Race 19 of 33: Pennzoil 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 2.5-mile oval / 100 laps
Race Winner: Riley Herbst
Allgaier's finish: 9^th
Kvapil's finish: 10^th
Jones' finish: 15^th
Smith's finish: 18^th
Mayer's finish: 37^th

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Jarrett Chevrolet, scored his 12^th top-10 finish of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season on Saturday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, taking the checkered flag in the ninth position. Kicking off the day from ninth, Allgaier scored valuable stage points at the conclusion of Stages One and Two before earning his seventh top-10 finish in the last eight races dating back to the NXS event in Portland last month. With today’s result, Allgaier remains second in the NXS Playoff grid with six races remaining in the regular season.

"We worked hard all weekend long with our Jarrett Chevrolet. Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) made some great changes throughout the day that put us in a position to go for the win on that last restart. Unfortunately, the restart didn't go quite how we would have hoped and we got some damage to the nose. Despite that, I'm proud of the effort by everyone on this JR Motorsports team. We're heading into the Olympic break on a high note and we'll be ready to get back after it in Michigan in a couple of weeks."

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil made the most of his first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing 10^th in the Pennzoil 250 for NASCAR Xfinity Series machines. Starting his No. 88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet from 17^th, Kvapil raced to ninth over the first stage despite pitting in the middle of it, and maintained track position in the second before again pitting prior to the end to set up the end of the race. In the final segment, Kvapil was in the top 10 when the caution waved with 17 laps remaining. Hitting pit road, the 21-year-old used the remaining laps to race his way back into the top 10, gaining four positions over the final nine laps to end up 10^th. It was his fourth top-10 finish in six career NXS starts.

"This place is pretty awesome, and it races that way too. The Clarience Technologies Chevrolet was pretty fast all day and Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) had a good plan for my first visit here. It was kind of interesting with the way you had to make passes, using the air and getting to the left-rear quarter panel, and we were able to do that. It was a great experience and glad to come out of here with a top-10 finish."

Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 9 Menards/Pennington Chevrolet, started the weekend strong, taking the green flag in the sixth position for the 100-lap feature at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 27-year-old Georgia native fought hard to maintain his position for the first 30 laps, earning valuable stage points. After taking advantage of a late-stage caution to pit for tires and fuel, Jones was in position to lead the field to green for the second stage. Utilizing the draft from teammate Justin Allgaier, Jones led the field for the first 10 laps of the stage until a tire disadvantage forced him back into traffic. Jones continued working his way through the field throughout the final stage, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the 15^th position.

"It was great racing on the oval again, especially when we were able to get this Menards Chevrolet out front. This team gave me a great car and I wish our finish reflected that. We plan on using these next few weeks off to reset and make sure we come back even stronger. We'll be ready to go when we get back in Michigan."

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 TMC Chevrolet, qualified 21^st for his first career start on the famed oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Smith rallied to an 18^th-place finish after being caught up in an opening-lap multi-car incident that forced him to pit for right-side body repairs. Crew chief Adam Wall strategized the stop to keep the No. 8 on the lead lap as the field paced the 2.5-mile speedway. The team elected to stay out on a late-race caution to attempt to earn stage points, but unfortunately started to lose rear grip and manageability of his Chevrolet Camaro due to the body damage. Smith made a trip down pit road at the end of Stage Two for the crew to make secondary patchwork. The adjustments and repairs gave Smith the speed he needed to continue forward, eventually securing an 18^th-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event.

Sam Mayer

Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet, was poised for a solid afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following a strong qualifying lap earlier in the day. The lap time set him up with a fourth-place grid position for the main event. Mayer crossed the year of bricks as the green flag waved and was put into an unfortunate three-wide position as the field charged toward Turn 3. Entering the corner as the middle car, Mayer slipped sideways, sending the JR Motorsports driver hard into the outside retaining wall. The damage from this multi-car incident was deemed unrepairable and relegated the young driver to a 37^th-place finish at The Brickyard.

"Super unfortunate end to our day today that we truly did not even get to start. We had a really fast No. 1 Huck's Market Chevrolet today and it is very frustrating that we did not get to show what we really had and get the finish this team deserves. These guys put so much work into these cars each and every week and it is a shame to have races like these, but that is part of it sometimes. We will take these off weeks to regroup as a team and go out to contend for that victory in Michigan."