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Connor Zilisch won his third race of the year at Sonoma Raceway, which marks JR Motorsports' 98th win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. With a 100th series win record up for grabs, the 18-year-old wants to bring it himself for the team.
Zilisch is one of the four full-time drivers at JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Xfinity Series team. Driving the #88 Chevrolet Camaro, the North Carolina native competes alongside Carson Kvapil (#1), Sammy Smith (#8), and defending series champion, Justin Allgaier (#7).
His latest win at Sonoma Raceway saw him battle for the win again against Shane van Gisbergen following their duel in Chicago last week. He started the race in second before taking the lead at the end of stage two. On the final lap, SVG bumped him off turn four, but he saved his car before crossing the finish line first.
In an X post, PRN shared Connor Zilisch's ambitious goals for this year, including securing JR Motorsports' 100th win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and later winning the championship.
“Connor Zilisch on winning the 98th race for JR Motorsports: ‘I really wanna get 100 wins for @JRMotorsports. Hopefully we can do that at Indy. Really looking forward to the future here, it's been an awesome year and hopefully a championship in November,’” PRN wrote.Connor Zilisch on winning the 98th race for JR Motorsports: "I really wanna get 100 wins for @JRMotorsports. Hopefully we can do that at Indy. Really looking forward to the future here, it's been an awesome year and hopefully a championship in November."
To win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Connor Zilisch has to win the next two races (BetRivers 200 at Dover and Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis). Thanks to NASCAR's Win and You're In rule, the youngster is locked into the playoffs for a chance to win the championship.
After the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway, Zilisch has scored three wins, eight top-5s, and 10 top-10s as a rookie. He currently ranks fourth in the points standings behind Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, and Austin Hill.
“Hats off to Shane”: Connor Zilisch on back-to-back fight against Shane van Gisbergen for the win
Connor Zilisch commended Shane van Gisbergen for their on-track battle at Sonoma Raceway. He believes they raced each other with respect after losing to him over an aggressive move in Chicago last week.
Speaking about SVG, who drove the #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet as a part-time entry, Zilisch said in a post-race interview:
“Hats off to Shane (van Gisbergen). That was awesome. All race long, I feel like we're racing each other with respect [...] It was awesome to get to race against him finally and battle with him all race long.”Zilisch won the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 ahead of the Australian driver by 0.438 seconds. William Sawalich finished in third, followed by Nick Sanchez and Riley Herbst, who joined the race as a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.
While the 18-year-old prepares for the Dover race weekend, Shane van Gisbergen will return to the track on Sunday for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Cup). SVG is one of the full-time drivers at Trackhouse Racing, alongside Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, though the latter is set to leave the team at the end of the 2025 season.
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Edited by Tushhita Barua
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