Connor Zilisch cruises to 10th victory of 2025 Xfinity season at Charlotte Road Course: It was another routine victory for NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie phenom Connor Zilisch, who hit double digits with his 10th win of the season. Behind Zilisch, it was a chaotic scramble for the remaining five berths in the Round of 8 of the series Playoffs.(Read more)(NASCAR)
In dominant fashion, leading 61 of 68 laps, #88-Connor Zilisch won the Blue Cross NC 250 Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. He becomes the sixth driver in series history to win 10 races in a single season. It’s the 11th victory of his career in 32 career starts.
#87-Austin Green earned the best finish of his career in second. It’s his fifth top-10 finish in 11 starts this season. #8-Sammy Smith rallied to third with a late caution, advancing to the final spot in the Round of 8. #24-Kaz Grala and #9-Connor Mosack rounded out the top five.
#27-Jeb Burton, #18-William Sawalich, #7-Justin Allgaier, #48-Nick Sanchez and #16-Christian Eckes complete the top 10.
Playoff drivers finishing outside the top 10: #00-Sheldon Creed (11th), #2-Jesse Love (12th), #54-Taylor Gray (13th), #1-Carson Kvapil (15th), #20-Brandon Jones (18th), #41-Sam Mayer (19th), #21-Austin Hill (28th) and #25-Harrison Burton (34th).
#54-Gray, #48-Sanchez, #21-Hill and #25-Burton were eliminated from the playoffs.
#88-Zilisch won the opening stage, his 11th stage victory of the season. Banking points, #2-Love won Stage 2, his second stage victory of the season.
There were six lead changes among five drivers and six cautions for 13 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 72.628 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Driver Points Before Reset, Owner Points Before Reset, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Charlotte ROVAL Paint Schemes
Race Fast Facts – Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL:
Connor Zilisch # (P) won the Blue Cross NC 250, his 11th victory in 32 Xfinity Series races.
This is his 10th victory and 20th top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
Austin Green (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2025.
Sammy Smith (P) (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
Connor Zilisch (P) (first) was the highest finishing rookie.
Connor Zilisch # (P) leads the point standings by 52 points over Justin Allgaier (P)
Xfinity Series Playoff Standings after the Charlotte ROVAL (Race 29 of 33):
1)#88-Connor Zilisch 3,071 points, +55
2)#7-Justin Allgaier 3,038, +24
3)#20-Brandon Jones 3,018, +4
4)#41-Sam Mayer 3,016, +2
Currently below elimination line
5)#2-Jesse Love 3,014, -2
6)#8-Sammy Smith 3,009, -7
7)#1-Carson Kvapil 3,005, -11
8)#00-Sheldon Creed 3,003, -13
See the Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Driver Points Before Reset and Owner Points Before Reset.
Race Updates:
After a lengthy review, #8-Smith reached third position and #54-Gray dropped to 13th. Smith advances to the Round of 8 by one point over Gray.
Lap 67: The caution is out on the final lap for fluid entering Turn 7 from #07-Labbe. #8-Smith is scored one-point above #54-Gray for the final spot.
Lap 66: #88-Zilisch keeps the lead on the restart ahead of #87-Green. #8-Smith has raced to fourth position while #54-Gray slides back. #07-Labbe spins entering Turn 7 and #44-Pole clobbers him.
Lap 65: The majority of the field pits. Race leader #88-Zilisch stays out, followed by #87-Green, #27-Burton, #24-Grala, #54-Gray, #07-Labbe, #9-Mosack, #8-Smith, #20-Jones, #18-Sawalich and #48-Sanchez. #7-Allgaier is the first off pit road with fresh tires. #21-Hill is sitting on pit road with the team underneath the hood.
Lap 63: #8-Smith hits pit road with four laps remaining for a flat right-front tire. #53-Karam cut a tire and stalled on the track to bring out the caution.
Lap 61: #8-Smith passes #1-Kvapil for ninth position, but remains six points behind #54-Gray for the final spot.
Lap 60: #9-Mosack pits from third position with a fuel-pressure issue.
Lap 59: #88-Zilisch has improved the lead to just under seven seconds. #9-mosack, #87-Green and #16-Eckes are the top five. Fifth place is 21 seconds off the lead.
Lap 56: #48-Sanchez pits for a flat right-front tire and has plummeted to over 30 points below the cutline.
Lap 54: #88-Zilisch has stretched the lead to nearly six seconds over #7-Allgaier. #21-Hill has fallen to 15th position.
Lap 51: #21-Hill is trying to cycle through his switches, but has lost a position to #24-Grala and is currently three points below the cutline.
Lap 50: #21-Hill reports that he’s down a cylinder and is losing pace quickly.
Lap 47: #8-Smith tried to outbreak #18-Sawalich entering Turn 7 and clipped #17-Day to turn him around.
Lap 46: #21-Hill has raced inside the top 10 after restarting around 20th position.
Lap 44: #88-Zilisch gaps the field on the restart, with #7-Allgaier, #16-Eckes and #9-Mosack battling for second position. #26-Thompson and #42-Alfredo overcooked the entry of the backstretch chicane and had to make a stop-and-go.
