Posted on by Dustin Albino

AUSTIN, Texas – When Connor Zilisch won the pole for Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series XPEL 225 at Circuit of The Americas by nearly three-quarters of a second, it could’ve been a runaway race for the 17-year-old in his series debut. That strategy changed by the end of the opening lap.

Zilisch overdrove Turn 1 on the first lap, dropping outside the top 10. When he cycled back into the field, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet had a flat tire.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I had two trucks on the inside, outside of me, and I lost my references and went off where [Taylor Gray] was braking,” Zilisch said of his Lap 1 mishap. “[Gray] went too deep and that caused me to go too deep. Rookie mistakes that shouldn’t have been made, but I learned a lot and will move on and get better for the next one.

“It’s a long race, and as frustrating as it may have been to lose the lead that early, I knew that I wasn’t out of it. It’s just the fact that I was so fast. If I was a little slower, it would have been harder. I had so much speed, so that allowed me to push and not give up.”

When the first caution of the race flew two laps later for a tire carcass lying in the middle of the track, Zilisch’s crew chief Brian Pattie chose to go under the hood of the No. 7 truck to assess the damage from limping around the track on the opening lap. In the process, Zilisch lost a lap but was the recipient of the free pass at the conclusion of the first stage.

When the second stage got underway, Tyler Ankrum tagged Zilisch, turning the No. 7 truck. Zilisch dropped outside the top 20 in the running order but quickly regained some of that lost track position. On Lap 20, Zilisch was caught cutting the course in Turn 4. Despite the tumultuous first half of the race, the No. 7 truck rebounded to sixth at the end of the second stage as other trucks pitted.

It didn’t take long for Zilisch to mow through the field at the beginning of the final stage. On Lap 28, he made contact with Ty Majeski contesting for second position, ultimately leading to a right-rear tire rub. Over that stint of the race, the No. 7 truck lost its fast pace, dropping critical seconds to race leader Corey Heim.

It turned out that Zilisch had a tire going down that entire run. When the caution flew for a stalled Lawless Alan on Lap 37, Zilisch led a host of trucks down pit road for fresh tires. All the No. 7 team had left was a set of scuffs.

“They wanted to give me the best shot, even though I restarted a little further back,” Zilisch said of pitting late. “I think that’s a great call. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have enough speed. My tires were flat spotted. A lot of the mistakes that I made kind of showed at the end that you might not have seen.”

Another caution flew for the entire rear-end housing of Marco Andretti’s truck falling apart coming to the white flag. Zilisch would restart eighth and gain four spots in the overtime finish to place fourth in his NASCAR national touring series debut.

MORE: 2024 Xfinity Series schedule

“I’m proud of myself, but knowing how much speed we had, I’m still frustrated,” Zilisch said. “I wish I could have gotten a better finish. But at the end of the day, I finished fourth in my NASCAR debut. That’s nothing to hang your head about.”

Zilisch is counting down the days until his next NASCAR start, which isn’t scheduled to come until he makes his Xfinity Series debut for JR Motorsports at Watkins Glen International in mid-September. His next truck start isn’t until the postseason is well underway at Talladega Superspeedway. He will also drive the No. 7 truck in the Round of 8 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Posted on by Holly Cain

An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas on Saturday afternoon.

Heim dominated the race — his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race-best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career — by 1.625 seconds over his teammate Taylor Gray.

RELATED: Official results | COTA weekend schedule

ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, Spire Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain in a Niece Motorsports Chevy rounded out the top five.

“Just prepared so hard for this race,” said Heim, who also won Stage 2. “I came into this race last year and struggled really. Finished sixth with a penalty and just all over the place. To put together a solid race like this is just so special and really just shows you how good our trucks are back at the shop.”

Heim has finished sixth or better in all five races this season.

“Just great consistency and that was the name of the game last year to make it as far as we did,” he said, smiling. “Didn’t have the result at the end [of 2023] but I think this year we can make it back and prove we’re champions. Super excited for the rest of the year, we’re really just getting started and I think our best tracks are in front of us, so really can’t wait.”

