Tag: Xfinity Series

Justin Allgaier wins Most Popular Driver award in Xfinity Series for 2024

Justin Allgaier wins the 2024 Most Popular Driver award in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the fifth time in his career!

[autotag]Justin Allgaier[/autotag] has officially been named the 2024 Most Popular Driver Award winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allgaier received the honor at NASCAR’s banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the sport celebrates its 2024 season. This is the fifth time he has won the award in the last six years. Noah Gragson took home the trophy during the 2022 season.

Allgaier’s victory comes during a year when he finally broke through for a championship. The JR Motorsports driver was able to claw through the field after two penalties at Phoenix Raceway and used a great move on a late-race restart to take the lead. Allgaier ended up losing the race to Riley Herbst, but he took home his first Xfinity Series championship.

Overall, Allgaier seems to have a firm grasp on the award on a yearly basis. However, Gragson’s win in 2022 proves that he isn’t invincible to new challengers. It will be fascinating to see how Allgaier fares in future seasons, as he has become a regular competitor in the Xfinity Series.

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How to listen, watch NASCAR’s Awards Ceremony in 2024

Check out how you can listen and watch NASCAR’s Award Ceremony for the 2024 season as the sport goes to Charlotte on November 22nd!

The NASCAR family will congregate in Charlotte, North Carolina, for its yearly Champion’s Week that takes place after the season. This is the first year NASCAR will crown the champions at every level in Charlotte after spending the last four years in Nashville. Most notably, it features a banquet where the sport reveals the Most Popular Driver award winners and lets the champions speak.

The banquet will take place on Thursday, November 22nd, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Unfortunately, for those who want to watch the banquet live, it will not be covered on the night of the event. The first opportunity for a telecast will take place on Sunday, November 24th, at 3:00 p.m. ET on The CW. Unlike last year, the banquet is not behind a paywall, so a subscription will not be required to watch.

It was an exciting 2024 NASCAR season, and the sport is ready to officially close out the year. You don’t want to miss the action in Charlotte as NASCAR closes the book on another wonderful season.

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Circuit of the Americas track layout changed for the 2025 NASCAR season

Circuit of the Americas will have a new track layout for the 2025 NASCAR season. Check out COTA’s new course layout for 2025!

Circuit of the Americas will have a new look for the 2025 NASCAR season. On Wednesday morning, COTA revealed its new track layout for NASCAR, which will see the circuit shift from its 3.41-mile, 20-turn Full Course layout to the venue’s 2.3-mile, 20-turn National Course. The NASCAR Cup Series race will be roughly 30 laps longer due to the change.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will also utilize the new road course layout, as it will return for another year. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Truck Series won’t return to Circuit of the Americas, which will be the first time since the venue was added for the 2021 season. In 2024, William Byron (Cup), Kyle Larson (Xfinity), and Corey Heim (Truck) were the winners.

This new course layout will provide a new challenge for NASCAR competitors moving forward. The National Course layout will be equally challenging as it will be a completely new scene. NASCAR hasn’t finalized every detail surrounding the events at COTA in 2025, but it will be exciting to see the new layout in action.

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Kris Wright joins Our Motorsports in NASCAR Xfinity Series for 2025 season

Kris Wright will drive the No. 5 car for Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2025 season.

[autotag]Kris Wright[/autotag] has landed his best opportunity in NASCAR to this point. On Wednesday morning, [autotag]Our Motorsports[/autotag] announced that Wright will drive the No. 5 car full-time for the organization in the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2025. Anthony Alfredo previously drove the No. 5 Xfinity car and ran well above expectations in 2024.

Wright drove the No. 15 car for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series but failed to win a race in his full-time season. Now, the 30-year-old driver will have an opportunity to compete in the Xfinity Series starting in 2025. It has been an up-and-down journey for Wright in NASCAR, as he hasn’t seen much success to this point.

The same can be said for Our Motorsports, which used to field multiple cars in the Xfinity Series. Alfredo was the lone focus of the organization in 2024, and the success of that operation could be a sign moving forward. Wright has earned this opportunity after diving into the ARCA Menards Series and the hope is that he can see similar success as Alfredo.

