NASCAR Xfinity playoff drivers to lead field to start playoff opener at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Playoff drivers Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer will lead the field to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff opener at Bristol.
Allgaier paced the half-mile track in 15.843 seconds, just under a tenth quicker than Sam Mayer (15.937 seconds).
Aric Almirola, Connor Zilisch, Taylor Gray, William Sawalich, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top 10 starters. Almirola’s No. 19 team is running for the owner’s championship.
Qualifying just outside of the top 10 were playoff drivers Carson Kvapil (11th) and Sammy Smith (14th). Between them is Stefan Parsons who fast enough to land his No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet in 13th on the starting grid.
Outside of the top 20 are playoff drivers Nick Sanchez, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones who will start 20th, 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Meanwhile, Brenden Queen will start 28th in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet.
NASCAR Xfinity Series at Bristol practice results
While playoff drivers dominated qualifying, non-playoff driver Ryan Sieg ran the fastest lap – 15.929 seconds, 120.460 mph average – and had the fastest 10-lap average of 118.831 mph.
Sheldon Creed, Harrison Burton, Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch and Taylor Gray were fastest overall in practice among the driver playoff teams. They all ran lap times between 16.117 seconds and 16.185 seconds.
With the 10-lap average, Taylor Gray (118.169 mph average), Creed (118.137 mph), Zilisch (118.038 mph), Allgaier (117.988 mph) and Burton (117.830 mph) were fastest.
NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff standings entering Bristol
- Connor Zilisch 2064 (+59 to the cutline)
- Justin Allgaier 2035 (+30)
- Sam Mayer 2016 (+11)
- Jesse Love 2013 (+8)
- Brandon Jones 2013 (+8)
- Sammy Smith 2009 (+4)
- Nick Sanchez 2006 (+1)
- Taylor Gray 2005 (+0)
- Carson Kvapil 2005 (-0)
- Sheldon Creed 2003 (-2)
- Harrison Burton 2002 (-3)
- Austin Hill 2000 (-5)
Here is what some of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff drivers had to say:
Brandon Jones
“If you take all the road course wins, he [Zilisch]’s an average person. You can have a bad 1 or 2 races and the momentum changes and it always comes down to one race. We always say don’t peak too soon… fear the guy in the shadows. If I won 9 races, I’d be feeling on top of the world. But I haven’t won 9 races so I’m looking at every little tiny detail to get better.”
Sam Mayer
“I definitely had to elevate myself because there was so much change. Haas Factory Team hit the reset button so it was a new spot and I put myself in a good spot to learn and develop. We’re in a good spot to continue to learn and grow. I had to learn and grow and be better myself and I think I found a new ceiling this year.”
Justin Allgaier
“The pressure is lifted off of us as the defending champion. These young guys are coming in way more prepared and I wish I had a lot of the things they have when I was coming in. I learn from the young guys and I hope they learn something from me. All 10 of these playoffs have had something different and we’ll see how the first handful of races play out and move from there.”
Jesse Love
“I would like to say I don’t care but i think a part of me does kind of care. People don’t realize going from Xfinity to Cup isn’t like going from college football to the NFL. It’s like going from high school football to the NFL. The Cup guys are incredible. I could see both sides of the coin but as a driver, I think of maximizing my potential and I want to race against the best. When Kyle does everything the young guys wanna do, it shows the gap between us. Even when I’m karting, I see what that greatness looks like and that comes out of racing talented Cup drivers.”
Nick Sanchez
“If I finish top 10 in every stage, I think we’ll get to Phoenix. We’re all close on points.”
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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