DOVER, Del. (July 19, 2025) — Connor Zilisch captured his fourth victory of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season in the BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon, adding to his impressive rookie campaign.
Zilisch, 18, from Mooresville, N.C., put together a strong showing, taking the lead in Stage Two and never looking back in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
When rain began to fall, the field was brought down pit road under the red flag. After a 45-minute delay, the race was officially called after 134 completed laps and Zilisch was declared the winner.
“It’s awesome,” said Zilisch, who also won last year’s General Tire 150 ARCA Menards Series race at Dover. “Wish we got to run all the laps … glad to have Miles [the Monster Trophy] here.
“Still really proud of this Junior Motorsports team. … We capitalized on all fronts, had good pit stops both stages and put ourselves in a position to be in the right spot when the rain fell. Very thankful.”
The race began with high energy as NXT Superstar Ethan Page fired up the crowd with an electric command to start engines. Once the green flag dropped, pole winner Taylor Gray won Stage One, leading all the laps. A costly pit stop dropped Gray outside the top 10 and he was never able to get back to the lead. Gray would go on to finish seventh.
Stage Two belonged to Zilisch, who drove up from his third -place starting position and kept control through multiple restarts.
Lap 113 marked a turning point as both Nick Sanchez and NASCAR Cup Series veteran Ross Chastain exited the race with mechanical failures.
Fan favorite Ryan Truex, from Mayetta, N.J., the winner of the last two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Dover, came into the weekend hoping for a three-peat in front of friends and family. But the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing struggled on speed throughout the afternoon and never quite found its rhythm. Truex battled through traffic for much of the race but ultimately crossed the line in 18th.
Another prominent local driver, Lavar Scott, made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on Saturday. Scott, 21, from Carney’s Point, N.J., finished 28th, the final car on the lead lap.
Earlier in the day, Scott reflected on the significance of making his debut so close to home.
“[I live] 55 minutes from Dover Motor Speedway,” Scott said. “It’s a home race … I have friends and family, people I haven’t seen in years coming to support me.”
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Sunday, July 20: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series race (2 p.m., TNT, Performance Racing Network).
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