As the green flag flew on Friday’s (Sept. 12) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, many eyes were on the 12 playoff drivers, who each looked to kick off their 2025 postseason with a victory at the half-mile short track and lock themselves into the Round of 8.
However, in the end, it was a part-time, non-playoff competitor who would take the checkered flag, as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Aric Almirola led the final 34 laps of the event and held off the field on older tires after electing not to pit during one of the late-race cautions. The Cup Series veteran ran inside the top five for much of the evening and showed great speed, but ultimately it was the team’s strategy call that put him in position to score the ninth victory of his Xfinity Series career.
Crossing the line behind Almirola were Haas Factory teammates Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer, with JR Motorsports rookies Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch rounding out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Christian Eckes, Jeremy Clements and Brennan Poole finished out the top 10.
The Winners
While Almirola’s victory may not have impacted the drivers’ championship, it certainly was an important win for Joe Gibbs Racing, as the team’s No. 19 entry is competing for the owner’s title and has now advanced to the Round of 8. The win also marks Almirola’s second victory of 2025, after he took the checkered flag at Phoenix International Raceway on March 8.
It was an all-too familiar result for Creed, as the Californian earned the 15th runner-up finish of his series career after making a late-race charge on fresher tires. Despite coming up just one spot short, it was still a successful night for the Haas Factory driver, as he managed to overcome a pit road penalty during stage one and currently sits seven points above the playoff cut line.
Creed’s teammate Mayer had a strong run himself, as he finished in the top five in both stages and led 68 laps en route to his third-place result. Like Almirola, Mayer stayed out during one of the final cautions of the race and managed to keep his No. 41 Mustang up toward the front on older tires.
The JR Motorsports trio of Kvapil, Zilisch and Allgaier all showed great speed throughout the race. Kvapil ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the night and scored points in both stages on the way to his fourth-place finish, while Zilisch and Allgaier each won a stage and combined to lead 193 of the event’s 300 laps. The two would finish fifth and sixth, respectively.
While AM Racing may be viewed by many as the “underdog” team of the playoffs, Harrison Burton has proven throughout the season that the organization is capable of running up front and competing with the big dogs, and this weekend was no different. The 24-year-old qualified seventh for the event, finished third in the opening stage after electing to stay out on older tires during a caution, and brought home the No. 25 Mustang in seventh. With Burton scoring 38 points on the night, he jumps from below the playoff cut line to nine points above it.
Lastly, it was a strong showing for Jeremy Clements and Poole, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively. The results mark Clements’ first top 10 since Atlanta on June 27, and Poole’s fifth consecutive top-15 finish. (including a ninth-place result at Daytona (Aug. 22).
The Losers
Multiple playoff drivers experienced issues Friday night that have put them in a precarious points position heading into the second race of the playoffs at Kansas Speedway.
Perhaps the competitor who took the biggest blow was Sammy Smith, whose engine let go halfway through the opening stage, resulting in Smith finishing 37th and scoring just one point. The Iowa native now sits 24 points below the playoff cut line and will likely need to perform very well in the next two races if he is to advance to the Round of 8.
Two other playoff drivers that encountered difficulty were Richard Childress Racing teammates Jesse Love and Austin Hill.
Love had put together a respectable run and finished 5th in stage one, but would cut a tire late in the race and have to hit pit road under green. Luckily for Love, the caution did fly for a separate incident moments after his tire issue, but he still lost a lap to the field and would end up finishing a disappointing 25th on the night.
Meanwhile, Hill just seemed to struggle to find much speed in his race car, and would be stuck running mid-pack for the majority of the race. As a result, he scored zero stage points and finished 19th, putting him 16 points below the cutline.
It was a somewhat disappointing result for Taylor Gray, who seemed poised to score a top-10 finish after scoring points in both stages, but went for a spin on the frontstretch late in the race after making contact with Jeb Burton. Gray would still manage to finish 14th but currently sits right on the playoff bubble, just three points ahead of ninth-place Nick Sanchez.
Lastly, it was an unfortunate outcome for non-playoff driver Ryan Sieg, who drove up into the top five early in the race and looked to have one of the fastest cars on track, but had to hit pit road due to a potential flat tire. Sieg ended the night in 23rd, one lap down.
Fuel for Thought
While the Xfinity Series is off next week, it’s never too early to look ahead to the second race of the playoffs, which is at Kansas Speedway, Sept. 27.
Looking at the current points standings, it seems like Zilisch (+85), Allgaier (+53) and Mayer (+35) are all in pretty decent shape to advance to the next round, and just need to put together clean, solid runs at Kansas. However, the remaining five spots in the Round of 8 are all up for grabs and will likely come down to which teams can execute the best these next two races and just not beat themselves.
The driver and team combination I’ll have my eye on later this month is Harrison Burton and AM Racing, as I am curious to see how much speed the organization brings to the track, and if they are able to replicate the performance that we saw out of them at Bristol Friday night. While nine points is not too big a cushion, the team has had several strong runs at intermediate style tracks this season (including top 10s at Las Vegas and Texas). If they can achieve a similar result at Kansas, I think they will have a very realistic chance to advance to the Round of 8 in a few weeks.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Stefan Parsons’ No. 35 David’s Electric Chevrolet was certainly one of the most vibrant schemes on track Friday night. Parsons qualified an impressive 13th and seemed on pace to give Joey Gase Motorsports one of their strongest runs of the season, but he unfortunately was collected in an early accident, resulting in Parsons taking his car behind the wall and finishing 36th.
Man. Really solid David’s Electric 35 tonight. So proud of everyone who worked on this car, was really fast all weekend. Unfortunate ending having nowhere to go when the 17 spun. If anyone knows how to change luck please let me know! pic.twitter.com/FYSU1M1x4r
— Stefan Parsons (@StefanParsons_) September 13, 2025
Where to Next?
The Xfinity Series returns at Kansas Speedway Sept. 27, for the second race of the Round of 12. Last year’s event was won by Almirola, who passed Cole Custer for the lead in the closing laps to score the victory. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET, with television coverage on The CW and radio coverage on the Motor Racing Network.
Jake Altmayer joined the Frontstretch team in 2025, assisting as a news writer and contributing to other weekly columns and articles, such as Friday Faceoff and Xfinity Breakdown. A 2024 graduate of DePaul University, Altmayer has closely followed NASCAR's national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) for nearly a decade and has attended more than a dozen races over the course of that time. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, spending time with his loved ones, and listening to his favorite band, the Beach Boys.