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Parker Retzlaff won’t return to Jordan Anderson Racing in Xfinity for 2025

Parker Retzlaff announced he won’t return to Jordan Anderson Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2025 season.

[autotag]Parker Retzlaff[/autotag]’s tenure at [autotag]Jordan Anderson Racing[/autotag] has come to an end. On Thursday afternoon, Retzlaff announced he won’t return to the No. 31 car for Jordan Anderson Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during the 2025 season. The 21-year-old driver has spent two years with the organization, with 2023 being the better of the two seasons.

Retzlaff struggled in 2024, with only two top-5 finishes, four top-10 finishes, a 23.5 average finishing position, and a 21st-place finish in the point standings. In 2023, Retzlaff had one top-5 finish, seven top-10 finishes, a 17.9 average finishing position, and a 16th-place finish in the point standings. However, the driver of the No. 31 car did earn two poles and led 50 laps in 2024.

Retzlaff also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2024 and finished in seventh place at Daytona International Speedway with Beard Motorsports in August. The former Jordan Anderson Racing driver had an up-and-down year full of incidents, not all of his doing, but he should receive plenty of attention from race teams due to his raw talent.

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Former NASCAR crew chief reveals his ideal playoff format for 2025

A former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief has revealed his ideal playoff format for 2025. Check out this former NASCAR crew chief’s suggestion!

The 2024 NASCAR offseason is underway, and the playoff format is at the center of conversations around the industry. NASCAR is planning to review the playoff format and could make changes as soon as 2025. If necessary, a more extensive overhaul would likely have to wait until 2026. However, one former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief has an idea for the perfect playoff format.

[autotag]Cole Pearn[/autotag], who served as Martin Truex Jr.’s championship-winning crew chief in 2017, believes a year-long point standings would be beneficial for the current playoff system. The top 16 drivers in the point standings make the playoffs, and if there is a winner in a round, they will advance. Then, the remaining spots are filled in by the top drivers in the year-long standings.

This would allow the best drivers in the series to make the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. In 2024, Kyle Larson would’ve made the Championship 4 over William Byron. Granted, the drivers and teams would race differently under a different format. NASCAR needs to make some adjustments to the playoffs, and it will be interesting to see what happens moving forward.

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NASCAR releases top-5 drivers in Most Popular Driver voting for 2024

NASCAR has released the top-5 drivers in Most Popular Driver voting so far in all series. Find out the current top drivers in each level!

NASCAR is set to hold the banquet that determines the Most Valuable Driver award winners in Charlotte on Friday, November 22. The sport’s fans can vote for the award until Thursday, November 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET., as time is running out to cast a nomination. In fact, NASCAR recently released the top-5 drivers in voting for all three series, which gives people an idea of where it stands.

With the voting period closing soon, NASCAR gave a list of the top 5 vote-getters in alphabetical order.

  • Cup: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr.
  • Xfinity: Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Parker Kligerman, Jesse Love
  • Truck: Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski

In 2023, Chase Elliott won the award in the Cup Series, while Justin Allgaier (Xfinity) and Hailie Deegan (Truck) earned the honor in the other two series. Elliott has won the honor six straight times after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2017 NASCAR season. Next Friday night, we will find out if Elliott’s reign continues.

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NASCAR to review playoff format for potential changes in 2025

NASCAR will review the playoff format for potential changes in 2025 and beyond. What might NASCAR change with the playoff format?

NASCAR may not have the same playoff format for the 2025 season and beyond. According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, NASCAR will review its playoff format with changes possible as soon as 2025. Due to the short turnaround to the season, a more extensive overhaul may need to wait until 2026 if deemed necessary.

This means NASCAR could make slight tweaks and fixes to the playoff format starting in 2025. The playoff format has become more controversial after Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway last weekend. Logano had the fewest top-5 finishes, top-10 finishes, and lowest average finishing position of a Cup Series champion in the Modern Era.