Heim’s performance Saturday on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course was the afternoon standard, but there was plenty of good racing behind him. There were 14 lead changes among eight drivers, but no one other than Heim led double-digit laps.

Jack Hawksworth, a sports car and IndyCar driver making his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, proved himself a talent to be reckoned with. He ran top five most of the day and led a lap. He finished sixth.

Reigning series champ Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

MORE: At-track photos from COTA

The 17-year-old phenom Zilisch, a Trackhouse Racing signee, started from pole position in his first start in one of NASCAR’s national divisions. Leading the field, he went into the first corner hard, however, relinquishing the lead to Heim immediately. After a pit stop for tires and a motivational reminder from his veteran crew chief Brian Pattie, he returned with vengeance. He and his Spire Motorsports No. 7 team never gave up, getting him back on the lead lap and then in contention late in the race.

Zilisch was running in fourth place with less than five laps to go in regulation but was given a pass-through penalty for cutting the course. Fortunately, it came just as a caution flew and it only cost the teenager two positions. He opted to pit for gas during the ensuing yellow flag and was able to climb back to that impressive top-five finish in his first race.

Nick Sanchez won Stage 1 but dropped back after a Stage 2 penalty for cutting the course in the esses and a spin in close-quarters racing with Jake Garcia on Lap 21. After another spin in Turn 1 in overtime, he finished 20th in Rev Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet.

The race was forced to four extra laps after a late caution when the rear-end housing broke off the No. 04 Roper Racing Chevrolet driven by Marco Andretti. The event was briefly red-flagged for clean-up, and Andretti finished 31st in his first Truck Series start of the year. Post-race, competition officials announced that the rear-end housing and truck arms would travel to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further evaluation.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to competition April 5 with the Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending winner.

Notes: Post-race inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Heim as the race winner at COTA. The No. 7 Spire truck of Zilisch was found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check, which should result in a crew chief fine in next week’s penalty report. Two drivers — ThorSport’s Matt Crafton and Niece Motorsports’ Matt Mills — were assessed 30-second penalties post-race for short-cutting the course in the final laps. … Heim moved up one spot in the standings into the Truck Series points lead. He is 10 points ahead of Majeski after five of 23 races this year.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Dustin Albino

For the second consecutive season, William Byron will lead the Cup Series to the green flag Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The No. 24 car put down the fastest lap in practice as time expired and backed it up in qualifying by setting a new track record. During race pace, however, the Toyotas — and Ty Gibbs, in particular — shined. Corey LaJoie was also in the mix, earning the best starting spot of his career in fifth. A big point of emphasis this weekend is stage breaks returning to road courses. Many drivers will score a similar number of points. For instance, 21 drivers scored at least 20 points in this race two seasons ago, but the highest point total was 47.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | COTA 36 for 36 picks

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Tyler Reddick

Starter 2: Ty Gibbs

Starter 3: William Byron

Starter 4: Ross Chastain

Starter 5: Shane van Gisbergen

Garage pick: AJ Allmendinger

NEXT IN LINE: Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace

MORE: Sunday’s starting grid | Weekend schedule

RISING: It goes without saying that Gibbs is fast this weekend. The No. 54 Toyota paced the field during an extended practice session after being the first car to take a time, all the way until the final lap of Group B, which was turned by Byron. Gibbs had more than a second on the field more than halfway through the session. The sophomore driver has always had road-course success, dating back to his first national touring series start on the Daytona road course when he won in 2021. I sound like a broken record, but this might be the week Gibbs finds Victory Lane.

Wallace has put a point of emphasis on improving his road-racing abilities. It began paying off midway through the 2023 season, and he had his best road race to date in the final road course event last season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. The No. 23 car has shown itself to be among the frontrunners thus far this weekend, ranking fourth in practice and qualifying. He has yet to finish a race at COTA in three attempts, but he boils that down to rain (2021), a wheel falling off (2022) and a mistake (2023).