Lap 42: #2-Love wins the race off pit road but will restart 18th. #21-Hill passed #8-Smith for position. #00-Creed lost two spots with the crew pulling out the left-rear fender. #41-Mayer will restart at the rear of the field for his crew being over the wall too soon.
Lap 40: #2-Love wins Stage 2, his second stage victory of the season. #8-Smith, #21-Hill, #00-Creed, #1-Kvapil, #41-Mayer, #07-Labbe, #91-Bilicki, #53-Karam and #88-Zilisch earn stage points.
Lap 37: Race leader #88-Zilisch pits, handing the lead to #2-Love. #8-Smith is four seconds behind in second place. #21-Hill, #00-Creed, #1-Kvapil and #41-Mayer are other playoff drivers that elected to go after stage points.
Lap 36: Pit road is busy, led by #7-Allgaier who was running in fourth position. #9-Mosack, #77-Green, #19-Almirola, #27-Burton, #48-Sanchez, #54-Gray, #26-Thompson, #11-Hemric, #16-Eckes, #18-Sawalich, #24-Grala, #17-Day, #42-Alfredo and #31-Perkins pit. The jack got stuck underneath Sanchez’s car and was brought outside the stall, triggering a pass-through penalty.
Lap 35: #88-Zilisch has extended the lead to six seconds over #2-Love. Drivers will start flipping the stage in the next couple of laps before pit road closes with two laps remaining in the stage.
Lap 34: #42-Alfredo moved #10-Dye out of the way through Turn 4 after contact earlier in the race.
Lap 33: #48-Sanchez has cracked the top 20 after pitting at the conclusion of the opening stage. #54-Gray has fallen to 21st position.
Lap 31: #9-Mosack drives under #1-Kvapil entering Turn 7 and ran up the track, allowing #41-Mayer to get to his inside after bumping the back of Mosack. #1-Kvapil has a right-front tire rub after the contact with #00-Creed.
Lap 30: #88-Zilisch clears #2-Love on the restart to keep the lead. #21-Hill dives into Turn 7 to take fourth spot from #7-Allgaier. #1-Kvapil doored #00-creed and got into Allgaier during the same corner.
Lap 27: #45-Williams is stalled on the track to bring out the caution.
Lap 25: #88-Zilisch launches out of the restart zone to clear #2-Love. #8-Smith squeezes into third position, ahead of #7-Allgaier. #21-Hill passes #1-Kvapil entering the backstretch chicane to race inside the top five.
Lap 23: #48-Sanchez leads a handful of drivers down pit road for service after not pitting towards the end of the opening stage. #39-Sieg had his crew go under the hood.
Lap 20: #88-Zilisch wins Stage 1, his 11th stage victory of the season. #2-Love, #7-Allgaier, #8-Smith, #1-Kvapil, #21-Hill, #48-Sanchez, #19-Almirola, #00-Creed and #9-Mosack earned stage points. #41-Mayer dropped to 12th after making a stop-and-go penalty on the backstretch. #54-Gray finished the opening stage in 17th and dropping close to the cutline.
Lap 19: #19-Almirola missed Turn 7, triggering another four-wide battle getting back on to the oval portion of the course.
Lap 17: #8-Smith makes a four-wide pass entering Turn 7 to move up to sixth position. #88-Zilisch takes the lead entering the backstretch chicane. #41-Mayer got pushed off the track in the backstretch chicane and had to perform a stop-and-go.
Lap 16: The majority of the field pits, with the exception of #48-Sanchez, #99-DiBenedetto, #27-Burton and #4-Retzliaff. #7-Allgaier wins the race off pit road. #88-Zilisch believes he has a loose wheel.
Lap 14: The caution is out for a stalled #25-Burton after pulling off the track in Turn 4.
Lap 13: #25-Burton is having a fuel-pressure issue and has dropped to 30th position.
Lap 12: #7-Allgaier locked up the tires in second position and is now seven seconds behind race leader #88-Zilisch.
Lap 10: #88-Zilisch has stretched the lead to more than three seconds over #7-Allgaier. #9-Mosack runs third, with #8-Smith and #41-Mayer rounding out the top five.
Lap 8: #19-Almirola goes wide in Turn 7, allowing #21-Hill to sneak by for 10th position.
Lap 7: #50-Pardus has gone to the garage with a mechanical issue.
Lap 4: #21-Hill charges Turn 7 hard, making a three-wide pass on #00-Creed and #17-Day and has moved up to 12th position.
Lap 3: #17-Day has a significant right-rear tire rub but continues on. He’s dropped outside the top 10 with a damaged vehicle.
Lap 2: #17-Day got into the wall on the exit of Turn 2 while running inside the top five and the right-rear quarter panel is flared out. #42-Alfredo got spun by #10-Dye entering Turn 7.
Lap 1: #88-Zilisch clears #7-Allgaier for the lead on the exit of Turn 1 and goes on to lead the opening lap.
