After surrendering the lead early, polesitter Brandon Jones recovered in the final stage and set sail on the final restart to score his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of 2025 and punch his ticket to the Round of 8.
Connor Zilisch tried to hunt down Jones but had to settle for the runner-up position. In doing so, he set a series record with 16 consecutive top-five finishes. Austin Hill, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five after a spirited battle to the checkers.
Playoff drivers took home the top eight spots with Taylor Gray, Jesse Love, and Nick Sanchez coming home sixth through eighth, respectively. ARCA Menards Series points leader Brenden Queen came home ninth in his second Xfinity start, while Dean Thompson picked up a nice top 10 — his seventh of the year — for Sam Hunt Racing.
Gray led the first 13 laps until Justin Allgaier roared to the front to take the lead and never look back en route to a stage one win. Leland Honeyman had a miraculous save in front of Jones that almost ended his day right then and there, but the race stayed green as the No. 7 car scooted away.
After a Jeb Burton spin, Allgaier would once again drive away from Jones enroute to sweeping the first two stages.
In the final stage, pit stops brought Zilisch into the fight as he and Jones duked it out for the lead until the final round of green flag pit stops.
Sanchez and Justin Bonsignore made contact through the cycle of stops, resulting in a hard crash for the part-time JGR driver into the inside wall.
On the ensuing restart, Allgaier and Sam Mayer elected not to pit and immediately faded back. That let Jones back into the lead, who then drove away from the field for good for the seventh win of his Xfinity career and his third at Kansas.
The first round of the Xfinity Series concludes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL next Saturday (Oct. 4) at 5 p.m. ET on the CW.
Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.