NASCAR Visits The Roval

Xfinity Series

The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff round of 12 hit its final race on Saturday evening at the ever-controversial Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Connor Zilisch, the sensational 19-year old who was recently announced to be joining the full-time Cup Series ranks in 2026 presumably as the driver of the 99 for Trackhouse Racing, has been the tale of the season in the JR Motorsports number 88. The rookie has built quite the impressive collection of win stickers along the car’s roofline over the course of this season, entering Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 250 with 11 victories in 32 Xfinity Series starts – 9 of which came over the previous 28 weeks.

“It’s about being able to race against the best of the best. That is what I am most excited for”, said Zilisch with giddyness. “Every kid dreams of racing at the highest level. Whether that is Formula 1 or IndyCar, or for me the Cup Series. I am excited to fulfill a lifelong dream and get the chance to go race on Sundays. Obviously I still have more races to make the most of this year, but I am thrilled to go and race with Trackhouse next year. The organization has done a lot to grow, build, and become one of the big names in the Cup Series.”

Connor picked up his first Xfinity win as a part timer in September of 2024, edging a name that most fans are getting sick of hearing when it comes to road course racing – Zilisch’s soon-to-be Trackhouse teammate Shane Van Gisbergen – at  Watkins Glen. In March of this year, Connor earned his first triumph of the 2025 season and 2nd of his Xfinity career at Circuit of the Americas – also a road course. Connor developed quite the reputation as being a road course ringer out of the gate. But, that narrative changed very quickly back in June when Zilisch picked up a win at Pocono, later to claim another win on a track that doesn’t require right turns at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In essence, Connor has more than proven that he is every bit as advertised as a super talented young driver with hall of fame potential – whether that is on an oval, a triangle, street course, or traditional road course.

But, on Saturday evening in Concord, NC, Connor gave everyone a very stark reminder of just how good he is on road courses. He started on the pole and absolutely dominated from the drop of the green to the wave of the checker. Zilisch won stage one, earned a stage point in the 2nd stanza, and went on to win his 10th race of the season – leading 61 of the 68 laps run.

“The Roval is a track I have raced at once before a couple of years ago. It is such a unique track and to get our 10th win here is awesome for me personally and for everybody at JR Motorsports. It is extra special that it was a home race”, said Zilisch.

With the win, Zilisch punched his ticket to the Round of 8, ensuring that all 4 cars owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr are moving on in the playoffs.

“I feel like all 4 of us have a good understanding and get along”, said Connor of JRM’s team chemistry. “We know when to be nice. Today, we were trying to help the 1 (Sam Mayer) and the 8 (Sammy Smith) to do what they could to get in. There wasn’t much I could do to help them, but all of our goals coming in was to get the 2 of them through. I am glad it worked out that way. Dale tells us all the time that when you have 4 fast cars that are riding at the front, there will be times where things happen. But, we try our best to manage it and I feel like even though I have been the culprit for a lot of bad things inside our building, I feel I have gotten better at treating those guys the right way.”

With 10 wins under his belt, it is hard to say that this season has not been one to be proud of. Which is why no matter what happens over the next month in the round of 8, Zilisch says it does not define the season.

“I have told my entire group that no matter what happens in the next 4 races, it does not define the year”, Zilisch stated. “Does that mean I am not going to try and win the championship? No. But, it is such a tough thing to do. That is the way it is. Everyone is under the same rules and the same format. So, regardless of how things go from here, I would not say the season has not been successful.”

On a local note, it was a rather forgettable day at the track for Jeremy Clements and the 51 team. In practice, Jeremy ended up breaking an axle, which cut short the much-needed session and ensured he would not even be able to run a qualifying lap since the repair would land him at the rear of the field either way as the penalty for an unapproved adjustment. Clements rolled off in the 34th position, and if the lack of track position didn’t already make for a nearly impossible hill to climb, Jeremy’s car ran very loose all race long. The lack of downforce and grip made him have to lift and under drive the corners just to try and avoid losing control of the car, which made passing – tough enough as is on the Roval – even harder.

“It was definitely a rough one”, said Clements.” We broke the axle early and had to change it as well as the rear end gear. It took most of the practice session away from us, which we really needed to be out for trying to get the car set up better and making adjustments. Unfortunately, when you are behind the 8-ball and start at the back, especially here where it is hard to pass, it is a pain. We have to have a fast car, and we didn’t. It was really really loose. The guys tried throwing a lot at it to try and tighten it up but nothing would work. At the end of the day, we just need better equipment. These cars are used up. These chassis are 10 years old . We have raced them a lot and are having a hard time getting a bigger team to sell us new chassis. That has been frustrating, but hopefully we can make something happen this offseason.”

