Sammy Smith credited with Rockingham victory with Jesse Love disqualification: Long after the checkered flag waved in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ long-awaited return to Rockingham Speedway, Sammy Smith’s fortunes improved dramatically.(Read more)(NASCAR)

#2-Jesse Love was disqualified following the North Carolina Education Lottery 250, handing the win over to #8-Sammy Smith, his first of the 2025 season. Love was disqualified for issues pertaining to the rear suspension. Love will get one point for the race.
#4-Parker Retzlaff moved up to second in the finishing order — the best finish of his career. In third, #25-Harrison Burton recorded AM Racing’s best finish in team history. #44-Brennan Poole finished fourth, giving Alpha Prime Racing its first race with multiple drivers finishing inside the top five. #54-Taylor Gray rounded out the top five.
#21-Austin Hill, #11-Josh Williams, #27-Jeb Burton, #10-Daniel Dye and #51-Jeremy Clements complete the top 10.
#39-Ryan Sieg led a race-high and career-high 77 laps, but was involved in a late wreck and placed 19th.
Playing the points game, #48-Nick Sanchez (Stage 1) and #26-Dean Thompson (Stage 2) scored their first career stage victories.
There were 17 lead changes among eight drivers and 14 cautions for 83 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 80.377 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Rockingham Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – Rockingham:
Sammy Smith won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire, his third victory in 85 Xfinity Series races.
This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Rockingham Speedway.
Parker Retzlaff (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at Rockingham Speedway. It is his first top-10 finish in 2025.
Harrison Burton (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Rockingham Speedway.
Taylor Gray (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 87 points over Sam Mayer.

