Zilisch Fights Through Adversity For COTA Xfinity Win

Connor Zilisch celebrates with a burnout after winning Saturday at Circuit of the Americas. (HHP/David Graham photo)

AUSTIN, Texas – Even on a Saturday when he was far from his best, Connor Zilisch was still better than the rest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series field at Circuit of the Americas.

The 18-year-old prodigy dominated the first NASCAR race on COTA’s revamped 2.356-mile, 18-turn “short course,” starting from the pole and leading 26 of 65 laps en route to victory in the Focused Health 250.

That stat-line, however, doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how Zilisch got to victory lane.

A lap-18 caution for the stalled car of Baltazar Leguizamon came just as Zilisch was ducking to pit lane for his first scheduled stop of the day. However, he didn’t cross the commitment line before the yellow flag was officially called, forcing him to restart stage two at the tail end of the field.

Undeterred and with the fastest car in the field, Zilisch drove back toward the front, ended stage two inside the top 15, and then lined up third for the 20-lap sprint to the checkered flag that followed.

That was when some rare over-aggression began to bleed through Zilisch’s normally calm demeanor.

Zilisch made a huge dive to driver’s left headed to turn one in an effort to pass both Carson Kvapil and moonlighting NASCAR Cup Series star William Byron and reclaim the top spot.

He overdrove the apex of the corner, however, and lost all his forward momentum – allowing Atlanta winner Austin Hill to rise from fifth to the race lead in one corner as Zilisch and those around him began to regroup.

Then came the entrance to the stadium section of the course, where Zilisch door-checked Corey Heim in an effort to get back to second place, spinning Heim at turn 15 and crunching in his own right-front fender in the process as Kvapil came through to become the runner-up at that point.

But even that damage and a possible tire rub wasn’t enough to keep Zilisch from leaving with the trophy.

Kvapil and Zilisch both dove past Hill at turn 13 – taking first and second, respectively, with 14 to go – and then Zilisch dogged Kvapil for the next four laps before finally forcing the second-generation driver into a mistake.

Zilisch pressured Kvapil into over-driving the final corner, costing the latter precious speed and momentum coming up the hill on the frontstretch and allowing Zilisch to ultimately make the race-winning pass on approach to turn one.

From there, the talented teenager led the final 10 laps for his second career Xfinity Series win, ultimately reaching the finish line 1.639 seconds ahead of Byron in the end.

Connor Zilisch (right) poses with his crew in victory lane at Circuit of the Americas. (HHP/David Graham photo)

Yet, even as he celebrated, Zilisch was almost apologetic knowing that he “stepped over the line” several times down the stretch run of the race.

“That was tough, and – to be frank – way harder than I wanted it to be,” Zilisch admitted. “I did not drive a clean race at all, and I’m sorry to everyone that I hit there along the way. I was honestly mentally fogged halfway through that race, but I’m glad we were able to fight back. JR Motorsports gave me such a fast race car and I’m so proud of everyone.

“We’ve got a big race still ahead and I’m looking forward to that, as well,” added Zilisch, who will make his Cup Series debut Sunday at COTA in a fourth entry for Trackhouse Racing. “This is step one of the weekend, and hopefully we can get in the Cup car and have a comfortable day there when the time comes.”

Byron ended up as the bridesmaid for the second time in three years in Xfinity Series action at COTA, while four-time road course winner Sam Mayer was the best Ford driver in third after a quiet day.

Afterward, Byron admitted he likely didn’t have enough to do battle with Zilisch, even though he was catching the No. 88 in the closing laps as Zilisch saved just a little fuel to ensure he’d get to the finish.

“We were OK,” said the two-time Daytona 500 winner. “I really slid around a lot to go fast on the short run, and I just couldn’t go for five consecutive laps or so … those guys would get away from me to start a stint. Our long run pace was good, but my car was floppy in the short run and I had to take care of it.

“I had fun and it was a good workout to get back in a racing rhythm. Just not quite enough [for Zilisch].”

Hill captured his second straight top-five finish in fourth and retained the Xfinity Series point lead as a result, followed by Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes, who made it two rookies in the front five with his solid effort.

Jesse Love finished sixth after starting from the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments, with Taylor Gray, another Cup Series star in Ross Chastain, William Sawalich, and Blaine Perkins rounding out the top 10.

Kvapil ended up with a flat right-front tire inside of five to go because of repeated brake lock-ups while trying to chase Zilisch back down for the win. He ended up 23rd after leading seven laps, tied for second-most in the race.

Byron topped stage one and Harrison Burton took the stage two win after others ahead of him short-pitted before lap 40 to “flip the stage” and regain their track position.

Burton was in line for a top-15 finish but suffered a mechanical failure with 10 laps left and had to retire from the race. He was scored 35th in the 38-car field.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series season continues Saturday, March 8 at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway with the running of the GOVX 200. Chandler Smith won last year’s spring race at the one-mile desert oval.