A Three Piece in Kansas, Jones Earns 2nd Win of Season in Kansas Lottery 300!

Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, Kansas 2025)

KANSAS CITY, K.S. –  After a week off, the NASCAR Xfinity Series resumed playoff action Saturday, September 27, at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones started on pole for the first time in 2025. Though it didn’t come easily, Jones earned his second win of the season at the end of 200 laps.

Setting the Tone:

Heading into the race, none of the twelve drivers were locked into the Round of 8, as JGR’s Aric Almirola won at Bristol. Only two drivers entered the race in a comfortable situation. That being the JR Motorsports pair of Connor Zilisch, who entered +85 points above the cutline, and Justin Allgaier, who was +53 points above the cut.  

The only other driver in a semi-comfortable situation was Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer, as he had a +35 gap to the cutline.

Entering Kansas, the biggest surprise came from Richard Childress Racing after Bristol, as both drivers in its program found themselves entering the race below the cutline. Jesse Love entered the race with a manageable -3 point deficit, while Austin Hill was a crucial -16 points behind Gibbs’ Taylor Gray. Issues for Hill would be detrimental, as it would put him in a practical must-win.

Only one driver had a deeper deficit entering the race than Hill, that being JRM’s Sammy Smith, who was plagued with another mechanical issue at Bristol. He entered Kansas with -24 points to the cutoff, needing a good day to have a fighting chance on points at the Roval.

As for the rest of the playoff field, only 16 points separated 4th to 10th in the standings. This meant that this race served as a crucial point, as it would paint the clearest picture of the points situation for every driver heading to Charlotte. It also meant that many drivers could not afford to cause trouble, as the net loss potential was very high.

Stage One:

At the drop of the green, Jones fired off even with teammate Taylor Gray, and was unable to keep the lead after Gray cleared him down the frontstretch to complete the opening lap. Behind things were energetic early as multiple cars found themselves 3-4 wide.

At lap 10, Gray led Justin Allgaier by just over a half-second, but it seemed the JRM cars had the best long run pace early. Four laps later, Allgaier passed Gray for the lead with ease on the bottom, taking control of the race.

Along with Allgaier, his teammates, Connor Zilisch, netted +2 positions as he climbed to 5th, while Sammy Smith, who started 14th, was up +6 positions from the drop of the green. Only Carson Kvapil struggled as he ran 21st, losing two spots from the drop of the green.

Further back in the field, AM Racing’s Harrison Burton, who started the race in the rear on lap 20, continued to make progress, as he climbed to 24th. For Burton, the stage wouldn’t come with playoff points, but the gaining of spots proved his car had solid pace.

After Burton climbed into 20th on lap 30, things seemingly stayed tame for the remainder of the stage. Allgaier expanded his lead to 5.367 seconds, lapping up to 25th en route to his 12th stage win of the season. After cashing in last season, it was clear Allgaier was motivated and was the car to beat.

Stage Two:

The second stage opened up with Brandon Jones winning the race out of pit road over Justin Allgaier, but similar to the start of the race, he was unable to keep the lead for a lap as Allgaier took immediate control. This time, though, Allgaier wouldn’t have a chance to expand the gap right away, as the caution came out on lap 59, when Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton went for a spin in turn three, bringing out the caution.

On the lap 64 restart, Jones this time got the better of Allgaier as he got the better jump going to the lead and this time leading a lap under green. But again, it lasted briefly, as Allgaier took the lead right back a lap later.

For the second straight time, Allgaier gapped the field, as things tamed out for the remainder of the stage. Though his lead wasn't as big as the first, Allgaier held an over two-second lead to Brandon Jones until the final lap of the stage. Allgaier swept both stages.

The Final Stage:

Adversity hit Allgaier, as a slow stop led to Brandon Jones re-taking the lead again. As a result of the issue on the right rear, Allgaier exited the pits in 6th, the deepest he had been in the field the entire race to that point. Allgaier had started the race 5th and hadn’t run lower than 4th under green flag conditions.

Entering the stage, the playoff cutline got closer, as 6th-12th in the standings were separated by a narrow 16 total points.

On the lap 99 restart, Brandon Jones again fired off with the lead, but again lost it immediately, as this time Conor Zilisch capitalized, going to the point. For Brandon Jones, though, this time he stuck much tighter to the lead, as for multiple laps he trailed the bumper of Zilisch.

With 90 laps to go, the playoff cars found themselves 1st-9th, 11th, 13th, and 19th. In the fray, Justin Allgaier only gained one spot to 5th, seemingly struggling to show the speed he had out front in traffic.

