Entry List : Iowa Speedway

• Thursday, July 31st, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

The Zilisch Streak: Can Anyone Stop This 19-Year-Old Phenom at Iowa?

It would be difficult to imagine a performance more dominant than the one JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch has fashioned over the last nine races.

In that span, Zilisch won four races, including the last three in a row. He also finished second three times and posted an average finish of 2.11 over the nine events.

With his win last Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he notched the 100th victory for JR Motorsports. At 19 years, 4 days, he’s the youngest driver to 1) win three straight races in Xfinity Series history; 2) and to reach six career victories in the series, dethroning Joey Logano.

All six of Zilisch’s Xfinity wins have come in his series debuts at the respective tracks, a streak he’ll attempt to maintain in Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway (4:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Only two drivers in series history have won four straight races: Sam Ard in 1983 and Noah Gragson in 2022.

Though Zilisch has never raced an Xfinity Series car at Iowa Speedway, two facts argue in his favor: he won last year’s ARCA Menards Series race at the 0.875-mile short track; and Sam Mayer won last year’s race with Zilisch’s current crew chief, Mardy Lindley, calling the shots from Mayer’s pit box.

“I was fortunate enough to win the ARCA race at Iowa last year, so I’m looking forward to using what I learned in that race with a new challenge in the Xfinity car,” Zilisch said. “My crew chief, Mardy Lindley, won the race there with Sam Mayer last year, so I know we’ll have a really good KOA Chevrolet when we get to the track this weekend.

“We’ve been on a roll lately with top-five finishes and trips to Victory Lane, so I’m ready to get to the track and continue that with (sponsor) KOA.”

The Hy-Vee Perks 250 is the third of five short-track races on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this year, but neither of the winners of the first two such races will compete on Saturday.

NASCAR suspended Martinsville winner Austin Hill for one race for intentionally wrecking Aric Almirola last Saturday at Indianapolis, and Bristol winner Kyle Larson is not doing double duty this weekend.

Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon will take Hill’s place in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at Iowa.

With five races left in the Xfinity Series regular season, there are five berths left in the Playoffs. Cousins Jeb Burton and Harrison Burton are on opposite sides of the eligibility bubble, with Jeb Burton holding a 10-point edge for the final spot in the Playoffs.

• Iowa Speedway
• HyVee Perks 250
• Pole Winner: Jesse Love
• Age: 20
• Team : No 2 - Whelen Chevrolet
• Owner: Richard Childress
• Crew Chief: Danny Stockman, Jr
• Jesse Love won the Pole Award for the HyVee Perks 250 with a lap of 23642 seconds, 133237 mph
• This is his first pole in one NASCAR Xfinity Series races
• This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2025
• This is his first pole in one races at Iowa Speedway
• William Sawalich (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Iowa Speedway
• Carson Hocevar (third) posted his first top-10 start at Iowa Speedway It is his first in one race this season
• William Sawalich (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Saturday, August 2nd, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Same Track, New Team, Same Result: Mayer Goes Back-to-Back at Iowa

Sam Mayer took control of Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway after a Lap 221 restart and maintained it the rest of the way to record the first victory for the Haas Factory team and the first in the series for Ford this season.

Mayer won at Iowa for the second straight year, having triumphed in a JR Motorsports Chevrolet last season. The eighth victory of his career ended Sunoco rookie Connor Zilisch’s three-race winning streak.

Driving the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford, Mayer edged ahead of pole winner and runner-up Jesse Love on Lap 223 before Brandon Jones spun in oil from Matt DiBenedetto’s Chevrolet to cause the eighth caution of the afternoon.

On the subsequent restart on Lap 234, Mayer streaked away and left Love and other pursuers in his wake. After taking the white flag, Mayer was cruising to the victory when Garrett Smithley’s spin caused the ninth and final caution and froze the field, with Mayer in the winning position.

“This one’s everything right here,” Mayer said. “First win for Haas Factory Team — that’s awesome. This car was fast all day long. I tried to botch it on pit road, but we didn’t.

“I can’t believe it. This is one of the most special wins I have. These guys (Mayer’s team), they love me to death, I love them to death, and we’re just some good ol’ boys trying to go racing.”

After finishing fourth in the first stage, Mayer overshot his No.1 pit stall, which sits at a difficult angle around a curve near the exit from pit road. Mayer restarted 16th on Lap 71 but worked his way back through the field and regained the fourth spot by the end of Stage 2.

“I missed my pit box, but the car was so good it didn’t even matter,” Mayer said. “We ran up through there—no problem. It was great.”

Ross Chastain finished third behind Mayer and Love, with Zilisch running fourth and Harrison Burton fifth.

For practical purposes, Zilisch’s bid for a fourth straight Xfinity Series ran into immediate trouble during the first stage break. After winning Stage 1, Zilisch brought his No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for service, but the front tire changer failed to get all lugs tight on the left front wheel.

Zilisch restarted 25th on Lap 71 and initially made rapid progress through the field. As the second stage progressed, Zilisch stalled out in traffic, with his Camaro getting increasingly loose behind other cars.

The 19-year-old phenom finished the stage in 17th-place and restarted the final stage in the same position on Lap 130. He climbed as high as third in the running order but couldn’t find a way to prevail during a succession of late restarts.

In fact, Zilisch’s car broke loose in a three-wide scenario with teammates Chastain and reigning series champion Justin Allgaier on Lap 214. Contact from Zilisch’s car knocked Chastain sideways into Allgaier’s Chevrolet.

With Allgaier finishing 16th, he and Zilisch’s are now tied for the series lead with four races left in the regular season.

Burton took a major step toward the Playoffs with his second top-five finish of the season. He’s now 11th on the current Playoff grid, 17 points ahead of 12th-place Ryan Sieg and 19 points ahead of cousin Jeb Burton, the first driver below the elimination line.

Jeb Burton finished 29th Saturday after dealing with a cracked track bar and suffering through the afternoon with an ill-handling car.

Driving the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet after the abrupt release of Josh Williams from the ride, Carson Hocevar finished sixth, followed by Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Carson Kvapil and Christian Eckes.

• Drivers Entered: 38
• Laps Scheduled: 250
• Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 29 Minutes 26 Seconds
• Average Speed: 87.832
• Cautions: 9 for 61 laps
• Lead Changes: 13
• Green Flag Passes: 1,336 (7.1 passes per green flag lap)

• Iowa Speedway
• HyVee Perks 250
• Race Winner: Sam Mayer
• Age: 22
• Team : No 41 - Audibel Ford
• Owner: Haas Factory Team
• Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
• Sam Mayer won the HyVee Perks 250, his eighth career win in his 139th start
• This is his first victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his second victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Iowa Speedway
• Jesse Love (second) posted his sixth top-five finish this season, second in the last three races
• Ross Chastain (third) posted his third top-five finish in five starts this season
• Connor Zilisch (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie
• Connor Zilisch leads the point standings by 0 points over Justin Allgaier