Connor Zilisch wins NASCAR Xfinity Sonoma in epic…

Shane van Gisbergen gave it everything he had, but Connor Zilisch was able to hang onto the lead and take the win in a thrilling finish to Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity race at Sonoma Raceway.

Despite winning pole position for both races this weekend, van Gisbergen will not claim another weekend sweep at Sonoma. It was a race-long battle between the JR Motorsports teammates, who finished 1-2 just one week ago at the Chicago Street Course. SVG started from pole, but he and Zilisch traded the lead multiple times throughout the race.

During the final run both frontrunners had to worry about saving fuel, while also battling each other — with the pair lapping at a gap of less than 1 second. As the laps ticked away, van Gisbergen got progressively more aggressive, putting the bumper to Zilisch with less than two laps to go. There were some more bumps throughout the final lap as SVG tried to get alongside.

As they raced down into the final hairpin, SVG threw it to the outside, and they went side-by-side, but Zilisch was able to clear him at the exit of the final corner. The pair finished more than 13 seconds clear of 3rd.

Respect between rivals

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet (Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

"First, hats off to Shane," said Zilisch, who now has four career wins. "That was awesome. All race long, I felt like we were racing each other with respect. I wheel-hopped into (Turn) 7 that one time and got into him. Other than that, it was awesome to get to race against him finally and battle him the whole race long."

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet (Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images)

He also talked about the balance between fuel-saving and fending off one of the best road racers in NASCAR, adding: "It's always the hardest, trying to save fuel while someone is breathing down your neck. There was a chance. He could have gotten by me when he hit me, and he let me have it and raced me clean. I respect the hell out of him for that, and I'm looking forward to racing against him more."

SVG was all smiles despite the loss, praising Zilisch for an incredible race.

"Congrats to those guys," said van Gisbergen. "What an awesome race. I hope everyone enjoyed that. I gave him a bump into (Turn) 7 and probably could have taken it, but I just waited. I didn't want to do it like that and then we raced down the hill. What an awesome race ... I had a blast all day. Really, really fun."

The Xfinity race at Sonoma was surprisingly clean, with zero cautions for on-track incidents. There were some spins and various forms of contact, but nothing that required a full-course yellow.

Back-to-back weekends of these two battling it out to the checkered flag! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/hpr21UoWxu
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 12, 2025