Dale Jr.’s star Connor Zilisch secures back-to-back wins after rain cancels Xfinity race at Dover

Connor Zilisch scored a back-to-back win after emerging victorious at Dover Motor Speedway. He was in the lead when the red flag came out on lap 135, which later turned into a race-ending situation due to rain.

Coming off a first-place finish at Sonoma Raceway last week, Zilisch, one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s full-time drivers at JR Motorsports, now has four wins in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series. He beat runner-ups Aric Almirola and Brandon Jones at the Monster Mile after starting third in what was supposed to be 200 laps of racing.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series officially announced his victory at Dover Motor Speedway on X amid a rainy Saturday.

“NEWS: Today’s race has been called due to weather. @ConnorZilisch is the winner at the @MonsterMile,” the series' social media team wrote.

After the BetRivers 200 at Dover, Connor Zilisch moved two spots up to second in the points standings with four wins, the most so far this year, despite missing a race at Texas Motor Speedway due to injury. He has also amassed nine top-5s and 11 top-10s. His JR Motorsports teammate, Justin Allgaier, is still the top-seeded driver with a 56-point advantage over him.

Next on the schedule is the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Zilisch is set to make his series debut on the 1.5-mile Indy track on July 19.

Connor Zilisch drives the #88 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports - Source: Imagn

Earlier today, the qualifying session of the NASCAR Cup Series was also affected by rain. As such, the qualifying metric was applied (previous race [70%] and current owner points position [30%]), giving Chase Elliott the pole position for the race on Sunday after finishing third at Sonoma and ranking second in the standings.

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“Always love coming to this track”: Connor Zilisch on his Dover win celebrated in alternate victory lane

Connor Zilisch shared his thoughts on his race at Dover Motor Speedway. The 18-year-old said he loves coming to the track after emerging victorious in the rain-induced race, forcing him to celebrate in an "alternate" victory lane.

In an X post by Dover Motor Speedway, Zilisch said:

“Hey guys. Here in the alternate victory lane. Not very exciting, but still exciting to win the race here at Dover. “It's my first Xfinity win here. I won the ARCA race last year, and one of the cooler tracks we come to,” he added.

Speaking about adding another Miles the Monster trophy, he said:

“I got a big brother for my Miles at home. So, excited to get this one back to my house and have my two on the shelf together, but I always love coming to this track, and it’s even better ending up in victory lane.”

The ARCA Menards Series race at Dover Motor Speedway that Zilisch was referring to was the 2024 General Tire 150. Driving the #28 Chevy for Pinnacle Racing Group, the North Carolina native beat Giovanni Ruggiero and now-teammate Carson Kvapil to the checkered flag. It was one of his five wins in eight starts in the series that year.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua