Zilisch Tops COTA Xfinity Field, Chastain and Byron Next

Connor Zilisch continues to show his talent at COTA

(AUSTIN, TX – FEB 28, 2025 – RIS) Connor Zilisch continues to show his talent, winning the pole for the Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 at the COTA road course by 0.184 second ahead of the next best efforts of Ross Chastain and William Byron, who will start second and third in the first road race of the 2025 season.

Xfinity practice opened the NASCAR sessions on the shorter ‘National’ course at Circuit of the Americas with Connor Zilisch immediately setting the quickest time on the track at 1:40.191/86.235 mph with his first lap, followed over a second and a half back by Sheldon Creed. Jeremy Clements’ car had a power steering leak, sending the No. 51 Chevy back to the garage without scoring a lap. Ross Chastain bumped Creed out of second, with a best lap of 1:41.365, and William Byron was the next Cup regular, back in tenth place early, at 1:42.256 but his position didn’t hold up, with Xfinity Series regulars bumping him back. Byron’s fifth lap on the road course closed up the gap to Zilisch to put the Daytona 500 winner second, 0.153 second behind the teen-aged road racing star.

Ryan Sieg and Harrison Burton were two spinners in the first practice. Ross Chastain, a past winner here, broke the 1:40 barrier on his sixt lap, moving into first place with a lap of 1:39.798/86.575. The practice session went under the caution flag for Argentine driver Baltazar Leguizamon’s car when he pulled off just past the pit exit with electrical problems.

Series rookie Taylor Gray joined Chastain under the 1:40 mark, moving to the top of the table with a lap of 1:39.305/87.005 mph on his 13th lap on the track as teams started experimenting with qualifying setups, then Jesse Love cut nearly a second off of Gray’s lap before Zilisch eclipsed them both with his lap of 1:37.839 at 88.308 mph. After a short yellow late in the session, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier and Nick Sanchez were the top five with Cup regular Ross Chastain sixth. 

