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Connor Zilisch makes a statement, wins rain-shortened Dover Xfinity Series race

JHby:Jonathan Howard•07/19/25•

Jondean25

Connor Zilisch
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another win and a major statement by Connor Zilisch. He gets the win at Dover in his first Xfinity Series start at the Monster Mile. The NASCAR phenom has figured this car out and looks to be a championship contender at this point in the season.

The NASCAR Playoffs are right around the corner. Connor Zilisch adds six more playoff points to his total. He has also started to close the gap on Justin Allgaier for the regular season championship.

Rain ended this race early, but Zilisch was lights out. Fantastic from start to finish. He won Stage 2, and at 18, he is performing well beyond his years. He won the ARCA race last year in his first trip to Dover. This time, he takes a huge step up in competition level and makes it look easy.

Out of 133 laps completed, Connor Zilisch led 77 laps. While it looked promising that this race would get going green again, the rain returned and ended things early.

Five career wins, four this season alone. The Xfinity Series rookie looks like a veteran out on the track every week. It is amazing to see the talent and speed that Zilisch has. While it isn’t official, the 18-year-old does not need another season in Xfinity. He is getting moved up to Cup with Trackhouse for sure.

The thing is, he’s let a couple of races slip away. Martinsville, he won the pole and led the most laps, but made too many mistakes down the stretch. P28. Mexico City, he was the best driver all day, but let himself lose concentration and spun out. P5. But you can’t deny that his results the last two months have been elite.

Since missing Texas with his back injury, Connor Zilisch has finished no worse than P5 in the last eight races. His average finish in that time is 2.25. This is also the first time in Zilisch’s career that he has won back-to-back races, and he has won three of the last five in the Xfinity Series.

It was going to be a battle between the 88 and the 19 of Aric Almirola down the stretch. We knew that Brandon Jones was good. Justin Allgaier, the concrete king, was fantastic in making his way from the rear to the front of the field. We didn’t get a chance to see that, but it’s not like Zilisch lucked into this win.

Connor Zilisch led 77 laps, 28 more than the next-best driver, pole-sitter Taylor Gray. He was the only driver to take the lead, lose the lead, and take it back again. His win in Stage 2 was great, and his pit crew kept him out in front throughout the race.

Going into Indianapolis, I think that Zilisch could be the favorite. He got the win at Pocono earlier this season, and he’s going to put on another strong showing at the Brickyard next weekend.