NASCAR Xfinity: Connor Zilisch holds off Shane van Gisbergen for thrilling Sonoma win

By Reid Spencer – NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif.—In closing laps of the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway, the pupil schooled the master.

Taking shot after shot from JR Motorsports teammate Shane van Gisbergen over the final two laps, Connor Zilisch held off the more experienced driver to claim his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and the fourth of his career.

In what was a two-driver show from start to finish, Zilisch and van Gisbergen, the pole winner, combined to lead 70 of the 79 laps, surrendering the top spot only when they short-pitted the first and second stages to recover track position at the stage breaks.

For Zilisch, the victory was revenge for last Saturday’s Xfinity race at the Chicago Street Course, where the 36-year-old van Gisbergen ran his 18-year-old teammate wide in Turn 2 to take the lead and win a two-lap shootout for the victory.

But this Saturday, Zilisch survived contact from van Gisbergen’s front bumper in Turn 7 on the final lap and won the race to the finish line, as the New Zealander tried in vain to cross over to the inside in hairpin Turn 11 on the final lap.

Zilisch powered off the corner and won the race to the finish line by 0.438 seconds.

“First, hats off to Shane,” Zilisch said after climbing from his car. “That was awesome. “All race long, I felt like we were racing each other with respect. I wheel-hopped a little bit in Turn 7 one time and got into him. Otherwise, it was awesome to get to race against him finally and battle with him the whole race long.”

Both Zilisch and van Gisbergen managed to pull away from the rest of the field while saving fuel during the final stage.

“It’s always the hardest trying to save fuel while someone’s breathing down your neck, Zilisch said. “There was a chance that he could have gotten by me when he hit me, but he let me have it and raced me clean. I respect the hell out of him for that, and I’m looking forward to racing against him more.

“We’re going to race each other at Watkins Glen, and that’s one of my favorite tracks, so I hope I can beat him again there.”

Van Gisbergen knew he had an opening when his No. 9 Chevrolet made contact with Zilisch’s No. 88 in Turn 7, but he backed off to let the race play out.

“I gave him a bump into 7, and he wheel-hopped, and I probably could have taken it, but I just waited,” said van Gisbergen, the defending race winner. “I didn’t want to do it like that, and then we raced down the hill. What an awesome race.

“I had a blast all day—really, really fun.”

Zilisch led 46 laps to 24 for van Gisbergen, who was trying for his third straight NASCAR victory in as many starts after sweeping last weekend in Chicago.

Solid work on pit road gave Zilisch control of the race for the final restart on Lap 51, and he led the rest of the way, thwarting SVG’s persistent attempts to pressure him into a mistake.

William Sawalich, who won Friday’s ARCA race in a thrilling finish, was the best of the rest, coming home third, 13.668 seconds behind Zilisch. Nick Sanchez ran fourth, followed by Riley Herbst, series leader Justin Allgaier, Taylor Gray, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed.

MORE: William Sawalich shakes off rough NASCAR Xfinity season with first top-5

With Allgaier, Kvapil and Smith joining Zilisch and van Gisbergen, JR Motorsports placed five drivers in the top nine. The victory was the organization’s 10th in 19 races this season, with Zilisch tying Allgaier and 12th-place finisher Austin Hill for the series lead with three wins.

“I didn’t want to have to have to do anything dirty to win this race, and I’m glad I didn’t and glad to do it fair and square,” Zilisch said. “I learned a lot racing around him, and he’s got so many years of experience on me that I can learn from.”