By David Morgan, Associate Editor
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The crafty veteran has still got some tricks up his sleeve.
Aric Almirola, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, turned the tables on the competition in the closing laps of the Food City 300 when juked out of line to pit road with 36 laps to go, taking over the lead and never looking back en route to his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season.
The win was Almirola’s ninth overall in the series in a season in which he is driving on a part-time basis for JGR as they chase the Xfinity Series owner’s championship. As a result of Almirola’s win, the No. 19 team advances to the next round of the Playoffs.
“Just tired of getting beat by those guys. I figured I would try my chances with the lead,” Almirola said of the move that landed him in the lead and eventually the win.
“They’ve been so fast, and the fire off so fast on new tires. I just didn’t think I could beat them straight up on new tires. It took me about 20 laps to get going. I thought my best chance was to stay out on old tires.
“Seth (Chavka, crew chief) and I watched the last two or three races here and we saw where the 9 car, with Noah Gragson, won with like 100 laps on his tires, so I decided to stay out when they said pit.”
Woooop!
Leader @ConnorZilisch pits during the caution while @Aric_Almirola and @sam_mayer_ stay out 👀 pic.twitter.com/ka8IwmpClo
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) September 13, 2025
Sheldon Creed finished the race in second-place for the 15th time in his career, having charged from the inside of Row 5 on the final restart, putting his fresh Goodyear Eagles to good use and giving Almirola a challenge in the closing laps.
Creed climbed up to the runner-up position and made one final lunge at Almirola on the final lap, but once again would have to settle for being a bridesmaid, finishing 0.381 seconds in arears of the veteran at the finish.
“I had to make it exciting at least,” said Creed. “I kind of knew I wasn’t gonna get there. You’re not gonna spook Aric, but maybe if I could have got him to see me and lift, I don’t know. It was more for the show I guess, but I’m happy with a second and to come out plus on points.”
Creed added that he did let the thought of this finally being his breakthrough night enter his mind as he was charging forward in the closing laps.
“I did. I really did,” said Creed. “And yeah, I thought I chose the right lane on the restart and then it just didn’t go. Kind of like the bottom rolled all night. So yeah, just need to be better and I don’t know, maybe should have looked at the track more and it was darker and we didn’t pull up as much rubber. So yeah, if I were to do it over again, maybe I would’ve chose the top and saved a few laps.”
Creed was pressing … but @Aric_Almirola holds him off! pic.twitter.com/Ng47nLcrKR
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 13, 2025
Sam Mayer gave Haas Factory Team two out of the three cars on the podium with a third-place run, while Carson Kvapil finished the night in fourth place.
Connor Zilisch, undoubtedly the dominant car of the night, rounded out the top-five finishers after being one of the handful of cars to stop on that final pit stop in which Almirola inherited the lead.
The fifth-place for Zilisch halted what had been a four-race win streak entering the night as he looked to be headed for a fifth. Nonetheless, he will head to the next race in the Playoffs with a substantial 85-point lead in the postseason standings still as the driver everyone else is chasing.
“We’re sitting in a pretty good spot,” Zilisch said. “It’s tough at the end of those races to make the right decision. You know, whatever you do, they’re going to do the opposite of you. I just wish that caution hadn’t come out in the first place.
“Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was as fast as Xfinity Mobile all night. We put ourselves in a good position and had a chance at it, but not tonight.”
After starting on pole and winning Stage 1, Justin Allgaier finished the night in sixth-place, having rebounded from a pit strategy call that found him mired back in traffic for much of the final stage.
The remainder of the top-10 went to Harrison Burton, Christian Eckes, Jeremy Clements, and Brennan Poole.
Just outside the top-10 would be Playoff drivers Brandon Jones (11th), Nick Sanchez (13th), Taylor Gray (14th), and Austin Hill (19th).
Jesse Love finished the race in 25th, a lap down after trouble late in the race, with Sammy Smith retiring from the race after just 56 laps with engine issues to walk away with a 37th place result.
The Xfinity Series heads next to Kansas Speedway for the second race in the Playoffs, with Sanchez (-3), Love (-3), Hill (-16), and Smith (-24) as the four drivers currently on the outside looking in.
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