After a week off, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to the high-speed action at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 27 for the Alsco Uniforms 300 on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
This weekend will be a special one, as NASCAR and Xfinity Series teams will honor the military and their families as they compete in the 12th race of the 2023 season.
Over the years, there have been 77 NASCAR Xfinity Series races held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, dating back to the inaugural event on May 29, 1982, which was won by one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, Harry Grant.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile asphalt paved oval that has produced 38 different race winners and 50 different pole winners in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Twelve Xfinity Series races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Brad Keselowski in 2018.
As with many tracks, Kyle Busch is etched in the Charlotte Motor Speedway Xfinity Series record books with the most wins (nine), top fives (19), top 10s (22), lead lap finishes (22) and laps led (1,475). Plus, he is the only driver to win in each of the three NASCAR national series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Three previous winners are entered in this weekend’s Alsco Uniforms 300 – Kyle Busch (nine wins: 2004, 2005, 2008 sweep, 2009, 2010, 2013 sweep, 2020), Ty Gibbs (2021) and Josh Berry (2022). Defending Charlotte winner and JR Motorsports driver, Josh Berry, has put multiple wins the past two seasons, but is looking for his first victory of this year.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ on-track action at Charlotte Motor Speedway will kick off with practice at 3:35 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday, May 26 – both events will be televised on FS1.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Alsco Uniforms 300
The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, May 27
The Time: 1 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,317,391
TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
10 different winners in last 10 Xfinity races at Charlotte
A hot streak of 10 different winners has swept over Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, dating back to 2015.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon was the last repeat winner in the Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sweeping both series events in 2015. Since then, nine other drivers have added their names to the list bringing the different winners streak to 10 – Dillon (2015), Denny Hamlin (2016), Joey Logano (2016), Ryan Blaney (2017), Alex Bowman (2017), Brad Keselowski (2018), Tyler Reddick (2019), Kyle Busch (2020), Ty Gibbs (2012) and Josh Berry (2022).
JR Motorsports readies for Charlotte Motor Speedway
This weekend, JR Motorsport’s Josh Berry will be looking to post a back-to-back wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and get his first victory of the 2023 season, but he will be sure to have some tough competition.
Berry’s JR Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier, is no rookie when it comes to the 1.5-mile Charlotte, N.C. track. In 20 starts, he’s posted five top fives, 11 top 10s and has led 77 laps. Like Berry, Allgaier is still looking to land himself in Victory Lane this season and if his performances at Dover (third place) and Darlington (second place) are any indication of how he’ll run this weekend at Charlotte, he has a good chance of taking the checkered flag.
Another member of the JRM team that could put on a show this weekend is Sam Mayer. The 19-year-old posted his first start at Charlotte Motor Speedway last year, snagging the pole and walking away with a third-place finish. Although he’s still a newbie when it comes to running on the Charlotte oval, he’s proved he can handle himself on 1.5-mile tracks. Earlier this season on Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile track, he posted a seventh-place finish and in his three starts at Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile track, he’s posted one top five and two top 10s.
Brandon Jones, who is in his first season with JR Motorsports, has nine Charlotte Motor Speedway starts in the books. In those nine starts, he’s posted three top 10 finishes. He has also put up some good finishes at other 1.5-mile tracks in his career – Las Vegas (13 starts, two top fives and nine top 10s) and Texas (14 starts, two top fives and six top 10s).
If Josh Berry pulls out the win and goes back-to-back at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, he will become the seventh different driver to accomplish feat; joining Harry Gant (1987 sweep), Rob Moroso (1988-1989 sweep), Jeff Gordon (1992 sweep), Mark Martin (1995-1996 sweep), Kyle Busch (2008 sweep, 2009-2010, 2013 sweep), Austin Dillon (2015 sweep). Berry has made two career starts at Charlotte posting one win and an average finish of 16.5.
Double duty drivers getting extra seat time in their backyard
With Charlotte Motor Speedway serving as a “home game” for many drivers, several are in the spirit to get some extra time behind the wheel. Drivers from both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will be joining in on some NASCAR Xfinity Series fun in the Alsco Uniforms 300 on Saturday, May 27 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Kyle Busch, the winningest driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for his third Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season. In his previous two starts (Las Vegas and Phoenix), he posted a fourth-place and ninth-place finish, respectively. Busch has made 26 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series, posting nine wins, 19 top fives, 22 top 10s and has led 1,475 laps.
Last season’s NASCAR Xfinity Series champ, Ty Gibbs, will be making his second start of the 2023 season in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He made his first start of the season at COTA where he managed a third-place finish. Gibbs has only made two starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series, taking the checkered flag in his track debut in 2021 and posting a runner-up finish in 2022.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regular Rajah Caruth will be piloting the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet this weekend for his series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will be his fourth Xfinity Series start of the season.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Carson Hocevar will also be joining in on the Xfinity Series action on Saturday behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. This will be Hocevar’s third Xfinity Series start and his first on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile track.
Standings Shakeup: Nemechek takes the lead
After several weeks of Austin Hill sitting atop the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, there is a new leader – John Hunter Nemechek. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver snags the top spot with 424 points, just one point ahead of Hill who sits with 423.
JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier (-53) and Josh Berry (-57) take up the third and fourth place spots, respectively, with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer sitting close behind in fifth with 365 points (-59).
Kaulig Racing rookie Chandler Smith sits in sixth with 340 points and Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed slides in next with 330 points, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Sammy Smith with 323.
SHR’s Riley Herbst takes the ninth spot with 313 points, followed by Sam Mayer (-115), Daniel Hemric (-150) and Parker Kligerman (-151).
Jeb Burton, who took the checkered flag at Talladega to secure his spot in the Playoffs comes in next with Brandon Jones (-160) still fighting for his spot in the 2023 Playoffs.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Natalie Decker returns to Xfinity Series, first female to compete in series this season – SS-Green Light Racing has tapped Natalie Decker to pilot their No. 08 Chevrolet this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the Alsco Uniforms 300. Decker will become the first female to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, and it will be her first start in the series since competing at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season (July 9, 2022).
The 25-year-old from Wisconsin, Decker, has made eight career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts posting a best finish of 24th at Talladega Superspeedway. This will also be her series track debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
