The NASCAR Xfinity Series races out west for the start of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as the playoff competitors will look to cement their spot in the Championship 4 early with a win this weekend. Teams will hit the track for practice on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET with qualifying to follow at 3:05 p.m. ET on The CW app.
Saturday’s qualifying session will consist of one round, split into two 20-minute groups. The qualifying order below is determined via metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).
The race will occur later Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The NASCAR Cup Series begins the Round of 8 this weekend with its annual fall trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Teams will practice beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with qualifying to follow at 5:40 p.m. ET on truTV.
Editor’s note: This is Part I of a two-part series detailing the No. 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series team and Corey Day. Part II is scheduled for publication on Oct. 15, 2025.
The No. 17 holds a special place in Rick Hendrick’s heart. It was the number that his son, Ricky, drove while competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2000 and 2001.
With limited practice over the last handful of seasons, Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup Series drivers believed additional on-track action would benefit the entire organization. With JR Motorsports — the powerhouse Xfinity Series program co-owned by Rick — consistently fielding four full-time cars with drivers vying for the title, it would be difficult to field another entry for Cup drivers. Instead, Hendrick opted to revamp its own Xfinity program in 2022 after not competing for more than 13 years.
“It’s an opportunity for me to get better,” 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott said ahead of the Pocono Raceway weekend in June. “It’s an opportunity to race, and I only had one on my schedule this year, and when they talked about adding another one, I was super open to it and wanted to get involved.
“I think the car is in a really good spot, and everybody on the Xfinity side of the shop has done a really good job of getting this thing really where it needs to be. It’s been fun to be a part of that process.”
Since the start of 2024, Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron have all visited Victory Lane in the No. 17 entry, with a Byron triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May the most recent. Up-and-coming drivers, including Corey Day and Jake Finch, in addition to Craftsman Truck Series regular Rajah Caruth, have also piloted the Chevy.
The No. 17 machine — which will compete in a total of 21 races in 2025 — is operated within the confines of Hendrick’s Concord, North Carolina, headquarters. The team is managed by 10-time Cup Series winning crew chief Greg Ives. Adam Wall, former engineer for Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet, re-joined the team in-house before the 2025 season to serve as crew chief. The program goes through a myriad of the same departments as the Cup teams. Most of its crew members, however, are separate.
“There are a lot of shared resources, and we’re hoping to bring the next 20-something-year-old engineer who is hungry and wants to move on to the Cup Series,” Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager, said. “You look at that as a ground to grow them.
“When you go to the race track and you walk into the hauler and look at the team on pit road, it is the Hendrick way of doing things and is the Hendrick standard, which is a great opportunity for young people to get into that culture.”
David Jensen | Getty Images
Ingraining the work ethic that Hendrick Motorsports demands of its employees is crucial for the No. 17 team. NASCAR’s version of the New York Yankees is always looking to improve, searching for the next breakout driver, crew chief or pit-crew member.
“We felt like having our own car and team on campus allows the ultimate training ground for guys that have been in the Hendrick system and see the things that we do on the Cup level and put that into the Xfinity program but with more responsibilities, more pressure and see how they react and evolve in that position,” Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, said. “Ultimately, that’s what is going to get them to the succession plan that we have at Cup.
“This allows us to get that experience right here within our walls and do it at the Xfinity level and then make the natural progression to the next step, which is to do those types of positions at the Cup level. That’s drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics, engineers, you name it.”
The team’s relationship with JRM (currently in a title hunt and winners of 17 of the first 29 Xfinity races), meanwhile, remains paramount. Day and Wall accompany JRM’s competition meetings weekly to go over the previous race weekend. Having the two entities united makes both organizations thrive.
“We want to complement each other; we don’t want to be competing with them on a head-to-head basis,” Andrews said. “We want the five or six programs involved to be better because of the relationship from us running a car. Certainly, we have gotten a lot of benefit from them this year running our car. Likewise, they have as well.”
The No. 17 car’s primary emphasis in 2025 was on enabling prospect Day to acclimate to NASCAR racing as he transitions from dirt cars to pavement. After finishing 22nd at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval last weekend, Day will return to the No. 17 car this Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He will also compete in the final two events of the season at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Logging such starts will not only give the young Day more experience but also continue strengthening the No. 17’s goal in building a talent pipeline.
“I think the competition level in [Xfinity] is good,” Andrews said. “From our perspective, it needs to grow. We need some more young talent in that series — young men and women who have their eye on the Cup Series. We feel like being a part of that and having the opportunity to bring some of those younger names to the Xfinity Series now and in the future only benefits that series.”
With only two races remaining on the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park welcomes back the series for the third and final time this year for Saturday’s World Series 150 (8:15 p.m. ET on FloRacing and The NASCAR Channel).
