Rain Shortened Race Results in Connor Zilisch’s 4th Win of the Season

Adam Tropper - Motorsports Today Reporter

DOVER, DEL - For the second straight year, the Xfinity race at Dover Motor Speedway was impacted by rain. However, this time, the 200-lap event was called short at lap 134. Regardless of the length, the Monster Mile still proved to be a formidable opponent. 

When the race kicked off, Taylor Gray in his #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota seemed to be the car to beat. Gray was able to win Stage 1, but a bad pit stop relegated him all the way back to 15th, and he was never able to recover. Part of the reason why, however, is simply the fact that there were ZERO cautions for incident the entire race. 

As the race continued, a familiar race in recent weeks proved to be the one to beat. That person is none other than Connor Zilisch, coming off his 3rd win of the season at Sonoma last weekend. Zilisch didn’t have the easiest path, though, as the fastest long-run car belonged to Aric Almirola, who was back in the JGR #19 machine as part of his limited Xfinity schedule.

Almirola got close, but never had the chance. The rain came down, and NASCAR was forced to call the race. Post-race, Almirola said, “ I wish we would’ve been able to race him heads up… 2nd under these circumstances stinks. I can take 2nd place when we just get beat, but yea, this is frustrating.”

For Zilisch, this is his 2nd oval win of the season (Pocono), and he continued his historic hot streak. In the past eight races, Zilisch has posted an astounding average finish of 2.2, with three wins and three runner-ups included in this stretch. This is just a piece of the puzzle that has led JR Motorsports to be so dominant this season, as they now have 99 total wins as an organization, and have led Chevrolet to their 12th straight Xfinity Series victory, a record for the series.

Additionally, this is a full-circle moment for the soon-to-be 19-year-old. It was only a little over a year ago when Zilisch won his first oval event in the ARCA Menards Series here at Dover. “That was the start of everything for me… I’ve gotten opportunities I never thought I’d get,” Zilisch said. “It’s full-circled for sure. I’m blessed to be able to do what I’ve been doing.”

Zilisch then noted how his Miles the Monster ARCA trophy is the only one that currently sits in his room, but when asked what he’d do with his 2nd one, he jokingly remarked that “maybe I can make a baby with two of them and get a third one.”

Stay tuned for the NASCAR Cup Series Race here at Dover tomorrow at 2:00 P.M., airing on TNT (with the in-season tournament alt-cast airing on TruTV).