NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Aric Almirola, a non-playoff driver, played spoiler for the second time in four outings, outdueling regular-season champion Connor Zilisch with a gutsy, late-race move during Saturday’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
A former Cup Series regular, Almirola made contact and passed Zilisch with 10 laps to go and held on for his second postseason win. He also captured the Round of 12 opener at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 12.
Eighty-two points above the cutoff line, Zilisch is virtually assured he will qualify for the Championship 4 race. Forty-four points to the good, Justin Allgaier also appears safe.
Conversely, No. 8-ranked Sammy Smith trails No. 4 Sam Mayer by 24 points.
So incredibly blessed! Praise God! Words can’t really describe how grateful I am for what is happening in my life right now. pic.twitter.com/roGCtR0rfU
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) October 12, 2025
NASCAR National Series Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series events this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway (All Times ET):
Friday
- 12:30 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying
- 4 p.m.: Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 225 race
Saturday
- 11:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- 1:30 a.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 4 p.m.: Xfinity Series United Rentals 250 race
Sunday
- 2 p.m.: Cup Series YellaWood 500 race
The round of 8 at the biggest and baddest. #NASCARPlayoffs 🎟️: https://t.co/OhKOTsHykj pic.twitter.com/DaO9c2aWjl
— Talladega Superspeedway (@TALLADEGA) October 1, 2025
NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 250 Entry List
NASCAR Xfinity Series officials released the entry list for Saturday’s United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Ford
- 2, Carson Kvapil, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 3, Jesse Love, No. 2 Chevrolet
- 4, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Chevrolet
- 5, Nick Leitz, No. 07 Chevrolet
- 6, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 7, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 8, Daniel Dye, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 9, Brenden Queen, No. 11 Chevrolet
- 10, Garrett Smithley, No. 14 Chevrolet
- 11, Christian Eckes, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 12, William Sawalich, No. 18 Toyota
- 13, Justin Bonsignore, No. 19 Toyota
- 14, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Toyota
- 15, Austin Hill, No. 21 Chevrolet
- 16, Harrison Burton, No. 25 Ford
- 17, Dean Thompson, No. 26 Toyota
- 18, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Chevrolet
- 19, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Ford
- 20, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Chevrolet
- 21, Jordan Anderson, No. 32 Chevrolet
- 22, David Starr, No. 35 Toyota
- 23, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Ford
- 24, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Ford
- 25, Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 26, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 27, Josh Williams, No. 45 Chevrolet
- 28, Nicholas Sanchez, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 29, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Chevrolet
- 30, Mason Maggio, No. 53 Ford
- 31, Taylor Gray, No. 54 Toyota
- 32, Leland Honeyman, No. 70 Chevrolet
- 33, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 34, TBA, No. 74 Chevrolet
- 35, Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 36, Mason Maggio, No. 91 Chevrolet
- 37, Connor Mosack, No. 99 Chevrolet
- 38, Caesar Bacarella, No. 105 Chevrolet
New look. Same excitement.
This is the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule! pic.twitter.com/WfKDAjb9jr
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 20, 2025
