2025 North Carolina Education Lottery 250

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Race 10 of 33 of the2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	April 19, 2025
Official name	1st Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 250
Location	Rockingham Speedway inRockingham, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	0.94 miles (1.51 km)
Distance	256 laps, 240 mi (386 km)
Scheduled distance	250 laps, 235 mi (378 km)
Average speed	80.377 mph (129.354 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Connor Zilisch	JR Motorsports
Time	22.630
Most laps led
Driver	Ryan Sieg	RSS Racing
Laps	77
Winner
No. 8	Sammy Smith	JR Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	The CW
Announcers	Adam Alexander,Jamie McMurray, andParker Kligerman
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The2025 North Carolina Education Lottery 250 was the 10thstock car race of the2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 1st iteration of theevent. The race was held on Saturday, April 19, 2025, atRockingham Speedway inRockingham, North Carolina, a 0.94 miles (1.51 km) permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 250 laps, but was increased to 256 laps due to anovertime restart.

In an action-packed and wreck-filled race,Sammy Smith, driving forJR Motorsports, would be given the victory following post-race inspection, after the original winner of the race,Jesse Love, was disqualified for a rear suspension violation, and was credited with a 37th place finish.^[8] This was Smith's third careerNASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season.^[9]Ryan Sieg led a race-high and career-high 77 laps, before being involved in a late-race incident and finishing 18th.^[10] Following the DQ,Parker Retzlaff earned a career-best second place finish withAlpha Prime Racing, andHarrison Burton, driving forAM Racing, rounded out the rest of the podium.

This was the first Xfinity Series race to be held at Rockingham since 2004, the return ofKasey Kahne in a NASCAR-sanctioned race since 2018, and the fourth and final race of theDash 4 Cash. Drivers eligible for the D4C wereCarson Kvapil,Justin Allgaier,Sammy Smith, andBrandon Jones, since they were the highest finishing Xfinity regulars followingthe race at Bristol. Smith was given the race win and claimed the $100K bonus cash.^[11]

Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known asNorth Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 andNorth Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a 0.94-mile (1.51 km) D-shaped oval track inRockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1965, including theNASCAR Cup Series from 1965 to 2004, and currently theNASCAR Xfinity Series andNASCAR Truck Series. It has a 32,000-seat capacity as of 2012. Rockingham Speedway is owned by Rockingham Properties, LLC and led by Rockingham Properties majority owner Dan Lovenheim.

Rockingham Speedway opened in 1965 under the control of attorney Elsie Webb. Initially opening as a flat 1-mile (1.6 km) oval, in 1969, the track's dimensions were changed to make the bankings steeper. After Webb's death in 1972, NASCAR team ownerL. G. DeWitt took over control of the facility. Renovations on the speedway remained slow for decades. Despite a push to make renovations and seating additions afterRoger Penske bought the facility in 1997, due to a lack of amenities, poor attendance, and NASCAR's expansion towards bigger markets, NASCAR left the facility in 2004 in the wake of theFerko lawsuit. With the exception of a brief period of racing under the ownership ofAndy Hillenburg, the facility was left desolate for most of the 2010s. In 2018, a group of investors led by Dan Lovenheim bought and renovated the facility into a multi-use complex, with NASCAR returning in 2025 under Lovenheim's leadership.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

The first and only practice session was held on Friday, April 18, at 3:05 PMEST, and would last for 50 minutes.^[12]Carson Kvapil, driving forJR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.899, and a speed of 147.779 mph (237.827 km/h).^[13]

Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 19, at 12:00 PMEST.^[12] SinceRockingham Speedway is a mile oval, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with one round. Drivers will be on track by themselves and will have one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.^[14]

Connor Zilisch, driving forJR Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 22.630, and a speed of 149.536 mph (240.655 km/h). However, after getting a flat tire during his run, he will start at the rear of the field.^[15]

Dawson Cram was the only driver who failed to qualify.Katherine Legge, who originally failed to qualify, would move to the No. 53 forJoey Gase Motorsports, replacingJ. J. Yeley.^[16]

Stage 1Laps: 60

Stage 2Laps: 60

Stage 3Laps: 136

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Justin Allgaier 411 2 Sam Mayer 324 (–87) 1 3 Austin Hill 311 (–100) 1 4 Jesse Love 288 (–123) 1 5 Carson Kvapil 286 (–125) 1 6 Brandon Jones 284 (–127) 2 7 Connor Zilisch 284 (–127) 2 8 Sammy Smith 281 (–130) 9 Ryan Sieg 277 (–134) 2 10 Sheldon Creed 254 (–157) 2 11 Jeb Burton 251 (–160) 12 Harrison Burton 243 (–168) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 390 2 Toyota 336 (–54) 3 Ford 322 (–68) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

• NASCAR races at Rockingham Speedway
• April 2025 sports events in the United States
• 2025 in sports in North Carolina
• 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Short description is different from Wikidata