Top-Seeded Zilisch Leads Xfinity Field Into Playoff Run

Connor Zilisch won Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway to cement his status as the top seed entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

MADISON, Ill. – Courtesy of his dominant NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign thus far, featuring nine victories and the regular season title, Connor Zilisch is the unbridled top seed entering the playoffs and the arguable favorite to take home the overall championship.

Zilisch came from more than 150 points back in mid-June to win the regular season by 53 points over defending series titlist and JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier, earning 15 extra playoff points toward his already impressive total.

Combined with his victories and nine stage wins, Zilisch begins the playoffs with 2,064 points, as well as a whopping 59-point cushion over the elimination line for the Round of 12.

It’s a strong opening statement, but not one that the 19-year-old rookie sensation allows himself to feel safe with despite appearances.

“It’s a fine line between celebrating what we’ve already done and looking ahead to what’s next,” said Zilisch in the wake of his win Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway. “By no means do I ever want to get to a point – in this season or in my career – where I get complacent and satisfied. That’s why someone like Jimmie Johnson [one of Zilisch’s racing heroes growing up] is a seven-time [NASCAR Cup Series] champion. He won the first five or six, and still continued to outwork everyone every week for a long time in his career.

“That’s one of the reasons why I look up to him and want to model after what he did. Although this season has gone really well, beyond my wildest dreams, every time a Cup [Series] driver has come down and raced in our series … they’ve set the bar to a higher level and it’s been humbling,” Zilisch added. “Knowing that I’m going to race against 35 or more of those guys every week next year is in the back of my mind, but at the same time … I don’t only think about the future and I’m making sure I do enjoy the moment right now.

“Now, the goal shifts to what’s directly ahead, and that’s chasing a championship over these final seven races and hopefully giving JRM another Xfinity Series title to add to the trophy case … and one for myself, of course, as well.”

Allgaier opens his Xfinity Series championship defense with 2,035 points, courtesy of three wins, a series-leading 10 stage victories, and his runner-up ranking in the regular season.

He’s the only other driver with a double-digit buffer over the provisional cut after the points reset, 30 points clear of bubble drivers Carson Kvapil and Taylor Gray.

Third-seeded Sam Mayer, the Iowa Speedway winner from August and third-place finisher in the regular season, sits at 2,016 points and just 11 points above the cut line – meaning no one from him on down can truly feel comfortable as the seven-race playoff stretch gets underway.

Season-opening Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway winner Jesse Love (2,013) and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway winner Brandon Jones (2,013) are tied for the fourth seed, with Love getting the nod via two second-place finishes to Jones’ zero. Jones comes into the playoffs as the No. 5 seed.

Sixth seed Sammy Smith (2,009) leads three rookies in the reseeded order, with Nick Sanchez (2,006) and Kvapil (2,005) just above the starting cut line and Gray (2,005) just below it as the ninth seed.

Sheldon Creed (2,003) and Harrison Burton (2,002) – two of the final three drivers to make the playoffs on points – also begin their title pursuits in danger of elimination, with Austin Hill rounding out the 12-driver playoff grid at the base total of 2,000 points and five back of the cut line starting out.

Hill, a three-time race winner and six-time stage winner in the regular season, would have started the playoffs with 27 points in the bank and the third seed overall if not for his suspension for wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July.

That forced his Richard Childress Racing team to seek a non-medical playoff waiver for the Winston, Ga., veteran, and by rule Hill was required to forfeit all of his regular season playoff points for that waiver to be granted.

It means that Hill will have the toughest road to climb if he wants to win an Xfinity Series championship, starting with the playoff opener at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Friday night, Sept. 12.

Broadcast coverage of the Food City 300 is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.