What’s Happening?

The beating and banging of short track racing that fans love so much continued today at the Paperclip as it was the stars of tomorrow, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, turn to showcase what they can do. Though short track racing on the Cup side of things isn’t always the most exciting with the current package, the Xfinity Series is known for providing some real thrillers at this style of racetrack. We had a lot of stories heading into this race. The JR Motorsports rookies of Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil scored the front row starting positions and set the pace early on in the race. Meanwhile, semi-retired veteran Aric Almirola, who swept the races at the track last year, was looking to keep his streak alive.

This was also the second Dash 4 Cash race of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season! Four drivers were chasing the $100,000 prize. They included Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed. Many fans were also keeping an eye on them. So, with no further ado, here are the three key takeaways from today’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville!

The Race At A Glance

• The stages were broken up as follows: 60-Laps; 60-Laps; 130-Laps. The young JRM duo of Zilisch and Kvapil swept the front row. Their teammate, Justin Allgaier, also started in the top-5. He was looking to win the second race in the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash and cash in on yet another massive payday. Also, in contention early on was Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray, and Aric Almirola, who was looking to make it 3 in a row at the Clip. Corey Day was also in the race, driving the number 17 HendrickCars.Com Chevy for HMS. It was his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
• In the first stage, Zilisch and Kvapil were lights-out better than the rest of the field. Zilisch went on to lead every lap of the opening stage. That was the most laps he had ever led in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in his career. Ultimately, a caution flew, ending the stage prematurely when Corey Day over drove the corner and collided with Harrison Burton. The damage was minimal and both were able to continue.
• Following pit stops, Bradon Jones assumed the race lead to start the second stage. He was able to clear Zilisch and lead a number of laps before the 14 car of Garrett Smithley sun in front of the leaders. As a result, Jones checked up but Zilisch, unable to see around the corner, did not. The 88 got into the back of the 20, causing significant damage. Subsequently, Jones pitted for repairs. Zilisch, however, stayed out and reassumed the lead. He went on to win the second stage virtually uncontested.

Austin Hill Steals Another One

Taking 23 laps to go and leader Taylor Gray had an amazing restart to maintain his lead. He then set sail, leaving behind the JRM teammates of Justain Allgaier and Sammy Smith in the dust. They were only able to run a couple of laps though as Sam Mayer sparked a big one on the backstretch of the Paperclip. The race was red-flagged as a result.

The race restarted and again, Taylor Gray smoked Smith and Allgaier. But the caution flew once more when Connor Zilisch got hard into the outside wall. Zilisch dominated and won the first two stages of this race this evening but, once back in traffic, he became a glorified bumper car.

When the race restarted with 2 to go, Sammy Smith got a great restart. He knocked Gray out of the way and took the lead. Unfortunately for Smith, Matt Debenedetto spun, causing yet another caution. We were going into overtime! Upon the restart, Taylor Gray paid Smith back, but it wasn’t anything egregious. The same cannot be said for Sammy Smith’s move going into Turn 3. The driver of the 8 car flat out dumped Gray a, opening the door for Justin Allgaier. But Smith also got loose and couldn’t save himself. As the JRM cars tangled and a massive wreck broke out on the front stretch, Austin Hill was able to sneak by. He not only won the race but also the Dash 4 Cash.

JGR Is A Good Fit For Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones’ career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been hit or miss. Prior to joining JR Motorsports in 2023, Jones spent 5 years with JGR’s Xfinity Series team, driving the number 19 Menards Toyota. During this five-year stint at JGR, Jones won 5 races, 3 of those victories coming in 2020 alone. His final win (to date) with the team came in 2022. He won the Spring race at Martinsville that year and was in position to win the race at the Clip in the fall as well. If he had won that race, he would have gone on to challenge for a Championship at Phoenix. Unfortunately, a tangle with his then-teammate Ty Gibbs left him feeling bitter as he prepared to exit the team in favor of JRM for 2023.

But Brandon Jones did not enjoy the same success at JRM as he did at JGR. With Gibbs, he made the Playoffs all 5 years. In his two years with JR Motorsports, he missed the Playoffs entirely, finishing 14th in points both years. For whatever reason, Jones and JRM just didn’t jive together. Now, though, he’s back at JGR and he’s already off to an impressive start. Taking the wildcard races out of consideration and Jones is in the middle of a streak of top 10 finishes. These stellar finishes include a third-place finish at Phoenix. Thus far, this is certainly the best start Jones has had to a season since his earlier days at JGR.

