By George Cornwallis
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: BetMGM 300
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Saturday, May 24
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,651,939
TV: CW, 3:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
ON THE POLE FOR TODAY’S RACE
Taylor Gray will lead the field to the green at Charlotte Motor Speedway, scoring the 200th Xfinity Series pole for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 20-year-old Gray, a native of Artesia, New Mexico, took the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a lap time of 30.598 seconds (176.482 mph) around the 1.5-mile speedway. This is the second career pole position for Taylor.
He is a 2025 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year contender.
The remaining Top Five qualifiers are Connor Zilisch, Austin Hill, William Byron, and Brandon Jones.
Here is the starting lineup for Today’s race:
- #54 – Taylor Gray
- #88 – Connor Zilisch
- #21 – Austin Hill
- #17 – William Byron
- #20 – Brandon Jones
- #18 – William Sawalich
- #00 – Sheldon Creed
- #39 – Ryan Sieg
- #19 – Chase Briscoe
- #7 – Justin Allgaier
- #41 – Sam Mayer
- #1 – Carson Kvapil
- #8 – Sammy Smith
- #27 – Jeb Burton
- #16 – Christian Eckes
- #99 – Matt DiBenedetto
- #42 – Anthony Alfredo
- #48 – Nick Sanchez
- #2 – Jesse Love
- #3 – Austin Dillon
- #31 – Blaine Perkins
- #51 – Jeremy Clements
- #26 – Dean Thompson
- #10 – Daniel Dye
- #25 – Harrison Burton
- #44 – Brennan Poole
- #11 – Josh Williams
- #28 – Kyle Sieg
- #53 – JJ Yeley
- #70 – Leland Honeyman
- #71 – Ryan Ellis
- #32 – Katherine Legge
- #5 – Kris Wright
- #4 – Parker Retzlaff
- #14 – Garrett Smithley
- #45 – Brad Perez
- #07 – Nick Leitz
- #91 – CJ McLaughlin
NXS Race: BetMGM 300 (CW Network, PRN, SiriusXM at 4:30 p.m. ET)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Charlotte Storylines and Insights:
· This will be the 80th NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte, it has been on the schedule every season since 1982 (two races a season from 1982-2016, one per season since 2017).
· After Charlotte, the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season will be at the halfway point.
· Six of 12 Playoff spots have been filled after 12 races.
· The first four drivers below the Playoff cutoff are all rookies.
· Twelve different drivers won the last 12 Xfinity Series Charlotte races, the longest ever streak at the track – Austin Dillon swept in 2015.
· Austin Dillon (2) and Justin Allgaier are the only past Charlotte winners in the field this weekend.
· #17 William Byron and #19 Chase Briscoe will be in the field, neither driver has won on Charlotte oval in any series.
· Connor Zilisch returns after missing Texas due to back injury from last-lap accident at Talladega, Zilisch will also be running the Coca-Cola 600 (#87 – Trackhouse).
· Nine drivers earned their first career Xfinity Series win at Charlotte, most-recently Alex Bowman in 2017.
· Six Xfinity Series Charlotte races have featured last-lap passes for the win, most-recently in 2020 when Kyle Busch beat Austin Cindric.
· Only six of 79 Charlotte races ended in overtime.
· Drivers that led the most laps won four of the last six Charlotte races.
· Stages have been swept in five of the last seven Charlotte races, Kyle Busch in 2020 is the only driver to win both stages and race.
· Harrison Burton (6.0) and Sammy Smith (6.5) are both in the top five of Charlotte average finish all-time.
· Eight of the last nine Charlotte races have had at least eight cautions.
· Charlotte is the fourth of six 1.5-mile track races in 2025 and last one in the regular season, only Kansas (Sept) and Las Vegas (Oct) remain after this weekend.
· Justin Allgaier (Las Vegas, Miami) and Kyle Larson (Texas) won on 1.5-mile tracks this season.
· The last six races on 1.5-mile tracks were won by drivers over the age of 30.
· Justin Allgaier needs six top-10 finishes to tie Kyle Busch for most on 1.5-mile tracks all-time.
· Justin Allgaier needs one top-five finish to tie Brad Keselowski for fourth on 1.5-mile tracks all-time.
· After winning Stage 1 at Texas, Justin Allgaier now has the most stage wins on 1.5-mile tracks all-time.
· Chevrolet won seven of the last eight races on 1.5-mile tracks.
· Ford won only one of the last 32 races on 1.5 mile tracks (Riley Herbst at Las Vegas in 10/23).
· Jesse Love and Austin Hill finished in the top-10 in six straight races on 1.5-mile tracks, the longest active streak.
· Justin Allgaier leads all drivers with eight top-five finishes in 2025. Allgaier’s eight top-five finishes in 2025 are his most ever after 12 races in a season
· Justin Allgaier is 10 top 10s away from being the first driver to reach 300.