FALLING: Daniel Suárez wasn’t pleased with the speed nor drivability in his No. 99 Chevrolet Saturday at COTA. He ranked 24th in practice and qualified 18th despite looping around entering Turn 1 during one of his hot laps. Suárez has dropped from my lineup completely, but he typically runs well in the race at COTA, though his results would suggest otherwise. It’s going to be a tough decision on whether you have Allmendinger available or not. Because Kaulig Racing entered the No. 13 car as an open car, he has zero concerns about acquiring points and will solely be chasing the victory. The problem is that Allmendinger was average in practice and qualifying, ranking 17th and 14th, respectively. Keeping him in your lineup would be beneficial if he wins, giving you an automatic 40 points. He’s just lacking pace compared to his standard on road courses.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Kyle Busch vs. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was slow in practice but turned in another top-10 qualifying run on a road course. Admittedly, he’s trying to collect any points he can this weekend, meaning the No. 11 car may stay out as the opening two stages wind down. Busch qualified 16th, saying that’s all he had for pace. The No. 8 car also spun during practice. Sticking with Hamlin, but his track position could be buried to start the final stage if he earns points in the opening two.

Tyler Reddick vs. Kyle Larson: Reddick spun early in the session, trying to maximize the limit out of his No. 45 Toyota. He still ended up 12th in practice and improved to third in qualifying. Nothing stood out about Larson’s pace on Saturday, so I’m sticking with Reddick. It’s quite possible he will win at COTA for the second consecutive season.

Daniel Suárez vs. Ross Chastain: Saturday was a tale of two tapes for the Trackhouse Racing teammates. Compared to the past two seasons at COTA, Suárez struggled mightily off the hauler. Meanwhile, Chastain kept up his good fortune here, entering the weekend with a 2.5 average finish while driving for Trackhouse. It seems possible that Chastain has enough speed to contend for the win, so I’ll take that any weekend for my lineup.

Alex Bowman vs. Austin Cindric: The frustration was evident on Cindric’s face following missing the final round of qualifying. Still, he qualified 11th and thinks he has enough tempo to be competitive during the race. Bowman dropped to 17th in qualifying after going third quickest in practice. Bowman has consecutive third-place finishes at COTA, but Cindric is an all-around road racer. I’ve flipped to Cindric.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

(⏰ Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET | FOX | PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: Austin, Texas
Track length: 3.41 miles
Cup Series race purse: $9,740,789
Race distance: 68 laps | 231.88 miles
Stages: 15 | 30 | 68
—
Starting lineup: Byron wins pole for Sunday’s race
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: Tyler Reddick, March 2023

Key things to watch

Saturday sessions

William Byron surged to the Busch Light Pole with a lap speed of 96.696 mph on Saturday morning, charging to his first pole position of the 2024 campaign. Ty Gibbs will start alongside Byron on the front row, with defending race winner Tyler Reddick starting third. Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie completed the top five on the starting grid, with LaJoie posting his best career starting position in fifth.

Byron also posted the quickest single lap in practice at 94.703 mph, besting Gibbs at the very end of the extended practice session. Each of the two groups had two 20-minute sessions to adapt to the new aerodynamic package’s debut trip to a road course in 2024. Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell completed the top five in single-lap speeds.

Gibbs posted the best average speed over five consecutive laps around the 3.41-mile road course, ahead of Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe and Bell.

Big story line

How important will it be to drive between the lines at COTA?

Track limits will come into focus this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, with plenty of pavement ready to catch drivers off the racing line — and send them for a long, sulking visit down pit road for a pass-through penalty if you go off course.

Only four of the track’s 20 corners have such restrictions for NASCAR competition — Turns 3 through 6 in the winding esses at the beginning of the 2-minute-plus lap around road course. Drivers will be permitted to straddle the red-and-white rumble strips through the twisting slalom section, but that balance will be extremely fine: Place all four tires on the non-track side of those curbs, and off to pit road.

“Basically, what I think they are trying to accomplish is just enforce it,” Tyler Reddick said Friday. “I think what is really important to them (officials) is being consistent about it. If it can’t be consistently enforced, throughout the whole field, then there is really no point of having that chance of somebody getting away with something another car couldn’t and getting penalized for it. There is a little bit of back-and-forth and trying to see where the limit is going to end up being, but at the end of the day — largely — how you approach this race track and how you run isn’t changed to much by it.”