Jones continued his march forward today. He ran constantly inside the top 4 in the first stage and even assumed the lead following pit stops to start the second stage. Unfortunately, some contact with Connor Zilisch caused him to have a damaged right rear. He subsequently pitted and fell to the back of the pack. Still, he methodically worked his way back up solidly into the top 10. It’s clear that whatever wasn’t clicking at JRM is certainly back in step with his return to JGR.

It’s the Ruthless Aggression Era in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

Though Sam Mayer’s split from JRM seemed to have been cordial enough, he hasn’t taken it easy when racing the current crop of JR Motorsports drivers. He’s had run ins with a couple of different JRM drivers this year but the latest victim of his aggression was his old ride: the 1 car now piloted by Carson Kvapil. Kvapil hasn’t had the best of luck in that car this year. He has qualified well and even ran well at times, but something has almost always gone wrong to put a damper on his performance.

His day today started out promising with him scoring the outside pole alongside his teammate Connor Zilisch. And he finished the first stage in second. However, alternative pit strategies saw him mired back in traffic to start the final stage. Back in the pack, Kvapil was eager to get back to the front. He was racing Sam Mayer hard, making several bumps in the corners off the back bumper of the 41 Ford. Mayer, seemingly having enough of it, cut the car hard left on the front stretch and ran Kvapil into the wall. Kvapil made significant contact with the SAFER Barrier and though he was able to continue, he was virtually out of contention with this incident.

Check out the whole ordeal in the clip below.

Kvapil Also Tanlged With Jesse Love

Kvapil’s tangle with Sam Mayer was the last of his run-ins for the day. With about 32 laps to go, Kvapil found himself the victim of an accordion effect. Austin Hill slammed into the back of Christain Eckes, who then got into Jesee Love, who then dumped Carson Kvapil. And just like that, Kvapil, who had worked his way back inside the top 10 after his earlier issues, had his day go from bad to worse.

Sam Mayer Takes Out More Rookies

Sam Mayer must have some sort of vendetta against rookies. After his issues with the 1 car of Carson Kvapil, he took out 3 rookies on the backstretch in one fatal swoop. The battle was inside the top 10. Mayer followed Christian Eckes in the number 16 Kaulig car with Daniel Dye battling underneath. On the backstretch, Mayer inexplicably dumped Eckes who then collected the likes of his fellow truck graduates, Daniel Dye and Nick Sanchez. This massive wreck ended the day of the two Kaulig cars as well as Sanchez. Check out the carnage below:

Taylor Gray Continues to Impress

When it was announced that Ty Gibbs would be credited as the owner of the 54 car and that Taylor Gray would be the driver over Corey Heim, it was met with some raised eyebrows. It has been said for a while that Ty Gibbs and Heim have some sort of issue with one another. And, as a result, Taylor Gray, who is fairly inoffensive, got promoted from the NASCAR Truck Series up to the Xfinity Series. When you compare Heim’s and Gray’s careers side-by-side, one is clearly better than the other. And though many fans expected Gray to flounder around and be one of the worst-running JGR cars in the series this year, that hasn’t really been the case.

Gray, despite having limited Xfinity experience and zero wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, has been fairly competitive in that car so far this year. He finished 5th at Daytona. And though he struggled at the wild card race at Atlanta, he bounced back with a 7th and 6th place finish at Vegas and Phoenix respectively. Today, he once again flashed some of his skills behind the wheel. He started the race in the top 5 and remained there for much of the early stages of the race. In the final stage, he restarted outside of teammate Aric Almirola and passed him outright. He then went on to continue to lead well inside 50 laps to go. Despite falling to finish ____th, it’s clear that he deserves to be in that 54 car.

Conclusion

Well, race fans, this Xfinity Series race is finally in the books! And boy, was it a wild one! This race can be summed up in two words: Ruthless Aggression. There was no mercy to be had here tonight. What did you think of this one, Daily Downforce readers? What do you make of Austin Hill’s win? Let us know what you think!

Be sure to tune in back here at DailyDownforce.com for tomorrow’s coverage of the Cup race at Martinsville.