by Anyone who doubts whether Connor Zilian is indeed the next big thing in Nascar that was only necessary to spend a few hours watching him at work in the Xfinity Series race in the circuit of America near Austin, Texas on Saturday. The 18-year-old supplied such an exciting performance, so completely challenging with adversity, that by the time he took the checkered flag, all remaining skeptics probably set their doubts and set fire to fire.
Zilian started from pole and led a racing high 26 of the 65 laps, but do not confuse that for a relaxed Saturday afternoon ride. This was not difficult cruise through the Texas countryside. This was a struggle – a filled with mistakes, accident and a dash of chaos that somehow made his victory all the more impressive.
Things started to unravel in round 19 when Zilian was trapped in one of that cruel, fraction of a second moments that make racing the heartache it is. Just when he entered the pits, the caution flag flew, and in a case of absolutely rotten timing, officials only breathed the pits before he crossed the border. The punishment? A one -way trip to the back of the field.
Most drivers would have effectively ruined their race. However, Zilian is not most drivers.
He started a furious load back through the peloton, took his way forward with the precision of a surgeon and the aggression of a man who simply refuses to lose. And just when it seemed as if his comeback story was built to a Hollywood -end, he was in another crisis. Contact with Corey Heim Links Zilisch’s JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a right -hand tire that looked as stable as a house of cards in a hurricane. Smoke wavy. The disaster threatened. This would be the moment that he broke.
It wasn’t.
Instead, Zilian shook the adversity again, found his way back to the front and took the lead with nine laps forever. However, that was hardly the end of the drama. Behind him, his JR Motorsports – teammate Carson Kvapil – processed for his first career -victory – everything he had with the racing director. But unlike Zilian, the happiness of Kvapil ran out. A pierced right band with five laps to start ending his challenge and on the left Zilisch with another problem to manage: fuel.
With William Byron in his mirrors, Zilian had to find the delicate balance between maintaining pace while holding enough gas in the tank to get home. Byron, fresh from winning the first phase, did his best to get it and cut a four -second gap to 1.6, but he just didn’t have time anymore. Zilian crossed the line, conquering and recorded his second career Xfinity win in a performance that proved that the hype is very, very real once and for all.
“That was much more difficult than I wanted,” Zilisch admitted after the race. “I didn’t drive a clean race at all … I was a bit mentally decided halfway through that race. I made way too many mistakes … I was happy that we could fight back. “
In the meantime, Byron had to settle for the second. “I had fun. It was a good training, “he said. “It was good to return to the rhythm of things and push the car. I think it will help me for (Sunday). “
Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Christian Eckes complete the top five.
And Zilian? He can do it again on Sunday, making his Nascar Cup series debut from the 14th starting place. But if Saturday proved something, it is that the 14th is about the same for him as a mosquito bite. Because when the green flag drops, the child knows how to find the front.
“It has been a nice weekend, but we have a big race tomorrow,” he said. “I am looking forward to that too.”
That is us, Connor. That’s how we are.
Nascar Xfinity Series Race Results FOCUSS Health 250
America Circuit
Austin, Texas
Saturday March 1, 2025
1. (1) Connor Zilian #, Chevrolet, 65.
2. (3) William Byron (I), Chevrolet, 65.
3. (8) Sam Mayer, Ford, 65.
4. (12) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 65.
5. (10) Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, 65.
6. (11) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 65.
7. (7) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 65.
8. (2) Ross Chastain (i), Chevrolet, 65.
9. (23) William Sawalich #, Toyota, 65.
10. (18) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 65.
11. (16) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 65.
12. (14) Sheldon Creed, Ford, 65.
13. (9) Riley Herbst (I), Toyota, 65.
14. (27) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 65.
15. (21) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 65.
16. (34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 65.
17. (15) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 65.
18. (30) Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 65.
19. (38) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 65.
20. (32) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 65.
21. (17) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 65.
22 (26) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 65.
23. (5) Carson kvapil #, Chevrolet, 65.
24. (19) Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, 65.
25. (29) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 65.
26. (20) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 65.
27. (36) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 65.
28. (35) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 65.
29. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 65.
30. (13) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 65.
31. (6) Corey Heim (I), Toyota, 65.
32. (22) Matt Dubedetto, Chevrolet, 65.
33. (33) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 64.
34. (28) Sage Karam, Toyota, Transmission, 58.
35. (31) Harrison Burton, Ford, Axle, 55.
36. (25) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, rear end, 26.
37. (37) Baltazar Leguizamon, Chevrolet, Suspension, 17.
38. (24) Carson Hocevar (I), Chevrolet, accident, 3.
Average speed of racing winner: 70,095 mph.
Time of race: 2 hours, 13 minutes, 32 seconds. Marge of Victory: 1,639 seconds.
Careful flag: 4 for 14 laps.
Lead changes: 14 under 9 drivers.
LAP Leaders: C. Zilian # 1-5; r. Chastain (i) 6; c. Zilian # 7-17; w. Byron (i) 18-20; r. Chastain (i) 21; t. Gray # 22-23; j. Love 24; t. Gray # 25; j. Love 26-30; r. Herbst (i) 31-37; h. Burton 38-42; c. Kvapil # 43-45; a. Hill 46-51; c. Kvapil # 52-55; c. Zilian # 56-65.
Summary of the leaders (Driver, Times Lead, Laps LED): Connor Zilian # 3 times for 26 laps; Carson Kvapil # 2 times for 7 laps; Riley Herbst (i) 1 time for 7 laps; Jesse Love 2 times for 6 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 6 laps; Harrison Burton 1 time for 5 laps; Taylor Gray # 2 times for 3 laps; William Byron (I) 1 time for 3 laps; Ross Chastain (i) 2 times for 2 laps.
Internship #1 top ten: 17.9,24,41,7,21,16,8,42.07
Internship #2 top ten: 25,10,8,27,39.44.07,11.53.28
I have been written about the sport of Nascar for more than three decades and previously worked full-time for the Sporting News and SCRIPPS showard News Service. I am also a contribution to two chicken soup for the soul books, including the NASCAR edition, published in 2010 and the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of Nascar: The Definitive Viewers” Guide to big-time Stock Car Auto Racing. ” I am a winner of several National Motorsports Press Association Award. Early in life I spent 23 years with a combination of active and active reserve military service, many of them in and around the special operational community that served to support Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm and ended my military career to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
