XFINITY: Kris Wright finishes last after career-best qualifying run
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Kris Wright, @KrisOnNASCAR
Kris Wright picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his #5 First National Bank Corp. Chevrolet fell out with suspension issues after 27 of 147 laps.
The finish, which came in Wright’s 24th series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since October 8, 2022 at the Charlotte “Roval,” 78 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 14th for the #5, the 25th from the suspension, and the 659th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 41st for the #5, the 54th from suspension issues., and the 1,982nd for Chevrolet.
It's ironic that last week at Martinsville, the 30-year-old Wright earned his first career top-ten finish in NASCAR’s national series. His 9th-place finish was overshadowed on a night where drivers, fans, and media were outraged by the aggression shown by other drivers in the field. In his brief time in this sport since making the jump from sports cars and open-wheel competition, Wright has gained an unfortunate reputation for wrecking himself and others. Of his 11 DNFs in 47 career Truck Series starts from 2020 through 2024, ten were the result of crashes. He made few friends in ARCA last season, though he finished 3rd in points without a victory. Now, with the continued backing of First National Bank Corporation, based in Wright’s native Pennsylvania, he’s found his way back to the XFINITY Series for the first time in three years, this time driving for Our Motorsports.
Heading into Darlington, the 9th-place run at Martinsville was Wright’s only finish better than 17th in his part-time XFINITY Series career – and that finish came in 2021 at Watkins Glen. His best run of the current season was a 25th at Las Vegas, a run that was itself overshadowed by a controversial wreck in the Daytona opener. There, Wright careened onto pit road into slower traffic, where he collided with Josh Bilicki. While further analysis of the replay seemed to indicate contact with another car sent Wright onto pit road, he blamed a miscommunication with his team and a brake issue for the incident.
Wright didn’t run a “throwback” scheme for Darlington weekend, but began with surprising pace. He was initially 33rd of the 40 entrants in opening practice with a 31.122 second lap (158.010mph), then jumped to 13th on the grid with a lap of 30.266 seconds (162.479mph), nearly a full second off his practice speed. This was not only Wright’s best series start of 2025, but the best of his career, improving on a 17th in this year’s Daytona opener.
Failing to qualify were Dawson Cram, debuting new sponsorship from DriveTanks.com on Mike Harmon Racing’s #74 Chevrolet, and Austin Green, who was handed his first DNQ in Jordan Anderson Racing’s #32 Overplay Chevrolet.
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Greg Van Alst, whose #35 CB Fabricating Chevrolet was decorated to resemble Ryan Reed’s Lily Diabetes Ford of a decade ago. Van Alst incurred a redundant tail-end penalty as one of six drivers docked for unapproved adjustments: 7th-place Daniel Dye in the #10 HELM Chevrolet honoring Adam Petty, 19th-place Austin Hill in the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 20th-place William Sawalich in the #18 Starkey Toyota honoring Kyle Busch, 28th-place Garrett Smithley in the #14 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet honoring Terry Labonte, and 30th-place Dean Thompson in the #26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota honoring Jamie McMurray.
Prior to the green flag, Dye and Hill were directed to line up at the end of the inside line while the other four trailed the outside line, keeping Van Alst in last behind Thompson. Hill’s car had failed to fire on the grid, needing a push-start from a wrecker before he was last to leave pit road.
Based on intervals, it was Smithley who was last across the stripe as the green flag waved, 4.195 seconds back of the lead to 37th-place Austin Hill’s 3.882 with Van Alst now up to 31st, 3.018 behind. At the end of Lap 1, scoring briefly showed the spot fall to 37th-place qualifier David Starr (34th at the stripe) in the #53 The Motorcoach Store Chevrolet - but that immediately changed to Nick Leitz and his 2006-2007 Scott Riggs tribute on the #07 Liberty Brew Chevrolet. Leitz had qualified 36th, but crossed the line in 33rd after the penalized cars lined up behind, then plummeted to 38th, 6.324 back of the lead. Leitz remained in last through Lap 4, when his spotter told him a car was slowing ahead of him. This was Van Alst, who slipped to 37th that time by, two-tenths ahead. By Lap 6, Leitz had caught and passed Van Alst, who now ran 14.616 seconds back of the leaders.