Reddick sped his way to a convincing victory in Austin one year ago and didn’t have much traffic out the windshield. But further back in traffic, those curbs may become a bit more difficult to stay between.

“Risk versus reward,” said Ross Chastain, the 2022 winner at COTA. “If we’re going for the win and we’re right there trying to get position on somebody, yeah, I’m pushing it to the edge of the rule. If we’re just trying to get to the next fuel stop and there’s nobody right around me and I don’t really need it … then I’ll move over six inches and I’ll go across the rumble strips normal.”

History tells us…

Don’t sleep on Chevrolet heading into this weekend. Plenty of eyes rest on Toyota thanks to its recent success and stout lineup, including defending race winner Tyler Reddick as well as road ace Martin Truex Jr., sophomore charger Ty Gibbs and the ever-dangerous duo of Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Chevy, though, has combined to win 14 of the last 18 road races in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chase Elliott ranks third all-time in road wins with seven while Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson have proven strong contenders in the Next Gen car. AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen are also sure to be in the hunt come Sunday afternoon for Kaulig Racing.

Byron led 94 laps on road courses in 2023, most of anyone on the circuit. Toyota will likely still be strong — its cars have won three of the last seven road events after a preceding 0-for-11 stretch — but the bowties will have something to say in Austin.

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

Alex Bowman. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team has been looking for a breakout performance, and where better for Bowman than COTA? Bowman opened the week at 25-1 odds to win, according to DraftKings, and has finished eighth, second and third in three COTA appearances. He still has no road-course wins on his resume, but Sunday could provide an opportunity to reach the top step of that proverbial podium. | COTA odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. 

• Turning Point: Trends from Bristol, heading to COTA | Read article
• Rulers of the road: Every active road-course winner in the Cup Series | Photo gallery
• Reddick a man on a mission: Defending winner eager to repeat in Austin | Read article
• SVG set for double duty: Van Gisbergen to hop between Xfinity, Cup at COTA | Read article
• NASCAR Classics: Picks to click from our video library for COTA viewing | Read article
• 36 for 36: NASCAR survivor pool selections for COTA | Read article
• Fearless prediction: Racing Insights projects the final race results | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Lineup advice for COTA | Sleepers, drivers to avoid
• Paint Scheme Preview: Kobayashi shines with Mobil 1 scheme | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Elliott set to reclaim road-course crown? | Latest driver rankings
• At-track photos: Scenes, sights from scenic Texas track | Photo gallery

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• Toyota drivers won the pole for four of the last five road-course races.
• Six different organizations won the six road-course races in 2023.
• The driver who led the most laps won five of the six road-course races in 2023.

Posted on by Holly Cain

In a thrilling final qualifying round, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron was able to hold on to the pole position despite a 94.685 mph run by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, whose slight bobble in the final turns – in the final seconds of the session – at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course was just off the mark.

This is the 13th career pole for Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – and the fifth on a road course, which is most among active drivers. This year’s Daytona 500 winner edged Gibbs’ No 54 JGR Toyota by a slight 0.015-second around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course to earn the right to lead the field to green in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“It’s just an evolution over time, going out to the karting track this week,’’ Byron said of preparing for the season’s first road-course test. “Honestly this has been my first normal week since the [Daytona] 500 and being in my rhythm and kind of in my cocoon and being able to focus on driving the race car.

 “I feel very happy with the way the week has gone and feel very fresh going into this race, so I’m excited for that.’’

RELATED: Starting lineup | Weekend schedule

As for Gibbs, who made a valiant, if unsuccessful, effort in the closing seconds to earn pole, it is still the second consecutive week he has started from the front row. Defending race winner, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick will start his No. 45 Toyota third. He has started among the top five now in all four NASCAR Cup Series races at COTA. JGR’s Christopher Bell, a winner at Phoenix two weeks ago, will start fourth.

Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie, who turned in a showstopper effort in qualifying, will start fifth in the No. 7 Chevrolet, the best starting position of his nine-year NASCAR Cup Series career. And Ross Chastain, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at COTA in 2022, will start sixth – his first top-10 start of the season.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin line up seventh and eighth with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott rounding out the final round qualifiers.

Nineteen drivers broke the track record in what was a dramatic first session. Several of the drivers who had been fast earlier in the day surprisingly did not advance to challenge for pole position. Among those were New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who had been among those at the top of the speed charts in both practice sessions. He just missed advancing to final qualifying, finishing less than a hundredth of a second behind LaJoie in Group A. And just behind him, his Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger, a two-time Xfinity Series winner at COTA, was also slightly off the qualifying pace.

Van Gisbergen and Allmendinger, who are both competing in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, will start 12th and 14th, respectively on Sunday.

Among those in Group B not to advance to final qualifying was Kyle Larson, who had shown top-five speed during practice. Larson, who is tied atop the championship points lead with Truex, was a little late to join his timed qualifying session as the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team performed a quick rotor change and was never a threat for the pole. He’ll start Sunday’s race 15th.

Austin Cindric was the top qualifying Ford and will start his No. 2 Team Penske Mustang 11th.  His teammate, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney will start the No. 12 Team Penske Mustang 28th among the 39-car field.

Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi – a two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner and two-time World Endurance Championship champion, will be making his NASCAR COTA debut in the No. 50 23XI Racing Toyota from 25th place on the starting grid.

Practice recap

Byron led the way in Cup Series practice at Circuit of The Americas at 94.703 mph. The No. 24 Chevrolet edged out Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (94.681 mph) and HMS teammate Alex Bowman (94.416 mph).

MORE: Practice results

Bubba Wallace (94.260 mph) and Christopher Bell (94.226 mph) rounded out the top five.

Kyle Busch (94.132 mph), Ross Chastain (94.129 mph), Kamui Kobayashi (94.021 mph), Kyle Larson (93.980 mph) and Shane van Gisbergen (93.947 mph) rounded out the top 10.

Posted on by Staff Report

AUSTIN, Texas — Two teams failed pre-qualifying inspection twice during Friday’s opening inspections at Circuit of The Americas, NASCAR officials announced Saturday.

The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet each passed on their third attempts but were penalized after two prior failures.

MORE: COTA weekend schedule

Clay Alexander, car chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch, has been ejected from the weekend’s event. Car chief Travis Young has been ejected this weekend from the No. 47, driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

In addition, both teams will lose pit-stall selection for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Dustin Albino

AUSTIN, Texas – Eyes are pointed directly on Shane van Gisbergen this weekend at Circuit of The Americas. For the first time, he will be pulling double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. 

With van Gisbergen’s background in Supercars, he isn’t foreign to COTA. In 2013, he competed at the track, though not at its full 3.42-mile layout. Back then, at the end of the esses, there was a chicane with a jump immediately following it. But it didn’t take long for him to realize on the weekly track walk, in which he walked his dog, Ronald, that the track surface has changed drastically over the past decade. 

“The surface looks really different, and then obviously looking at the back few corners, which I hadn’t seen before,” van Gisbergen said during a media availability on Friday. “And you just forget how much elevation this place has. Like walking up turn one, you’re puffing straight away. It’s really steep. Yeah, I had forgotten that.”

RELATED: Xfinity COTA lineup | Saturday schedule at COTA

Compared to normal race weekends, van Gisbergen estimates putting double the amount of time on the Chevrolet simulator. He also utilized Trackhouse Racing’s static simulator at the team’s race shop. He believes the biggest challenge of going back and forth between the Xfinity and Cup cars will be the difference in shifting. 

“Just going from sequential back to the H-Pattern, just to not make mistakes,” van Gisbergen said, regarding using simulators. “We’ve seen guys do that in the past. But I think the gears and the shift points are quite different, so shouldn’t have any problem there. But yeah, it’s not going to be easy.”

On Thursday evening, van Gisbergen chatted with seven-time NASCAR winner, and one of his mentors, Marcos Ambrose about what to expect between both races. He also prepared by watching different on-board cameras for each series to get a better understanding of the track and its limits.

