How’s it going, race fans? Tomorrow is the Coca-Cola 600 and Prime’s debut covering races for NASCAR! There’s a lot to be excited about and keep an eye out for as we get ready for NASCAR’s longest race! But before we get ready to see if Larson can complete all 1,100 miles of the Double, the stars of the NASCAR Xfinity Series took to America’s Home for Racing, the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
There were a lot of things to keep an eye on. After all, this was the series’ first race since taking their three-week leave. Connor Zilisch was back after a brutal crash that injured his back and took him out of action. There were a number of drivers from the Cup Series dipping down to trophy hunt. How did they fare? And what drivers took the break to regroup and refresh? Let’s break it all down. Here are the 3 key takeaways from the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The early stage of today’s race was dominated by HMS driver, William Byron. For the first time in his career, he swept the stages. But during the break between the second and final stage, Byron made a mistake that could have cost him the race. He sped on pit road, handing the race lead to Justin Allgaier. From there, Allgaier’s biggest competition was temporarily taken out of the equation. In the catbird seat, Allgaier was suddenly the favorite to win.
However, late race cautions (story of Allgaier’s life) shuffled some things up in the front. While Allgaier was still in the lead, his teammate Connor Zilisch and William Byron were right behind him on fresher tires. As the race went into overtime, Allgaier had two of his biggest rivals on the day nipping at his heels. Allgaier got a great restart with Byron’s assistance but it wasn’t enough to hold off Byron. William Byron ultimately scored his 5th career Xfinity Series victory.
Making his return to racing action in today’s race was driver of the number 88 Jarrett Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, Connor Zilisch. The young phenom rookie was fast in practice and qualifying, putting his 88 Chevy on the outside pole to start today’s race. When the race went green, he did show some rust as he spun his tires and faded to the bottom half of the top 10. Once things got started, though, he worked his way back up to the second position behind former Xfinity Series champion, William Byron.
He held strong throughout the race, even briefly taking the lead. He went on to finish second in the first stage and dropped to third at the finish of Stage 2. The 88 crew has been extremely fast so far this year. However, they’ve had issues putting a full race together. Following Zilisch’s injury, they were hoping to finally capitalize on their performance today at their home track. There were points, however, when that 88 car was extremely loose. This allowed Zilisch to show off his skills behind the wheel. Watch one of his masterful saves here.
On fresh tires, Connor Zilisch was in contention to win on the last restart. He restarted on the outside but the inside got a better jump. This left Zilisch playing catch-up. However, once he got going, he was able to get around teammate Justin Allgaier to score a second-place finish.
When it comes to Joe Gibbs Racing, the star of today’s show was driver of the number 54, Taylor Gray. Gray put his number 54 Toyota on the pole to start today’s race and he ran strong most of this race. This marked Gray’s second career pole award and JGR’s 200th Xfinity Pole for the organization. He had a lot of confidence going into today’s race and for good reason. Still, in the wake of scoring the pole, he was still calm, cool, and collected.
After the Green flag dropped, Gray dropped down to the bottom half of the top 10. Still, he was setting blistering pace, his lap times being in the top 10 of the 5 and 10 lap averages. He hung on to finish 7th in the opening stage. During the stage break, Gray came down pit road and his number 54 team made some adjustments to help Gray feel a little more comfortable behind the wheel. Whatever adjustments they made, it worked out. Gray climbed his way up to third in the second stage and finished it P4.
Despite showing top 3 speed all race long, it all came unraveled (no pun intended) near the halfway mark of the final stage. Amid green flag pit stops, Taylor Gray blew a left rear tire and was forced to limp his Toyota back to pit lane. Initially, NASCAR did not throw a caution, which did nothing but twist the knife. A caution did eventually come out, however, as debris from Gray’s car was scattered about the track at the start-finish line. This incident practically ended his day. He was able to continue but not before losing three laps to the leader. He ended the race in 35th, which is by no means reflective of just how competitive his day was.
Gray has been very impressive all year long, even being in contention to win a race or two this season. In fact, he was leading at Martinsville in the closing laps before he was punted by Sammy Smith. He also finished runner-up at Texas last month. One thing is clear: his moment to shine is coming!
All season long, Richard Childress Racing has consistently been one of the teams to beat in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Love him or hate him, Austin Hill is best driver on superspeedway tracks and he’s always in contention for the win when someone slips and makes a mistake. Jesse Love, his immensely more popular teammate, has shown a lot of speed and potential as well. Together, the two of them form a sort of dream team like RCR hasn’t seen since the days of Kevin Harvick, Clint Boyer, and Jeff Burton.
Today, RCR was looking to pick up where they left off. Joining the dynamic duo of Love and Hill, driving a third entry for the team was Cup Series driver Austin Dillon. He was looking to replicate the success that Kasey Kahne had in RCR’s third entry at Rockingham earlier this season.
Things didn’t go according to plan, however. For most of this race, the RCR trio ran, Jesse Love was the only driver in contention to earn stage points all race. He ended the first stage in 10th and the second stage in 8th. Meanwhile, Hill and Dillon spent most of their race running in the middle of the pack. Ultimately, the finished, 12th (Love), 8th (Hill), and 14th (Dillon), respectively. It leads many fans to wonder what has changed. Do you think they can regroup and return stronger than ever as we head to Nashville next week?
All in all, that was a fairly clean NASCAR Xfinity Series race, save for the end. What do you think, race fans? Were you entertained? How’d your favorite driver do? Let us know! We hope you have a great Sunday tomorrow and enjoy watching the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500. Be sure to come back here at DailyDownforce.com tomorrow for our coverage of the Coca-Cola 600.
The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona drew nearly 1.4 million viewers on FS1, beating the 2025 opening race number by 37%, and becoming the most-viewed Truck Series event since 2016.
NASCAR’s secondary series is facing a huge brand change, leaving the title name “Xfinity Series” to become the brand-new O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. What is not changing, however, is its broadcast partner. The CW is headed for its 2nd season with the series, and has been investing heavily in it. Year after year, we put up the rating numbers and rank them accordingly in comparison to the previous season. Here’s how it works:
All Races (1 Total in 2026)
It wouldn’t be Daytona without some weird, wacky, and headline-grabbing fallout. From viral Victory Lane moments to renewed debates about driver approval, NASCAR’s biggest race once again delivered more than just on-track drama. And with Michael Jordan celebrating a Daytona 500 win, the spotlight burned brighter than it has in years.
Jordan’s presence mattered. When the most iconic athlete of a generation shows genuine emotion upon winning the Daytona 500, it reminds the wider sports world that this race still matters. That kind of authentic publicity cannot be manufactured. It resonated far beyond the garage. Meanwhile, the O’Reilly Series race added fuel to another ongoing debate. The massive Decker crash, Cleetus McFarland’s Truck debut incident, and past approval inconsistencies have once again raised tough questions. Consistency, transparency, and accountability are now front and center. Add in Austin Hill’s dominance and Ryan Ellis’ career-best sixth-place run to open the season, and Daytona gave fans plenty to talk about on and off the track.
Watch Also
