Connor Zilisch, the sensational rookie in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, secured his 10th victory of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Saturday.
But behind his routine, wire-to-wire run, the final berths for the Field of 8 in the playoffs turned into pure chaos, with JR Motorsports benefiting from a desperate, last-lap gamble.
The win — Zilisch’s 11th career victory and first on the 2.28-mile circuit — saw the 19-year-old lead 61 of 68 laps after taking his eighth pole of the season. He officially took the checkered flag under the sixth caution for oil on the track, which occurred after he had already taken the white flag.
“It’s so much fun getting to race in my hometown,” Zilisch said. “The JR Motorsports cars were so fast this weekend. … Double digits is pretty awesome for my first year in the series. Now we’ve got to go win the championship.”
While Zilisch’s No. 88 Chevrolet was long gone, the battle for the final playoff spot delivered the day’s main drama. In a twist of fate, JRM managed to get all four of its drivers into the next round, thanks to a bold call for Sammy Smith.
Smith’s No. 8 Chevrolet was limping on Lap 63 with a cut tire when crew chief Phillip Bell called him to pit road. Almost immediately after, Sage Karam crashed on the frontstretch, bringing out a caution and erasing Zilisch’s 10.987-second lead. The yellow flag allowed Smith to cycle out with fresh tires, putting him seventh for the overtime restart on Lap 67, one spot behind contender Taylor Gray.
“Phillip Bell made a great call to pit, obviously. It was a Hail Mary move, and it worked,” Smith said.
When the green flag dropped for the final time, Smith charged to finish third. Gray, caught in traffic, tumbled to 13th. That single-point swing was enough to hand Smith the final spot in the Round of 8.
“Just obviously bummed out,” said a dejected Gray, who finished 13th in the No. 17 Toyota. “We don’t get to go racing for a championship at the end of the year. … We didn’t have a good Bristol, and we shouldn’t have to even be in this spot.”
The dramatic final laps sealed the deal on the elimination of several playoff contenders.
Austin Hill’s hopes ended on Lap 50 after he reported engine issues (a dropped cylinder), relegating him to a 28th-place finish, 21 points shy of advancing.
Nick Sanchez struggled all day, suffering two pit road penalties before finishing ninth and being eliminated. Harrison Burton lost six laps in the garage with fuel pressure issues and finished 34th. In the final reckoning, JRM’s Carson Kvapil (15th) survived the overtime scramble to advance by just three points over Gray.
Joining JRM drivers Zilisch, Smith, Kvapil, and defending series champion Justin Allgaier (eighth) in the Field of 8 were Sheldon Creed (11th), Jesse Love (12th), and Sam Mayer (19th), who all advanced on points.
The playoff fight overshadowed a career-best runner-up finish by non-playoff driver Austin Green. The top 10 was rounded out by non-playoff drivers Kaz Grala (fourth), Connor Mosack (fifth), Jeb Burton (sixth), and William Sawalich (seventh), with Sanchez finishing ninth and Christian Eckes tenth.
Blue Cross NC 250
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Road Course
Concord, North Carolina
Saturday, October 4, 2025
- (1) Connor Zilisch # (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (10) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 68.
- (4) Sammy Smith (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (9) Kaz Grala(i), Toyota, 68.
- (3) Connor Mosack(i), Chevrolet, 68.
- (30) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 68.
- (15) William Sawalich #, Toyota, 68.
- (2) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (14) Nick Sanchez # (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (18) Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, 68.
- (13) Sheldon Creed (P), Ford, 68.
- (8) Jesse Love (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (17) Taylor Gray # (P), Toyota, 68.
- (11) Aric Almirola (P), Toyota, 68.
- (5) Carson Kvapil # (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (26) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 68.
- (27) Daniel Hemric(i), Chevrolet, 68.
- (23) Brandon Jones (P), Toyota, 68.
- (7) Sam Mayer (P), Ford, 68.
- (22) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 68.
- (24) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 68.
- (6) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 68.
- (34) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 68.
- (29) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 68.
- (25) Sage Karam, Toyota, 68.
- (31) Leland Honeyman, Chevrolet, 68.
- (36) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 68.
- (16) Austin Hill (P), Chevrolet, 68.
- (35) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 68.
- (21) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 67.
- (12) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 67.
- (20) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 67.
- (37) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 67.
- (28) Harrison Burton (P), Ford, 64.
- (33) Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 62.
- (38) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, Transmission, 44.
- (32) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 20.
- (19) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, Transmission, 7.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 72.628 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 8 Mins, 5 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.134 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 13 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
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