Connor Zilisch Pours It On At Gateway, Lands Fourth Consecutive Xfinity Series Win, Regular-Season Title
Column By: NASCAR MEDIA / NASCAR XFINITY SERIES – ST. LOUIS, MO –
Connor Zilisch carried some Midwest momentum to his fourth consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, icing the regular-season title in the finale and notching his series-leading ninth win of the season.
Zilisch won for the seventh time in the last eight races by dominating the Nu Way 200, starting from the pole position and leading 121 of the 160 laps in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. His first victory at the 1.25-mile Gateway track marked the 10th of his Xfinity Series career.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich drove home second for the second straight week, taking the checkered flag 1.506 seconds short in his bid for a playoff-clinching first win of the year. Christian Eckes placed third with Brandon Jones and Jesse Love rounding out the first five finishers.
Zilisch sealed the Regular-Season Championship, grabbing a bonus of 15 playoff points for the start of the seven-race postseason, which opens Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The last three spots in the 12-driver playoff field were also settled, with those slots clinched by Sheldon Creed, Taylor Gray and Harrison Burton.
Burton’s fate was secured when no new winners emerged, and once his cousin Jeb crashed out on the 110th lap. Jeb Burton was evaluated and released from the infield care center after his heavy hit at the Turn 2 exit, contact that severely damaged his No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet. Harrison Burton’s No. 25 Ford later spun after contact with Brennan Poole’s No. 44 entry with 32 laps remaining, but survived to make the playoff field.
JR Motorsports teammates Zilisch and Justin Allgaier divided the stage wins, with Zilisch leading all the way in the opening frame and Allgaier ruling the second. Allgaier’s victory hopes took a major hit during the Stage 2 intermission when his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet was nabbed for speeding on pit road. The penalty bumped him from third to 28th in the running order, and Allgaier briefly rallied before a multicar wreck with 26 laps remaining left him with a 28th-place finish in the 38-car field.
The Xfinity Series’ next race is Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