The event was originally scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 12, but was moved up a day due to Sunday’s unfavorable weather forecast.
Austin Beers enters Saturday nught’s race with a 13-point advantage on Justin Bonsignore in the Modified Tour standings. Every position matters for both drivers as Beers looks to inch closer to his first series championship and Bonsignore looks to make up ground in his quest for his fifth career crown.
Saturday’s race marks the 158th Modified Tour event at the 0.625-mile oval located in Thompson, Connecticut. Mike Stefanik leads all drivers with 15 series victories at Thompson. Bonsignore sits second with 14 career Thompson triumphs, followed by the late Ted Christopher’s 13 victories. Other notable Thompson winners include brothers Jeff and Rick Fuller, Tony Hirschman, Ron Silk, Doug Coby, Steve Park, Reggie Ruggiero, Mike McLaughlin and Richie Evans, among others.
Tickets for Saturday’s World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park will be available trackside. Below is everything you need to know about the penultimate race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
Patrick Emerling (1) leads Jake Johnson during the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in August. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)
World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
After a statement victory in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead Raceway last Saturday night, Austin Beers heads to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the World Series 150 with momentum on his side.
Beers, pilot of the No. 64 Modified for KLM Motorsports, holds a 13-point edge on Justin Bonsignore in the battle for the series championship. With only two races remaining on the schedule, every position during Saturday’s race will matter as Beers looks to rewrite the history books as potentially the youngest champion in series history.
Bonsignore, meanwhile, is hoping to rekindle the same form he enjoyed last season when he won the final three races of the season to surge to the series championship. One of those races he won was the World Series 150 at Thompson, a track where he has visited Victory Lane 14 times during his career.
This season Beers has had the edge on Bonsignore at Thompson. In the two previous events at the track this season, Beers has been the best finisher of the two on both occasions.
There is more than just the battle for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship taking place at Thompson. The inaugural champion of the FloRacing Connecticut Challenge will also be crowned.
The three-race miniseries, which is exclusive to new teams or teams who have not competed in the last three years, will award $25,000 in bonus funds to eligible teams after Saturday’s race.
Matt Swanson leads the FloRacing Connecticut Challenge standings after the first two events with 72 points. Should he hang on to the championship lead at the conclusion of Saturday’s race, he and the Roscoe Racing team would take home an additional $7,500.
Other eligible drivers entered include Max Zachem, Teddy Hodgdon, Eric Berndt, Brian Sones and Dylan Slepian.
Other notable entries for Saturday’s race include Ron Silk, Craig Lutz, Patrick Emerling, Matt Hirschman, Stephen Kopcik, Anthony Nocella, Kyle Bonsignore, Chase Dowling, Andrew Krause, Eric Goodale, Woody Pitkat, Timmy Solomito and Tommy and Trevor Catalano.
The full entry list for the World Series 150 is available here.
Trevor Catalano (56), Ron Silk (16) and Patrick Emerling (1) battle for position during the IceBreaker 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in April of this year. (Photo: Rob Branning/NASCAR)
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the World Series 150 presented by FloSports.com is limited to 30 starters including Provisional Positions.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. Maximum of nine (9) tires may be used for the race, not including Emergency Change Tires. Teams will declare to NASCAR Officials at the conclusion of practice the tires they will use during the race. The tire change rule is two (2) tires per stop.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell is back in the Round of 8, looking to make his third Championship 4 appearance in the past four years after advancing Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The four-time 2025 winner has yet to win at this weekend’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway — despite starting on the pole there three times since 2021 — but is this the year he cashes in on the speed he tends to have at the 1.5-mile track?
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs contenders after the Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval and before Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Analysis: Larson looked like his old self once again this weekend (i.e., a world-class championship heavyweight) and offered Shane van Gisbergen’s toughest competition on the day, even pacing the field for 27 laps out front. Though he’s yet to win since the Kansas spring race, Larson carries a three-race streak of top-seven finishes into the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas, where he has three wins and two runner-ups from 2021-on alone.
Analysis: Blaney enjoyed a stress-free day at the Roval after already having advanced, but still did himself a favor by capturing the Stage 2 win and a playoff point along with it, which could come into play later on, so remember that. No. 12 has led in 10 of the past 11 races as he continues to fortify his championship hopes, and this could be an interesting weekend for him ahead. After looking early in his career that Vegas would be a track Blaney would be a multi-time winner at, he’s found the inside of the top 20 there just three times in the Next Gen era.
