Aric Almirola denied Connor Zilisch a ticket to the Championship 4 with a pass with 10 laps to go to win the Focused Health 302 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Oct. 11 at Las Vegas.
Almirola made the pass and cleared Zilisch despite contact between the two leaders down the backstretch.
Zilisch can clinch a spot win or lose as soon as next week at Talladega given his playoff cushion (+82 to the playoff cutline), but he missed out on the win at Vegas.
Talladega looms next week as a possible major shakeup around the playoff cutline, with the playoff field now knowing at least two drivers will advance to the final four on points.
Here’s the full playoff picture after Saturday’s race at Las Vegas:
After 1 of 3 races in the Round of 8
1. Connor Zilisch +82 ahead of 5th
2. Justin Allgaier +44
3. Jesse Love +20
4. Sam Mayer +8
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5. Brandon Jones -8 behind 4th
6. Sheldon Creed -21
7. Carson Kvapil -22
8. Sammy Smith -24
- Sept. 12: Food City 300, Bristol Motor Speedway (Winner: Aric Almirola) Round of 12
- Sept. 27: Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas Speedway (Winner: Brandon Jones) Round of 12
- Oct. 4: Drive for the Cure 250, Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (Winner: Connor Zilisch) Round of 12
- Oct. 11: Ambetter Health 302, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Winner: Aric Almirola) Round of 8
- Oct. 18: United Rentals 250, Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m., CW Network) Round of 8
- Oct. 25: Untitled race at Martinsville Speedway (6:30 p.m., CW Network) Round of 8
- Nov. 1: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race, Phoenix Raceway (6:30 p.m., CW Network)
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