Xfinity Series Playoff Standings after Rockingham (Race 10 of 33):
1)#21-Austin Hill 2 wins (14 playoff points)
2)#7-Justin Allgaier 2 wins (13 playoff points, regular season championship leader)
3)#88-Connor Zilisch 1 win (7 playoff points)
4)#8-Sammy Smith 1 win (6 playoff points)
5)#2-Jesse Love 1 win (5 playoff points)
6)#20-Brandon Jones 1 win (5 playoff points)
7)#41-Sam Mayer 324, +84
8)#1-Carson Kvapil 286, +46
9)#39-Ryan Sieg 277, +37
10)#00-Sheldon Creed 254, +14
11)#27-Jeb Burton 251, +11
12)#25-Harrison Burton 243, +3
Currently below elimination line
13)#10-Daniel Dye 240, -3
14)#54-Taylor Gray 223, -20
15)#26-Dean Thompson 220, -23
16)#16-Chrstian Eckes 218, -25
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 256: #2-Love scores the win, his second of the season. #8-Smith, #4-Retzlaff, #25-Burton, #44-Poole round out the top five. #54-Gray, #21-Hill, #11-Williams, #27-Burton, #10-Dye complete the top 10.
Lap 254: #2-Love moves up #8-Smith up the track to take the lead on the restart.
Lap 253: #8-Smith chooses the inside line for the restart with #54-Gray on the outside. #2-Love and #4-Retzlaff make up the second row.
Lap 250: Cars are stopped on the backstretch for a second red flag for cleanup.
Lap 247: #88-Zilisch spins, going three-wide entering Turn 1 underneath #27-Burton and #44-Poole. #41-Mayer was shaking his car back and forth down the backstretch and was clipped by a spinning Zilisch. Pileup on the backstretch involving Mayer, #1-Kvapil, #91-Bilicki, #99-DiBenedetto.
Lap 246: #8-Smith takes the line away from #2-Love, taking the lead with four laps remaining.
Lap 242: The red flag has been displayed for track cleanup.
Lap 240: #16-Eckes couldn’t go on the restart, leading to a chain reaction crash. #48-Sanchez turned #20-Jones into #39-Sieg, collecting #7-Allgaier,
Lap 238: #39-Sieg stumbled on fuel under caution as the leader coming to the green flag and lost pace.
Lap 235: #10-Dye spins to bring out the caution. #39-Sieg is scored as the leader after #2-Love got next next to him.
Lap 232: #39-Sieg powers to the lead on the restart, with #2-Love filing in second. #8-Smith, #16-Eckes and #20-Jones are the top five.
Lap 228: #4-Retzlaff leads some of the field down pit road. #88-Zilisch, #1-Kvapil, #48-Sanchez, #25-Burton, #11-Williams, #33-Kahne, #44-Poole are among them to have insurance on fuel of making it to the end of the race.
Lap 226: #31-Perkins cut a right-front tire and pancaked the wall to bring out the caution.
Lap 220: #39-Sieg holds off #2-Love for the lead after the two battled side-by-side for multiple laps.
Lap 210: #2-Love has closed the lead to a half-second with 40 laps remaining.
Lap 205: #7-Allgaier is making a late rally to seventh. #41-Mayer, running sixth, was told he is five laps short of making it to the end of the race on fuel.
Lap 188: #39-Sieg keeps the lead. #2-Love passes #4-Retzlaff and #16-Eckes, who bounced off the wall, to get to second position.
Lap 181: #28-Sieg spins down the backstretch, causing a chain reaction crash. #71-Ellis slid into the back of #51-Clements and spun into the inside wall.
Lap 180: #39-Sieg has checked out to a 1.8-second lead over #16-Eckes, who is battling #4-Retzlaff. #2-Love runs fifth, 3.5 seconds back.
Lap 171: #1-Kvapil gets held up in traffic and tagged by #25-Burton, dropping to 10th. #88-Zilisch is up to seventh after being two laps down not long ago.
Lap 164: #39-Sieg scoots out to the lead on the restart, ahead of #16-Ecked and #4-Retzlaff.
Lap 160: The majority of the field pits. #1-Kvapil leads the race off pit road, followed by #54-Gray. #2-Love dropped two spots, getting held up exiting his stall. #39-Sieg, #87-Green, #16-Eckes, #4-Retzlaff and #10-Dye stayed out. #21-Hill was caught for speeding on pit road.
Lap 157: #19-Bonsignore spins down the backstretch and clipped the inside wall.
Lap 153: #2-Lover fends off #1-Kvapil for the lead on the restart after putting up a valiant effort.
Lap 150: #16-Eckes leads some of the field down pit road to pit for a full tank of gas. With 100 laps remaining, it’s on the outside of the fuel window, but a few cautions would help.
Lap 147: #4-Retzlaff reported a vibration and has a flat right-front tire. #07-Emerling got turned by #26-Thompson into the inside wall as the field checked up for Retzlaff slowing on the track. #88-Zilisch is the free pass and back on the lead lap.
Lap 143: #2-Love launched off to the lead on the restart, with #1-Kvapil following in second after restarting second on the outside lane.
Lap 137: #35 Van Alst loops around from 34th position. #88-Zilisch will get the free pass and be just one lap down.
Lap 134: #2-Love rockets off the restart to maintain the lead. #20-Jones, #1-Kvapil, #54-Gray and #8-Smith are the top five.
Lap 128: #2-Love take the lead from the outside on the restart. #18-Sawalich spins in Turn 3 with contact from #70-Annunziata and #44-Poole. Sawalich clipped #11-Williams coming back down the track, damaging the front of his car. #33-Kahne is the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 120: #26-Thompson wins Stage 2, his first career stage victory. #27-Burton, #51-Clements, #99-DiBenedetto, #42-Alfredo, #20-Jones, #2-Love, #1-Kvapil, #28-Sieg and #54-Gray all earn stage points.
Lap 117: #26-Thompson keeps the lead on the restart, scooting out to a half-second lead on #27-Burton.
Lap 111: The bulk of the leaders pit, with #20-Jones winning the race off pit road. Seven cars stayed out, led by #26-Thompson. #27-Burton, #51-Clements, #42-Alfredo, #99-DiBenedetto, #28-Sieg and #87-Green all remained on track.
Lap 108: #19-Bonsignore gets loose entering Turn 3 and sideswipes #00-Creed who clobbered the wall.
Lap 105: #88-Zilisch is slow on the track with a flat tire. The battle for the lead is now three cars, with #20-Jones inching closer to #1-Kvapil and #2-Love.
Lap 101: #7-Allgaier has gained 14 spots since the restart and cracked the top 15.
Lap 97: #2-Love and #1-Kvapil trade the lead back and forth after racing each other for close to 10 laps.
Lap 78: #39-sieg makes an unscheduled pit stop from 16th position.
Lap 71: #1-Kvapil clears for the lead on the restart, with #54-Gray filing in second.
Lap 65: The leaders that hadn’t pitted yet come to pit road, handing the lead over to #1-Kvapil. #20-Jones, #54-Gray, #16-Eckes and #2-Love are the new top five. #7-Allgaier pitted to take left-side tires. #48-Sanchez needed to make a second trip to pit lane to tighten the left-rear lug nuts.
Lap 60: #48-Sanchez wins the opening stage, his first stage victory of the season. #4-Retzlaff, #39-Sieg, #42-Alfredo, #27-Burton, #28-Sieg, #1-Kvapil, #99-DiBenedetto, #51-Clements and #20-Jones earn stage points.
Lap 58: #48-Sanchez keeps the lead on the restart. #7-Allgaier gets shuffled out of line, dropping outside the top 15.
Lap 56: The field splits its strategies with #2-Love leading the way down the field. #48-Sanchez stays out to take the lead, followed by #4-Retzlaff, #39-Sieg, #27-Burton, #99-DiBenedetto, #42-Alfredo, #51-Clements, #28-Sieg and #10-Dye. #7-Allgaier will restart 10th, taking two tires.
Lap 54: #33-Kahne pits for repairs to the right-front fender and four fresh tires.
Lap 52: #18-Sawalich drives hard into Turn 1 and gets into the rear of #53-Legge, who spun unto #33-Kahne. Legge bounced off Kahne and clobbered the wall.
Lap 48: #7-Allgaier is moving up late in the stage, passing #18-Sawalich and #48-Sanchez to ride second behind #2-Love.
Lap 44: #2-Love gets #48-Sanchez loose off Turn 2 to take the lead from #48-Sanchez.
Lap 41: #33-Kahne is charging forward, up to fifth after passing #4-Retzlaff and #16-Eckes in recent laps.
Lap 35: #2-Love is closing in on race leader #48-Sanchez after getting by #18-Sawalich for the runner-up position.
Lap 24: #20-Jones gets sideways off Turn 2 battling #16-Eckes for sixth positions and dropped four spots to 10th.
Lap 22: #33-Kahne continues sliding backward while trying to make the outside lane work. Kahne has dropped to eighth position.
Lap 18: #48-Sanchez gets a stout restart and jumps away with the lead. #18-Sawalich files in second, with #2-Love, #4-Retzlaff and #7-Allgaier fifth.
Lap 12: Making his series debut, #45-Salas spins on the backstretch while battling #14-Smithley and is pinned against the inside wall. In the opening stint of the race, #88-Zilisch drove to 25th.
Lap 4: #33-Kahne gets loose underneath #2-Love battling for fourth and loses two spots to seventh.
Lap 1: With #88-Zilisch dropping to the rear of the field, #48-Sanchez controls the initial restart, clearing #4-Retzlaff. 

