SMITHLEY 26th AT ISM RACEWAY

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Garrett Smithley finished 26th Saturday in the Whelen 200 Xfinity Series race at ISM Raceway. 

Running for the sixth time at the suburban Phoenix track, Smithley worked his way around six cautions and brought the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet home in mid-pack. 

“Phoenix is a tough track,” Smithley said. “We had a good car and got a decent finish. We’ll shoot to close it out strong next week at Homestead.” 

The Xfinity season will end with a Nov. 17 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. Smithley is 19th in Xfinity driver points. 

Christopher Bell won the race and will join Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick in the hunt for the series championship at Homestead.

HOUFF FINISHES 29th IN WHELEN 200

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Quin Houff finished 29th in Saturday’s Whelen 200 Xfinity Series race at ISM Raceway as the NASCAR season approaches its end. 

Driving the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 15 Chevrolet, Houff, still very much a newcomer to the series, started 29th and finished in the same spot. 

“Another solid weekend in the books with the JD Motorsports team,” he said. “I learned lots at Phoenix and felt I maximized the opportunity. I wish the strategy could have worked our way some more so we could have come away with a better finish, but finishing where you started without any damage is never a bad day.  

“I am excited to go to Homestead and end the season with another solid finish.” 

The Xfinity schedule will conclude Nov. 17 with a race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. 

Christopher Bell won Saturday’s race and will be among four drivers seeking the Xfinity championship at Homestead. He’ll compete with Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick.

CHASTAIN 11th IN WILD TEXAS RACE

FORT WORTH, Texas – Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Xfinity Series race became an obstacle course. 

The race saw a record number of cautions – 13, making the Texas Motor Speedway course treacherous. 

Ross Chastain threaded his way through the trouble and finished 11th, one of his best runs in what has been his best season. 

“A great day for the team,” Chastain said. “It got crazy out there at times, but we held steady and kept pushing, stayed with the lead group and got a great finish. On to Phoenix.” 

The run kept Chastain in ninth in the Xfinity standings. 

Cole Custer won the 300 as the series playoffs continue. 

The series will race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix Nov. 10.

SMITHLEY FINISHES 20th AT TMS

FORT WORTH, Texas – Garrett Smithley scored a 20th-place finish in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Smithley was involved in a seven-car accident in the final laps of the race but continued to roll home 20th. 

“A tough, tough track, and today was even tougher with all the cautions,” Smithley said. “We could have had a better finish, but it was a decent day, all things considered.” 

The race was slowed by a record 13 cautions. 

Cole Custer won the 300 as the series playoffs continue. 

The series will race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix Nov. 10.

HOUFF 26th AT TEXAS

FORT WORTH, Texas – Quin Houff continued his late-season run through the Xfinity Series schedule Saturday, finishing 26th in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Houff signed on with JD Motorsports with Gary Keller and is making gains in the closing weeks of the season. 

“I would say we had another successful weekend at the track,” Houff said. “The team did a great job all weekend working with me to get me up to speed at another new track for me. I wish we had a little better luck on the way the cautions fell so that we had a chance to race up in the top 20 where I felt we should have been speed-wise. 

“However, there wasn’t a scratch on the car, I learned a lot, and I improved in categories I set out to improve on. We will build on it and continue to strive for better. I can’t wait to go to Phoenix and learn yet another new track. I can’t thank JD Motorsports and everyone involved for making this happen.”  

Houff is scheduled to drive the JD Motorsports No. 15 Chevrolet in the final races of the season at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla. 

Cole Custer won the race. 

The series will race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix Nov. 10.

CHASTAIN ROLLING INTO TEXAS

FORT WORTH, Texas – Approaching the end of his most successful season in NASCAR, Ross Chastain is ready for Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Chastain will drive the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 4 Chevrolet in Saturday’s 200-lap race. After Texas, races at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla., remain on the schedule. 

Chastain is out of the playoff picture but sits in ninth place in points and is shooting for a top-10 seasonal finish. 

“Texas is a big, fast, tough track, but we’ll be ready this week,” Chastain said. “We’ve got a lot of incentive to try to hold onto our spot in the standings, so we hope to be competitive with the fast group this week. Not a lot of time left in the season, and we want to make the most of it.” 

Chastain has raced in seven Xfinity races at TMS with a top finish of 16, in 2015. 

Practice is scheduled at TMS at 3:05 p.m. (ET) and 5:35 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 1:40 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 4:30.

HOUFF SET FOR SEASON’S FINAL WEEKS

FORT WORTH, Texas – Quin Houff is more than ready to start the three-week run to the end of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season. 

Houff will drive again this week at Texas Motor Speedway for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller, beginning a three-week stretch of races to close out the year. 

Houff is optimistic after finishing a strong 14th recently at Kansas Speedway. 

“After the result we got in Kansas, I could not be more eager to start the three straight weeks of racing beginning at Texas,” he said. “I think our number 15 crew and all of JD Motorsports caught some attention at Kansas. Not only do I have confidence coming off a solid finish, but I know we have things we can work on to be better as a team to improve even more. 

“I look forward to continuing to build my relationship with the team and run all the laps I can each and every weekend in order to maximize what I learn with this opportunity.” 

Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 will be the eighth race of Houff’s Xfinity career and his third in JD Motorsports cars this year. 

Practice is scheduled at TMS at 3:05 p.m. (ET) and 5:35 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 1:40 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 4:30. 

SMITHLEY LOOKS FORWARD TO TMS

FORT WORTH, Texas – Garrett Smithley hopes to improve on his best Texas Motor Speedway finish in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Xfinity Series race at the 1.5-mile track. 

Smithley, driving the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller No. 0 Chevrolet Saturday, has raced at TMS five times and has a best finish of 23rd, in 2016. 

“Texas has been a rough track for us, but I’m anxious to get back there and put some of the things we’ve learned there to use,” Smithley said. “We’re getting close to winding up another year. It’s been fun and I’ve learned a lot, and I want to finish strong for all the guys.” 

After Texas, the season will close with races at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla. 

Practice is scheduled at TMS at 3:05 p.m. (ET) and 5:35 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 1:40 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 4:30.

SMITHLEY POSTS 13th AT KANSAS

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Garrett Smithley turned in one of his best finishes of the Xfinity Series season Saturday, scoring a 13th in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. 

The finish was Smithley’s best at the fast 1.5-mile track. 

“We always want more, but that was a decent finish for us,” Smithley said. “We had a good car and were able to race around the top group. It’s going to help us next time we come here.” 

Smithley was involved in a three-car accident on lap 91, a crash that caused the race’s sixth caution. 

John Hunter Nemechek won the race, and Daniel Hemric has the series point lead by nine. 

The series moves on to Texas Motor Speedway for a Nov. 3 race.

HOUFF IMPRESSES WITH 14th AT KANSAS

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Quin Houff turned in an impressive performance in only his second Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway Saturday. 

Houff, a 21-year-old driver from Weyers Cave, Va., rolled home 14th in the Kansas Lottery 300, his seventh appearance in an Xfinity race. Last year in his first run at Kansas, Houff finished 22nd. 

Saturday’s race was Houff’s second in a JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolet. The finish was his best in an Xfinity superspeedway race and his second best finish ever in the series. 

Houff is scheduled to complete the Xfinity season with JDM. 

John Hunter Nemechek won the race, and Daniel Hemric has the series point lead by nine. 

The series moves on to Texas Motor Speedway for a Nov. 3 race.