CONCORD, N.C. — Unexpected heroes got their due at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Oct. 4 after three of the top five finishers were part-time drivers, with only one being in equipment from a top-caliber team in the series.
Austin Green, Kaz Grala and Connor Mosack finished in second, fourth and fifth, respectively. All were in part-time cars, too: Green piloted Peterson Racing Group’s No. 87 in a partnership with Jordan Anderson Racing, while Grala was in Sam Hunt Racing’s No. 24 and Mosack, driving for the biggest organization of the group, raced JR Motorsports’ No. 9.
Green made the most of his opportunity and hasn’t soaked it in just yet — feeling like a win despite being the bridesmaid to race winner Connor Zilisch.
“It’s a thrill to run good and be runner-up to Zilisch,” Green told Frontstretch. “He’s one of the best right now to ever do it so I’ll take it as a win for us and our small team. I just can’t thank [PRG team owner] Doug Peterson enough, the group, all the guys at the shop. We always want to race at home on the track and had some motor issues last year, so that was fuel to the fire to come back and run better,”
Green had a chance to battle for the win with Zilisch in an overtime finish after multiple drivers pitted. As they dove into turn 1, Green fought to have an opportunity to pass, but respected the playoff driver to not get too aggressive.
“I asked the rules for the restart there and determined not to make too much contact with them,” he said. “He’s in the playoffs so we don’t want to do anything to take him out and ruin his day. I was also trying not to get wrecked and didn’t want to wreck him.”
While Green doesn’t have an exact schedule to share just yet regarding 2026, he did confirm that he and the organization plan to return to the series in some capacity next year.
“We’re going to do a bit more,” he said. “The news will be announced.”
Grala battled through the field all race to make a crack at the top 10, and issues with playoff drivers like Austin Hill provided opportunities to gain track position and be there at the end.
“We probably got a little lucky with the way things fell at the end — certainly didn’t work against us,” he said. “We legitimately had really good speed, it was probably an eighth- to 10th-place car. When it counted, we executed and were able to get that great finish.
“I think this matches my career-best finish. Still looking for that podium one of these days.”
Mosack had maybe the most dramatic night of the three. He started in the top five alongside his four JRM teammates. A brake issue brought the No. 9 Chevrolet to pit road, but he was able to recover for a fifth-place finish.
“First, we were having some brake issues,” he explained. “The rears were getting really hot for some reason and we were managing that — we thought we could get to the end still running third, but then had a fuel pickup issue. It stumbled on me for a lap and a half before we came in, and we did, and thankfully we caught the caution — it saved us.”
Every opportunity is an audition for another one, and for 2026, there’s nothing set in stone for Mosack just yet. He’s been full time this season for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series but told Frontstretch this weekend he is unlikely to return to the team.
“We’ve been in talks, but nothing solid yet — a good day helps those,” he said. “I’d love to be in these Xfinity cars — something competitive, of course — but we’ll see that opportunities are out there.”
