JR Motorsports falls short of NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Three bullets in the chamber was not enough for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil finished second, third and fourth in the championship but third, fifth and 13th in the race in a resounding defeat to end a dominant season for the team.
JRM won half of the 32 races that preceded the Championship race — but not winning that race meant the standout team of the season wasn’t the champion.
“I guess the lights were too bright,” Zilisch said, dejected.
Zilisch controlled the race until the 200-lap race got down to the seven-eighths mark. Jesse Love passed him for the championship and didn’t look back.
Although Love scored as many top-10 finishes as Zilisch, he lagged in almost every other category Zilisch led in a historic season that fell short in the end.
Images of Zilisch showed a man who appeared to have been robbed, who had the life sucked out of him after a year of hard work toward a greater prize that meant only a consolation prize in the end.
Some greats of the sport, including team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, sensed this and offered their wisdom to the young driver.
“I don’t want him to get down because this isn’t the only chance at a championship he’s going to have. He is a young, talented driver who is going to have many more opportunities in Cup,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
“It doesn’t matter son. Go to Cup and be the winner you know you can be. From a Monster athlete to a Red Bull athlete, focus on the future,” Busch said.
Allgaier, who Zilisch beat for the regular season championship, fell short of giving crew chief — and friend — Jim Pohlman another championship before he goes to the Cup Series with Kyle Busch in 2026.
“I’m bummed because I wanted to send Jim off with a championship. JR Motorsports as a whole, we didn’t win an owner or a driver championship with three out of the four. That’s super frustrating on my end, all of our ends,” Allgaier said.
Allgaier graciously gave his flowers and props to Love.
“Jesse just did a really good job tonight. I mean, that last hundred laps for Jesse was probably one of the best drives I’ve ever seen him put on. I’ve seen him race open-wheel, ARCA. That’s one of the best drives he’s put on. Congrats to the 2 team. They deserved it tonight,” Allgaier said.
For Kvapil, to make the Championship 4 was gratifying.
“This team put us in a great spot to be in the Final 4. We did it the hard way. We never won a race. We pointed our way in on every round that we had. Just worked our tails off on that. Never had a break. We never gave up. We kept trucking and got ourselves all the way to a Final 4 spot,” Kvapil said.
Kvapil looked great at Phoenix when the sun was still up. However, the speed didn’t translate when the lights came on.
“We had a really good car to start. We started 14th and by the end of stage one we were up to six, passing for fifth. It wasn’t bad. We were really good. We were probably running close to leader’s pace. It seemed like every pit stop we would lose some spots on each one. That didn’t help,” he said. “I thought we were going to have a really good shot at it. Just didn’t seem like we could keep up with the track and keep up with changes.”
Although Kvapil didn’t get the championship, his rookie season went from closing with uncertainty to a gratifying experience and a full-time promise for next year.
“It’s just super. Super grateful to be in this position. Obviously not winning a race, sometimes you’re in, sometimes you’re out. Depends how the Playoffs go. I had a really enjoyable Playoff run with some great teammates,” Kvapil said.
Zilisch will race for Trackhouse Racing in 2026. Allgaier will return to JRM. Kvapil will split time between JRM and another unannounced team in a full-time campaign next year.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com