Connor Zilisch Reveals the One Thing He Hates After Xfinity Race Win at Dover

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Fardeen Ahmed | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Saturday's Xfinity race at Dover saw Connor Zilisch grab his fourth victory of the season in the NASCAR series. He started from third off the grid before ultimately taking the lead from the restart following the Stage 2 break. Out of the official 134 laps, he led 77 laps of the rain-shortened BetRivers 200 at the one-mile Dover Motor Speedway.

Last season, the 18-year-old proved himself as a road-course ace in the Xfinity series by winning on his first start at the historic Watkins Glen International. As a full-time driver this season, he further established himself with a pair of road course wins at Circuit of the Americas and Sonoma Raceway.

Speaking in the post-race session at Dover, the rookie admitted that he dislikes being perceived as a driver who excels only on road courses. Interestingly, he is proving it right, winning at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway last month and now adding the one-miler to his oval-race victories.

"Yeah, I've always hated the term road course ringer," Connor Zilisch said. "I don't want to be a ringer. I want to be a guy who can show up anywhere and win, and I'm doing my best to prove that.

"I still have a long way to go with my learning processes, and even just from February to today, I'm a completely different driver. Personally, I don't feel like it, but clearly the results are showing it, and I feel way more comfortable. I don't have any nerves when I show up at the track. I get in my car on pit road before the race, and it feels like any other race to me. And I think that's what's important."

The North Carolina teenager also highlighted overcoming his early-season mentality, where he pressured himself to perform well. However, as he shed that mindset, he began racing better and eventually earned everyone's respect as a talented rookie.

"At the beginning of the year, I was so nervous," said Zilisch. "I was like, 'Man, I gotta do so well, I gotta perform.' And when I stopped caring so much, I started running better. That's very hard to do. It's very hard to get over those nerves, but when you're able to, it certainly makes a difference.

"I don't think people look at me one way or another. I think, as competitors, we all see each other and respect each other as talented race car drivers. And I hope guys see me like that as well."

Following this, the JR Motorsports rookie has now claimed the best win totals in the series. He is now on an eight-race top-five streak with three wins and three runner-up finishes, and even led the laps in 15 of his 19 starts this season.

Building on this, he will now take on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Saturday for the Pennzoil 250 race, and try to bridge his 56-point gap with the Championship leader, Justin Allgaier. The Xfinity race will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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