Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Circuits of The Americas in Austin, Texas

Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Circuits of The Americas in Austin, Texas on March 1, 2025. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)

Under a bright March sky in Austin, the NASCAR Xfinity Series put on a clinic in grit and improvisation, and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch turned the Focused Health 250 into a statement win. Starting from pole on COTA’s shortened 2.4-mile, 17-turn layout, Zilisch looked poised to control the afternoon, until a pit-entry miscue during a caution sent him to the rear after the Stage 1 break. “A commitment line violation couldn’t do it,” the box score will say, but from the cockpit it meant restarting 32nd with a mountain to climb.

What followed was a measured, elbows-out march. Zilisch carved through mid-pack traffic, saving tire life and using the heavy-brake zones, Turn 1 and the stadium section, to set up exits rather than force low-percentage dives. The race turned on Lap 56: with Carson Kvapil out front and Austin Hill cooling his tires after a brief spell in the lead, Zilisch pounced for P1. Four laps later, Kvapil’s right-front went down, neutering JRM’s intra-team duel and handing Zilisch just enough breathing space to manage his car to the end. “That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” he admitted. “I did not drive a clean race at all… I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race.”

Even then, the final act wasn’t simple. Contact with Corey Heim crumpled the No. 88’s right-front fender and produced a worrying tire rub under heavy braking. Zilisch nursed it, short-shifting where he could and staying off the inside curbs to avoid loading the damaged corner. Byron, shaking down Hendrick’s No. 17 ahead of his Cup defense, reeled in a four-second gap to 1.639 seconds, but ran out of laps. “My car was just kind of floppy in the short run… I tried to stay with it in the long run,” Byron said, already thinking about Sunday. Sam Mayer completed the podium, with Hill fourth and Christian Eckes fifth after a tidy, opportunistic run.

NASCAR
NASCAR is the largest racing organization in the United States and is most famous for the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series. Each year NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

Pos	Driver	Number	Starting Pos	Laps Led	Points
1	Connor Zilisch	88	1	26	40
2	William Byron	17	3	3	0
3	Sam Mayer	41	8	0	41
4	Austin Hill	21	12	6	38
5	Christian Eckes	16	10	0	36
6	Jesse Love	2	11	6	31
7	Taylor Gray	54	7	3	30
8	Ross Chastain	9	2	2	0
9	William Sawalich	18	23	0	28
10	Blaine Perkins	31	18	0	27
11	Sammy Smith	8	16	0	37
12	Sheldon Creed	00	14	0	25
13	Riley Herbst	19	9	7	0
14	Alex Labbe	07	27	0	28
15	Josh Williams	11	21	0	25
16	Ryan Ellis	71	34	0	21
17	Daniel Dye	10	15	0	29
18	Dean Thompson	26	30	0	19
19	Ryan Sieg	39	38	0	24
20	Brennan Poole	44	32	0	22
21	Anthony Alfredo	42	17	0	18
22	Josh Bilicki	91	26	0	15
23	Carson Kvapil	1	5	7	15
24	Nick Sanchez	48	19	0	13
25	Jeb Burton	27	29	0	19
26	Austin Green	32	20	0	11
27	Kyle Sieg	28	36	0	11
28	Jeremy Clements	51	35	0	9
29	Justin Allgaier	7	4	0	14
30	Brandon Jones	20	13	0	7
31	Corey Heim	24	6	0	0
32	Matt DiBenedetto	99	22	0	5
33	Kris Wright	5	33	0	4
34	Sage Karam	53	28	0	5
35	Harrison Burton	25	31	5	12
36	Preston Pardus	50	25	0	1
37	Baltazar Leguizamon	35	37	0	1
38	Carson Hocevar	14	24	0	0

Circuit of The Americas
Circuit of The Americas is the premier destination for world-class motorsports and entertainment in the United States. Set on 1,500 acres in the rolling hills just outside downtown Austin, Circuit of The Americas has hosted the biggest names in racing, action sports and music since 2012. At its heart is a 3.41-mile racetrack that was designed to challenge the world's most exacting competitors while providing a thrilling spectacle for audiences.

The 20-turn, counterclockwise circuit takes advantage of the naturally undulating landscape, including an intimidating 133-foot hill at Turn 1 that must be seen in person to be believed. It is home to Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, NASCAR EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, and MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, and has played host to ESPN's X Games, the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge and more.

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Circuit of The Americas
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