Analysis: Hamlin seems to be involved in nearly every marquee on-track incident this year, and the Roval was no different as he and Ross Chastain came together in the final moments during a last-ditch effort by the No. 1. Something’s clearly working for him, though, as No. 11 enters the Round of 8 solely atop the points standings as he perhaps closes in on title No. 1. Vegas is a track he tends to have speed at, but it’s only resulted in one of his 59 career Cup wins. That said, he’s sort of been the man to beat there this decade, and that may be the case again for the rest of the field Sunday. And it’s quite possible nobody can.
Analysis: Bell was the only other driver capable of sharing a podium with SVG and Larson at the Roval on Sunday, deserving and finishing third in a tough battle at times with each. There’s a strong chance the Bell and Larson battles don’t stop there, either, with both appearing to be Championship 4 favorites and both eyeing the win this weekend. Bell has three Vegas poles and a ton of laps led in each (including 155 in a runner-up effort in this race last year), so he’ll no doubt be aiming to finally capitalize out in the desert. After last year’s crushing Championship 4 miss, Bell could see himself in this year’s quartet before any of his peers.
Analysis: Elliott had a pretty strong day at the Roval, collecting 40 points in an eighth-place effort, even though he didn’t need any of them after he’d clinched advancement a week prior. There was still incentive for him to run as well as possible, though, because any potential playoff points would have helped — No. 9 slots in below the bubble after the reset, 14 points off the cut. Though he finished top 10 there earlier this year, an overall 19.0 average finish and one lap led in the last seven Vegas races offer some cause for concern.
Analysis: The final results haven’t been atrocious and he’s clearly done enough to make the Round of 8 with even a bit of cushion, but there’s still something lacking from Byron and the No. 24 at the moment, having led just once in the past nine races and for only five total laps. Considering six of those were playoff races, “rising to the occasion” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind here, but that could all be washed away Sunday at Las Vegas, where Byron excels and owns five straight top 10s, including a win. On the flip side, if they don’t get it together out in Nevada, it might be a signal that Byron could have to wait for title No. 1.
Analysis: Briscoe didn’t quite have to sweat making the Round of 8 or not, thanks to his overall very strong playoffs, and it’s a good thing he didn’t — starting inside the top 10 and finishing outside of it, while leading no laps in a cutoff race, certainly isn’t doing oneself any favors. Still, one of the season’s brightest story lines will have at least three more chapters; however, the first one could be rocky. Long one of his worst tracks (22.1 average finish), Briscoe will need to find some of that old Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 car 1.5-mile magic this weekend if he wants to avoid leaning on Talladega (gulp) and Martinsville to advance to his first Championship 4.
Analysis: The whole “where there’s a will, there’s a way” ethos clearly applies to no team and driver more than the No. 22 group and its intrepid three-time champion, and here he is once again, defying the odds and putting himself within striking distance of another title. Despite being ranked eighth here primarily because of a notable points deficit to open the round, you could make just as strong an argument for Logano to be No. 1 just based on what we know he and crew chief Paul Wolfe are capable of. Not a single soul out there would be surprised in the least to see them rip off another Vegas win to punch a Championship 4 spot (like he did last year … and in 2022). If that happens, we might as well save everybody the airfare to Phoenix and start engraving the Bill France Cup next week. No guarantees, though, of course — Logano doesn’t have a top 10 at a 1.5-mile track since Kansas, in May. | MORE: Analysis: Logano is the last one other competitors wanted to see make Round of 8
After the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval concluded the Round of 12, NASCAR’s premier series heads westward to begin the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scheduled for this Sunday in the South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, HBO Max, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Denny Hamlin (plus-8), Ryan Blaney (plus-6), Kyle Larson (plus-4) and William Byron (plus-4) sit above the playoff cut. Christopher Bell (minus-4), Chase Elliott (minus-14), Chase Briscoe (minus-14) and defending Las Vegas fall winner Joey Logano (minus-24) place below the four-driver cutoff and will have three contests to flip fortunes in their favor. Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric were eliminated from title contention following the Charlotte Roval.
Katherine Legge will race behind the wheel of a Cup Series machine for the first time since August, once again piloting the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet. In six prior Cup Series starts this season, the 45-year-old driver has tallied two top-20 finishes, including a 17th-place result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Katherine Legge will return to NASCAR Cup Series action this Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), again teaming up with Live Fast Motorsports to make her seventh start behind the wheel of the No. 78 Desnuda Organic Tequila Chevrolet.
Legge made her Cup Series debut earlier this year at Phoenix Raceway, becoming the first woman to enter a Cup Series event since Danica Patrick made her final start in the 2018 Daytona 500.
The multi-disciplined driver from Guildford, England, has tallied two top-20 finishes this season in six Cup Series starts, with a 19th-place finish coming at the Chicago Street Course and a 17th-place result in the crown-jewel Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Legge additionally raced in NASCAR’s inaugural Cup Series race in Mexico City.