Race Info:
Broadcast: CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 67 laps / 152.76 Miles
Stages: 20 / 40 / 67
Average time of race: 2:28:35
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution vehicle speed: 45 mph
Fuel window: 35 laps
Cars to the rear: #4-Parker Retzlaff, #10-Daniel Dye, #42-Anthony Alfredo, #45-Josh Williams, #51-Jeremy Clements (unapproved adjustments); #27-Jeb Burton (missed driver intros).
Pit-Stall Selections
With a blistering qualifying lap (96.503 mph), #88-Connor Zilisch won the pole for the Blue Cross NC 250 Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL by nearly half a second. It’s his eighth pole of the season, with five of those coming on road courses.
JR Motorsports swept the top five positions with #7-Justin Allgaier turning the second-quickest time (95.984 mph). #9-Connor Mosack (95.668 mph), #8-Sammy Smith (95.472 mph) and #1-Carson Kvapil (95.390 mph) are the rest of the top five.
#17-Corey Day will start sixth. Playoff drivers #41-Sam Mayer and #2-Jesse Love will start seventh and eighth, respectively. #24-Kaz Grala and #87-Austin Green complete the top 10.
Playoff drivers starting outside the top 10: #00-Sheldon Creed (13th), #48-Nick Sanchez (14th), #21-Austin Hill (16th), #54-Taylor Gray (17th), #20-Brandon Jones (23rd) and #25-Harrison Burton (28th).
Did Not Qualify: #14-Garrett Smithley, #70-Thomas Annunziata, #35-Austin J Hill, #32-Andrew Patterson
See the complete Charlotte Roval Starting Lineup.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Blue Cross NC 250 Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#88-Connor Zilisch 95.918 mph
#1-Carson Kvapil 95.370 mph
#9-Connor Mosack 95.358 mph
#2-Jesse Love 95.340 mph
#7-Justin Allgaier 95.280 mph
Slowest: #28-Kyls Sieg 90.524 mph
Most laps run: #99-Matt DiBenedetto, 24
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of nine drivers): #8-Sammy Smith 93.045 mph
Notes: Eight minutes into the session, #7-Allgaier locked up the rear tires entering the frontstretch chicane and went through the turf. #25-Harrison Burton reported a vibration after sliding the front tires going through the frontstretch chicane. #41-Sam Mayer blew the final set of corners and went through the infield turf. #48-Nick Sanchez hopped a curb and the side skirt flared out. #9-Mosack wheel-hopped entering the backstretch chicane and drove through the runoff area. #26-Dean Thompson had issues getting into third gear and the Sam Hunt Racing team needed to change the transmission issue. #11-Daniel Hemric also had a shifting issues and Kaulig Racing is assessing the damage. #10-Daniel Dye wheel-hopped and broke a rear axle. #25-Harrison Burton will change the fuel pump after qualifying.
See full Charlotte Roval Practice Results.
Crew Rosters
NASCAR Xfinity Series News & Notes — Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL:
- This weekend marks the eighth running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval).
- Playoff drivers from 5th-12th are separated by 25 points.
- Points needed to advance: Mayer – 19, Gray – 46, Creed – 49, Kvapil – 53.
- Connor Zilisch’s 2.1 average finish in the last 16 races is the best in series history in a 16-race span.
- Connor Zilisch won seven of the last ten races this season, tied with Sam Ard for most in a ten-race span.
- JR Motorsports is on a two race winless streak; the team’s longest winless streak this season is three races.
- Sam Mayer, with two wins, is the only active driver to win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in NXS.
- Four of the last five Charlotte Roval races went to overtime.
- JR Motorsports could become second team to sweep all road course races in a single season (with multiple races) – Team Penske 2013 – 3 races.
- Justin Allgaier will make his 500th career start at the Roval, he made his NXS debut at Charlotte in October 2008.
Goodyear Tire Notes: Goodyear introduced a new road course tire for the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the July race at Sonoma, which has since been raced at Watkins Glen and the Xfinity Series’ outing at Portland International Raceway. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams have so far only used this 15-inch road course tire at Watkins Glen in August.
There are 42 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Blue Cross NC 250 Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. Four cars will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Alex Labbe, #9-Connor Mosack, #11-Daniel Hemric, #14-Garrett Smithley, #17-Corey Day, #19-Aric Almirola, #24-Kaz Grala, #32-Andrew Patterson, #35-Austin J Hill, #45-Josh Williams, #50-Preston Pardus, #53-Sage Karam, #70-Thomas Annunziata, #87-Austin Green, #91-Josh Bilicki, #92-Leland Honeyman Jr.
See the full Charlotte ROVAL entry list.
NASCAR Xfinity Series News & Notes – Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
- This weekend marks the eighth running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval).
- The Charlotte Roval was on the Xfinity Series schedule every year since inaugural race in 2018.
- The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval) is the cutoff race in the Round of 12.
- The Charlotte Roval hosted a Playoff race every season since 2018 and was the Round of 12 cutoff every season since 2020.
- The Charlotte Roval is the seventh and final road course this season.
- See much more
2025 practice and qualifying procedures
Charlotte Roval At-Track Schedule
Race rules and information:
