Connor Zilisch scores fourth straight victory, wins Xfinity Series regular season championship: Connor Zilisch’s dream season continued on a track he’d never raced before. Holding off the rest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series field over a succession of restarts late in Saturday night’s Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Zilisch achieved a litany of milestones with his ninth victory as a rookie and 10th career.(Read more)(NASCAR)

#88-Connor Zilisch won the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He ends the regular season with four consecutive victories, tallying nine victories overall. JR Motorsports earned its 16th victory of the season, setting a new high for the company.
#18-William Sawalich finished runner-up, with #16-Christian Eckes placing third. Both drivers needed to win in order to qualify for the postseason. #20-Brandon Jones and #2-Jesse Love rounded out the top five.
#19-Aric Almirola, #11-Daniel Hemric, #4-Parker Retzlaff, #17-Corey Day and #10-Daniel Dye complete the top 10.
Zilisch won the opening stage while #7-Justin Allgaier charged to the Stage 2 victory, his series-high 10th of the season.
There were eight lead changes among five drivers and six cautions for 42 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 90.543 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Driver Points Before Reset, Owners Points Before Reset, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Gateway Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – World Wide Technology Raceway:
Connor Zilisch # won the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog, his 10th victory in 29 Xfinity Series races.
This is his ninth victory and 17th top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
William Sawalich # (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2025.
Christian Eckes # (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Connor Zilisch (first) was the highest finishing rookie.
Connor Zilisch # leads the point standings by 53 points over Justin Allgaier.

Xfinity Series Playoff Standings after Gateway (Race 26 of 33):
1)Connor Zilisch 2,064, +59
2)#7-Justin Allgaier 2,035, +30
3)#41-Sam Mayer 2,016, +11
4)#2-Jesse Love 2,013, +8
5)#20-Brandon Jones 2,013, +8
6)#8-Sammy Smith 2,009, +4
7)#48-Nick Sanchez 2,006, +1
8)#1-Carson Kvapil 2,005, +0
Currently below elimination line
9)#54-Taylor Gray 2,005, -0
10)#00-Sheldon Creed 2,003, -2
11)#25-Harrison Burton 2,002, -3
12)#21-Austin Hill 2,000, -5
See the Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Driver Points Before Reset, Owners Points Before Reset.