Jeremy, like many drivers and fans alike, is not overly fond of the Roval. He has notoriously pointed out that it is not a true (traditional) road course and it is all but impossible to get around other drivers. But, he knows the Roval – as well as the other road and street courses on the schedule are not going anywhere, but he is excited to see a trend away from having too many RC races like so many feel is the current case. But, given the financial strain of being a mom and pop race team trying to compete in NASCAR, he feels that no matter how many there are, road courses are especially not as fun to run as they used to be.

“I don’t hear many people saying they are excited about the Roval”, Clements said with sternness. “We have raced it since 2018 and I just feel like we have used it up. It has run its course. I don’t think it puts on a great race. Next year, we only have like 5 road course races. I could be wrong, but I think it is 5. That is a step in the right direction. I used to love running road races, but honestly, ever since our cars have gotten worn down, we are just not fast on them anymore, which is really frustrating. The field is so competitive these days that when you are not fast, it is hard to make up ground. We try to put a lot into this, but we need to put even more into it, and it just takes a lot of funding that we don’t have to do that.”

With the Roval in the rearview, the round of 8 will get underway next week at the mile and a half intermediate oval Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the points reset, Connor Zilisch will be the points leader 57 above the cut line. There is a significant gap between him and 2nd place Justin Allgaier, who is just 24 points to the good. Things get much tighter for the last 2 spots above the line with Brandon Jones up 4 points and Sam Mayer a mere 2 points to the positive. Jesse Love (-2), Sammy Smith (-7), Carson Kvapil (-11), and Sheldon Creed (-13) are the 4 below the cutline.

Green flag for the Focused Health 302 will drop at 7:30 PM on the CW.

Cup Series

The round of 12 in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs came to a dramatic end Sunday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The major storylines coming in were obvious. Would there be tire wear? Did Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin resolve their differences after the incident going for the win last week at Kansas? Could Shane Van Gisbergen make it 5 wins on the season as well as 5  or would someone finally have something for him on a road course?

It was quickly discovered from practice that tire management was going to be a factor as well as finding grip. Cars were slipping and sliding all over the place and tires were upset and used up within 10 laps if not conserved as best they could be. That meant that pit strategy would be more critical than usual. Especially in the final stage as desperation starts to kick in for many.

During qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Tyler Reddick, who sat 29 points below the cutline coming in, stole the pole from the heavily-favored Van Gisbergen and led the first 4 laps thanks to a slipup entering turn 1 on the first lap on SVG’s end. But, Reddick returned the favor on lap 4 when he overdrove the bus stop chicane on the backstretch, allowing the 88 to pull even with him and eventually complete the pass in the frontstretch chicane.

From that point on, the race for the win became between Van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson, who has not had a win since Kansas in mid May – an incredible drought given the expectations many have for him.

There was not a lot of chaos to speak of in this event until it got into the final stage. Shane Van Gisbergen won the opening segment easily with the only incident being the first-lap crash for Kyle Busch, who was forced into the wall in the first turn, heavily damaging the splitter and nose as well as breaking his toe link to continue the nightmare of a season for the 8 team. Kyle Larson finished the opening stanza in 2nd, which earned him enough points to clinch a spot in the next round. But, as a fierce competitor, it goes without saying that Larson was looking to do things his way.

Thanks to flipping the stage, AJ Allmendinger, who won this race back in 2023 as a part timer in the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing, started the 2nd stretch of the race at the top spot, leading 13 laps before eventually being run down by Ryan Blaney on much fresher tires. This stage was also virtually incident free save for another crash that did not bring out a full-course caution. Carson Hocevar locked his brakes overdriving into the frontstretch chicane, missing it altogether and causing himself to turn left into Austin Cindric. The two spun and Cindric broke a toe link, essentially eliminating him from the playoffs. The stage win for Blaney was noteworthy, as it was his 49th, putting him 4th all-time in stage wins.

In the battle to point his way into the next round, Ross Chastain got the upper hand with a 4th place finish in the 2nd stanza, earning him 7 stage points to help him gain on Joey Logano. But, that would later be all but erased when he was penalized for speeding on pit exit, leaving the biggest piece of playoff chaos and drama of the day to come in the final lap when the driver most notorious for the ‘Hail Melon’ once again trying a video game move (just in time for the release of the new NASCAR 25 game..) to make the transfer.

Coming to the checker in the frontstretch chicane, Chastain needed to pass Denny Hamlin to fend off Joey Logano and advance. So he tried to move him. The aggressive contact backfired as it sent both drivers spinning in a scene resembling the finish of the very first Roval race back in 2018 where Jimmie Johsnon and Martin Truex Jr wrecked each other going for the win in the chicane. Both Hamlin and Chastain ended up finishing the race in reverse with Ross finding himself eliminated and Logano once again finding good fortune at the Roval.