· Joe Gibbs Racing is one pole win away from 200, they are the only team with 100 poles.
· JR Motorsports is seven wins away from 100, only three other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-217, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138, Richard Childress Racing-100).
· JR Motorsports drivers won all three 1.5-mile track races this season (Allgaier – 2, Larson – 1).
· Kyle Larson leads all drivers in laps led in 2025 with 440 despite making only three Xfinity Series starts.
· Daniel Dye is the only driver to finish inside the top-20 in the last 11 races.
· Sam Mayer is the only driver to finish inside the top-15 in 10 of 11 races this season.
· Five races this year ended with a last lap pass, and six of the 12 races this season went to overtime.
· Three crew chiefs got their first Xfinity Series win in 2025: Adam Wall at Bristol, Sam McAulay at Darlington and Chad Haney at Atlanta.
· Chevrolet has led 1,761 of 2,243 laps this season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
· Alpha Prime had three top-five finishes in the last six races, the team only had two career top fives entering 2025.
· 2025 is only the third time since NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs started in 2016 that six or more spots were taken after 12 races. There were seven in 2022.
NASCAR & Charlotte, Etc.
Historical & Significant Events at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
· Charlotte Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959 by Chairman Emeritus and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee O. Bruton Smith. The late Curtis Turner, one of stock car racing’s earliest stars and another Hall of Fame inductee, served as Smith’s primary business partner.
· Smith, a native of Oakboro, N.C., was an automobile dealer and short-track stock car racing promoter at Concord Motor Speedway and the Charlotte Fairgrounds.
· Turner, a Virginian who amassed his money in the lumber industry, became one of the first drivers on the NASCAR circuit after the sanctioning body debuted in 1949.
· Together, they built their dream of a 1.5-mile superspeedway on the outskirts of the Queen City and, on June 19, 1960, the first World 600 was contested at the new facility.
· In 1961, like many superspeedways of the era, the track fell into Chapter 11 reorganization from which it eventually emerged despite lagging ticket sales. After his departure from the speedway in 1962, Smith pursued other business interests in Texas and Illinois. Working within Ford Motor Company’s dealership program, Smith became quite successful and began purchasing shares of stock in Charlotte Motor Speedway. By 1975 Smith had again become the majority stockholder in the speedway, regaining control of its day-to-day operations.
· He hired H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler as general manager and the two began to implement plans for needed improvements and expansion.
· During the ensuing years, Smith and Wheeler demonstrated a commitment to customer satisfaction, building a facility that continuously established new industry standards. Thousands of grandstand seats and luxury suites were built. Food concessions and restroom facilities were added and modernized to increase the comfort of race fans. Smith Tower, a 135,000-square-foot, seven-story facility connected to the speedway’s grandstands, was erected and opened in 1988. The building houses the speedway’s corporate offices, ticket office, souvenir gift shop, leased office space and The Speedway Club, an exclusive dining and entertainment facility.
· In 1984, under the direction of Smith, Charlotte Motor Speedway became the only sports facility in America to offer year-round living accommodations when it built 40 condominiums high above turn one. Twelve additional condominium units were added in 1991.
· Another innovation was a $1.7 million, 1,200-fixture permanent lighting system developed by MUSCO Lighting of Oskaloosa, Iowa. The revolutionary lighting process uses mirrors to simulate daylight without glare, shadows or obtrusive light poles.
· The lighting system was installed in 1992, allowing Charlotte Motor Speedway to be the first modern superspeedway to host night auto racing.
· Ever cognizant of the competitors as well as the spectators, the speedway added a new $1 million, 20,000-square-foot NASCAR Cup Series garage area in 1994.
· Other additions and improvements include the development of the speedway’s 2,000-plus acres. In addition to the speedway, the property, some of which is leased, includes an industrial park that serves as home to several motorsports-related businesses, a modern landfill facility operated by BFI and a natural wildlife habitat.
· In addition to the 1.5-mile quad oval, the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex includes a 2.25-mile road course and a six-tenths-mile karting layout in the speedway’s infield; a quarter-mile asphalt oval utilizing part of the speedway’s frontstretch and pit road; and a one-fifth-mile oval located outside Turn 3 of the superspeedway.
· Two NASCAR Cup Series races, two NASCAR Xfinity Series races and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race are among the major events held at the speedway. The Richard Petty Driving Experience and the NASCAR Racing Experience also use the track extensively throughout the year.
· Other events on the various tracks include a summer short-track series for Legend Cars and Bandoleros and World Karting Association regional, national and international races.
