NXS Race Recap: Pennzoil 250

Wet weather was in the area for the Pennzoil 250 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sam Mayer showed his speed and earned the pole. Nick Sanchez joined him on the front row. Sheldon Creed and Jesse Love started the race on the second row. JR Motorsports drivers, Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, and Carson Kvapil also started in the top ten. The stage lengths were 30 laps for the first two stages, and 40 laps for the final stage.

Mayer the Mayor

Sam Mayer got the better launch and took the lead. He got a great push from his teammate, Creed, behind him. Sanchez settled behind the leader. Almirola blocked Allgaier all the way to the inside wall. Allgaier tapped the wall, but was able to keep going.

Harrison Burton was turned sideways on the back stretch and brought out the first caution. Burton got loose off of turn two and could not keep his car straight.

Mayer and Sanchez brought the field back to green. Creed, again, pushed Mayer out in front. Creed was able to take second. Zilisch, who started in seventh, began cutting through the field. He made his way onto the podium after passing Almirola. He then passed Creed for second.

Mayer checked out from the field. With the battling behind him, Mayer was able to build his lead to over two and a half seconds. After moving into second, Zilisch began chopping at the lead. Almirola got by Creed to take the third position. He quickly made his way back by Zilisch for the runner-up spot. Zilisch then fell to Allgaier, who immediately jumped on Almirola to take second.

Allgaier got by Almirola on the back stretch. Allgaier quickly began to shorten the gap to the lead. The lead went from 1.73 seconds to under two tenths. Mayer did a great job of keeping his lead and got the stage one win in the Pennzoil 250! Allgaier, Almirola, Brandon Jones, and Zilisch rounded out the top five.

Almirola won the race off of pit road. Allgaier and Zilisch followed him out. Mayer fell three positions to fourth.

Patience is a Virtue

Almirola and Allgaier brought the field back to green. Zilisch tried to push Almirola to the lead. Allgaier did not give up on the outside. Nick Sanchez smacked the wall out of turn two with some help from Christian Eckes.

The leaders stayed side by side for a full lap. Zilisch pushed Allgaier into the lead in turn one. Zilisch was able to slide into second in front of Almirola in third. Kyle Larson, after gaining spots on pit road, moved into the top five after passing Jesse Love.

Nick Sanchez had to pit after his car began smoking.

Allgaier pushed his lead to over half a second. Zilisch and Almirola followed each other behind the leader. Larson got by Gray to take the fourth position.

Eckes, after the earlier contact with Sanchez, made an unscheduled pit stop for a flat right front tire. He only changed the right side tires.

Larson passed Almirola on the inside of turn one. Zilisch was able to catch Allgaier and make the pass for the lead. They caught lapped traffic but were both able to slice through it evenly.

On the final lap of the stage, Allgaier showed his experience. He waited patiently behind Zilisch and made his move off of turn four. Using a big run, he was able to get beside Zilisch and side draft. Allgaier took the lead back just before the finish line to win stage two in the Pennzoil 250!

Allgaier, Larson, Jones, and Mayer were the top four off of pit road. Zilisch fell to fifth.

Rain on the Radar

Allgaier and Larson brought the green flag back out. Mayer pushed Larson out to the lead. Carson Kvapil got turned around in turn two. He backed his car into the outside wall. Leland Honeyman, who only took two tires, got loose and slid up into Kvapil. That brought out the fourth caution of the day.

Some wet weather began moving into the area. That forced NASCAR to extend the caution.

With 28 to go in the race, the green flag came back out with Allgaier and Larson on the front row. Mayer pushed Larson, but Allgaier was able to get back to the lead out of turn two. Larson did everything he could to get back to Allgaier, but the leader was able to pull away.

Allgaier, Larson, Jones, and Zilisch pull away from the field. Zilisch got underneath Jones in turn one and took the third spot. Larson closed the gap to the leader. With 20 to go in the race, the fifth caution came out because of rain in the area.

With 15 to go, the green flag came back out. Allgaier and Larson, again, restarted on the front row. The leaders got equal restarts. Larson ran up the track in turn two and made contact with Allgaier. Allgaier got shoved into the wall. Jones got into the back of Allgaier. Larson slipped back as well. Zilisch took the lead!

Allgaier and Jones both drive to the pits with severely damaged cars.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

With nine to go, Almirola caught the back of Austin Hill. He moved Hill up the track. Hill, in the commotion of saving the car and trying to get back at Almirola, right-rear hooked Almirola, who turned nose-first into the outside wall. Almirola was able to get out of the car safely.

NASCAR displayed the red flag due to rain on the track. This allowed them to clean the track of fluids that were spilled on the track.

NASCAR also decided to hold Hill for five laps for reckless driving. He expressed his displeasure over the radio.

With four to go, the green flag came back out. Taylor Gray joined Zilisch on the front row. Gray got a much better restart and took the lead into turn one. Zilisch did not go away. He stayed on the trunk of Gray. Zilisch tried to pass for the lead on the back stretch. Mayer pushed gray back out into the lead.

Zilisch gathered himself back together. He used a huge run off of turn two. Mayer pushed Zilisch out into the lead. Mayer moved to second. Zilisch pulled away by almost half a second. He was able to hold Mayer back to win the Pennzoil 250, marking the 100th win for JR Motorsports. Mayer, Gray, Larson, and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top five.

Marvin’s Minute:

First, the bad: Austin Hill should be suspended for the next race, or even more after that. What he did was egregious and not needed in this sport. He has had trouble in his past and recovered from it. He then right-rear hooked Aric Almirola at one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. NASCAR will review the incident and should hammer that behavior. It will get someone hurt.

Now to the good: JRM is a huge part of not only the Xfinity Series, but NASCAR as a whole. Seeing Dale Jr. so successful makes the sport better. His energy and legacy brings the entire sport up. One hundred wins puts him fourth on the all-time team wins list. This season has been a great one for the team, and they should get the championship trophy at the end of it. Tune in next week as the series goes to Iowa and JRM goes for their 101st win!