By Neha Dwivedi, Staff Writer
All three Championship 4 contenders left Phoenix with heavy hearts after they lost the Championship to Jesse Love, but it was Connor Zilisch’s heartbreak that struck a chord across the paddock. The 19-year-old phenom had delivered one of the most dominant rookie campaigns in recent memory, ten wins, twenty top fives, twenty-three top tens, and eight poles. No one in the Xfinity field had come close to matching his consistency or pace. Yet, when it mattered most, the cards didn’t fall his way.
In the closing stage, Zilisch’s car simply ran out of muscle. After taking the lead following a pit stop under caution on Lap 153, his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet began to fade when the grip disappeared. By Lap 176 of 200, Love reeled him in, tapped his bumper, and slipped beneath him, exiting Turn 2 to make the pass that secured both the race win and the championship for the 20-year-old Californian.
Sixteen laps later, Aric Almirola overtook Zilisch for P2, bagging the Owner’s Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing and robbing JR Motorsports of a clean sweep. Zilisch crossed the finish line 1.808 seconds behind Love, a runner-up effort that felt more like a near miss than a victory.
Connor Zilisch shares his take on the events at Phoenix Raceway
“We fought all day long and threw everything we had at it,” Zilisch stated. “Unfortunately, our WeatherTech Chevrolet, we just didn’t quite have what we needed. But that doesn’t take away from anything we’ve done this year,” he continued.
Trying to make sense of what went wrong, Zilisch admitted, “Yeah, I felt like we were never the best car. I feel like our pit crew did a really good job. We restart second. I got the lead from second both times. We led for 10, 15 laps; every run, we just tanked. I don’t know if I was pushing it too hard at the beginning of runs or what it was.”
Despite losing to his closest friend, the sting didn’t fade. When asked if the defeat hurt less knowing Love had won, Zilisch hurtfully said. “No, it (losing against his best friend) doesn’t make it feel any better (smiling). No. Good for Jesse, I’m really happy for him. Yeah, no.”
The other two drivers reflect on the Xfinity finale events
Justin Allgaier’s day wasn’t much brighter. After winning Stage 2 with ease, a sluggish pit stop on Lap 153 cost him valuable track position. He ended the race fifth, behind pole-sitter Brandon Jones in fourth. The race also marked the final outing for crew chief Jim Pohlman, who will move to the Cup Series next season to work with Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing.
According to Allgaier, the final set of tires upset the car’s balance.
“I think some of that, you look at track position, I don’t know, I kind of look back at the restart there, I don’t really know what I could have done any different,” Allgaier said. “Maybe just having to be a little more aggressive on the restart, got the tires hot. Really disappointing. Jesse had come on there at the end of that run before the caution came out. It was really good. I knew that. I wanted to really have a good restart and be able to battle it out with him. Just didn’t work out.
“I’m bummed because I wanted to send Jim off with a championship. JR Motorsports as a whole, we didn’t win an owner or a driver championship with three out of the four. That’s super frustrating on my end, all of our ends.”
Still, Allgaier gave credit where it was due. He admitted that Love just did a really good job, and those last hundred laps were probably one of the best drives Allgaier had ever seen anyone put together.
Meanwhile, William Kvapil struggled to stay in the fight, finishing 13th and fourth in the overall championship standings. Despite moving into the top 10 early in Stages 1 and 2, after starting from P14, a slow stop, where the crew fumbled the right-front tire, dropped him down the order.
“It seemed like every pit stop we would lose some spots on each one,” Kvapil said. “That didn’t help. It just seemed like the other guys could gain on us. We couldn’t gain anything all race. Kind of what we had from lap one was kind of the same thing I had at lap 200, whereas the other guys — we passed the #2 car on the first run. I thought we were going to have a really good shot at it. Just didn’t seem like we could keep up with the track and keep up with changes.”
For Zilisch, the heartbreak at Phoenix marks the end of one chapter and the start of another. Next season, he’ll join Trackhouse Racing for his Cup debut, while Kvapil prepares for a full-time run in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. As for Allgaier, he’ll return to the Xfinity garage under Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s banner, still chasing another shot at another chance with JR Motorsports to enter the Cup Series.