CHASTAIN LOOKING FOR ROAD SUCCESS

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. – Ross Chastain will continue his quest for a spot in the Xfinity Series playoffs in Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 at Road America.

Chastain will drive the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet in the 45-lap race over Road America’s tough and twisty 4.7-mile  course.

Chastain sits 12th on the Xfinity playoff grid with four races remaining in the regular season. He has a 42-point cushion over the cutoff line.

“We’re looking for another fine road-course day Saturday,” Chastain said. “We’ve had good cars all summer through this stretch. This week should be no exception. We’re ready to roll.”

Practice is scheduled Friday at 1:35 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. (ET). Qualifying is set for 12:35 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

SMITHLEY ROLLS INTO ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. – Garrett Smithley will make another run at road-course success in Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 Xfinity Series race at Road America.

Smithley will drive the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 00 Chevrolet (which the team has nicknamed the “Number Nuthin’ ”) in the series’ third road-course race in four weeks.

“Road-course racing always is a challenge for me,” Smithley said. “But I like the change from week-to-week oval tracks. It requires a different mindset and different approach.”

Five drivers – Jeremy Clements, Michael McDowell, Brendan Gaughan, AJ Allmendinger and Nelson Piquet Jr. – scored their first Xfinity win at Road America.

Practice is scheduled Friday at 1:35 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. (ET). Qualifying is set for 12:35 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

MILLER VISITS ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. – The NASCAR Xfinity Series goes on the road again this weekend at Road America, and Vinnie Miller will be in the lineup in the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 01 Chevrolet.

The Johnsonville 180 will be contested over Road America’s 4.7-mile course Saturday. The race will be Miller’s first Xfinity run there.

The race over the 14-turn track is the third road-course event in the past four Xfinity races.

“Road America is the largest road course on the circuit,” Miller said. “I understand it is fast in some places and slow in others. I know it will be another challenging weekend for me since I've had trouble on the last two road courses.

“I have been working on my SIM all week and am going to do everything in my power to come home with a solid finish for JAS Expedited Trucking and JD Motorsports with Gary Keller.”

Practice is scheduled Friday at 1:35 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. (ET). Qualifying is set for 12:35 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3 p.m.

CHASTAIN SCORES SOLID 12TH AT BMS

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Ross Chastain remains on course to make the Xfinity Series playoffs after a solid 12th-place finish in Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Chastain, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, remains in 12th place in Xfinity points and is holding onto the final playoff slot with four races remaining. He is 42 points above the cutoff line.

“We did our job at Bristol,” Chastain said. “You’re always happy to get out of there with a race car in one piece and a good finish. Four races to go, and we’re in good shape.”

Kyle Larson won the race in overtime.

The series moves on to Road America for an Aug. 25 race. Remaining in the regular season are visits to Darlington Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

MILLER PARKS WITH TRANSMISSION ISSUES

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Vinnie Miller parked his JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 01 Chevrolet with transmission trouble in Friday night’s Food City 300 and finished 32nd.

“It wasn’t the weekend we hoped for at Bristol,” he said. “We had transmission problems late in the race, causing us to have to park it. But we finished 32nd, two spots better then where we started. We really need to get the monkey off our backs and start to have better results.

“I know how hard these JD Motorsports with Gary Keller guys work, and they deserve better finishes. Thanks to Flex Glue and JAS Expedited Trucking for their support.”

Miller remained in 26th position in Xfinity points.

Kyle Larson won the race in overtime.

The series moves on to Road America for an Aug. 25 race. Remaining in the regular season are visits to Darlington Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

SMITHLEY FINISHES 16th AT BRISTOL

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Garrett Smithley raced through a long overtime period and brought the No. 0 JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet home 16th in Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The race was scheduled for 300 laps, but a caution flag extended it by 10.

“It was a long night, and we worked through it,” Smithley said. “The car was good, and we were able to run with some of the faster teams. Overall, a pretty good night on a tough track.”

Smithley is 20th in Xfinity points.

Kyle Larson won the race in overtime.

The series moves on to Road America for an Aug. 25 race. Remaining in the regular season are visits to Darlington Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

CHASTAIN LOOKING FOR BRISTOL REPEAT

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The April Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a memorable one for Ross Chastain.

Chastain drove the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish in that race. The result was his second-best run of the season and his best finish in seven career Xfinity races at the fast half-mile track.

Chastain will be looking for similar results Friday when Xfinity drivers return to BMS for the Food City 300.

“Bristol has always been one of my favorite tracks, and the performance we had there in April gave us a real boost,” Chastain said. “We can build off that for this week and hopefully have another top-10 finish.”

Chastain is 12th in Xfinity points and is battling for a spot in the playoffs.

Practices are scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.

MILLER RETURNS TO BRISTOL

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Vinnie Miller is set for his second Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Miller will be driving the No. 01 JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet in Friday night’s Food City 300, the second Xfinity race of the season at the tough half-mile track.

Miller will be looking for a better run this time around. In the April race at Bristol, he was T-boned in a crash 105 laps into the 300 and finished 33rd.

After two recent races on road courses, Miller said he looks forward to Bristol.

“I’m ready to be back on my stomping grounds -- oval tracks,” he said. “The last few weeks of road-course races have been disappointing. I am ready to be just turning left this weekend at Bristol. 

“We had a solid car in the spring race but had overheating issues. The team was able to fix the problem, but, unfortunately, we were collected up in a multi-car accident. I am hoping to come out with a clean finish this weekend for the No. 01 JD Motorsports team with Gary Keller.”  

Practices at Bristol are scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.

SMITHLEY READY FOR SIXTH BRISTOL RUN

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Garrett Smithley has a lot of experience at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Friday night’s Food City 300.

Smithley has raced in five Xfinity events at the half-mile track, and that experience totals 1,249 laps around the bowl-shaped facility.

“You learn something there about every lap,” Smithley said. “Bristol is very fast, and it seems like you go into one turn as soon as you leave the previous one. You have to stay on your toes all the time.”

Smithley will drive the No. 0 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in Friday’s race. He finished 17th in the series’ April visit to Bristol.

Practice is scheduled at 10:05 a.m. and 1:35 p.m. Thursday. Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. Friday, with the race to follow at 7:30 p.m.

CHASTAIN 16th AT MID-OHIO

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Ross Chastain remained solidly in the hunt for an Xfinity Series playoff spot Saturday with a 16th-place finish in the Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Chastain, driving the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet, survived a spirited late-race battle with Joey Gase to score his second straight top-20 road-course finish.

The run kept Chastain in 12th in the Xfinity point standings and leaves him above the cutoff line for the playoffs.

“We’re still rolling,” Chastain said. “It was another good road-course day for the team. Just a few more good runs, and we hope to get that spot in the playoffs.”

Justin Allgaier won the race.

The series moves on to tough Bristol Motor Speedway for an Aug. 17 race.