Watkins Glen International , Watkins Glen, NY
It’s a highly-anticipated trip to upstate New York for 19-year-old JR Motorsports rookie Connor Zilisch. He returns to Watkins Glen International as the defending winner of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – claiming the very first NASCAR victory of his career in his first ever NASCAR national series start there last summer.
The driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet boasts a series-best five wins in his first fulltime season and is tied with his teammate, reigning series champ Justin Allgaier atop the championship standings at 772 points each. Their JR Motorsports team has won all four road course events this season – with three different drivers, including Zilisch who won at Circuit of The Americas and Sonoma Raceway.
Sam Mayer, 22, delivered the Haas Factory Team its first victory last week at Iowa Speedway and has earned four of his eight career series trophies on road courses, including Watkins Glen in 2023. He’s only 16 points behind the JR Motorsports teammates Zilisch and Allgaier atop the standings.
With three races remaining to set the 12-driver Playoff field, eight drivers have now secured automatic shots at the big trophy via victory. With Mayer’s win, JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil now holds the top transfer position based on points – he’s 93 points above the Playoff cutoff line – but Mayer’s teammate Sheldon Creed is only 11 points off that mark.
Harrison Burton still holds onto the last points transfer spot with a 17-point margin over Ryan Sieg, and is 19-points up on his cousin Jeb Burton.
Of note, Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill – a two-time winner on the season – returns to competition after serving a one-race suspension last week. But if granted a Playoff waiver (as expected) he will not be able to take any Playoff points into the championship hunt.
The New Zealander van Gisbergen will drive the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in his third Xfinity Series start of the year. He has three road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series already in 2025 in addition to his Chicago win-from-pole in the Xfinity Series. A win at Watkins Glen would tie Van Gisbergen with Australian Marcos Ambrose for most victories (five) in the series by a foreign-born driver. He and his young teammate Zilisch have won seven of the last nine road course races.
| FIN | ST | # | DRIVER | MAKE | TOT PTS | FIN PTS | STG PTS | PO PTS | LAPS | LED | X LED | S1 | S2 | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 57 | 41 | 10 | 6 | 82 | 60 | 8 | 0 | 1 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Ford | 43 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Running |
| 3 | 6 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Chevrolet | 36 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | Running |
| 4 | 10 | 21 | Austin Hill | Chevrolet | 40 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 82 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Running |
| 5 | 14 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | Chevrolet | 38 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Running |
| 6 | 9 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 45 | 31 | 13 | 1 | 82 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | Running |
| 7 | 18 | 32 | Austin Green | Chevrolet | 31 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Running |
| 8 | 36 | 16 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 9 | 13 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Toyota | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 17 | 25 | Harrison Burton | Ford | 32 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 8 | 24 | Kaz Grala | Toyota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 12 | 31 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 13 | 19 | 26 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | 28 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Running |
| 14 | 15 | 2 | Jesse Love | Chevrolet | 29 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 82 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Running |
| 15 | 30 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 16 | 23 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Chevrolet | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 17 | 21 | 10 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 18 | 3 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | 28 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Running |
| 19 | 26 | 45 | Stefan Parsons | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 20 | 38 | 53 | Austin J Hill | Chevrolet | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 21 | 35 | 35 | Glen Reen | Toyota | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 22 | 22 | 4 | Parker Retzlaff | Chevrolet | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 82 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | Running |
| 23 | 32 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | Chevrolet | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 24 | 7 | 48 | Nicholas Sanchez | Chevrolet | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Accident |
| 25 | 12 | 11 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | Accident |
| 26 | 5 | 18 | William Sawalich | Toyota | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
| 27 | 27 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | Chevrolet | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
| 28 | 29 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Ford | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | Accident |
| 29 | 33 | 71 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
| 30 | 28 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
| 31 | 2 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Accident |
| 32 | 20 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo | Chevrolet | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 33 | 24 | 99 | Matt DiBenedetto | Chevrolet | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | Suspension |
| 34 | 34 | 07 | Preston Pardus | Chevrolet | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 35 | 11 | 00 | Sheldon Creed | Ford | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | Accident |
| 36 | 16 | 19 | Riley Herbst | Toyota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Engine |
| 37 | 25 | 70 | Thomas Annunziata | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Accident |
| 38 | 37 | 14 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Engine |
Penalties imposed prior to or during the race.
| Driver | Infraction | Penalty | Lap | Lap Assessed | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett Smithley | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
| Christian Eckes | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
| Stefan Parsons | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
| Austin J Hill | Pre-Race to the Rear Engine Change | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
| Josh Bilicki | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 5 | 7 | Yellow |
| Ryan Sieg | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 6 | 7 | Yellow |
| Glen Reen | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 6 | 7 | Yellow |
| Riley Herbst | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 17 | 24 | Green/Yellow |
| Blaine Perkins | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 21 | 24 | Yellow |
| Josh Bilicki | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 22 | 24 | Yellow |
| Blaine Perkins | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Pass Thru | 27 | 34 | Green |
| Daniel Dye | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 38 | 44 | Green/Yellow |
| Jeb Burton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 40 | 44 | Yellow |
| Jeb Burton | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 40 | 44 | Yellow |
| Riley Herbst | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 40 | 0 | Yellow |
| Anthony Alfredo | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 40 | 0 | Yellow |
| Anthony Alfredo | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Garage | Tail End | 40 | 0 | Yellow |
| Blaine Perkins | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 40 | 44 | Yellow |
| Blaine Perkins | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 40 | 44 | Yellow |
| Ryan Sieg | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 41 | 44 | Yellow |
| Glen Reen | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 42 | 44 | Yellow |
| Jeb Burton | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 42 | 44 | Yellow |
| Justin Allgaier | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 43 | 44 | Yellow |
| Jeb Burton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 52 | 55 | Yellow |
| Blaine Perkins | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 53 | 55 | Yellow |
| Shane van Gisbergen | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 65 | 0 | Yellow |
| Justin Allgaier | Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon | Tail End | 70 | 71 | Yellow |
| Anthony Alfredo | Commitment Line Violation | Tail End | 70 | 71 | Yellow |
| Kaz Grala | Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area | Tail End | 70 | 71 | Yellow |
| Taylor Gray | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 74 | 78 | Yellow |
| Nicholas Sanchez | Pitting before pit road is open Garage | Tail End | 74 | 0 | Yellow |
| Dean Thompson | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 74 | 78 | Yellow |
| Jeb Burton | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 74 | 78 | Yellow |
| Daniel Dye | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 74 | 78 | Yellow |
| Justin Allgaier | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 74 | 78 | Yellow |