Legge’s most recent Cup race came at Watkins Glen International in August. She has also made six starts in the Xfinity Series this year.
“We’re honored to have Katherine back with us in the Desnuda car,” team owner BJ McLeod said in a press release. “Her talent and professionalism bring tremendous value to the team, and her leadership as a trailblazer continues to inspire both inside and outside of racing.”
Legge’s return to the Cup Series adds to an already diverse racing resume, which includes stints in IndyCar, IMSA, Formula E and NASCAR. Known for her adaptability across disciplines, the veteran driver brings valuable experience and perspective to the No. 78 team as she continues her part-time Cup campaign this season.
“I’m proud of how far we’ve come this season, gaining experience and speed at the pinnacle of stock car racing as a driver, as a team and with showcasing the Droplight brands like Desnuda,” Legge said. “This car represents more than just a livery. It’s a statement of purpose and individuality. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the perfect place to showcase what Desnuda and I both stand for—real passion, hard work and the courage to stand out.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs roll on to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the Round of 8 kickoff race on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Championship 4 hopefuls will all be chasing Connor Zilisch this weekend after his win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval granted him his 10th Xfinity victory of the 2025 season and a healthy 57-point buffer to the cutline.
2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne will return to Xfinity Series competition this weekend, driving the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing.
Somehow, someway, Joey Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe are back in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. A gutsy decision by Wolfe to pit from 13th place with just 11 laps to go and forfeit their then-two-point advantage over Ross Chastain paid off aplenty. Fresher tires allowed Logano to remain on the attack while Chastain bled spots. Entering the final chicane tied at the cutline and needing one more spot to best Logano, Chastain’s desperation led him to spin Denny Hamlin and try to claim the final spot in the Round of 8.
Too little, too late. Chastain went around with Hamlin and ultimately fell four points short of advancing, permitting the No. 22 Team Penske team to continue its NASCAR Cup Series Championship defense. That’s terrible news for the other seven drivers who advanced to the postseason semifinals.
We’ve seen this mojo before from Logano. The team was ousted after the checkered flag flew at the 2024 Roval race, but a disqualification for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team after post-race inspection suddenly propelled the No. 22 team back into the final octet. A bold fuel strategy by Wolfe at Las Vegas to open the semifinals later led Logano to victory, a Championship 4 berth and Logano’s third Cup championship.
“Proud of Paul Wolfe. Made some really hard calls today,” Logano told NBC Sports. “Three-stopping the end there, kind of an audible there at the end. Just our fall-off was a little too much, so making that call there at the end was ultimately what kept us there in the game with just a few left.”
Leaving the door open for them to do it all over again? That could spell disaster for anyone else chasing a championship in 2025. Hamlin, who is one of those other seven drivers, had passed Chastain on the final lap, placing Chastain in a must-pass-now scenario.
“Truthfully, I wish I would have just known what the last-lap scenario was,” Hamlin said of his late pass on Chastain that sent the No. 1 into desperation mode. “And then I can make the best decision I can for me.”
What that boils down to is hoping anyone but Logano makes it this far in the postseason.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
And yet this is nothing new for Logano, who at age 35 is continuing to flex his muscle as one of the Cup Series’ elite. Despite ranking seventh in Passing Rating and 10th in Speed Rating, Logano is the best defender in Cup, according to NASCAR Insights’ season-long rankings. All he needs is track position — sometimes via speed, sometimes via fantastic pit calls — and Logano can do the rest to keep competitors behind him.
That, in large part, is what makes the No. 22 team lethal in the postseason. Given an inch, they will take a mile, and they will force you to go through them. And with a chance to eliminate Logano from being a real threat for the championship — Logano has past wins at Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville and of course Phoenix — the Cup field just couldn’t get rid of him. Fans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway knew it, too, and let Logano hear their displeasure after the race. With a Round of 8 berth in hand, he didn’t mind.
“Is that me? Is that who they’re booing at?” Logano said as his TV interview played over the public address. “Oh well. We’re still alive, baby! We’re still going. I’m so excited. …
“It’s the drama of the playoffs. If you want drama, the playoffs bring it every time.”
The theatrics reached their fever pitch, and Logano was left as the last man standing, smiling his way into the Nevada desert with another chance to make NASCAR history, this time pursuing a fourth Cup title that would tie him with Jeff Gordon for fourth-most all-time behind Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson (seven). And all Logano needs is a chance.
“A championship performance from the team,” he said. “Wish I was a little faster, but overall, I couldn’t be more proud of the team. We still got a shot.”
After a statement victory in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead Raceway last Saturday night, Austin Beers heads to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the World Series 150 with momentum on his side.
