Connor Zilisch earned his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series win on an oval, while his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., made his debut as a crew chief. With the victory, Earnhardt Jr. became just the ninth person in NASCAR history to win as a driver, team owner, and crew chief, adding another milestone to his storied career.
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A bold strategy call at the end of Stage 2 saw Connor Zilisch stay out and take control of the race heading into the final stage. While a faster Chase Elliott quickly moved through the field and closed the gap, he did so while already inside Zilisch’s pit window. Zilisch pitted under green, and moments later, a caution flag flew, cycling the No. 88 back to the front after the rest of the field made their stops under yellow.
The sequence allowed Zilisch to not only secure the Stage 2 win and its valuable playoff point but also regain control of the race for the closing laps. Following a series of late cautions, Zilisch avoided trouble when Justin Allgaier got loose in front of him and underneath Elliott in Turn 1, then passed his friend Jesse Love for the lead with just a handful of laps remaining. From there, Zilisch never looked back, pulling away to score the win and collecting a race-high 58 points.
Chase Elliott’s recent performance struggles in the NASCAR Cup Series have sparked debate, with some questioning his ability to deliver wins following his injury and suspension in 2023. However, his run in the Xfinity Series at Pocono served as a clear reminder that the issue isn’t with the driver.
Elliott secured the pole and controlled much of the race, leading 38 of the 100 laps and showing race-winning speed all day. He overcame a poorly timed caution that shuffled him back, retook the lead with an aggressive three-wide move on a later restart, and remained in contention until contact from a loose Justin Allgaier cost him track position late.
Despite the setbacks, Elliott finished fourth, capping off a day when he clearly had the fastest car in the field. His performance reinforced a simple fact: when given a competitive car, Elliott remains capable of dominating and contending for wins.
Brandon Jones started the race from the front row and spent the entire first stage running inside the top three. Opting for stage points and the accompanying playoff point, Jones made the strategic decision to stay out and go for the Stage 1 win. While the move paid off in the short term with a stage victory, it came at a cost. Restarting mid-pack for Stage 2—a dangerous place at a track like Pocono, where restarts are known for aggressive three-wide racing. Jones was caught in a multi-car incident shortly after the green flag, ending his day along with several others who had made similar strategy calls.
The scenario underscores an ongoing challenge in stage racing: balancing the pursuit of stage points with the importance of track position for the overall race result. At larger tracks like Pocono, where strategies like this are possible without giving up a lap, clean air and restart position become critical, and the consequences of racing for points are magnified.
While this trade-off doesn’t impact every race the same way, days like this highlight the risk teams take when choosing stage points over track position. For some, the short-term reward can lead to long-term frustration, raising questions about whether the current system is fair to the dominant drivers.
Cautions are expected in any NASCAR race, especially with close-quarters racing and aggressive restarts. However, when a race begins with back-to-back cautions and that stop-and-go rhythm continues for much of the event, it can disrupt the flow for both drivers and fans. This was noticeable during Saturday’s race, interrupting developing battles for the lead and breaking records for most cautions at the racetrack.
One of the ongoing points of discussion across NASCAR’s national series is the length of these caution periods. As seen in the Truck Series race at Pocono and again during this event, the number of laps run under caution—even for minor incidents or for stage breaks—raises questions. While multi-car pileups understandably require lengthy cleanups, the delay for single-car spins with no contact or debris often stretches nearly as long.
For example, if a multi-car incident took nine laps to clean up, it’s difficult to justify an eight-lap caution for a single spin with no apparent damage. The cumulative effect is less green-flag racing, longer interruptions in race flow, and growing frustration for competitors and fans. Reducing the number of unnecessary caution laps remains a topic that many hope to see addressed moving forward. While it is not a good look on the drivers to break the record for most ever Xfinity Series cautions at the track with 10, is spending 41 laps, 40% of the race, under caution really justified?
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