The pursuit of a dream weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) continued for Connor Zilisch as he dominated the field to win Saturday’s Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race for his second victory in just seven career NXS races.
After starting from the pole and leading most of Stage One, a pit road penalty relegated the 18-year-old JR Motorsports driver to the rear of the field to start the second stage. With a balance of patience and aggression, the Mooresville, N.C. native carved up the field, moving up to third to start the final stage.
Late-race contact with Corey Heim of Sam Hunt Racing threatened to end the rookie’s charge to the front, but ultimately he got around teammate Carson Kvapil to reclaim the lead with nine laps to go.
“That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” Zilisch said after the race. “I did not drive the clean race I wanted to. It’s been such a fun weekend, but we’ve got a big race tomorrow. Looking forward to that as well.”
Kvapil cut a tire late, relinquishing second place to Daytona 500 winner William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports and ultimately finishing 23rd.
“Our long runs were really good,” Byron said. “My car was just sloppy on the short runs and then I had to try to stay with it on the long run... It was good to get in a rhythm. I think it will help me for tomorrow.”
Sam Mayer of Haas Factory Team finished third, a personal best at COTA. In four career starts, he has never finished worse than ninth.
“We were good enough to get in the top three and get that podium finish,” Mayer said. “We hit everything. We got hit multiple times. This team’s future is really, really bright.”
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, the series points leader, and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five.
With the victory, Zilisch became just the second full-time NXS driver to win in five years of the Focused Health 250. For the fourth time in five years, the polesitter went on to take the checkered flag.
Zilisch looks to double down in Texas with a strong showing with his NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) debut coming in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. He starts 14th in the 37-car field.
Heartbreak to Victory Lane: Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Claims Race Two IMSA Win
In the opening race of IMSA’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge doubleheader Saturday, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports teammates Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano watched a lead of more than 1 minute, 30 seconds disappear on the penultimate lap after both ran drivers out of fuel. They didn’t have to wait long for redemption, however, capturing the top two spots for the P3 class in the 45-minute race finale. Jonathan Woolridge, who won the morning race, finished third in the evening event, capping an action-packed day of racing on the 2.4-mile National Course.
Click here for a full recap of Saturday’s second race from IMSA’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.
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