If you recall, a year ago Logano found himself below the cutline after the checkered flag flew. But, NASCAR ended up penalizing Alex Bowman for not meeting weight, meaning he would be disqualified and consequently eliminated instead. Of course you know the rest of the story. Logano took advantage of the 2nd chance and ended up winning his third NASCAR Cup Series Championship as well as Team Penske’s 3rd straight.

Back to the story of the race.. the only natural yellow to happen came a few laps into the final stanza when Austin Dillon crashed hard into the tire barriers between turns 5 and 6, making for a long caution period while crews repaired the barrier. Once the race went back green from there, it was a war of attrition to the finish between SVG and Larson that came to a head within the final 20 laps. Most teams split the final stage into 3 pit stop cycles. Larson held the advantage going into the closing laps by pitting a lap ahead of Van Gisbergen. With Shane’s skill, it did not take long for him to clear Christopher Bell and begin to chip away at the nearly 1-second lead Kyle held.

Within 5 laps, that lead was diminished to the width of a bumper. Shane showed patience knowing he was better than Kyle for a while, but things got physical quickly. Van Gisbergen tried to nudge Larson to get under him in the frontstretch chicane only to have the door slammed on him. That came to a head when the 2 got to the hairpin exiting the infield section on the course when Shane once again put his bumper to Kyle. That attempt was also unsuccessful as Larson held the wheel through the contact. Eventually, in the bus stop on the backstretch, Van Gisbergen was able to gain the leverage he needed to pass Larson on the opposite end of the track after riding one another’s bumpers through the oval turns 3 and 4.

“It was an amazing day. The car was unbelievable”, said Van Gisbergen of the win. “I think we did a good job making some tweaks from yesterday. Those first 2 stages were balanced and we were able to make some gaps. But in the third, Kyle (Larson) and Christopher (Bell) were really good and I lost the lead and control of the race. I was struggling and we did not have the pace. I could not match them and they drove away from me. Not sure if it was a bad adjustment or a bad set of tires, but they were better. But whatever Stephen did on the 2nd stop, our car came alive and we were able to run them down, be aggressive, have some good battles that were a lot of fun, too.”

That battle with Larson was one that will be talked about by fans for the aggressiveness and impressive examples of wheelmanship shown. But for Shane, it wasn’t what he anticipated would happen.

“I gave him a bump to set up. I thought he would give me some space and he did not”, said Shane regarding the contact with Larson. “By that point, I could not back out of it. In that moment, it was like a switch flipped, he was angry, and he swiped at me – probably fair enough, and then was aggressive from there on. I tried to stand my ground, but he forced me up a couple of times. I thought it was good, hard racing. But, when I got back to him, I think he just gave me the spot.”

Once clear, Van Gisbergen never looked back, taking advantage of the fact the 5 dropped off down the stretch to capture his 5th win of the season – leaving just 1 road course left to conquer for the 36-year old rookie Kiwi – Circuit of the Americas. This win also puts him in elite company. The last driver to win 5 straight road course races? You might be familiar with him. It was a guy named Jeff Gordon.

“I don’t really care about that”, said Van Gisbergen of the accomplishment. “I am sure when I retire, I’ll look back and appreciate it, but right now, I don’t really care about those kinds of things.”

For Shane, it is all about continuing to get better, which when you look at his finishes on ovals lately, is happening steadily.

“I think it is still just a matter of time. Every race weekend, I am learning something – even on the road courses”, said Van Gisbergen of the grind to learn the ins and outs of stock car racing and competing on ovals. “I think we are getting a lot better. My learning curve is still pretty steep, but I am getting more comfortable at understanding the car dynamics and setup every week. When the season first started, we went from the wheels falling off, literally, and being a top 30-35 finisher, but I feel like it has grounded out and we are now a 15th to 10th place car most weeks.”

With the Roval now getting gapped as the field races towards Las Vegas next week, the playoff picture is reset. After today, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Austin Cindric are eliminated. Denny Hamlin once again holds the top spot by just 8 points. Ryan Blaney is 2nd 6 points above the cutline while Kyle Larson is 4 to the good tied with his teammate William Byron. Christopher Bell is the first one below by a margin of 4 points. Chase Briscoe is 14 points in the negative tied with Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano has long odds (although recent history says not impossible) at 24 back.

Green flag for the round of 8 drops next week in Vegas at 5:30 PM for the South Point 400 on the USA Network. The playoff push will roll on the following week with the Yellawood 500 at Talladega, and will finish with the always-dramatic cutoff race at Martinsville on October 26th.