NASHVILLE — It’s been three races since a NASCAR Xfinity Sequence full-timer celebrated in victory lane this season so there’s loads of motivation on the grid for Saturday evening’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill was the final of the championship-eligible drivers to win a race, doing so April 26 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. And he’s the one Xfinity Sequence common to attain top-10 finishes within the final 4 Nashville races.
Traditionally-speaking, Nashville has been a problem for the collection’ championship contenders. Seven completely different drivers have received the final seven races. Reigning collection champ, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier is the one fulltime driver with an Xfinity Sequence win on the 1.33-mile monitor, claiming the trophy in 2022 after main 134 of the 188 laps and beating Trevor Bayne by a formidable 4.513-seconds.
Allgaier, a two-race winner already this season and the present championship chief by a wholesome 72-points over three-race winner Hill, has seven top-five finishes within the opening 9 races, however has suffered by way of some erratic finishes of late – a pair of top-10s alternating with finishes of twenty first (Rockingham, N.C.) and thirty fifth (Texas).
One driver to keep watch over this weekend is Haas Manufacturing unit Crew’s Sam Mayer, the one championship contender among the many prime six in factors with out a trophy this season. He’s by no means completed worse than tenth at Nashville and has a pair of top-five showings in three races on the monitor.
The competitors stage within the collection is so excessive proper now, the previous three races coming to Nashville have been determined by a move within the ultimate two laps.
Maintain an eye fixed out for rookie Connor Zilisch, whose runner-up effort final week within the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet moved him up six positions within the Xfinity Sequence championship standings to sixth place. This will likely be his Nashville Superspeedway debut.
“I’m actually wanting ahead to going to Nashville for the primary time,” stated the 18-year-old Zilisch, who leads the collection rookie-of-the-year standings by six-points over his teammate Carson Kvapil. “It’s such a cool metropolis and I’ve raced on the Fairgrounds earlier than, however this will likely be my first time racing on the NASCAR monitor in Nashville.
“I’ve some laps on the simulator and it’s undoubtedly a technical racetrack. I’m wanting ahead to figuring it out rapidly and preserving the momentum up from Charlotte.”
Final week’s NASCAR Cup Sequence race winner, Ross Chastain, will likely be driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Former NASCAR Cup Sequence common Aric Almirola, who received at Phoenix earlier this 12 months, will likely be again behind the wheel of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. And Katherine Legge will likely be driving the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet.
