Practice #1 : Charlotte Motor Speedway

• Thursday, May 22nd, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Connor Zilisch Returns from Injury for Charlotte Double Duty in Xfinity and Cup Series

After hard contact with the inside wall during a late wreck at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, Connor Zilisch missed the following NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, citing lower back issues.

The good news? A healthy Zilisch will return to action in Saturday’s BetMGM 300 (4:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Moreover, Zilisch also will make his oval-track debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Charlotte is my first race in my hometown, and a lot of my family will be there this weekend so that’s exciting, for sure,” said Zilisch, who will drive the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet on Saturday and the No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevy on Sunday. “It’s going to be special for me to go there and race for the first time in the Xfinity car and to also double up and race the Cup car.

“I think the Xfinity race at Charlotte is going to be really good for us, considering how well we’ve done on the intermediate tracks this year. We’ve just got to continue to build on what we’ve learned throughout the season and hopefully have a good run in the Jarrett Chevrolet at my home track.”

Zilisch will have plenty of competition. Full-time Cup driver William Byron is driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, hoping to duplicate teammate Chase Elliott’s victory in last year’s edition of this race.

Series leader Justin Allgaier, Zilisch’s teammate at JRM, is another strong entry. Allgaier dominated the race in 2023, winning from the pole and leading 83 of 200 laps. The reigning series champion already has two victories this season on 1.5-mile tracks, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Allgaier, however, will have to buck a trend to win on Saturday. There has not been a repeat winner in the last 12 Xfinity Series races at Charlotte.

• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• BetMGM 300
• Pole Winner: Taylor Gray
• Age: 20
• Team : No 54 - Operation 300 Toyota
• Owner: Ty Gibbs
• Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff
• Taylor Gray won the Pole Award for the BetMGM 300 with a lap of 30598 seconds, 176482 mph
• This is his second pole in 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races
• This is his second pole and ninth top-10 start in 2025
• This is his first pole in two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Connor Zilisch (second) posted his ninth top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Austin Hill (third) posted his second top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his eighth in 13 races this season
• Taylor Gray (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie

• Saturday, May 24th, 2025
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Byron Wins Xfinity Chaos at Charlotte as Rookie Standouts Pack the Top 10

William Byron’s long rally from a speeding penalty put the driver of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Victory Lane—and left reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier heartbroken.

Fresh from the announcement of a four-year contract extension with HMS, Byron passed Allgaier for the lead through Turn 4 of the first lap of overtime at Charlotte Motor Speedway and stayed out front until a violent wreck involving Jeb Burton and Brennan Poole brought out the 11th caution of the race and froze the field.

By then, Connor Zilisch had taken second and Nick Sanchez third, as Allgaier faded to fourth.

But the crux of the race had occurred much earlier, when Allgaier, leading under caution on Lap 180 of 205, chose to stay on the track instead of coming to pit road for new tires.

Byron got fresh rubber under the caution. That and a spate of cautions that allowed him to move closer to the front of the field for a succession of restarts gave Byron the track position he needed to salvage the victory.

A speeding penalty during the Stage 2 break sent Byron to the back of the field for a restart on Lap 99, and it took him until the overtime to get back to the front. The victory was his fifth in the series and the first at Charlotte, his home track.

“I was somewhat confident,” Byron said of his prospects for a rally. “I felt like if we got some yellows, it would be good, but, man, it didn’t work out the way we thought it (would). Just had a lot of green-flag running and couldn’t get back to the front.”

Until the final 20 laps, that is. After a multicar wreck in Turn 1 on lap 184, Byron restarted ninth. He gained one position before an accident involving Katherine Legge and JJ Yeley slowed the field again on Lap 189.

On the subsequent restart, however, Byron gained ground and was running third when Brandon Jones’ Toyota bounced off the outside wall and collected the No. 70 Cope Family Racing Chevrolet of Leland Honeyman and the No. 28 RSS Racing Ford of Kyle Sieg.

That caution, the 10th of the race, forced overtime and gave Byron the chance to restart behind Allgaier in the bottom lane. Ultimately, the fresher tires made the difference.

“Man, it feels awesome to win at my home track,” Byron said. “It feels really good. It’s fun to be back in Victory Lane. I haven’t won in a while. I just needed to get to the front couple of rows, and I wasn’t able to get there until the last one.

“Justin got a good restart, and I was able to push him and get clear of the 88 (Zilisch) and had some clean air on the nose.”

Allgaier felt nothing but regret at the outcome.

“I should have just come down pit road,” he said. “I thought there would be a lot of games played on pit road, and if (those on fresh tires) had to travel though a lot of traffic, we were going to maybe net OK.

“And all those cautions, one after the other, it was great because we were able to hold those guys off, but they really just hurt us because they (his pursuers) were able to get a spot or two every restart.

“I’m heartbroken… My daughter, all she wanted for her birthday was a trophy, and I feel like I gave that away. That’s the hardest part.”

Allgaier led 103 laps, the most coming after Byron led 69 of his 71 laps in sweeping the first two stages. Despite the disappointment, Allgaier maintained a 72-point lead over second-place Austin Hill in the series standings.

Sammy Smith finished fifth, followed by Dean Thompson, Josh Williams, Hill, Ryan Ellis and Christian Eckes. In his 144th start, Ellis posted the first top 10 of his Xfinity Series career.

Four Sunoco rookies—Zilisch, Sanchez, Thompson and Eckes—finished in the top 10.

NOTE:The No. 8 has been disqualified following post-race inspection at Charlotte Motor Speedway for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement, resulting in a 38th-place finish.

• Drivers Entered: 40 (2 drivers will not make the race)
• Laps Scheduled: 200
• Laps Actual: 205 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
• Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 47 Minutes 21 Seconds
• Average Speed: 110.248
• Cautions: 10 for 52 laps
• Lead Changes: 10
• Green Flag Passes: 2,536 (16.6 passes per green flag lap)

• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• BetMGM 300
• Race Winner: William Byron
• Age: 27
• Team : No 17 - HendrickCarscom Chevrolet
• Owner: Rick Hendrick
• Crew Chief: Adam Wall
• William Byron won the BetMGM 300, his fifth victory in 43 Xfinity Series races
• This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2025
• This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Connor Zilisch (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at Charlotte Motor Speedway It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2025
• Nick Sanchez (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Connor Zilisch (second) was the highest finishing rookie
• Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 72 points over Austin Hill
• #8 is DQ following post-race inspection for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement, resulting in a 38th-place finish.