Connor Zilisch gave it his all in narrow Las Vegas defeat

NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch will leave Las Vegas Motor Speedway with an 82-point advantage to the Championship 4 cut line. A second-place finish in Saturday's Focused Health 302 extends his own Xfinity Series record of 18 consecutive top-five finishes.

The 19-year-old phenom led 34 laps, and for all intents and purposes, drove an incredible race before being edged out by a veteran driver in Aric Almirola. 

But for a young driver as motivated as Zilisch, a runner-up finish isn't enough, especially with high playoff stakes. 

Connor Zilisch frustrated with runner-up finish

"The frustration just comes from... this stuff means a lot to me," Zilisch told CW Sports. "A chance to lock into Phoenix, you got to take it. I gave it my all. I drove as hard as I could. Just didn't have what it took; we'll go back to the drawing board."

Still, Zilisch will go to the second race of the Round of 8 at Talladega with an advantage of 1 and 1/3 races' worth of points to the cut line. Even if he's caught up in the infamous 'Big One' next week, he'll still be sitting pretty regarding points heading into the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville.

But those points can't compare to another checkered flag, one that would've been Zilisch's 11th of the season and his 10th in the last 18 races. 

"Plus 82 is not bad," Zilisch said. "It could be a lot worse. Having another win sticker on this thing would've been a lot better."

Zilisch will be looking for redemption at Talladega next weekend, where the memory of his near miss in Sin City will certainly be on his mind.