The hype surrounding 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch proved legitimate Saturday as the JR Motorsports driver fought through adversity to win the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas, his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in just seven career starts.

“That was tough,” Zilisch admitted after the race. “That was way harder than I wanted it to be. I did not drive a clean race at all, sorry to everyone I hit. I was mentally fogged halfway through that race and glad we were able to fight back.”

Zilisch, who entered the weekend as the favorite after securing the pole position on Friday, led a race-high 26 of 65 laps en route to victory lane. However, his path to the checkered flag was anything but straightforward.

The Mooresville, North Carolina native faced a significant challenge when he was penalized to the rear of the field for the start of Stage 2. The penalty resulted from an ill-timed pit stop during a caution for Baltazar Leguizamon’s stalled vehicle. Zilisch crossed the commitment line mere seconds before pit road closed, forcing him to restart from the back.

Zilisch’s charge through the field included a controversial incident on lap 45 when he made wheel-to-wheel contact with Corey Heim’s No. 24 Toyota GR Supra in Turn 15. The contact sent Heim spinning while significantly damaging Zilisch’s WeatherTech Chevrolet, creating what initially appeared to be a race-ending situation.

Fortunately for Zilisch, the tire rub on his right-front fender cleared itself, allowing him to continue his pursuit of teammate Carson Kvapil, who was having a remarkable run in his first Xfinity Series road course event.

With ten laps remaining, Zilisch executed the decisive pass for the lead and managed his equipment to hold off a charging William Byron, last year’s Cup Series winner at COTA. Byron closed a four-second gap to finish 1.639 seconds behind Zilisch in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.

Sam Mayer secured third place with a late surge, while Atlanta winner Austin Hill and Christian Eckes completed the top five. Jesse Love, Taylor Gray, Ross Chastain, William Sawalich, and Blaine Perkins rounded out the top ten.

Kvapil, who impressed by leading seven laps in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, seemed destined for a top-five finish until a cut tire forced an unscheduled pit stop, relegating him to 23rd place.

Austin Hill leaves Circuit of The Americas as the Xfinity Series points leader, holding a 13-point advantage over Richard Childress Racing teammate Jesse Love.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series now heads to Phoenix Raceway for the fourth event of the season on Saturday, March 8, airing on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 4:30 PM ET.

Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images