Allgaier was not the only driver who had issues in pit road, though, as Jesse Love had dropped the clutch early, causing him to restart 16th for the start of the final stage. Love was on his high horse as he looked the best he had all day. Unlike Allgaier, Love gained eight spots, placing himself in 8th on lap 107.

Similar to the first two stages, things tamed out again once the field got strung out. Thirty laps into the green flag run, fall-off was significant as leader Connor Zilisch had seen just over a 2.5-second fall-off on his lap time from his fastest lap back on lap 100.

As for the battle for the lead, things tightened back up on lap 135, as Brandon Jones cut a near one-second gap down to a bumper-to-bumper battle.

On lap 136, Jones threw a slide job in turn three, briefly taking the lead , but Zilisch countered, taking the lead back briefly out of four. But this time, Zilisch was unable to get clear. In turns one and two, Brandon Jones had Zilisch’s preferred lane of the middle and took back control of the lead on lap 138.

On lap 141, the pit road window opened as Sam Mayer became the first driver to hit the pits, followed by his Haas teammate Sheldon Creed. Of the top five runners, Justin Allgaier became the first driver to pit on lap 143. A lap later, leader Brandon Jones followed, along with Sammy Smith. Coming to lap 145, Connor Zilisch made his stop, but he did not beat out Jones as Zilisch came out 4th of the cars that had pitted.

On lap 155, the race turned as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Justin Bonsignore made contact with Big Machine Racing’s Nick Sanchez, sending him hard into the inside wall, bringing out the caution.

The lucky winner of the caution? Kaulig Racing’s Brenden Queen, who is a start away in the ARCA Menards series from officially being the champion, opted to run a longer time than everyone else, inheriting the lead. This was Queen’s second Xfinity Series race, and his first on a mile and a half. On the pit stop, Queen did not maintain the lead as he came out 6th of the cars that pitted.

The battle out of pit road was won by Brandon Jones, but he was not the leader coming to the restart. Opting to take a risk on 12-lap older tires, both teammates, Jusin Allgaier and Sam Mayer, opted to stay out in an attempt to save a set of tires and get track position.

On lap 162, the green came out as the field immediately spread 3-4 wide. Allgaier got clear into one, but was unable to keep the lead as Brandon Jones went to the point after Allgaier made contact with the wall out of turn two.

Compared to the previous restart, this time the roles were reversed as Zilisch tightly trailed the bumper of Jones. But this time, there was no pass to be made as on lap 172, Jones opened the lead up to .682 on Zilisch.

As for the cars that stayed out, Allgaier and Mayer had faded to 13th and 15th, respectively, both in need of a caution to turn things around. Unfortunately for both drivers, caution never came.

On lap 190, Jones expanded his lead over Zilisch to 2.497 seconds. Then, ten laps later, Jones gained three more tenths on Zilisch on his way to securing his second victory of the season and being one of three drivers who are locked into the Round of 8 beginning at Las Vegas.

For Jones, this win was big as it was the first time since 2020 where he's scored multiple wins in the season. Also, this was the third career win in the Xfinity Series at Kansas for Jones, as well as his 7th career series win.

As mentioned earlier, along with Jones, both Justin Allgaier, with his 13th place finish, and Connor Zilisch, with his 2nd,  both scored enough points mathematically to clinch themselves into the Round of 8. That means there are only five spots available for teams to grab.

Currently, Jesse Love holds the final transfer spot at +5 above the cutoff.  The only driver that enters Charlotte in a somewhat comfortable position is Sam Mayer, who exits Kansas +43 above the cut.

After the race, it is now clear that anything can happen in the battle for who advances. From Taylor Gray, who is +16 on the cut, to Sammy Smith, who sits just -14, only 25 points separate 5th to 12th.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Xfinity Series closes out the Round of 12, Saturday, October 4, at 5:00 pm ET as the series takes on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. While the race is only 67 laps, with the configuration change last year, beating and banging is to be anticipated, especially with desperation on the line. Coverage can be found on the CW.

As for tomorrow, coverage continues here on Motorsports Today as the NASCAR Cup Series hosts its second race in the Round of 12  at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400. Only Ryan Blaney has clinched a spot in the Round of 8 after his win at New Hampshire the week previous. All three Penske cars had issues in practice and qualifying, meaning a long day is ahead for the team. Chase Briscoe will start on pole for the race as he earned his 7th pole of the season, the most since Kyle Busch in 2017. That race can be found on the USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET.