Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports has been nothing short of a powerhouse in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team’s dominance has been clear from start to finish. Connor Zilisch clinched the regular-season title, Justin Allgaier stacked up key playoff wins, and their teamwork made them nearly untouchable.

From road courses to ovals, JR Motorsports seemed to have the season on lockdown with Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier already punching their tickets to Phoenix on points after Talladega Superspeedway. And Martinsville added another JR Motorsports driver in the mix for the Championship 4 race.

But while some drivers celebrated smooth paths to Phoenix, not everyone felt the same level of satisfaction. For one 22-year-old standout under the banner, the night at Martinsville brought a strange mix of emotions. There was pride in making the championship, but disappointment in the way it happened.

Carson Kvapil’s ups and downs at Martinsville

Carson Kvapil’s road to the Championship 4 wasn’t smooth, but it was pure grit. The North Carolina-native secured the final spot in the title fight at Phoenix Raceway after finishing 18th at Martinsville. Now, this was a race that tested his patience and resilience.

Despite the milestone, Kvapil didn’t hide his disappointment with the performance. “Honestly, I’m disappointed in the performance and the finish,” he admitted after the race. “Martinsville’s a track where I’ve won before in a late model and had a shot to win in the spring. It’s not really the result we wanted.”

Kvapil’s night at the Virginia short track was anything but easy. He spun out on Lap 227, dropping deep into the field, but refused to back down. Over the final laps, he clawed his way forward, gaining more than ten positions before the checkered flag. His late charge was just enough to edge out Brandon Jones by four points, punching his ticket to the championship round.

While teammates Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier have dominated headlines this season, Zilisch with his regular-season title and Allgaier with clutch wins and top-5 finishes, which made him Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pick to win the championship, Kvapil has flown under the radar. His year hasn’t been flashy, but it’s been solid. “We haven’t won five races or sat on the pole every week, but we’ve been consistent,” he said. “We’ve only DNF’d once all season, and that was because of an engine failure.”

That consistency, more than anything, has been his strength. It has kept him alive in the title hunt when others faltered. Now, as the dust settles from Martinsville, Kvapil has his sights set squarely on Phoenix. “Now that it’s over,” he said with a grin, “we just get to focus on going for the championship.”

Sammy Smith’s gut-wrenching playoff exit as Kvapil escapes

While Carson Kvapil fought through adversity to claim the final Championship 4 spot, the night for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s other star driver, Sammy Smith, ended in heartbreak, marking his elimination from the Xfinity Series title chase. Smith nearly pulled off a miracle, powering the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevy to a runner-up finish.

However, he missed the cut by just five points, outpaced by Kvapil’s late surge and Brandon Jones’s fierce third-place effort. Smith’s season-ending disappointment was all the more painful considering his impressive drive on a track where he’d shown flashes of dominance earlier in the year, when he finished 10th in the spring race.

The overtime finish saw Smith elect the outside lane, battling Taylor Gray for the win as the playoff tension boiled over. Smith cleared Jones for second in Turn 3, valiantly chasing Gray but coming up just short as Gray captured his first career victory. Smith could only watch as the final laps wound down, knowing the playoffs were slipping away despite textbook execution when it counted most.

It was a cruel reminder of the razor-thin margins that shape playoff outcomes in NASCAR. That being said, Smith’s overall 2025 campaign had its highlights. The Dale Earnhardt Jr. driver’s clutch win at Rockingham and consistent top-10s proved he belonged among the series’ elite.

But as JR Motorsports advanced three of its four drivers to Phoenix, Smith was left to ponder what might have been after falling victim to the drama at one of NASCAR’s most notorious cutoff races. Kvapil moves on, but Smith will regroup and reload for another run. For now, disappointment lingers, but the lessons of Martinsville set the stage for stronger battles to come.