Race Updates:
Lap 160: #88-Zilisch wins at Gateway. #18-Sawalich, #16-Eckes, #20-Jones and #2-Love round out the top five.
Lap 158: #88-Zilisch has extended the lead to one-second ahead of #18-Sawalich with two laps remaining.
Lap 153: #88-Zilisch leads by seven-tenths of a second over #18-Sawalich. #16-Eckes has raced up to third.
Lap 148: #88-Zilisch maintains the lead on the restart. #18-Sawalich, #19-Almirola and #2-Love swap positions. #16-Eckes has cracked the top five for the first time.
Lap 143: #88-Zilisch clears for the lead on the restart. #19-Almirola made a power move to the outside of #2-Love and #18-Sawalich to take second. #20-Jones moved to third. The caution flies for debris.
Lap 142: #88-Zilisch and #2-Love will restart from the front row with #19-Almirola and #18-Sawalich making up the second row.
Lap 133: #00-Creed missed a shift on the restart, clogging the lines up. #41-Mayer got turned into the outside wall and ricocheted into #7-Allgaier. #54-Gray, #48-Sanchez, #39-Sieg, #26-Thompson and #28-Sieg were all involved.
Lap 128: #44-Poole slides up the track and tags #25-Burton in Turns 1 and 2 to bring out the caution.
Lap 119: #88-Zilisch pulls away with the lead on the restart. #2-Love, #19-Almirola, #20-Jones and #00-Creed round out the top five.
Lap 109: #27-Burton clobbered the outside wall exiting Turn 2 with a mechanical failure and his right-front is on fire.
Lap 108: The battle for third is heating up with #2-Love, #18-Sawalich, #20-Jones, #21-Hill and #17-Day all running with a second of each other.
Lap 105: After restarting at the back of the pack, #7-Allgaier has raced to 12th position, more than 10 seconds off the race lead.
Lap 101: #27-Burton bumped#25-Burton out of the way while battling for 19th position with less than 60 laps remaining in the regular season.
Lap 97: #19-Almirola takes second spot from #2-Love, 1.5-seconds behind race leader #88-Zilisch.
Lap 96: #16-Eckes is making a late rally, up to seventh position, running some of the quickest laps on the track.
Lap 91: #39-Sieg slipped out of the groove in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, dropping to 27th position.
Lap 89: #19-Almirola is moving back through the field, taking third position from #18-Sawalich.
Lap 83: #17-Day has cracked the top 10 for the first time in the race, currently in eighth place.
Lap 79: #88-Sawalich surges to the lead on the restart. #2-Love takes the runner-up spot from #18-Sawalich. #19-Almirola and #21-Hill round out the top five.
Lap 75: #88-Zilisch and #18-Sawalich leap two positions to win the race off pit road. #7-Allgaier was caught for speeding off pit road after exiting the pits in third.
Lap 70: #7-Allgaier wins Stage 2, his series-high 10th stage victory of the season. #19-Almirola, #88-Zilisch, #18-Sawalich, #2-Love, #21-Hill, #20-Jones, #16-Eckes, #48-Sanchez and #41-Mayer score stage points. Allgaier reported his left-rear tire was coming apart at the end of the stage after contact with Almirola.
Lap 66: #19-Almirola has inched to the bumper of #7-Allgaier down the backstretch. The two drivers trade paint through Turns 3 and 4. Allgaier keeps the lead with four laps remaining in the stage.
Lap 63: #41-Mayer has lost three spots in the last handful of spots, with #2-Love, #21-Hill and #20-Jones all getting by for position.
Lap 60: #19-Almirola is reeling #7-Allgaier in, separated by a half-second with 10 laps remaining in the stage.
Lap 54: #41-Mayer re-enters the top five, passing #2-Love. #39-Sieg has slid back to 16th position after taking two tires at the stage break.
Lap 49: #19-Almirola takes the runner-up spot from #18-Sawalich with #88-Zilisch moving through to third. #2-Love has cracked the top five.
Lap 46: #7-Allgaier passes #18-Sawalich entering Turn 3 to take the race lead. #19-Almirola is pressuring #88-Zilisch for third spot.
Lap 43: #18-Sawalich clears the inside line for the lead on the restart. #7-Allgaier made a three-wide move to the outside and races up to second. #21-Hill drops three positions to fifth.
Lap 39: #18-Sawalich gained two spots on pit road to take the lead. #21-Hill made up five positions to second. #39-Sieg took two tires and gained 16 positions to fourth. #1-Kvapil is being pushed behind the pit wall with a possible engine failure.
Lap 35: #88-Zilisch wins Stage 1, his ninth stage victory of the season. #19-Almirola, #18-Sawalich, #7-Allgaier, #48-Sanchez, #41-Mayer, #21-Hill, #2-Love, #54-Gray and #16-Eckes earn stage points. Neither playoff bubble drivers earned stage points with #25-Burton finishing 15th and #27-Burton placed 18th.
Lap 34: #32-Anderson cut a tire and clobbered the outside wall. The stage will end under caution.
Lap 31: #16-Eckes drives around the outside to take 10th position from #1-Kvapil with four laps remaining in the stage.
Lap 28: #7-Allgaier continues to make passes, up to fourth spot, 6.2 seconds behind race leader #88-Zilisch.
Lap 26: #19-Almirola moves to second position, ahead of #18-Sawalich. #88-Zilisch leads by north of two seconds.
Lap 25: #25-Burton continues falling through the field to 13th, as he complains of being tight.
Lap 20: #2-Love passes #25-Burton for 10th, putting Burton on the outside of possibly earning stage points.
Lap 13: #19-Almirola continues his march forward, passing #41-Mayer for third position. #88-Zilisch holds a one-second lead over #18-Sawalich.
Lap 12: #25-Burton has dropped to 10th position with #1-Kvapil and #21-Hill making passes. Burton entered the race on the playoff bubble.
Lap 9: #7-Allgaier continues climbing the leaderboard, passing #25-Burton for seventh position.
Lap 5: #18-Sawalich moves to second, passing #48-Sanchez, who lost additional positions to #41-Mayer and #19-Almirola.
Lap 4: #7-Allgaier has made a few passes and has moved up to eighth position.
Lap 1: #48-Sanchez takes the lead through Turns 1 and 2, but #88-Zilisch powers by down the backstretch. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates #18-Sawaluch and #54-Gray are side-by-side for third.

Race Info:
Distance: 160 laps/200 miles
Stages: 35/70/160
Average time of race: 2:18:23
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution vehicle speed: 50 mph
Fuel window: 70 laps

Cars to the rear: #26-Dean Thompson (backup car).