· In May 2000, The Dirt Track at Charlotte, a state-of-the-art, four-tenths-mile clay oval was completed across U.S. 29 from the speedway. The stadium-style facility has nearly 14,000 seats and plays host to Dirt Late Models, Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Monster Trucks and the prestigious World of Outlaws World Finals.
· Corporations such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, Coca-Cola, Sprint and Nationwide have rented the speedway to film television commercials or to entertain employees and clients with food, music and race car rides.
· Motion pictures such as “Days of Thunder,” “Speedway,” “Stroker Ace” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and even music videos like Tracy Lawrence’s “If the Good Die Young” have been filmed at the speedway. In 2006, Charlotte Motor Speedway became the first motorsports facility to host the world premiere of a major motion picture. More than 30,000 fans along with stars such as Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt and Larry the Cable Guy were on hand for the debut of “CARS,” an animated hit from Disney/Pixar. Additional rental dates are reserved for race team testing and automobile manufacturer research.
· Charlotte Motor Speedway also annually presents two of the nation’s largest car shows and swap meets, the Charlotte Auto Fair in April and September. With track rentals and events, the speedway is used more than 300 days per year for all of its attractions, which includes Speedway Christmas – a holiday-themed light show spanning three miles over the speedway’s infield, grandstands and concourse which in 2017 attracted a record 120,000 cars from mid-November through Dec. 31.
· The track added a new garage area for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a state-of-the-art media center and additional restrooms and showers for use by those enjoying the action from the speedway’s infield. In 2012, the speedway opened first-of-its-kind corporate hospitality in the infield. Six elevated Pit Road Suites, located directly behind pit road, offer fans the best view in motorsports, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.
· Charlotte Motor Speedway added the Bellagio of drag strips to its complex with the completion of zMAX Dragway in 2008. The state-of-the-art facility has been praised as the finest drag racing facility in the world by both fans and competitors alike, and opened to a sellout crowd of more than 30,000 for the NHRA Carolina Nationals in September 2008.
· Building on the basic philosophy of putting fans first, Charlotte Motor Speedway continues to be the world’s leader in entertainment within its unrivaled motorsports complex.
· In 2011, the speedway revamped its Fan Zone, a paved, 10-acre area located right outside the speedway’s main entrance. During major events, the Fan Zone provides fans with hours of fun, from the Fanatics NASCAR merchandise tents to interactive games and displays and the Play Zone, a kid-friendly area with bounce houses, face painters and a petting zoo.
· That same year, Charlotte Motor Speedway revolutionized the fan experience by installing the world’s largest HDTV along the backstretch of the legendary superspeedway. At an incredible length of 200 feet wide, standing 80 feet tall and weighing 165,000 pounds, the video board covers an expansive 16,000 square feet. Fans seated throughout the frontstretch from Turn 4 to Turn 1 have clear viewing angles of the gigantic board that features 720P high-definition visuals illuminated by more than nine million light emitting diode, or LED, lamps.
· Charlotte Motor Speedway ushered in a new chapter of its illustrious history in 2018, when the 2.28-mile, 17-turn ROVAL™ road course oval debuted in the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400. The unique circuit hosted the first road course race in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Featuring twisting, left-right turns, chicanes on the frontstretch and backstretch and a 45-foot elevation change, the ROVAL™ quickly gained a reputation as one of NASCAR’s most challenging tracks. It remains the only road course in NASCAR in which race fans can see every turn from the main grandstands.
· Since its inception in 1960, Charlotte Motor Speedway has always put fans first. After more than six decades of innovative firsts in entertainment and fan engagement, the speedway known as America’s Home for Racing continues to be an iconic trailblazer in sports, entertainment and fan amenities.
NASCAR & Charlotte, Etc.
Latest News & Events at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
· U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will join military representatives from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Navy, to serve as grand marshals for the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600 when NASCAR returns to America’s Home for Racing on the eve of Memorial Day. Hegseth, who was sworn in as the nation’s top defense official in January, oversees the Department of Defense and serves as the principal defense policy maker and advisor to the President. Prior to his service in the Trump administration, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard after graduating from Princeton University in 2003. He participated in a number of active-duty deployments during his time in service, including operations in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth also served in multiple staff positions in the National Guard and has authored several books.
· Mission accomplished. Ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 each Memorial Day Weekend, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 set out to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces by pairing Coca-Cola Racing Family and other drivers alongside units from different branches of service. Defending Coca-Cola 600 winner Christopher Bell and fellow Coca-Cola Family Racing drivers Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott visited regional military bases to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve. The campaign included visits to Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, Arlington National Cemetery, Naval Station Norfolk and U.S. Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach. Mission 600 serves as a prelude to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s patriotic pre-race salute to the troops prior to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend. With representation from all six branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the salute embodies the patriotism and service of the nation’s men and women in uniform.
COURTESY NASCAR COMMUNICATIONS
