Connor Zilisch wins at Roval; Gray eliminated from Xfinity playoffs by one point

Connor Zilisch, still a rookie, was unstoppable in the final road course race of the year, earning his tenth win of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity season.

“Enough people stayed out with me to give me a gap,” said Zilisch. “Thank you all for coming out. So much fun getting to race in my hometown. JR Motorsports cars were so fast this weekend. First in practice, qualified on the pole, led a lot of laps and came home with the win. Feels really good to get ten. Double digits is pretty awesome for my first win in the series. Now we just got to go get the championship.”

The race ended with some confusion as the caution flag flew on the final lap with practically nothing between Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray. Alex Labbé and Brennan Poole wrecked and started to drop fluid as they pulled away from the scene, forcing officials to act.

However, by the time NASCAR realized there was fluid on the track, the white flag was out — and so the race ended under caution.

Zilisch won the race over Austin Green, but all eyes were on the cutline due to the delayed call. NASCAR spent a lot of time reviewing the moment of caution as they tried to figure out who secured the eighth and final spot in the Round of 8. Eventually, word came down that Sammy Smith was in by a single point.

Taylor Gray was the first driver out, falling out of title contention alongside Austin Hill, Nick Sanchez, and Harrison Burton.

Stages 1 and 2

The chaotic Turn 7 hairpin quickly brought the action as Anthony Alfredo went for an early spin. Corey Day also slammed the wall in Turn 2, sustaining notable damage to the right-side of his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Harrison Burton, who was one of four drivers trying to get out of the elimination zone, saw his hopes of advancing vanish early with a mechanical issue. He also failed to get off the track, causing a caution flag.

While most of the field chose to pit, four drivers stayed out in an attempt to snag some stage points, led by Sanchez. However, they could not hold back those on fresh tires as Zilisch passed them all and won the stage.

At the start of Stage 2, Zilisch remained in control. Josh Williams stalled on track and brought out the next yellow of the race.

The rest of the stage went green, with most of the field short-pitting the stage end. Sanchez was penalized for taking the jack with him when he left his pit box, severely hindering his chances of advancing.

Love stayed out to win Stage 2, helping his points position.

Stage 3

While Zilisch remained firmly in control, there was a lot of contact throughout the field.

The battle around the cutline was tense as Hill quickly chipped away at it. The driver on the hot seat was changing constantly, shifting from Creed to Kvapil and then Gray.

Unfortunately for Hill, he dropped a cylinder while just two points out. He fell through the field as Gray breathed easier. His closest competition was Smith, who wasn’t going to be able to bridge the gap, so he pitted for fresh tires with just four laps to go in the race.

Moments later, the caution flew for Sage Karam, which was a huge gift for Smith.The race was pushed into overtime, setting up a chaotic finish.

Several drivers chose to pit, but they all restarted outside the top ten. Smith cycled up into the top five, putting him in a great spot to advance into the next round.