JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch made a pass with five laps remaining on Jesse Love to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. He led 34 of the 100 laps en route to his third career Xfinity Series win and his first at an oval. His previous wins were at Watkins Glen and Circuit of the Americas.
“I’ve been dying for this one for a while now, I’ve been so close on the ovals lately,” Zilisch said. “I finished second at Charlotte, second at Nashville.”
JR Motorsports team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. served as the interim crew chief for Zilisch and the No. 88 Chevrolet team after crew chief Mardy Lindley was suspended for one race due to a lug nut infraction this month at Nashville.
“Pretty cool to have him up there. Thank you so much to the entire JR Motorsports team. This one is definitely special. I’ve been chasing an oval win for a while now.”
“We had a lot of things going our way,” Earnhardt said. “I missed the thrill of competition. I love broadcast, don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “But,” he explained, “nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn’t really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun.”
Jessie Love finished second, and Christian Eckes claimed a career-best third-place finish in the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing.
“Hats off to him. He ran a good race.” Love said. “Once I was able to get a draft, I was able to get back to him, but that bums me out,” he continued. “I’m not going to lie, but I’m still trying to be grateful we have fast race cars and are in position to win. Hats off to Connor.”
Chase Elliott, competing in both the Xfinity and Cup Series races this weekend, led the most laps (38 of 100). But while contending for the lead with Justin Allgaier with 13 laps remaining, he nearly crashed. He went up the track to avoid an accident and fought back to finish in fourth position.
Ryan Sieg finished fifth, and Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, and Justin Allgaier completed the top 10.
After Pocono, Justin Allgaier holds an 82-point lead in the Xfinity Series points standings over Austin Hill and 110 over Sam Mayer.
The race featured 10 caution flags for 41 laps, and 10 lead changes among seven drivers.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, for the Focused Health 250 on Friday, June 27, at 7:30 pm ET on CW.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 16
Race Results for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 – Saturday, June 21, 2025
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA – 2.5-mile paved
Total Race Length – 100 Laps – 250. Miles
| POs | St | No | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | 3 | 1 | 0 | 58 | Running |
| 2 | 10 | 2 | Jesse Love | 0 | 4 | 0 | 42 | Running |
| 3 | 15 | 16 | Christian Eckes | 5 | 5 | 0 | 46 | Running |
| 4 | 1 | 17 | Chase Elliott(i) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | 4 | 6 | 0 | 44 | Running |
| 6 | 22 | 1 | Carson Kvapil | 0 | 9 | 0 | 33 | Running |
| 7 | 6 | 41 | Sam Mayer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | Running |
| 8 | 13 | 8 | Sammy Smith | 6 | 8 | 0 | 37 | Running |
| 9 | 7 | 54 | Taylor Gray | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | Running |
| 10 | 8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 | Running |
| 11 | 20 | 27 | Jeb Burton | 0 | 10 | 0 | 27 | Running |
| 12 | 21 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | 9 | 0 | 0 | 27 | Running |
| 13 | 28 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Running |
| 14 | 16 | 25 | Harrison Burton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | Running |
| 15 | 26 | 11 | Josh Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | Running |
| 16 | 19 | 44 | Brennan Poole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | Running |
| 17 | 25 | 26 | Dean Thompson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | Running |
| 18 | 2 | 20 | Brandon Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | Running |
| 19 | 11 | 99 | Matt DiBenedetto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | Running |
| 20 | 29 | 45 | Mason Massey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | Running |
| 21 | 4 | 18 | William Sawalich | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 | Running |
| 22 | 23 | 4 | Parker Retzlaff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | Running |
| 23 | 31 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Running |
| 24 | 36 | 70 | Leland Honeyman Jr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | Running |
| 25 | 37 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Running |
| 26 | 32 | 14 | Garrett Smithley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | Running |
| 27 | 38 | 53 | Logan Bearden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Running |
| 28 | 3 | 48 | Nick Sanchez | 2 | 3 | 0 | 26 | Running |
| 29 | 27 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | Running |
| 30 | 35 | 7 | Patrick Emerling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 31 | 18 | 10 | Daniel Dye | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Running |
| 32 | 24 | 71 | Ryan Ellis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Running |
| 33 | 34 | 74 | Dawson Cram | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Running |
| 34 | 33 | 35 | Carson Ware | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Running |
| 35 | 14 | 21 | Austin Hill | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Running |
| 36 | 12 | 0 | Sheldon Creed | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Accident |
| 37 | 30 | 5 | Kris Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Suspension |
| 38 | 17 | 19 | Justin Bonsignore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Engine |
