Just past the halfway point of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, a full-time driver has lost his ride and been replaced, less than two weeks after failing to qualify for the street race in Chicago, Illinois.
Kris Wright landed his first Xfinity Series ride since wrapping up the 2022 season with Brandonbilt Motorsports, as he was named the full-time driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Our Motorsports for the 2025 season. However, limited success through the season's first 19 race weekends has led to him being replaced.
Wright's only top 15 finish of the year was a ninth place effort at Martinsville Speedway in March. He only managed two other finishes higher than 24th: an 18th place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and a 17th place finish at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in June. He recorded nine DNFs and/or finishes lower than 30th.
Kris Wright replaced by a fan-favorite at Dover
Though a full-time replacement has not been announced for Our Motorsports for the season's final 14 races, one has been confirmed for this coming Saturday afternoon's race at Dover Motor Speedway, and it's a driver whom many fans believe is a significant upgrade for Chris Our's team.
Kaz Grala is set to drive the No. 5 car this weekend at the "Monster Mile", and many fans are hoping that this opportunity leads to more opportunities for the 26-year-old Boston, Massachusetts native.
Grala finished in 17th place in the championship standings in his lone full season in the series two years ago with Sam Hunt Racing and recorded nine top 10 finishes along the way. He has always seemingly made the most of his limited opportunities in NASCAR national series competition, going all the way back to his Truck Series debut in 2016.
Last year, he ran part-time for Rick Ware Racing in the Cup Series but did not make any Xfinity Series starts, though he did fail to qualify for one race at RSS Racing. He has made just one national series start so far this year, that coming in the recent Xfinity race in Chicago when he returned to Sam Hunt Racing, and he finished in 22nd place.
So far, Saturday's BetRivers 200 is the only race for which Our Motorsports have confirmed a driver for the No. 5 Chevrolet throughout the remainder of the 2025 season.
The BetRivers 200 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Dover Motor Speedway starting at 4:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, July 19. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from the "Monster Mile"!