Over the next several laps, Van Alst lost touch with the tail end of the field, and was soon in danger of losing a lap. On Lap 8, he was 18.087 seconds back of the lead to 37th-place Leitz’ 16.245. By Lap 12, the gap had grown to nearly six seconds – a 26.175 to Leitz’ 20.369. And around Lap 16, Van Alst was 32.503 behind the leader and just over seven seconds back of new 37th-place runner Starr at a 25.085. The next time by on Lap 17, Van Alst was the first to be lapped. The spotter then helped him through faster traffic, telling him to hold his line as they sped past. The still 37th-place Starr, meanwhile, fell to 30.460 seconds back on Lap 23 when the first caution fell.
Though The CW’s broadcast struggled to find good replays, Kris Wright was running 24th when he bounced off the outside wall, then clipped the left-rear of Josh Williams’ #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet honoring Mark Martin, ripping the TV panel loose from Williams’ car. Wright made it to pit road first, then on Lap 24 took last from Van Alst, who got his lap back under the yellow. “Get the tire on – we’ll roll around and figure out how to fix it,” said Wright’s crew. He left the pits, then came in a second time for more work on the right-front. Wright returned to the track a second time, but reported something was still dragging, so he came in a third time for the crew to look under the hood at the right-front suspension. On Lap 28, the team discovered frame damage that caused an issue with the right-front shock, but determined they could keep running. But they told their driver if the car didn’t feel right, they’d likely pull behind the wall, done for the day.
The race restarted on Lap 29, and Williams – now the last car on the lead lap – soon cleared minimum speed of 35.83 seconds. Wright didn’t best that time until Lap 31, when he was three laps down, but critically, the only driver off the lead lap. As Williams dropped Van Alst to 37th, who was already 9.036 seconds back of the lead, Wright went behind the wall on Lap 33. The team gave the car another look, then radioed on Lap 34 “Yeah, we’re gonna be done – pretty good amount of damage here.” This message was confirmed on Lap 36, and NASCAR confirmed him out on Lap 57.
Despite low attrition, Van Alst nearly escaped the Bottom Five, coming home as the only driver one lap down in 34th place. The last car he passed was William Sawalich, whose #18 Starkey Toyota lost at least five laps with an issue in the late stages of the race, dropping him to 37th. Sawalich climbed to 35th at the finish, first passing Leland Honeyman, Jr., whose #70 DWC Nesquik Throwback Scheme Chevrolet honoring Jeff Green clobbered the outside wall during a stack-up in Turns 1 and 2. Williams suffered nose damage to his #11 in the wreck, and soon after pulled out of the race with overheating issues, leaving him 36th.
Tire strategy brings some different throwback schemes to the front of the pack
The same caution caused by Wright’s crash brought tire strategy into Stage 1, allowing several underdogs to have great finishes in that segment. Taking the win was Harrison Burton, who honored his father Jeff Burton’s #99 Citgo Ford on his #25 DEX Imaging Ford. Finishing a close 3rd behind Justin Allgaier was Brennan Poole, whose #44 CW & Sons / Clark’s Chevrolet, reminiscent of Jeff Gordon’s “Looney Tunes” paint scheme from Richmond in 2001, also won best paint scheme for the race. Taking 4th in that stage was Kyle Sieg’s #28 Night Owl Ford, decorated like Ricky Rudd’s Havoline Ford from 2002, ahead of Anthony Alfredo’s #42 Randco Chevrolet, decorated like Sterling Marlin’s 2005 Coors Light Dodge. Also impressive was Josh Bilicki, who took 9th in DGM Racing x JIM’s #91 Rita’s Italian Ice Chevrolet.
Poole, Bilicki, and Sieg were among the five drivers who stayed out on old tires for the final restart with 12 laps to go, joined by Starr’s #53 and Jeb Burton in the #27 AJ Transport Chevrolet painted like his father Ward Burton’s #31 Hardee’s Chevrolet from 1994. Burton finished best of this group in 15th with Poole 19th, Bilicki 24th, Starr 26th, and Kyle Sieg 30th. Stage 1 winner Harrison Burton, who led 12 laps, fell to 13th by the checkered flag.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #5 in a XFINITY Series race at Darlington since September 3, 2022, when Tommy Joe Martins’ #5 Capital City Chevrolet had a busted radiator after 44 laps.
*Wright is the first XFINITY driver to finish last at Darlington due to suspension issues since May 21, 2020, when Stephen Leicht’s #66 CrashClaimsR.us Toyota fell out after 1 lap.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #5-Kris Wright / 27 laps / suspension
37) #70-Leland Honeyman, Jr. / 128 laps / crash
36) #11-Josh Williams / 137 laps / overheating
35) #18-William Sawalich / 139 laps / running
34) #35-Greg Van Alst / 146 laps / running
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing (2)
2nd) Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2nd) Toyota (3)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