Cars to the rear: #35-Greg Van Alst (engine change), #42-Anthony Alfredo, #88-Connor Zilisch (unapproved adjustments), #53-Katherine Legge (driver change).

Pit-Stall Selections

With a right-rear tire going flat, #88-Connor Zilisch still won the pole for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway (149.536 mph). Zilisch will have to drop to the rear of the field for replacing the right-rear tire before the race.
#4-Parker Retzlaff turned the second best lap (149.529 mph), earning Alpha Prime Racing its best qualifying effort in team history. He missed out on the pole by .001 seconds. #48-Nick Sanchez was third in qualifying (149.187 mph), with #33-Kasey Kahne making his NASCAR reutrn in fourth (148.944 mph) and #18-William Sawalich rounding out the top five (148.858 mph).
#20-Brandon Jones, #2-Jesse Love, #7-Justin Allgaier, #16-Christian Eckes and #21-Austin Hill fill the top 10.
Did Not Qualify: #32-Katherine Legge, #74-Dawson Cram.
See the complete Rockingham Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Fast Facts — Rockingham Speedway:
Connor Zilisch # won the Pole Award for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 presented by Black’s Tire with a lap of 22.63 seconds, 149.536 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his third pole and eighth top-10 start in 2025.
This is his first pole in one races at Rockingham Speedway.
Parker Retzlaff (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Rockingham Speedway.
Nick Sanchez # (third) posted his first top-10 start at Rockingham Speedway. It is his fifth in ten races this season.
Connor Zilisch (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway is over after 50 minutes. The results:
#1-Carson Kvapil 147.779 mph
#88-Connor Zilisch 146.797 mph
#00-Sheldon Creed 146.741 mph
#27-Jeb Burton 146.715 mph
#2-Jesse Love 146.550 mph
Slowest: #35-Greg Van Alst 134.734 mph
Most laps run: #8-Sammy Smith, 72
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 27 drivers): #33-Kasey Kahne 143.064 mph
Notes: Midway through the session, #2-Love had a cut right-rear tire. #33-Kahne was 18th in single-car speed despite being quickest on the 10-lap average.
See full Rockingham Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

NASCAR National Series News & Notes — Rockingham Speedway

• This weekend will be the 43rd running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway, and the first since 2004.
• Rockingham Speedway is one of nine active tracks that were on the NASCAR Xfinity Series inaugural season’s schedule in 1982.
• Rockingham is the fourth of four Dash 4 Cash races in 2025: Miami, Martinsville, Bristol and Rockingham. Rockingham Dash 4 Cash drivers: #1 Carson Kvapil, #7 Justin Allgaier, #8 Sammy Smith, #20 Brandon Jones.
• Rockingham is the fourth of four Dash 4 Cash races in 2025: Miami, Martinsville, Bristol and Rockingham.
• Joe Gibbs Racing is one pole win away from 200, they are the only team to reach 100 poles.
• Kasey Kahne will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start since 2017. He will be driving the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing.
• Kasey Kahne is the only driver entered in this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway that has made a start at the track in the series previously. In five starts his best finish was 16th.
• Jeb Burton (two Truck starts) and Ryan Sieg (two Truck starts) join Kasey Kahne as the only three drivers entered this weekend with NASCAR national series experience at Rockingham Speedway.
• Jamie McMurray won the last four consecutive Xfinity races held at Rockingham (2002-04).

Goodyear Tire Notes

There are 40 drivers/teams on the entry list for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway. Two cars will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Patrick Emerling, #19-Justin Bosignore, #32-Katherine Legge, #33-Kasey Kahne, #35-Greg Van Alst, #45-Vicente Salas, #53-JJ Yeley, #70-Thomas Annunziata, #74-Dawson Cram, #87-Austin Green, #91-Josh Bilicki.
See the full Rockingham entry list

2025 practice and qualifying procedures

Rockingham At-Track Schedule

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Race rules and information:

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures