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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 04: Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Blue Cross NC 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 04, 2025 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
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Connor Zilisch won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, doing so this time at the 2.28-mile and 17 turn Charlotte Roval. The 19-year-old phenom started on the pole for the seventh time this year before earning his fifth road course win and 10th overall in the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
The points leader of Zilisch is sitting solid as the NXS begins their Round of 8 Playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend.
Late Race Drama
Zilisch had a very commanding lead over the other 29 cars still on the lead lap with four laps remaining. However, the right front tire of Sage Karam’s No. 53 Toyota came apart to bring out the caution.
The No. 88 team elected to remain out while their No. 7 JR Motorsports teammate of Justin Allgaier hit pit road. When the race restarted for a green white checkered finish, Zilisch wasted no time to jump back out front and grab the win.
“Enough people stayed out with me to give me a gap,” Zilisch said of the final restart. “So much fun getting to race in my hometown. JR Motorsports cars were so fast this weekend.
“We were first in practice, started on the pole led a lot of laps and came up with the win. Feels really good to get 10 wins and double digits is pretty awesome for my first year in this series.”
Behind him on that last restart, mechanized mayhem broke out as drivers jockeyed for position making contact as they slugged it out for Playoff points. When it was all over, Sammy Smith and the No. 8 Chevrolet team of JR Motorsports literally nabbed the final and eighth position to advance doing so by one point over Taylor Gray.
Smith Overcame Adversity
On lap 63, Smith was 15 points behind the cut line when he was forced to pit road with a failing right front tire. While getting that changed, the caution came out when Sage Karam’s right front tire came apart to bring out the caution.
Several of the leaders hit pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments. This put Smith in a great position as he moved up into the top five for the final restart. When the checkered flag waved, he was scored in third place.
After a lengthy review by NASCAR scoring, it was deemed Taylor Gray and the No. 54 Toyota team finished 13th. This put Smith in the Round of 8 by one point over Gray.
“It was a hard-fought day, for sure,” a relieved Smith said on pit road. “We brought speed and I’m very proud of our effort. To be able to put ourselves into this position, we knew it was going to take a lot.
“It was a Hail Mary move to pit that worked and get the final team (Playoff) seed. I’m excited to go try and race for a championship here and put ourselves in a position to make the Final Four.”
A visibly disappointed Gray shared his thoughts on the finish and elimination.
“I’m obviously bummed out and it doesn’t look like I’ll get to race for a championship this year,” he said. “We just weren’t good enough. We weren’t good enough today, we didn’t have a good Bristol and we shouldn’t even have to be in this spot, but we are.
“We’ll take our loss and move on to the next four (races) and try to go win us a couple of races.”
Who Moves On
The Round of 8 playoff eligible drivers, in order, are: Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed. Four of those drivers are from the JR Motorsports stable.
Next up for the first of three races is Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That is followed by Talladega Superspeedway and then Martinsville Speedway to determine the Final 4 championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Tim Packman Tim Packman is a journalist for Heavy.com covering NASCAR. He grew up around the short tracks of Western New York watching his dad, stepdad and step brother race. His uncle was the head starter at many area tracks and member of the FOAR Score Hall of Fame.
Tim’s passion for racing took him to the announcer’s tower and writing program stories for multiple tracks in the area, namely Lancaster National Speedway. In 2000, he moved to Mooresville, NC to become an award-winning journalist for NASCAR.com. He took a job with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as the team’s Communications Director and was part of two Daytona 500 wins and two NASCAR Championships.
The announcing experience led to becoming a Pit Reporter and News Director for MRN Radio. A return to the team side at Richard Childress Racing as the Director of Corporate Communications took place, which also included another Championship.
From 2015 to 2018, Tim returned to where his career began in 1994 – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway – as the Track President. He earned Short Track Promoter of the Year awards in 2016 and 2017.
Upon returning to NC, he joined The Garage Shop as Communications Director and host of it’s Podcast and MAV-TV docuseries “Legacy of Speed” talking about Land Speed Racing at Bonneville, and other places.
Tim has hosted two other Podcasts, namely “Pub Table Racers,” and wrote three books. One was with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison titled, “Bobby Allison, a Racer’s Racer” and two Children’s books, “Funny Dan the Race Car Man” and “Petey the Pace Car.”
He also served in the US Navy. More about Tim Packman
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