Connor Zilisch Rallies for COTA Victory

Connor Zilisch celebrating in Victory Lane after winning at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

DEL VALLE, Texas — After an eventful race, Connor Zilisch rallied to win the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas after starting on the pole. After entering Saturday’s race as the hands-on favorite, Zilisch dealt with a plethora of setbacks and incidents during the 65-lap race.

At the end of Stage 1, Zilisch and his No. 88 team elected to short-pit the stage while leading, giving up the stage points for track position. The only problem was that he entered pit road just as a caution came out for Baltazar Leguizamon, who was stopped at the exit of Turn 20.

This forced Zilisch to start at the tail end of the field for the start of Stage 2, but he wasted no time charging through the field, making up 13 positions in just five laps. By the end of the stage, he had caught back up to the leaders and restarted in third place when the final stage went green.

The action did not end there, as on the ensuing restart, Zilisch ran his JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil wide while battling for the lead in Turn 1 and then a few corners later, “hip-checked” Corey Heim, sending the No. 24 car spinning and damaging the right-front of his own car.

Connor Zilisch during the Focused Health 250 at COTA. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

“I did not drive a clean race at all,” Zilisch admitted post-race. “Sorry to everyone that I hit. I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race.”

Despite the damage, Zilisch was still able to run down Kvapil for the lead, making the pass with just nine laps remaining, and went on to claim the win.

“It was tough. That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” he said on the win. “Glad we were able to fight back. This JR Motorsports team gave me a car as fast as Xfinity Mobile and (I’m) so proud of everyone.”

The win was the second career NASCAR Xfinity Series win for Zilisch, with his first coming at Watkins Glen in his series debut last season. The result also serves as a great rebound race after two DNFs at Daytona and Atlanta to start the season.

The 18-year-old is also making his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend, something that may have served as a major distraction during Saturday’s race.

Connor Zilisch celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the Focused Health 250. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

“You just can’t let the noise get to you,” Zilisch said. “You got to keep doing your thing no matter what. Whether it’s good talk or bad talk, you just got to keep doing it and prepare the same way and the results will come.”

It was looking like it would be a 1-2 finish for JR Motorsports until Kvapil cut a right-front tire on Lap 61, relegating him to a 23rd-place finish.

“It’s tough to get over that one,” said Kvapil. “(I was) just trying to stay with the (No.) 88 there. I felt like we were a little bit better in some places, but in others he could really get away from us. I knew if I just tried to get my ground up, I would be able to catch him (Zilisch) through the esses, but ultimately just used it up a little too much there.”

For Kvapil, it was his first career start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a road course, so running in the top five throughout the entire race and leading late was a bit of surprise for him.

“I feel like we shouldn’t have ran that good maybe,” Kvapil said. “I guess it was a little bit expected, but at the same time it’s a little bit of a surprise.”

Connor Zilisch doing a burnout on the front straightaway after winning the Focused Health 250 at COTA. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

William Byron quietly came home in second place after quietly running Zilisch down toward the end of the race but ended up running out of time. Byron, who is the defending winner of the NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA, says that he found some things that will help him tomorrow on the reconfigured course.

“My car was just kind of floppy in the short run, and I had to try to take care of it. I just tried to stay with it there in the long run,” Byron said. “It was good to get back into the rhythm of things, pushing the car. I think it’ll help me for (Sunday’s race).”

Rounding out the top five was Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Chrisitan Eckes. They were followed by Jesse Love, Taylor Gray, Ross Chastain, William Sawalich and Blaine Perkins, who finished inside the top 10.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. William Byron
2. Ross Chastain
3. Corey Heim
4. Sam Mayer
5. Justin Allgaier
6. Austin Hill
7. Christian Eckes
8. Sammy Smith
9. Anthony Alfredo
10. Alex Labbe

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Harrison Burton
2. Daniel Dye
3. Sammy Smith
4. Jeb Burton
5. Ryan Sieg
6. Brennan Poole
7. Alex Labbe
8. Josh Williams
9. Sage Karam
10. Kyle Sieg

Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas Finishing Results