Connor Zilisch fighting for position during the 2025 Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
LEBANON, Tenn. – 18-year-old NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie contender, Connor Zilisch, has made excellent strides in the last two races since his return from his injury, by collecting his second consecutive runner-up finish in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.
The battle for victory featured the JR Motorsports duo of Justin Allgaier and Zilisch competing fiercely for the second consecutive week. Last week, both were taken by surprise when William Byron made a late charge to win the BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Since returning from a back injury sustained at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, which caused him to miss a race at Texas Motor Speedway, Zilisch has performed impressively in both races at Charlotte and Nashville. During this time, he has earned 96 points, scoring points in all stages and maintaining an average running position of fourth in both races.
After starting the evening from the 10th position for his first-ever start at Nashville, Zilisch fell back just outside the top 10 by the end of Stage 1. However, when Corey Day, who was making only his third Xfinity Series start in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, spun out while exiting Turn 2, the stage ended under the caution flag. This allowed Zilisch to leapfrog several positions and secure ninth place after the 45-lap stage.
The driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, stepped up his performance during Stage 2, making his way into the top 5 for the first time on Lap 70. He maintained a solid position in fourth place for the rest of Stage 2, earning an additional seven stage points.
Connor Zilisch has recovered strongly since his injury in April by collecting another runner-up finish at Nashville. (Photo Credit: Yasser Khan | The Podium Finish)
Despite the chaos ensuing in the early goings of the final stage, Zilisch marched his No. 88 Blues Hog Chevrolet Camaro up to the front for the lead on Lap 120 before a caution for pole sitter William Sawalich brought the race under the yellow flag with 53 laps to go.
Allgaier took the lead in a three-wide battle up front on the ensuing restart with 48 to go and never looked back, as Zilisch trailed in Allgaier’s tire tracks for the remainder of the event. Despite keeping pace with Allgaier as they navigated around lap traffic, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion took home his third victory of the 2025 campaign by 1.289 seconds.
“I thought I might be able to get back by him, but clean air is everything,” Zilisch said after a tough battle with his JR Motorsports teammate. “The first 20 laps of a run, if you had clean air, you’d prevail on a long run, just keeping your stuff cooler and not having to run as hard.”
“Clean air makes a difference so much that 2 to 3 percent of grip makes a difference, and I got tight behind him while trying to get to him, so I fell off those last few laps and couldn’t quite hold onto it.”
Zilisch faced adversity despite being close to two race victories, which ultimately went to other drivers, including his teammate of Allgaier, who put on another spectacular showing.
“I’m really happy with the progress we’re making, and being frustrated with second (place) is a good thing. People don’t realize how good Justin (Allgaier) is, just because he’s not in the (NASCAR) Cup Series, he’s got so much talent, he’s very methodical, you rarely find him making the wrong moves.”
“Congrats to Justin (Allgaier). He did a really good job executing on that restart. It’s the second week in a row I’ve finished second because of a restart. It’s frustrating.”
Zilisch has now become the highest-ranking rookie in the points standings, currently sitting fifth overall. The Xfinity Series is set to return to a historic venue as it visits Mexico City, Mexico, at the famed Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the second of seven road course events on Saturday, June 14, marking its first appearance at the facility since 2008.
Coverage of the Chilango 150 will be aired live on the CW on June 14 at 4:30 p.m. ET, with radio coverage on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
