XFINITY: Connor Zilisch Defeats SVG in Exciting Duel at Sonoma

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen.

It’s a blossoming rivalry that will likely play out on the road courses for many years to come in the NASCAR Cup Series, but now in back-to-back weeks, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has seen the Trackhouse development duo sparring for victories.

Saturday’s Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway was no exception to this battle, and while the pair of JR Motorsports drivers had the remainder of the field covered by more than a dozen seconds, the battle for the victory was enthralling.

Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old prospect competing for the Xfinity Series title in the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, prevailed over Van Gisbergen – who won the series’ most-recent event at the Chicago Street Course – but the battle wasn’t as cut and dry as that.

RACE RESULTS: 2025 Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma

Van Gisbergen, a three-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, hounded the No. 88 throughout the final green-flag run of the event, and as the laps wound down continued to put more and more pressure on the rookie, expecting him to crack and make a mistake.

If Zilisch made any kind of mistake in the last 30 laps, it wasn’t a major one, as the Auckland, New Zealand-native tried everything that he had to get around his teammate, but couldn’t do so cleanly, administering a couple of bumps to the rear of the Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, but never making the pass.

"Yeah, man. First, hats off to Shane. That was awesome," Zilisch said after the race. "All race long, I felt like we were racing each other with respect. I wheel-hopped a little bit going into [Turn] 7 that one time and got into him, but other than that, it was awesome to get to race against him, finally and battle with him the whole race long."

It’s the fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory for Connor Zilisch, and his third of the season. It’s also the second straight week that the duo has swept the top-two spots for JR Motorsports, in a season that has seen the organization dominate the wins column.

"So proud of this Roto-Rooters Chevrolet No. 88 team. We did such an awesome job all weekend long, just executing. And our car was as fast as Xfinity Mobile from the moment we got here, and we made all the right adjustments, and here we are in victory lane. It feels good,"

Despite a valiant effort, and a major push on the final lap, Shane van Gisbergen came home in the runner-up position. The driver of the No. 9 was aggressive in the final laps, but that was the limit for the 36-year-old, who didn’t want to wreck his teammate.

“Yeah, but I didn't want to be. Congrats to those guys, what an awesome race," Van Gisbergen said. "I hope everyone enjoyed that. Yeah, I gave him a bump into [Turn] 7, wheel-hopped, and probably could have taken it, but I just waited. I didn't want to do it like that. And then we just raced down the hill. But what an awesome race. Thank you to Quad Lock, Chevy, and JR Motorsports. I had a blast all day, really, really fun."

In third place, and truly the “best of the rest” in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Sonoma Raceway, was rookie William Sawalich, who recorded a career-best result and his first top five, after winning Friday’s ARCA Menards Series West event at the racetrack.

Another Rookie of The Year (ROTY) contender, Nick Sanchez, brought it home fourth, with NASCAR Cup Series driver Riley Herbst rounding out the top five, in fifth, driving the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier brought it home in sixth place, with Taylor Gray finishing seventh after starting from the rear because of an engine change on his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra. Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-10.

Austin Hill ran inside the top-five all afternoon long, but after a pair of late incidents, first with Corey Day, and then on the last-lap with Sam Mayer, Hill dropped to 12th. Mayer also had a strong run going, after winning the first stage, but fell to 17th on the final lap.

Some drivers with solid runs that finished outside the top-10 include Austin Green in 11th, who restarted the final stage from last-place after a pit road penalty, Josh Bilicki 14th, who scored a solid finish for DGM Racing, and Will Rodgers in 16th, bringing a solid finish home for Cope Family Racing in his first Xfinity Series start in several years.

Leaving Sonoma, Justin Allgaier continues to hold the regular-season points lead over Sam Mayer, who now sits 59 markers behind the leader. Austin Hill is third, 64 points back, and Connor Zilisch sits in fourth, 69 points back. Jesse Love rounds out the top-five.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will head to Dover Motor Speedway next weekend for its annual event at the one-mile concrete racetrack. Coverage of the event will be on Saturday, July 19 at 4:30 pm ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.