Zilisch Gets A Shot In The Arm With Bristol O'Reilly Win Over Larson

Up until Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, it had been a season of frustration for 19-year-old Connor Zilisch. While he admits he never expected to collect wins out of the box during his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, he also didn't expect to struggle as mightily as he has.

While he continues to try to get the momentum rolling on Sunday's, Zilisch got a much needed shot in the arm in Saturday night's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Suburban Propane 300.

Kyle Larson, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, utterly dominated the race by leading 230 of the 300 laps on the night, however, a late-race caution with under 30 laps to go changed everything. Under the caution for a spinning Gray Gaulding, Larson went to pit road for fresh tires, while Zilisch, Brent Crews, and Corey Day stayed on track.

Larson would make quick work of Ryan Sieg, who took two tires, and Day, but the young pair of Zilisch and Crews were able to hold him at bay for several laps. Finally, Larson was able to get past Crews for the runner-up spot with seven laps remaining.

As Larson moved to second, Zilisch moved to the high side of the track to take away any chance of momentum for Larson. The move worked, as Larson struggled to get enough of a run to challenge Zilisch for the win, and with slip in Turns 3 and 4 with three laps to go, Zilisch was able to gain the breathing room he needed to cruise to the win, the 12th of his 39-race NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career.

Now, Zilisch will look to parlay the win into a good run in Sunday's Food City 500.

Larson would hang on to finish second, while Crews would cap off his impressive night with a third-place finish.

Justin Allgaier, the series points leader, finished fourth, and in doing so, took home the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus, to bring his career earnings in the Dash 4 Cash program to $800,000. By scoring the top-five finish, Allgaier extended his series points lead to 130 points over Sheldon Creed.

Carson Kvapil would finish fifth ahead of Sheldon Creed, William Sawalich, Corey Day, Parker Retzlaff, and Taylor Gray.

Next up for the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series is the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Satuerday, April 18. That race will be televised on The CW, with coverage set to kick off at 7:00 PM ET.