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Connor Zilisch puts on masterclass in Roval win, drivers eliminated after wild overtime

JHby: Jonathan Howard17 hours agoJondean25
Connor Zilisch NASCAR Roval
Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

It’s Connor Zilisch’s world, and we’re all living in it! Win 10 of the season, and he did it with ease today on the Charlotte Roval. Zilisch has owned the second half of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season. On top of that, overtime completely flipped the playoff picture.

Connor Zilisch led 61 of 68 laps today. He only gave up the lead for pitting early before the stage finish in Stage 1 and Stage 2, really. The elation of Zilisch and his 10th win of the season was matched by the disappointment of the drivers who were eliminated tonight.

The overtime tonight at the Roval gave us the finish we all wanted. At one point, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and Taylor Gray were tied in points with one lap to go. It eventually sorted itself out.

12 Playoff drivers entered today, 8 left still alive in the hunt for the Xfinity Series championship. This race came down to the wire. It really did. NASCAR spent a long time after the race reviewing when the final caution came out on the final lap in overtime. But the drama began before that.

Sammy Smith was out of this. It looked like Smith was going to be eliminated. He hit pit road needing tires late in the race. That’s when the caution came out when the 53 had damage.

The 8 team got the car back out with fresh tires and they had new life. It was a dash to the finish for these drivers. Smith ended up coming out on the right end.

It’s hard to talk too much about Connor Zilisch. He was out front all day long and didn’t have any issues. It was another perfect race from him in a season that has more or less been perfect.

Connor Zilisch has dominated second half of 2025

In the first 12 races of the season, Connor Zilisch had one win. It came at COTA, the only road course up to that point. He got a back injury at Talladega, missed Texas, and since then, he’s been on fire. He’s been a completely different driver in the 17 races since Texas.

Nine wins in 17 races, five wins in the last seven races, and 17 straight top-five finishes. It has been an absolute joy to watch Zilisch dominate this season. You also can’t mention his 10 wins without talking about Corey Heim in the Truck Series. He has 10 wins this year, a series record.

It is the first time since 1974 that two drivers in NASCAR national series competition have had 10+ wins in the same season. Of course, at the time, NASCAR had a single national touring series. Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough both won 10 races that year and were 1-2 in the championship standings.

If there is one takeaway from this weekend already – NASCAR has a lot of young talent. Connor Zilisch, Corey Heim, Carson Kvapil, Brent Crews, Butterbean Queen, and, honestly, a dozen or so more young drivers who are making noise in the lower ranks. The future is bright for stock car racing.