Practice: NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250, Circuit of The Americas
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Connor Zilisch #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 1:37.839, 88.308 mph, 11, 11, ---, ---
2) Jesse Love, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 1:38.392, 87.812, 13, 19, -0.553 sec, -0.553 sec
3) Austin Hill, No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet, 1:38.634, 87.597, 16, 16, -0.795, -0.242
4) Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT/Rev1 Energy Chevrolet, 1:38.984, 87.287, 12, 12, -1.145, -0.350
5) Nick Sanchez #, No. 48 Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet, 1:39.082, 87.201, 13, 15, -1.243, -0.098
6) Ross Chastain(i), No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet, 1:39.155, 87.136, 11, 16, -1.316, -0.073
7) Taylor Gray #, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, 1:39.305, 87.005, 13, 17, -1.466, -0.150
8) Carson Kvapil #, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet, 1:39.400, 86.922, 12, 17, -1.561, -0.095
9) Sam Mayer, No. 41 Audibel Ford, 1:39.514, 86.822, 12, 12, -1.675, -0.114
10) Carson Hocevar(i), No. 14 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 1:39.686, 86.672, 12, 13, -1.847, -0.172
11) Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 ReMA Chevrolet, 1:39.747, 86.619, 15, 15, -1.908, -0.061
12) Corey Heim(i), No. 24 Upper Deck Toyota, 1:39.864, 86.518, 11, 13, -2.025, -0.117
13) William Byron(i), No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:40.068, 86.341, 12, 17, -2.229, -0.204
14) Alex Labbe, No. 07 Black Diamond Garages Chevrolet, 1:40.109, 86.306, 10, 10, -2.270, -0.041
15) Christian Eckes #, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 1:40.230, 86.202, 13, 13, -2.391, -0.121
16) Sammy Smith, No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, 1:40.267, 86.170, 12, 14, -2.428, -0.037
17) Daniel Dye #, No. 10 Heise LED Lighting Systems Chevrolet, 1:40.313, 86.130, 12, 18, -2.474, -0.046
18) Austin Green, No. 32 Volpi Chevrolet, 1:40.789, 85.724, 6, 8, -2.950, -0.476
19) Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Austin Gamblers Chevrolet, 1:41.039, 85.512, 13, 13, -3.200, -0.250
20) Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Road Ranger Ford, 1:41.098, 85.462, 13, 16, -3.259, -0.059
21) Josh Bilicki, No. 91 Insurance King Chevrolet, 1:41.373, 85.230, 7, 17, -3.534, -0.275
22) Thomas Annunziata, No. 70 Bayshore Mortgage Chevrolet, 1:41.418, 85.192, 10, 12, -3.579, -0.045
23) Preston Pardus, No. 50 Chinchor Electric Inc Chevrolet, 1:41.500, 85.123, 3, 9, -3.661, -0.082
24) Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 1:41.511, 85.114, 11, 14, -3.672, -0.011
25) Brandon Jones, No. 20 Menards/Bali Toyota, 1:41.738, 84.924, 15, 18, -3.899, -0.227
26) Riley Herbst(i), No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota, 1:41.790, 84.881, 14, 15, -3.951, -0.052
27) Blaine Perkins, No. 31 WERNER Chevrolet, 1:41.868, 84.816, 14, 15, -4.029, -0.078
28) William Sawalich #, No. 18 Starkey Toyota, 1:41.966, 84.734, 15, 18, -4.127, -0.098
29) Brad Perez, No. 45 Apex Coffee/Weiss Sand & Clay Chevrolet, 1:42.011, 84.697, 8, 10, -4.172, -0.045
30) Dean Thompson #, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 1:42.228, 84.517, 19, 19, -4.389, -0.217
31) Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 1:42.281, 84.473, 13, 16, -4.442, -0.053
32) Brennan Poole, No. 44 Midas Chevrolet, 1:42.563, 84.241, 14, 14, -4.724, -0.282
33) Harrison Burton, No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford, 1:42.580, 84.227, 6, 7, -4.741, -0.017
34) Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Classic Collision Chevrolet, 1:42.626, 84.189, 13, 16, -4.787, -0.046
35) Sage Karam, No. 53 Eternal Fan Toyota, 1:42.676, 84.148, 3, 8, -4.837, -0.050
36) Jeb Burton, No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet, 1:43.445, 83.523, 3, 9, -5.606, -0.769
37) Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Noxzema Chevrolet, 1:43.464, 83.507, 4, 10, -5.625, -0.019
38) Kyle Sieg, No. 28 RSS Racing Ford, 1:43.710, 83.309, 17, 18, -5.871, -0.246
39) Kris Wright, No. 5 First National Bank Corp Chevrolet, 1:43.820, 83.221, 11, 14, -5.981, -0.110
40) Baltazar Leguizamon, No. 35 KSW Construction Corp/Speed Agro Chevrolet, 1:44.192, 82.924, 10, 11, -6.353, -0.372
41) Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Henderson Jet Services Chevrolet, 1:44.571, 82.623, 4, 4, -6.732, -0.379
(*) Required to qualify on time, (i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average
Pos, Driver Car, From Lap, To Lap, Avg Speed
1) Taylor Gray #, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, 2, 11, 84.703 mph
2) Carson Kvapil #, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet 1, 10, 84.326
Must run 10 consecutive laps.

Qualifying was divided into two groups with Taylor Gray first on the track in the multi-car sessions. Zliisch fired off a hot lap of 1:37.262/88.832 mph with Ross Chastain next, followed by William Byron, last year’s winner here in the Cup Series, just under a second slower than Zilisch. Kris Wright waited until late in the session for his qualifying effort, the LMP3 IMSA champion’s road course expertise allowing him to move to 18th in the first group. With four minutes left, Leguizamon suffered wheel hop braking for the fifteenth turn that sent the Argentine sliding into the gravel. After a simple push, the session ended with a few drivers continuing their efforts, including the top three in the group. 

