Zilisch holds off Larson for thriller at Bristol; Allgaier nets $100,000 bonus

Connor Zilisch rediscovered his winning form Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, parlaying a bold pit strategy into a victory in the Suburban Propane 300.

While Zilisch celebrated in Victory Lane, veteran Justin Allgaier walked away with a $100,000 O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash 4 Cash bonus, finishing fourth as the highest-placing eligible driver.

The race turned on a gamble with 28 laps remaining. Crew chief Rodney Childers opted to keep Zilisch on the track on older tires while the dominant car of the evening, Kyle Larson, pitted for fresh rubber. The gamble paid off as Zilisch used the track position to fend off Larson, who led 230 of the 300 laps and swept the first two stages.

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For Zilisch, the win provided a much-needed confidence boost during a challenging rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“It’s been a tough past two weeks for me in the Cup Series, and it feels good to come back down here… and prove that I can still do it,” Zilisch said. “You finish in the back every week and you forget who you are. This feels good.”

Zilisch’s first short-track win was the 12th of his career. It also marked the first O’Reilly Series victory for Childers, who moved to the series after a decorated career with Kevin Harvick.

Larson, who will compete in Sunday’s Food City 500, harried Zilisch in the closing laps but a slip in Turn 4 with two laps to go allowed Zilisch to pull away for a 0.703-second margin of victory.

“It’s a bummer, but I had a lot of fun tonight,” Larson said. “Just tough being the leader in that situation of knowing to pit or not.”

The race was punctuated by a frightening moment in the final stage when Mason Maggio’s engine exploded, filling the stadium with smoke before the car erupted in flames on pit road. Allgaier’s crew members assisted in pulling Maggio from the vehicle; he was uninjured.

Allgaier’s fourth-place finish extended his series lead to 130 points over Sheldon Creed, who finished sixth. Brent Crews took third, while Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five.

Suburban Propane 300

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1. (15) Connor Zilisch(i), Chevrolet, 300.
2. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 300.
3. (17) Brent Crews #, Toyota, 300.
4. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 300.
5. (8) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 300.
6. (2) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 300.
7. (1) William Sawalich, Toyota, 300.
8. (14) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 300.
9. (9) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 300.
10. (6) Taylor Gray, Toyota, 300.
11. (11) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 300.
12. (12) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 300.
13. (16) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 300.
14. (38) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 300.
15. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 300.
16. (13) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 300.
17. (22) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 300.
18. (10) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 300.
19. (4) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 300.
20. (5) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 300.
21. (23) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 300.
22. (30) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 299.
23. (27) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 299.
24. (21) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 298.
25. (20) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, 298.
26. (34) JJ Yeley, Ford, 298.
27. (32) Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 298.
28. (28) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 298.
29. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 297.
30. (33) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 297.
31. (36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 297.
32. (26) Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, 295.
33. (24) Logan Bearden, Chevrolet, 295.
34. (37) Blake Lothian, Toyota, 295.
35. (25) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 290.
36. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 287.
37. (31) Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, Engine, 191.
38. (35) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, Suspension, 176.

Race Statistics Average Speed of Winner: 77.884 mph. Time of Race: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes, 11 Seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.703 Seconds. Caution Flags: 8 for 59 laps. Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers.