Zilisch’s Third-Place Run Leads JRM in Tight NXS Championship Battle at Phoenix Raceway

November 2, 2025

Track Specs: 1-mile oval / 253 laps
Zilisch’s finish: 3rd
Allgaier’s finish: 5th
Smith’s finish: 6th
Kvapil’s finish: 13th

Connor Zilisch

Connor Zilisch came up just short on Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet scored a third-place finish, just behind race winner and fellow Championship 4 driver Jesse Love. Zilisch started fourth in the 200-lap race and scored a fourth-place finish in Stage One despite the balance of his WeatherTech Chevrolet being tight just before the end of the 45-lap segment. He pitted on lap 50 during the stage caution for four tires and adjustments. Quick work by the WeatherTech pit crew moved Zilisch up to second place for the restart on lap 55. Moments later, he took the lead and stayed out front for the next seven laps until teammate Justin Allgaier grabbed the lead. Zilisch scored a second-place finish when Stage Two ended on lap 90. Needing to improve his car’s balance, crew chief Mardy Lindley took the opportunity to put on four tires and make major adjustments. Zilisch restarted seventh when the race went back to green at lap 102 and was running fourth when the fourth and final caution waved on lap 153. He pitted for four tires and another round of adjustments. Another excellent stop by the WeatherTech crew put Zilisch in the lead when the race returned to the green flag at lap 159. He held the lead for the next 17 laps until Love found a way around him on lap 176. As the race drew to a close, Zilisch was racing Aric Almirola for the Owner’s championship. On lap 192, Almirola passed Zilisch for second, ultimately seeing the driver of the WeatherTech Chevrolet take the final checkered flag in third.

“I came into the weekend and told my entire team we’ve got to give it 100 percent and as long as we did that, I’ll be proud of us when we walk out of this place. We did that today. We fought all day long and threw everything we had at it. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have quite what we needed with our WeatherTech Chevrolet. I left my heart out on the track. Second in the championship is all we had. It doesn’t take away from anything that we’ve done this year. We have nothing to hang our heads about but this one is going to sting. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to run with JR Motorsports this year and I am looking forward to being able to run some races with them again next season.”

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier’s title defense came up just short on Saturday evening in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Lining up from the fifth position, Allgaier set sail, leading a race-high 83 laps and winning the second stage before a caution with less than 50 laps remaining shuffled the running order. Restarting inside the top five, the driver of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet fought all he could for position before ultimately taking the checkered flag in fifth. As a result, Allgaier concludes the 2025 NXS season third in the championship standings on the strength of three wins, 15 top-fives, 20 top-10s and a career-high 1,056 laps led on the year.

“We gave it our all today. This BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet was so good throughout the night. I hate that we aren’t celebrating a championship, but I can’t thank everyone at JR Motorsports enough for all of their hard work this season. Although it’s not the finish we were hoping for, I am very proud of everything we accomplished this year.”

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, took to the Phoenix desert for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship event, closing out the 2025 season with 18 top-10 finishes and eighth in the driver standings after finishing sixth in the 200-lap season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Smith qualified 18th on Saturday afternoon for the final race of the 2025 season and made quick work of the solid green 45-lap Stage One by working his way to a ninth-place finish. Crew chief Phillip Bell called his driver down pit road for fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to give Smith more rear-grip security. After the pit cycle, the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet lined up 15th to start Stage Two. Smith needed better track position to advance through the field, as he was stuck in the mix and gained two positions throughout another caution-free stage to finish 13th.

The field cycled through another trip down pit road and then lined up for the final 110-lap stage with Smith in 14th. The first of two caution flags flew on lap 114 as Smith was in 16th. After losing a couple of positions in the initial laps, Snith brought his Chevrolet down pit road for tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. The changes proved successful as Smith drove up to eighth before the final caution of the race at lap 153. One more pit stop to fine-tune the setup and the JRM pit crew gained two positions for Smith off pit road to restart in sixth. With 43 laps to go, Smith ran up to the top five before settling into sixth to close out the 2025 NXS season.

“It’s been and up-and-down season for this No. 8 Pilot team but I’m proud of them for never giving up and pushing through after tough weekends. Even though we didn’t make it into the Championship 4, I’m glad we were able to close out the season with a solid finish for JRM, Pilot, TMC and Allstate Peterbilt Group.”

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, finished out his rookie year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series battling for a championship at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday afternoon. After qualifying in the 14th position, Kvapil quickly made his way into the top 10 and held strong, taking the first green-and-white-checkered flag in sixth. After a trip down pit road at the end of the stage, the 22-year-old rookie lined up to start Stage Two in 10th and even after battling the balance of his Chevrolet still managed to work his way up to ninth at the end of 90 laps. Starting the final stage in 10th, Kvapil began to battle the handling of his Chevrolet and worked hard to maintain his position within the top 15, ultimately taking the final checkered flag of the season in 13th.

“We didn’t end our season the way we had hoped but to finish it out with the opportunity to battle for a championship still feels really good. This No. 1 team worked their tails off to bring fast race cars to the track each week and I couldn’t be prouder of the position we ended up in. To be able to finish fourth in points in my rookie season for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies still feels like a big accomplishment and we plan to keep working in the offseason and come back next year even stronger.”