Xfinity Series: Connor Zilisch wins hard-fought COTA race

1 day ago5 min read

Written by Bailey Defoor

From first to last and back to first, Connor Zilisch takes his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Circuit of the Americas. This makes him the youngest driver to win multiple road courses in Xfinity, so let's see how it went down.

As it unfolded

Connor Zilisch started on pole alongside teammate Ross Chastain. Ten drivers had dropped to the rear due to changes they made to their cars after qualifying, namely Jesse Love.

Zilisch kept his lead and began pulling away from the field as William Byron momentarily jumped in front of Chastain.

Ryan Ellis went for a spin on Lap 3 but was back to racing without needing caution.

On Lap 4, Carson Hocevar went wide and crashed into the barrier, making this the race's first caution.

Drivers went back to green flag racing on Lap 7, and Chastain got a run on Zilisch as they fought for the lead on the restart lap.

Sheldon Creed, Carson Kvapil and Nick Sanchez all got spun around on Lap 8, but all drivers rejoined the track unassisted.

A little further in the field, Ryan Sieg and Love were the biggest movers with five laps to go in Stage 1, moving up 18 and 16 places, respectively.

A late-stage caution came as Baltazar Leguizamón got stuck in the grass. At the same time, Zilisch pitted from the lead and was penalized, having to start Stage 2 from the rear.

William Byron assumed the lead after passing Chastain earlier at stage's end. Corey Heim finished third.

Stage 1 Results:

No. 17 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)
No. 9 - Ross Chastain (JR Motorsports)
No. 24 - Corey Heim (Sam Hunt Racing)
No. 41 - Sam Mayer (Haas Factory Team)
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports)
No. 21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 16 - Christian Eckes (Kaulig Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
No. 42 - Anthony Alfredo (Young's Motorsports)
No. 07 - Alex Labbe (SS-Green Light Racing)

Pitlane opens on Lap 21, and most of the drivers take the opportunity to change tyres and add fuel. Taylor Gray takes the lead with Love on the outside.

They went back to green flag racing on Lap 25. Gray and Love traded the lead multiple times before Love took it as Gray fell to third.

By the end of the restart lap, Zilisch had moved up to 11 places.

On Lap 27, Sam Hunt Racing's Dean Thompson spun around but rejoined at the back of the field.

Kvapil jumped in front of Gray and joined the battle between Love and Herbst for first.

Another caution came on Lap 30 - this time, for a barrier readjustment. The barrier in Turn 6A became dislodged after a minor spin by Jeremy Clements.

Love and Herbst led the field back to green on Lap 32, Herbst taking the lead in the second turn.

Zilisch breaks into the top ten on this restart.

Sam Mayer gets spun wide as he went four-wide into a corner on the restart. Allgaier went wide as part of this cluster and pits with front-end damage.

Love starts falling back out of the top five with s to go in the stage.

Chastain takes the lead on Lap 37 from Herbst after Allgaier fought with the front runners as he tried to stay on the lead lap. Chastain and Herbst then pit from the lead as Harrison Burton and Ryan Sieg jump to the front.

R. Sieg was penalized with one lap to go for cutting corners. This demoted him from second to fifth.

Stage 2 Results:

No. 25 - Harrison Burton (AM Racing)
No. 10 - Daniel Dye (Kaulig Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
No. 27 - Jeb Burton ( Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 39 - Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing)
No. 44 - Brennen Poole (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 07 - Alex Labbe (SS-Green Light Racing)
No. 11 - Josh Williams (Kaulig Racing)
No. 53 - Sage Karam (Joey Gase Motorsports)
No. 28 - Kyle Sieg (RSS Racing)

On Lap 42, many drivers pit, sending Kvapil and Byron to the front with Zilisch and Gray right behind them.

Kvapil led the field to the green flag on Lap 45, and Zilisch pushed Kvapil wide, opening the door for A. Hill and Corey Heim to take the front.

On Lap 46, Zilisch and Heim had contact, forcing Heim to spin out, dropping to the back of the field, and Zilisch to have damage on the front right of his car.

On Lap 51, Kvapil locks up and gives Zilisch the opportunity to join the battle at the front. Then A. Hill slowed down in a corner, opening the door for Kvapil and Zilisch to pass him.

H. Burton slows down on the front stretch but keeps his car running to avoid another caution on Lap 55.

Kvapil locks up again, and Zilisch goes alongside him and retakes the lead on Lap 56. They go side by side again on Lap 57, but Zilisch narrowly maintains the lead. Zilisch begins to pull away.

On Lap 61, Kvapil had a problem with his front right tyre and fell out of the top ten.

Zilisch kept the lead and took the chequered flag ahead of Byron.

Provisional Results: