History at Gateway! Zilisch Earns Record Tying Fourth Consecutive Xfinity Win!
- Tim Moore
- Sep 6
- 6 min read
MADISON, I.L. – The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to World Wide Technology Raceway for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, September 6, with the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blue Hog. As the regular season finale, it offered the last playoff chance for teams outside the cut. After 160 laps, Zilisch won both the race and the regular season championship.
The Scenario:
Coming into the race, Zilisch led teammate Justin Allgaier by 20 points in the battle of the regular-season champion. Along with the two, also with a chance was Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer, who trailed the lead by 50 points. Though it was unlikely for Mayer, he’d need a miracle and a perfect day to get it done.
As for the battle for the final spot, AM Racing Team’s Harrison Burton came in with a 31-point gap over cousin Jeb Burton of Jordan Anderson Racing. Similar to Mayer, though it was possible to point his way in, Jeb would need some big luck to advance. Harrison started the race in 6th, compared to Jeb’s 19th. The only scenario that could occur that would find neither of them in the playoffs is if a new driver behind both drivers in the standings won. Everyone from 14th on back, beginning with RSS Racing’s Ryan Seig, who was eligible, was in a must-win scenario.
The Opening Stage:
On the opening lap, Zilisch took the outside and seemingly got beat by Big Machine Racing’s Nick Sanchez out of turn two, but Connor fought back mightily down the back and prevailed to take control of the lead.
From that point on, things were tame in the short 35-lap first stage. On lap 25, Zilsich expanded his lead to 1.64 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing’s William Sawalich, who was one of the must-win drivers. Sanchez, who started 2nd, faded back to 5th early in the run and stayed there the remainder of the stage. Sawalich’s teammate, Aric Almirola, eventually grabbed 2nd from him and pushed to make a late charge on Zilisch, but that momentum was derailed when Jordan Anderson cut down a right front tire entering turn one, hitting the outside wall hard, ultimately ending the stage.
Zilisch claimed his 9th stage win of the season. Pit strategy shuffled the running order during the break.
STAGE TWO:
On the restart, William Sawalich won the battle out of pit road, leading the field to green. Sawalich led the first three laps of the second stage, but a new challenger jumped to the point, as Justin Allgaier grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 47. Sawalich faded back to 4th for the remainder of the stage.
As for Zilisch, who restarted second, he spent most of the 2nd stage in third as Aric Almirola beat him on the restart, trapping the young star behind. Almirola, like in stage one, again charged late, as with 5 to go in the stage, he got right up to the bumper of Allgaier.
With four to go, the two remained side by side briefly with both drivers leaning on each other, but Allgaier prevailed, getting back clear. With the assistance of lap traffic, Almirola was unable to have enough momentum to challenge again. Justin Allgaier crossed the line to earn his 10th stage win of the season.
The Final Stage:
Unfortunately for Allgaier, bad luck broke out during the break, as he was caught speeding in section four, forcing him to the tail of the field. As a result, this put his sparring partner of Zilisch back in the lead just past the halfway mark.
On the lap 80 restart, Zilisch this time cleared the field with ease, opening a gap over a new challenger in second, being his best friend, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love. Love stayed within three-quarters of a second on Zilisch most of the early run, but faded to over a second behind on lap 94.
On lap 98, Almirola’s strong long run ability showed again, as he passed Love for 2nd. Almirola faded to 4th in the early stage, and at one point trailed by nearly two seconds to Zilisch.
On lap 103, Almirola cut the gap down to 1.584 seconds, as Zilisch began hitting hard lap traffic. Surprisingly, though, Almirola actually lost time during the process not making ground on the lead.
As for Justin Allgaier, after restarting 28th, he climbed to 12th on lap 107. For Allgaier, an opportunity opened up to gain more spots as devastation happened for Jeb Burton two laps later. Similar to team owner Jordan Anderson at the end of the first stage, Burton cut down a tire out of turn two, hitting the wall hard. He drove the car back to the pits with the right front on fire, but his hope of pursuing a championship was over.
This opened up the pits for everyone. Out of the pits, Zilisch beat out Almirola, keeping the lead. On the restart, Zilisch again made things look easy, while Almirola again faded to 3rd behind Love. The green did not stay out long, however, as right after the positive gain, another caution came out. It was Harrison Burton this time, as he spun off the nose of Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole, bringing the caution back out on lap 130. This incident began anarchy.
While Burton had to take his scuffs, everyone else stayed out. On the restart on lap 134, calamity, as Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed lost third gear, causing Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day to run into the back of him. In the process, Creed’s teammate Sam Mayer went spinning in turn one off his nose, collecting Allgaier, Sanchez, and more.
In a matter of laps, the hopes of a regular season championship for Allgaier were over. As for Zilisch, the only thing that separated him from his fourth straight win was 18 laps to the checkered flag.
On lap 142, with Zilisch to the outside of Love into turn one. Zilisch got a great jump, again clearing Love. Behind, it was a hard three-wide battle, as Sawalich peeked to the inside of Love, while Almirola used the top. Ultimately, Almirola prevailed over Sawalich, but again, another pesky caution came out, this time for a big chunk of debris down the front stretch that a few cars in the middle of the pack hit. Thankfully, nobody suffered any instant tire issues or damage from the debris. This set up a 12-lap dash to finish.
On the lap 148 restart, Almirola and Zilisch got to rubbing, but again Zilisch prevailed for the lead. Swalich was able to squeeze by Almirola to second.
With 10 laps to go on lap 150, the race of desperation began. Another driver who was in a must win situation of Christian Eckes, made a huge move bottom of three wide, taking third away. On lap 153, Zilisch expanded his lead to .701 over Sawalich, as it seemed the only way for the miracle to be completed was if another caution came out.
Unfortunately for Sawalich and Eckes, that wish never came true. As the checkered flag flew, Connor Zilisch earned his 9th win of the season, not just winning the regular season title, but also winning a record-tying 4th consecutive race. With the victory, Zilisch joined Sam Ard, who achieved the feat in 1983, and Front Row Motorsports driver Noah Gragson in 2022 as the third driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to do so.
Zilisch now trails the single-season record held by Kyle Busch by four wins, as Busch won 13 races in a single season back in 2010. With seven races left, Zilisch will need five wins to break the record. And while the odds are incredibly unlikely, it is important to note that Zilisch’s worst finish in the last 14 races is 5th, back in Mexico. Zilisch will also open up the playoffs with a 59-point advantage over the playoff cut.
UP NEXT:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series opens up its playoff on Friday, September 12, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last year, the race served as the regular season finale with NASCAR Cup Series driver Cole Custer of Haas Factory Team scoring the win. While Custer will not be in the race, an opportunity opens for drivers in the playoffs to make a leap towards championship hopes. The race can be found on the CW at 7:30 p.m. ET.
As for the NASCAR Cup Series, action continues tomorrow, Sunday, September 7, for the Enjoy Illinois 300. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin will start on pole for the race. Since joining the NASCAR schedule in 2022, three different drivers (Joey Logano in 2022, Kyle Busch in 2023, and Austin Cindric in 2024) have won races at World Wide Technology Raceway. Coverage for the race can be found on the USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET. Lastly, this race marks the second race of the opening round, so the stakes are only getting bigger.
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