Parker Kligerman, filling in for the injured Connor Zilisch, scored the NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Daytona International Speedway Friday night.
Zilisch was awarded the pole for The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola after qualifying was canceled, but chose to start at the rear of the field. He drove the first 12 laps before Kligerman strapped in to take over in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet under a caution on Lap 13.
Zilisch, however, receives credit for the victory and collects the points. NASCAR regulations state that the driver who starts the race is considered the driver of record.
“It’s weird,” Zilisch said after the race. “It was really weird the last time I did it, and I never thought I’d have to do it again. … But I love Parker. I’ve been a fan of Parker for a long time. He’s another one I’m OK watching win inside my race car. I’m glad that I got to start the race and get the points for my team.”
Kligerman described subbing for Zilisch as “different” and made light of the fact that he would not get credit for the win.
“It’s different in every way, because I didn’t expect to get a call from (team owner) Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. on the day I was leaving for vacation, saying ‘Hey, man, would you come drive this thing? I hate the circumstances for Connor. He’s an amazing generational talent,” Kligerman said. I feel honored to have gotten the call to grace the seat that he’s been in, that Kyle Larson’s been in. … For me, it’s such a ‘me’ thing that this will not be on Racing Reference at all.”
JR Motorsports drivers Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier finished second and third, respectively. Jesse Love and Sam Mayer completed the top five.
After Daytona, Justin Allgaier holds a three-point lead over Connor Zilisch, a 26-point lead over Sam Mayer, 96 96-point lead over Jesse Love, and a 150-point lead over Austin Hill.
Two races are remaining in the Xfinity Series regular season – Portland International Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Portland International Raceway for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, August 30th at 7:30 pm ET on the CW Network.
*There were no issues in post-race inspection.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 24
Race Results for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola – Friday, August 22, 2025
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL – 2.5 – Mile Paved
| Pos | St | No | Driver | Team | Laps | S1 | S2 | S3 | Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | Running |
| 2 | 3 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Pilot Chevrolet | 104 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | Running |
| 3 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Hellmann’s/RCPT Chevrolet | 104 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 50 | Running |
| 4 | 10 | 2 | Jesse Love | Whelen Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | Running |
| 5 | 2 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Audibel Ford | 104 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 41 | Running |
| 6 | 7 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Patriot Lighting Toyota | 104 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 38 | Running |
| 7 | 11 | 26 | Dean Thompson # | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 104 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 35 | Running |
| 8 | 36 | 14 | Garrett Smithley | True Brand Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | Running |
| 9 | 12 | 44 | Brennan Poole | CW & Sons/Clark’s Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | Running |
| 10 | 6 | 1 | Carson Kvapil # | Jarrett Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | Running |
| 11 | 31 | 71 | Ryan Ellis | Mike Albert Fleet Solutions Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | Running |
| 12 | 24 | 18 | William Sawalich # | Soundgear Toyota | 104 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 26 | Running |
| 13 | 34 | 7 | Patrick Emerling(i) | Priority Tire Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 14 | 23 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | easycare Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | Running |
| 15 | 26 | 35 | Mason Maggio | Denssi Energy Pouches Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | Running |
| 16 | 8 | 25 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 104 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 25 | Running |
| 17 | 27 | 0 | Sheldon Creed | Ollie’s Ford | 104 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 26 | Running |
| 18 | 28 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | Wawa/Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | Running |
| 19 | 21 | 11 | Justin Haley(i) | Celsius Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 20 | 13 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Golden Corral/State Chevrolet | 104 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 19 | Running |
| 21 | 25 | 53 | Joey Gase | NFPA Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | Running |
| 22 | 38 | 92 | Natalie Decker | Wawa Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | Running |
| 23 | 18 | 48 | Nick Sanchez # | Pickers Vodka Chevrolet | 104 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Running |
| 24 | 29 | 19 | Aric Almirola | Young Life Toyota | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Accident |
| 25 | 4 | 21 | Austin Hill | Global Industrial Chevrolet | 103 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 26 | Accident |
| 26 | 35 | 70 | Leland Honeyman | DPR Construction Chevrolet | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | Accident |
| 27 | 30 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | DeSantis AC & Appliance Ford | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Accident |
| 28 | 37 | 5 | Caesar Bacarella | Prime Bites/7-Eleven Chevrolet | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Running |
| 29 | 15 | 32 | Rajah Caruth(i) | Atlanta Life Insurance Chevrolet | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
| 30 | 14 | 54 | Taylor Gray # | Operation 300 RED Toyota | 101 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | Running |
| 31 | 22 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 98 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | Accident |
| 32 | 9 | 16 | Christian Eckes # | Campers Inn RV Mobile Medic Chevrolet | 97 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 | Accident |
| 33 | 33 | 99 | Matt DiBenedetto | Buddy Chevrolet | 96 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Accident |
| 34 | 20 | 45 | Josh Williams | Optum Chevrolet | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Accident |
| 35 | 17 | 10 | Daniel Dye # | Martech Services Company Chevrolet | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Accident |
| 36 | 16 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | All South Electric Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Accident |
| 37 | 32 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 67 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Electrical |
| 38 | 19 | 4 | Parker Retzlaff | Dove MenCare Chevrolet | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Water Pump |
