#NASCAR / #ARCA Race Recap (Bristol, All American Speedway)
Winners: Christopher Bell (Cup); Aric
Almirola (Xfinity); Layne Riggs (Trucks) plus Brent Crews (ARCA East) and Robbie Kennealy (ARCA West)
NASCAR Cup
Christopher Bell Completes JGR Round of 16 sweep, Wins Bristol Night Race
With a charge to the lead from fifth place with four laps left in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell kept Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota perfect in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Bell survived a hard, square shot to his rear bumper from Brad Keselowski in the final corner and steered straight to the finish line, 0.343 seconds ahead of the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing co-owner and driver.
Joining JGR teammates Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin as winners in the Round of 16, Bell advanced to the Round of 12, which begins Sept. 21 at one of his best tracks, New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
“Well, I’ll tell you what, I was nervous on the two (tires),” Bell said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to be on the bottom or the top, and whenever Brad picked the top (lane) didn’t really give me an option. I had to pick the bottom.
“All night long, I don’t know, old tires just really, really pushed up in the middle of the corners, so I was hoping that those guys (starting ahead of him) on old tires would push up, and they did. They did, and I was able to get by or get underneath them.
“It wasn’t pretty there at the end, but we got her done.”
Brad Keselowski finished second; Zane Smith placed third; Ryan Blaney came in fourth and Joey Logano completed the top five.
Pole: AJ Allmendinger
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Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET for the ‘Mobil 1 301’ at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Xfinity
Aric Almirola Holds Off Sheldon Creed in Thrilling Xfinity Series Finish
Benefitting from a split-second late-race strategy decision, veteran Aric Almirola held off a mightily motivated field to claim the win in Friday night’s Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs opener at Bristol Motor Speedway.
While running second to the series’ championship leader, Connor Zilisch, when a caution flag flew with 36 laps remaining, Almirola watched Zilisch pull onto pit road for fresh tires, and instead of following him into the pits as his crew expected, Almirola abruptly pulled his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota back on track at the last moment.
“Just tired of getting beat by those guys, I figured I’d try my chances with the lead,” Almirola said of his race-winning pit strategy decision. “They’ve been so fast and they fire off so fast on new tires and I just didn’t think I could beat them straight up on new tires. It took me about 20 laps to get going, so I thought my best chance was to stay out on old tires.
“We watched the last two or three races here and saw how the nine-car with [driver] Noah Gragson win with like a 100 laps on his tires,” added Almirola, whose No. 19 JGR Toyota is racing for the owner’s championship. “So, I decided to stay out when they said pit.”
Sheldon Creed finished second; Sam Mayer placed third; Carson Kvapil came in fourth and Connor Zilisch completed the top five.
Pole: Justin Allgaier
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Next Race: The Xfinity Series will return on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 4:00 pm ET for the ‘Kansas Lottery 300’ at Kansas Speedway.
NASCAR Trucks
From Spin to Win: Layne Riggs Rebounds for Truck Series Playoffs Victory
Layne Riggs recovered from a first-lap spin at Bristol Motor Speedway and rallied to win Thursday night’s UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics, the second race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs.
Grabbing the lead after a restart on Lap 142 of 250, Riggs held off a determined charge by two-time Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes to win his third race of the 2025 season, second at Bristol and fifth of his career.
“You don’t get two mulligans in the playoffs, and I got two,” said Riggs, who salvaged a 17th-place finish after slamming the outside wall in the first playoff race Aug. 30 at Darlington. “The first lap of the race to spin out, it’s a blow to your confidence, for sure, but I’ve got faith in this team, and I’ve got faith in everybody here …”
“I think this shows that we’re right there, we’re in contention, we can do it,” said Riggs, who ran the final 109 green-flag laps with scuffed qualifying tires on his No. 34 Ford, having used a set of stickers after the spin on Lap 1. “That’s three in a row at Bristol for Front Row Motorsports. It’s a big testament to all these guys. We’ve got a really good package here.
“Man, I’m excited for New Hampshire. I’ve never even been there and I already love that race track.”
Ben Rhodes finished second; Corey Heim placed third; Ty Majeski came in fourth and Daniel Hemri completed the top five.
Pole: Jake Garcia
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Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 12:00 pm ET for the ‘EJP 175’ at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
ARCA East
Brent Crews Secures Another East Series Owner’s Title for Joe Gibbs Racing With a Dominant Bristol Win
Although Joe Gibbs Racing was unable to celebrate another driver’s championship in the ARCA Menards Series East for 2025, they departed Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday victorious in multiple regards.
Brent Crews delivered a stellar, wire-to-wire performance to secure his third East Series victory on the season and fifth overall on the ARCA Menards Series platform. The dominant performance also enabled Crews to give the No. 18 Toyota its fourth consecutive East Series owner’s title.
While Crews obtained a win and an owner’s championship, Isaac Kitzmiller locked up the East Series driver’s championship by tallying an eighth-place finish.
“There’s been a lot of success with the Joe Gibbs Racing team from Cup all the way down to ARCA,” Crews said. “I was just trying to fill the shoes. Growing up watching Kyle Busch dominate with JGR, watching William [Sawalich] have strong runs and with Sammy [Smith] being able to win too, I came here with what I needed in my head.”
Tristan McKee finished second; Brenden Queen placed third; Leland Honeyman came in fourth and Thomas Annunziata completed the top five.
Pole: Brent Crews
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Next Race: The ARCA Menard Series will return on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 8:10 p.m. ET for the ‘Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200’ at Salem Speedway.
ARCA West
Robbie Kennealy Scores Emotional First West Series Victory at All American Speedway
The ARCA Menards Series West’s visit to All American Speedway was always going to be emotional for Robbie Kennealy.
Every race on the calendar inches closer to the one-year anniversary of when Kennealy’s father Gary suddenly passed away due to a heart attack. Gary’s death was a devastating loss for the entire Kennealy family, but both of his sons, Robbie and Joey, have done everything possible to continue competing in honor of their father.
On Saturday evening, Gary’s eldest son Robbie put together the best race of his young career by earning the General Tire Pole Award and fending off West Series points leader Trevor Huddleston to score his maiden West Series victory. Kennealy could not help but be tearful as he climbed out of his No. 1 Jan’s Towing Ford, knowing his dad was with him in spirit through all 150 laps.
“[It was] one year ago during this exact race [at All American] when my dad suddenly passed away,” Kennealy said. “One year later, we win one of the biggest races ever. That’s for you dad.”
Trevor Huddleston finished second; Andrew Chapman placed third; Joey Iest came in fourth and Eric Johnson Jr. completed the top five.
Pole: Robbie Kennealy
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Next Race: The ARCA Series will return on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. for the ‘Madera 150 presented by Madera Ford and the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame’ at Madera Speedway.