“[Ambrose] said the Xfinity car will be unlike anything I’ve ever driven,” van Gisbergen said. “The way it brakes and the way the rear end works. He said it’s probably similar to the Cup cars he was racing, so hopefully those things help and helps me speed up the learning process.”

COTA will mark the first of six road-course races on the Xfinity Series schedule. It will be the first time that van Gisbergen goes heads up against his Kaulig Racing — and winningest road-course driver in series history — teammate AJ Allmendinger in equal equipment on a road course. 

That in itself is a highly-anticipated battle. 

“[Allmendinger is] obviously at the top of his game and pretty impressive in those cars, and on the road courses here, as well,” van Gisbergen said. “I’ve learned a lot from him, watching him on the simulator. I look forward to battling him on track, too. Hopefully we push each other forward and try to beat everyone else before we beat ourselves.”

It was an impressive start to the weekend for van Gisbergen, setting the fastest time in Xfinity Series practice by nearly four-tenths of a second. He will take the green flag for Saturday’s Focused Health 250 on Saturday from second position (5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

AUSTIN, Texas — Connor Zilisch made the biggest splash he could have imagined in his first laps in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The 17-year-old Trackhouse Racing prospect stormed to the pole position in Friday’s qualifying session at Circuit of The Americas, driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to the top spot at 93.012 mph, equating to a time of 2 minutes, 11.983 seconds — nearly three-quarters of a second quicker than second-place starter Corey Heim.

“I’m kind of blown away,” Zilisch said. “Gotta hand it all off to Spire Motorsports and the truck that they brought. We had a really fast Chevy today and made my job really easy. Obviously, I’ve still got to go out there and not make mistakes but honestly, I feel like I could have driven that at 95% and still been able to get the pole.”

MORE: Full Truck lineup

The astounding performance ahead of Saturday’s XPEL 225 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is one in a line of many already in 2024 for the North Carolinian teenager. His year began by scoring a class victory in LMP2 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, an incredible feat in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in January. He followed that up one week ago scoring a class win in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

His road-racing prowess made him a highly-touted prospect long before this year, including a runner-up finish in his ARCA Menard’s Series debut at Watkins Glen International last August. But to post his first laps in a stock truck Friday at COTA — and be significantly faster than series regulars — speaks to the ‘wow’ factor Zilisch has brought so far.

“It’s definitely not easy, right?” Zilisch said. “I’ve run so many different series and cars but honestly, I think that’s only making me a better race car driver, right? We show up here with 15 minutes of practice and not a lot of time, but when I’m going to the truck it’s all new to me. But it’s really been a three-month process preparing myself for this race with everyone back at Chevrolet, Josh Wise, Scott Speed. We’ve had this circled on the calendar for a long time, so yeah, it feels really good to have this starting off well. We got a good starting spot tomorrow, but there’s still a long way to go.”

With such immediate performance comes heightened expectations, both internally and externally. At age 17, Zilisch has already sought professional help to manage the nerves that come with it.

“That’s one thing I struggled with and I actually had to go to a sports psychologist to talk about it,” Zilisch said, “because I get so nervous and amped up before races that I go out there and just not do my job and completely mess up. So that’s one thing that I’ve really had to work on the last two years is  just not getting too amped up in a situation where I may have confidence or whether or not I don’t have confidence and I’m just nervous. So that’s a lot when you look at race car drivers. People might not see that, but the mental aspect of it is way bigger than people think. And I’m thankful to have very, very good people around me that made it easy to kind of stay calm.”

Zilisch, who signed a developmental deal with Trackhouse Racing in January, will continue to make select starts for Spire Motorsports through the 2024 campaign. He will also make his Xfinity Series debut later this season with JR Motorsports in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Circuit of The Americas.

With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: Once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name. 

Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess. 

We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?