Group Two had Justin Allgaier first on the track, his early lap best at 1:38.390, with rookie Carson Kvapil second and Riley Herbst third before Thomas Annunziata stopping on the track with fifteen minutes remaining in the session to get pushed back to the garage. 

Starting Line Up: Focused Health 250, Circuit of The Americas
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Connor Zilisch #, 88, WeatherTech Chevrolet, 1:37.262, 88.832 mph
2) Ross Chastain(i), 9, Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet, 1:37.446, 88.664
3) William Byron(i), 17, HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:38.236, 87.951
4) Justin Allgaier, 7, BRANDT/Rev1 Energy Chevrolet, 1:38.390, 87.814
5) Carson Kvapil #, 1, Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet, 1:38.485, 87.729
6) Corey Heim(i), 24, Upper Deck Toyota, 1:38.540, 87.680
7) Taylor Gray #, 54, Operation 300 Toyota, 1:38.564, 87.659
8) Sam Mayer, 41, Audibel Ford, 1:38.603, 87.624
9) Riley Herbst(i), 19, Monster Energy Toyota, 1:38.613, 87.615
10) Christian Eckes #, 16, Celsius Chevrolet, 1:38.742, 87.501
11) Jesse Love, 2, Whelen Chevrolet, 1:38.841, 87.413
12) Austin Hill, 21, Global Industrial Chevrolet, 1:38.852, 87.403
13) Brandon Jones, 20, Menards/Bali Toyota, 1:38.887, 87.372
14) Sheldon Creed, 00, Road Ranger Ford, 1:39.008, 87.266
15) Daniel Dye #, 10, Heise LED Lighting Systems Chevrolet, 1:39.095, 87.189
16) Sammy Smith, 8, Pilot Chevrolet, 1:39.115, 87.171
17) Anthony Alfredo, 42, Austin Gamblers Chevrolet, 1:39.196, 87.100
18) Blaine Perkins, 31, WERNER Chevrolet, 1:39.247, 87.056
19) Nick Sanchez #, 48, Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet, 1:39.248, 87.055
20) Austin Green, 32, Volpi Chevrolet, 1:39.313, 86.998
21) Josh Williams, 11, Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 1:39.431, 86.894
22) Matt DiBenedetto, 99, ReMA Chevrolet, 1:39.439, 86.887
23) William Sawalich #, 18, Starkey Toyota, 1:39.490, 86.843
24) Carson Hocevar(i), 14, Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 1:39.572, 86.771
25) Preston Pardus, 50, Chinchor Electric Inc Chevrolet, 1:39.834, 86.544
26) Josh Bilicki, 91, Insurance King Chevrolet, 1:39.991, 86.408
27) Alex Labbe, 07, Black Diamond Garages Chevrolet, 1:40.058, 86.350
28) Sage Karam, 53, Eternal Fan Toyota, 1:40.093, 86.320
29) Jeb Burton, 27, State Water Heaters Chevrolet, 1:40.214, 86.215
30) Dean Thompson #, 26, Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 1:40.244, 86.190
31) Harrison Burton, 25, DEX Imaging Ford, 1:40.367, 86.084
32) Brennan Poole, 44, Midas Chevrolet, 1:40.431, 86.029
33) Kris Wright, 5, First National Bank Corp Chevrolet, Owner Points
34) Ryan Ellis, 71, Classic Collision Chevrolet, Owner Points
35) Jeremy Clements, 51, Henderson Jet Services Chevrolet, Owner Points
36) Kyle Sieg, 28, RSS Racing Ford, Owner Points
37) Baltazar Leguizamon, 35, KSW Construction Corp/Speed Agro Chevrolet, Owner Points
38) Ryan Sieg, 39, Sci Aps Ford, Owner Points
(i) Ineligible for driver points, (#) Rookie

Did Not Qualify: No. 45 Brad Perez, No. 4 Parker Retzlaff, No. 70 Thomas Annunziata

Track Race Record: AJ Allmendinger, 03/25/23, 2:05:03, 75.263 mph