish in the top 10, but I wish we would have had a little more. We are going to learn from today and turn our attention towards Watkins Glen next week. We have had speed at the road courses all year, so I expect nothing less when we unload next weekend.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, ran the Hy-Vee Perks 250 in front of a hometown crowd at Iowa Speedway on Saturday afternoon. It was a busy one-day show with an hour-long practice session followed by qualifying, which saw Smith drive ninth-quickest in the field. Smith pushed his JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the limit on his second qualifying lap to squeeze more speed out of his car and tapped the wall off Turn 4, causing slight damage to the right rear bumper panel. In true JRM fashion, team members from each JRM car jumped in right away to help the No. 8 crew get the car ready for the race. Crew chief Phillip Bell set a strategy of going for the win from the opening lap, despite having to start from the rear of the field after the repairs. That made it a much taller task for both team and driver. Utilizing a never-give-up attitude, Smith climbed through the field, flipping the stages and testing every possible strategy before taking the checkered flag in the 15th position.
Smith took the initial green flag from the rear of the field following the repairs from qualifying. The TMC Transportation driver made quick work of the field and was sitting 20th by lap 40. Within a few more laps, Smith was able to finish Stage One in 18th before coming down pit road for adjustments. Stage Two saw a strategy to flip the stage, as the team pitted under caution on lap 91 and rejoined to finish out the first 120 laps in 26th.
The strategy call set Smith up to start the final stage from the pole. He settled into a solid top-five position and remained there for the next 60 laps before the JRM driver was forced to come to pit road under green for four tires and fuel. An inopportune caution following the stop pinned Smith deep in the pack, but the young Iowa native pushed through to regain as many spots as possible before finishing 15th.
“I am proud of this No. 8 TMC team. I pushed the car to the limits in qualifying, which caused some needed repairs but the guys never gave up. We still had a fast car, we just needed track position and then at the end we really needed a caution in out fuel window. If we had had that, I know we would have finished in the top five again. All in all, it’s been a great week at home getting to spend time with TMC and my family.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture/Precision Build Chevrolet, rallied back from a late-race incident to record a 16th-place finish on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Iowa Speedway. Lining up on the front row for the lap-212 restart, Allgaier was fighting for the second position when contact in the left rear sent the JR Motorsports driver for a long slide through the first and second turns. Despite the loss of track position because of the spin, Allgaier went on the charge over the final laps, improving six positions to take the checkered flag in 16th.
“We fought hard with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture/Precision Build Chevrolet today. We made a good call there at the end, but we just unfortunately didn’t get a chance to see what we could do. We’ll regroup, look ahead and aim to get that momentum back on our side next weekend in Watkins Glen.”