According to Stern, one senior team executive said the “topics that should be examined include whether a win should automatically qualify a driver for the playoffs, as is the case now, and possible changes like whether the regular-season champion should get locked into one of the latter rounds of the playoffs, whether the final round should have more than four drivers, and whether the final round should be contested over multiple races instead of just one.”

This is a massive step in the right direction for NASCAR, which needs to adjust its playoff format moving forward. The playoffs deserve to be in NASCAR; however, it needs adjustments to determine the best way of crowning a Cup Series champion. As of now, nothing is guaranteed, but the hope is that NASCAR makes the necessary changes moving forward.

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NASCAR must fix the controversial playoff format for 2025 and beyond

NASCAR must fix the controversial playoff format for 2025 and beyond. Find out why NASCAR should change the playoff format!

NASCAR has officially crowned the three champions for the 2024 season. Joey Logano (Cup), Justin Allgaier (Xfinity), and Ty Majeski (Truck) earned a NASCAR title at Phoenix Raceway after beating the rest of the Championship 4 competitors. All three drivers deserved to win the championship at Phoenix; however, should there be changes coming for NASCAR?

The answer should be an easy “yes.” The time has come for NASCAR to fix/tweak the current playoff format. This isn’t a call to “trash” the playoff format, as an elimination-style system is good for NASCAR. But, there needs to be changes that address the best way of winning a championship in the Modern Era of NASCAR.

For example, Logano has the fewest top-5 finishes, fewest top-10 finishes, and lowest average finishing position of any Cup Series champion in the Modern Era. The Team Penske driver deserved to win the championship at Phoenix under this current format, but the standards and expectations for winning a title are starting to diminish.

Meanwhile, Christian Eckes became the first NASCAR driver in the 21st century to have only one finish outside of the top 10 spots but finished third in the point standings. Eckes was 101 points and 200 points ahead of Corey Heim and Ty Majeski heading into the 2024 Truck Series season finale, respectively.

The idea of a playoff is great for NASCAR, but the current system is simply not sustainable. Logano has proven the model of becoming a NASCAR champion. A driver truly only needs to do the following: Make the playoffs, win in the Round of 8, and win the Championship 4 event. Essentially, the rest of the regular season doesn’t matter as long as you show up for three of the 36 races.

Even RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski believes the current playoff format isn’t the best way to determine a Cup Series champion. So, what should be done? Does a greater emphasis on points (increasing points and playoff points for winning, increasing regular season payout, eliminating win-and-in rule) or a three-race Championship 4 round fix the issues?

Both ideas keep the elimination-style playoff format while making it a legitimate way of determining a champion. Not all of the “Big 4” sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) have a Game 7 moment at the end of every season, and NASCAR doesn’t need one every year. Those Game 7 moments become less special when it’s a normal occurrence at the end of a sports season. The NFL is different since each round is one game.

This isn’t a call for NASCAR to remove the playoffs because it has a place in this sport. It’s a call to fix the playoff format and allow a more natural way of determining a champion to come into the picture. Logano, Allgaier, and Majeski are all deserving champions under this current format, but there should be an effort into finding the best way of deciding these winners in 2025 and beyond.

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Justin Allgaier wins the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix

Justin Allgaier wins the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in an improbable comeback.

The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season has come to an end, and one driver has finally earned his first title. On Saturday night, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier won the 2024 Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway. Meanwhile, Riley Herbst won the Xfinity Series event, sending Stewart-Haas Racing off with one final victory.

Allgaier has been in the Xfinity Series for 14 years, and the move on the first NASCAR overtime restart was the best of his career. The driver of the No. 7 car lined up behind Cole Custer and Austin Hill, and as the No. 21 car slid up the race track, he cut back down and passed both drivers. The move gave Allgaier an Xfinity Series title, even after one more restart.

Aric Almirola also had a shot to give Joe Gibbs Racing an Owner’s Championship; however, he finished up just short in third place. Yet, Allgaier finds himself alone on top of the mountain for the first time in his NASCAR career. The journey to this point has been a rollercoaster, but Allgaier can finally call himself a NASCAR champion,

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