Pit-Stall Selections

For the fourth straight race, #88-Connor Zilisch will lead the Xfinity Series to the green flag. Zilisch’s pole-winning lap for the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway was 136.633 mph. It’s his seventh pole of the season.
Fellow rookie driver #48-Nick Sanchez will start alongside on the front row (136.521 mph). Needing a victory in the regular-season finale to secure a playoff spot, #18-William Sawalich will start third (136.517 mph). #41-Sam Mayer (136.442 mph) and #54-Taylor Gray (136.227 mph) round out the top five.
#25-Harrison Burton, #19-Aric Almirola, #1-Carson Kvapil, #21-Austin Hill and #16-Christian Eckes complete the top 10.
All 38 cars made the race.
See the complete Gateway Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Fast Facts — World Wide Technology Raceway:
Connor Zilisch # won the Pole Award for the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog with a lap of 32.935 seconds, 136.633 mph.
This is his eighth pole in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his seventh pole and 21st top-10 start in 2025.
This is his first pole in one races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Nick Sanchez # (second) posted his 14th top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
William Sawalich # (third) posted his first top-10 start at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his 15th in 26 races this season.
Connor Zilisch (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#41-Sam Mayer 134.813 mph
#2-Jesse Love 134.388 mph
#1-Carson Kvapil 134.248 mph
#27-Jeb Burton 134.096mph
#88-Connor Zilisch 134.064 mph
Slowest: #53-Joey Gase 127.786 mph
Most laps run: #19-Aric Almirola, 57
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 24 drivers): #41-Mayer 133.016 mph
Notes: In the waning minutes of the session, #26-Dean Thompson bounced off the Turn 1 wall.
See full Gateway Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

NASCAR Xfinity Series News & Notes — World Wide Technology Raceway:

• This weekend marks the 15th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR), but first since 2010.
• On Saturday, it will be 5,432 days since the last Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
• World Wide Technology Raceway is the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Regular Season finale.
• Connor Zilisch’s 13 straight top fives since returning from back injury is tied with Carl Edwards for the second-longest top five streak all-time; Zilisch is the youngest driver with more than five straight top fives.
• Connor Zilisch leads the regular season standings by 20 points over Justin Allgaier and 50 points over Sam Mayer, no other drivers can mathematically win the Regular Season Championship.
• 17 drivers are fighting for the final three Playoff spots but only four drivers have the opportunity to make the Playoffs on points (does not include Carson Kvapil who clinched a Playoff spot on at least points at Portland)
• Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray can only be passed in points by Harrison Burton; as long as there is no new winner from below the cutoff, both Creed and Gray will make the Playoffs.
• Jeb Burton is the only driver below the cutoff that can point into the Playoffs. Jeb Burton gained five points on Cousin Harrison at Portland after a seventh-place finish.
• Thirteen drivers below Jeb Burton must win at the World Wide Technology Raceway to make Playoffs.
• Only three active drivers made Xfinity Series starts at St. Louis: Justin Allgaier – 3, Jeremy Clements – 3, Matt DiBenedetto – 2.
• Sheldon Creed is the only driver in the field with a win at World Wide Technology Raceway: 2 Truck Series, 1 ARCA.
• Christian Eckes has made nine combined WWTR starts, the most of any driver on the entry list: 7 Trucks, 2 ARCA.

Goodyear Tire Notes: The NASCAR Xfinity Series visits WWTR for the first time in 15 years, giving many drivers a new challenge. However, this Goodyear tire setup was used by Xfinity Series teams at Phoenix Raceway in March. It’s also the same setup Goodyear brought to WWTR last year for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

There are 38 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway. No cars will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Nick Leitz, #11-Daniel Hemric, #14-Garrett Smithley, #17-Corey Day, #19-Aric Almirola, #32-Jordan Anderson, #35-TBA, #45-Lavar Scott, #53-Joey Gase, #70-Thomas Annunziata, #76-Kole Raz, #91-Matt Mills.
See the full Gateway entry list.

World Wide Technology Raceway Storylines and Insights:

• This weekend marks the 15th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR), but first since 2010.
• On Saturday, it will be 5,432 days since the last Xfinity Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
• World Wide Technology Raceway is the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Regular Season finale.
• Connor Zilisch won his series-leading eighth race of the season at Portland, breaking Christopher Bell’s 2018 record for most wins in a season as a rookie.
• See much more

2025 practice and qualifying procedures

Gateway At-Track Schedule

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Race rules and information:

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures