Connor Zilisch Captures JR Motorsports’ 100th Win at Indy

Connor Zilisch captured JR Motorsports’ 100th NASCAR XFINITY Series win in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis. (Photo: Zach Irvine | The Podium Finish)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Connor Zilisch kissed the famed yard of bricks after taking the checkered flag in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, scoring the 100th victory for JR Motorsports in his sixth career win in the series.

Driving the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, Zilisch led 19 of 100 laps around the 2.5-mile oval and held off a late charge from Sam Mayer to seal the win. It marked Zilisch’s third consecutive victory and fourth in the last six races, further strengthening his championship credentials as the regular season heads into its final stretch.

“This is awesome,” Zilisch said on pit road following the race. “Those bricks look really kissable, and I’m ready to kiss them. Winning at Indy is awesome and getting 100 wins for JRM is pretty cool, too, so I consider this a pretty awesome day.”

Zilisch, who started seventh, methodically worked his way toward the front after early green-flag runs and used strong restarts and tire management to position himself inside the top three by the halfway point. After finishing fifth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2, he made his move to the front late in the race.

One of the key moments came with less than 15 laps remaining, when Zilisch got a strong push down the frontstretch that allowed him to clear then-leader Taylor Gray entering Turn 1.

“The second time I got a push from behind, and it helped me clear him [Taylor Gray],” Zilisch said. “It was actually really racy, and you were able to make moves.”

From there, Zilisch maintained command over the closing laps as Mayer closed the gap in the final two circuits. The driver of the No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang Dark Horse had dominated the early stages of the race, earning the pole, winning Stage 1, and leading a race-high 32 laps.

Mayer settled for second, his fourth podium finish of the 2025 season, and his third consecutive top-five effort.

Sam Mayer gave it his all but got a runner-up in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis. (Photo: Zach Irvine | The Podium Finish)

“This one hurts a lot but I’m really proud of these guys,” Mayer said. “They put the work in over the last couple of weeks, and we’ve gotten better every time we show up to the racetrack. We brought a heater for sure, I was really looking forward to it and I think we had good pace. It’s just that you don’t know what to do, I’m learning on the fly and this is my first full race here.”

Gray finished third in the No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra after leading late and appearing to have the car to beat following a red-flag stoppage. After the break, Gray said his handling conditions worsened, particularly when he was in the lead.

“Just got too tight in clean air,” Gray said. “That long red flag — before the red flag I was a little free, and then with the long red flag letting the tires heat soak, it just got me too tight, especially when I got clean air, I was tighter all day than when I was in traffic.

“Just struggled — he [Zilisch] was better in me in (Turns) 1 and 2. We were comparable to maybe a little better in (Turns) 3 and 4. But I can’t thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing enough for bringing a fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra — just got to keep clicking off the good finishes here.”

Kyle Larson, in a one-off start for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 17 Chevrolet, finished fourth after starting 19th and quietly advancing through the field. He ran in the top five for most of the final stage, earning valuable data for his Cup Series effort on Sunday.

Ryan Sieg posted a season-best result in fifth, slowly but surely turning a tough start to the summerin the No. 39 Sci Aps Ford. William Sawalich, Sammy Smith, Daniel Dye, Jesse Love and Dean Thompson rounded out the top 10.

Love battled toward the front for much of the afternoon in the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet but faded slightly on the final long run. Thompson delivered a career-best 10th-place finish in the No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota.

The race featured six caution periods — two for stage conclusions and three for on track incidents, notably for a multi-car incident involving Aric Almirola and Austin Hill on Lap 91 that led to a red flag for cleanup and a brief storm. Allgaier, who ran inside the top three during Stage 1 and won Stage 2, was collected while racing inside the top five. He was credited with a 36th-place finish.

The only other non-finishers were Legge and Logan Bearden, both of whom exited early due to electrical issues.

Further back, Matt DiBenedetto finished 11th in the Savannah Bananas on the CW Chevrolet, followed by Jeremy Clements in 12th, Christian Eckes in 13th, and Parker Retzlaff in 14th. Jeb Burton rounded out the top 15 in the No. 27 Celsius Chevrolet.

Carson Kvapil, making his second Indianapolis oval start, finished 30th after earning Stage 1 and 2 points with top 10 results. A late-race incident dropped him several laps off the pace.

Connor Zilisch would kiss the yard of bricks after crossing it for a milestone win in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis. (Photo: Zach Irvine | The Podium Finish))

Zilisch’s victory not only added to his own breakout campaign, but also delivered a historic moment for the JR Motorsports operation led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick. The organization, which began Xfinity competition in 2002, now holds 100 wins — an elite benchmark in the series.

Zilisch joins the likes of Allgaier, William Byron and Chase Elliott among drivers who have contributed to that total. With his win, Zilisch also continues climbing the playoff grid, collecting five additional points and solidifying his spot as a title contender entering the final third of the season.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Sam Mayer
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Aric Almirola
4. Brandon Jones
5. Connor Zilisch (R)
6. Sheldon Creed
7. Jesse Love
8. Kyle Larson (i)
9. Taylor Gray (R)
10. Carson Kvapil (R)

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Justin Allgaier
2. Connor Zilisch(R)
3. Kyle Larson (i)
4. Aric Almirola
5. Taylor Gray (R)
6. Brandon Jones
7. Sam Mayer
8. Carson Kvapil (R)
9. Jesse Love
10. William Sawalich (R)

Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race Results