Standings after Race 5:

RankNamePointsBehind
T-1Steve Luvender284—
T-1Dustin Albino284—
3Cameron Richardson235-49
4r/NASCAR Community219-65

Race 6 of 36: Circuit of The Americas

Ah, Bristol. Last week, a mid-race crash snarled r/NASCAR’s pick of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, earning the No. 47 just four points. Dustin Albino and Cameron Richardson both selected Carson Hocevar, who ran a respectable race that went sideways with a late tire issue — a 10-point, 27th-place result. Steve Luvender extended his points lead with his selection of Brad Keselowski; the No. 6 earned 50 points — the most of all drivers — after a third-place finish.

The season’s first road course could change things, though. How will our pickers handle the twists and turns in Austin?

Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 38, Todd Gilliland

A general graphic of NASCAR.com's 36 for 36 fantasy game.

Dustin’s pick last week (Bristol): No. 77, Carson Hocevar
Points earned last week: 10 (27th-place finish)
Total season points: 103 (second place)
Dustin: With how strong Gilliland was at Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway to start the season, you could certainly make the case to save him for a superspeedway race coming up on the schedule. But have you seen his COTA numbers? In two Cup starts, he has an average finish of 13th, rounding out the top 10 last season. In 2021, he cruised to the win in the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series race here. The primary concern this weekend is whether the No. 38 team will chase points in the opening two stages or set itself up to run toward the front at the start of the final stage. However, the majority of the field has the same dilemma.

NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No, 48, Alex Bowman

A general graphic of NASCAR.com's 36 for 36 fantasy game.

Steve’s pick last week (Bristol): No. 6, Brad Keselowski
Points earned last week: 50 (third-place finish)
Total season points: 153 (first place)
Steve: Thank you, Brad Keselowski! No drivers earned more points than the No. 6 at Bristol, helping me put distance on my friends in the standings. For COTA, I’m not going with a typical road-course standout; I’m saving them for later in the season. Instead, Alex Bowman gets my nod. Driver No. 48 finished eighth, second and third in his three starts in Austin, making it his best track by average finish (4.3). Sure, Bowman may have never won on a road course before, but he knows how to keep himself in contention when it counts. That’s all I can ask in this game.

NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 2, Austin Cindric

A general graphic of NASCAR.com's 36 for 36 fantasy game.

Cameron’s pick last week (Bristol): No. 77, Carson Hocevar
Points earned last week: 10 (27th-place finish)
Total season points: 80 (fourth place)
Cameron: After leading 45 combined laps at Daytona and Atlanta to begin the 2024 season, the third-year veteran hasn’t scored a finish better than 29th over the last three weeks. As one of the better road-course drivers in NASCAR, COTA will be an important weekend for the No. 2 team as Cindric has finishes of eighth and sixth, respectively, in his last two outings at the 3.4-mile track.

r/NASCAR Community: No. 2, Austin Cindric

A general graphic of NASCAR.com 36 for 36 fantasy game.

r/NASCAR’s pick last week (Bristol): No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Points earned last week: 4 (33rd-place finish)
Total season points: 93 (third place)

After a disappointing Bristol result, r/NASCAR is hoping to rebound with Austin Cindric, the top-voted community selection.

From this week’s voting thread: 

u/CougarIndy25: “Choose AC now, save SVG for a back-to-back victory at Chicago.”

u/Unique_Salad6894: “Austin in Austin. Has led laps in every COTA race. The tuba man is a safe pick.”

u/Straight_Champion_77: “This race has produced his highest driver rating every year for an active non-superspeedway track

2021 (ran only 7 races) 1st – Daytona 500, 2nd – Road America, 3rd – COTA (finished 25th with an avg running position of 10th), 4th – Kansas Spring, 5th – Indy Road

(6th is Atlanta Spring, 7th is Richmond Spring)

2022 1st – Daytona 500, 2nd – COTA (finished 8th), 3rd – Indy Road, 4th – Gateway, 5th – Road America

2023 1st – Atlanta Summer, 2nd – Daytona 500, 3rd – COTA (finished 6th), 4th – Atlanta Spring, 5th – Talladega Fall

Road races are slightly more predictable than superspeedways, he has earned stage points and led laps every time we’ve gone here, so why not?”

Check back next week to see how our pickers fared at COTA as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.  

And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!