With several playoff spots on the line at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, it was Connor Zilisch who put together another stellar performance to continue his rookie-record-breaking 9th NASCAR Xfinity Series win of 2025.
Zilisch overcame a few restarts with less than 50 laps to go, staving off Jesse Love, Aric Almirola and a host of others as chaos broke out in the field behind them.
William Sawalich continued his recent stretch of great races, coming home in the runner-up position. Christian Eckes nabbed a third-place finish, while Brandon Jones and Love rounded out the top five. After fighting for the lead late, Almirola came home sixth while Daniel Hemric, Parker Retzlaff, Corey Day and Daniel Dye took home top-10 finishes.
“That one was stressful. Four in a row, that’s awesome,” Zilisch told the CW. “This is going to be tough to keep up, it’s rare that you can go on a run like this.”
Zilisch won stage one under caution after Jordan Anderson pancaked his No. 32 car in turn 1. After a slower pit stop, it was Justin Allgaier who took control of the race during stage two, getting past Sawalich. Allgaier would hold off Almirola to win stage two.
Stage three brought some chaos as playoff hopeful Jeb Burton made hard contact off turn 2, ending his postseason hopes. Sheldon Creed would subsequently lock in his playoff position, leaving two spots up for grabs.
A Harrison Burton turn 1 spin would send No. 25 fans into some uneasiness, setting up another restart where a multi-car pileup took place. Creed, Sam Mayer, Nick Sanchez and others were crunched on the front straightaway, bringing the field back together with less than 25 laps remaining.
Zilisch would hold on for the win on the ensuing restart, and both Taylor Gray and Harrison Burton would clinch playoff spots. The JR Motorsports driver became just the third driver in series history to win four straight races, joining Sam Ard and Noah Gragson in that feat (h/t Seth Eggert).
Carson Kvapil, Creed, Burton and Austin Hill will begin the playoffs below the cut line, all with a deficit less than five points. The Xfinity Series playoffs start next Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW
Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.