Almirola Defeats Zilisch in Xfinity Series Barnburner at Las Vegas

Ladies and Gentlemen, the NASCAR Xfinity Series provided us with an all-timer on Saturday night.

The Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ended up being one of the most exciting Xfinity Series events of the season, and one of the best in quite some time, as the entire race was closely contested mostly between three drivers: semi-retired NASCAR Cup Series veteran Aric Almirola, 19-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch, and championship underdog Jesse Love.

As soon as polesitter Justin Allgaier lost the race-lead at Lap 28, it was clear that Almirola, Love, and Zilisch were the class of the field at the 1.5-mile intermediate racetrack in Nevada, trading the lead back-and-forth throughout much of the remainder of the event – both in green-flag and yellow-flag sequences.

For all three drivers, a victory in Saturday’s 302-mile contest (the first event in the semi-final round of the post-season) would have significant ramifications on the championship, whether it be the Owner’s Championship (courtesy of an Almirola victory) or the Driver’s Championship (Zilisch and Love).

RACE RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas

The race’s final stage started off with a massive 76-lap green-flag run, but even in the drawn-out sequence and a cycle of green-flag stops, the top three drivers remained together. However, when a caution was displayed with 27 laps to go, for Dean Thompson spinning in Turn 3, a wrench was thrown into the race, and several others were brought into the picture.

On the restart, Love, who had been in the cat-bird seat just before the final caution of the evening, faded back outside the top five while Nick Sanchez charged forward, temporarily taking the fight to Aric Almirola and Connor Zilisch who held down the top two positions. However, the No. 48 Chevrolet began to fade as the run went on, leaving Almirola and Zilisch to battle it out.

Things ended up getting intense in the final laps, as Almirola chased down Zilisch and made the final pass for the lead with nine laps remaining, but had to put on an immediate defense for the final laps of the event, as the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet put together several attempts to close on the NASCAR Cup Series veteran.

Ultimately, it was Almirola that went on to secure the victory, collecting his tenth win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and his third of the 2025 season.

“Our car was really good, but the longer we ran, the tighter I got. And I was struggling on that long run at the beginning of Stage 3. And finally, that restart there, I just took off incredibly tight, and I couldn’t get going,” said Almirola. “[Nick Sanchez] kind of slowed my momentum down, and finally I got clear of him, and I was able to go chase [Zilisch] down. He looked loose, and I was able to capitalize on that.”

Connor Zilisch fought hard in the closing laps but had to settle for a disappointing second-place finish – if there is a such thing for a driver that has finished inside the top five in the last 18 NASCAR Xfinity Series events.

“The frustration just comes from how much – you know, this stuff means a lot to me, and you know, a chance to lock into Phoenix, you’ve got to take it,” said Connor Zilisch. “I mean, I gave it my all. I drove it as hard as I could, but yeah, I guess that’s all we had today. I’ve just got to do a better job. I just could not wrap the [inside] line. I sucked here in the Spring for the same reason, and we were just really loose and struggled to move around.”

Zilisch, as a result of his second-place finish, now leaves Las Vegas Motor Speedway with an 82-point buffer on the cutline for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs – with Talladega and Martinsville left to contest in the semi-final round of the post-season.

Justin Allgaier, one of the favorites to advance into the Championship 4 via points or a victory in this round, finished third after starting on the pole position. Allgaier, the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, won the Spring event at Las Vegas.

In fourth-place, Hendrick Motorsports development driver Corey Day had a breakout run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, collecting a career-best fourth-place finish. The Clovis, California-native has two top-five finishes in nine starts in the second-tier series.

After challenging Zilisch and Almirola for the victory late in the going, Nick Sanchez collected his seventh top-five result of the season, finishing in fifth. Jesse Love dropped to sixth on a late restart, with Ryan Sieg seventh, Taylor Gray eighth, Sam Mayer ninth, and Austin Hill rounding out the top-10.

Sheldon Creed finished in the 11th position, after struggling mightily in the opening run of the race, dropping as low as 27th on pace before coming down pit road for a pit stop at Lap 27. Other post-season drivers that didn’t finish inside the top-10 are Brandon Jones (13th), Carson Kvapil (15th), and Sammy Smith (20th). Smith, who barely advanced into the Round of 8, was believed to be struggling with engine issues throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Leaving Las Vegas, Connor Zilisch leads the points and has an 82-point advantage over the cutline, with Justin Allgaier (+44), Jesse Love (+20), and Sam Mayer (+8) all sitting above the cutline. Brandon Jones (-8), Sheldon Creed (-21), Carson Kvapil (-22), and Sammy Smith (-24) all remain in striking distance heading to Talladega Superspeedway.

The United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway will take place next Saturday, October 18 at 4:00 PM ET on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.