Dover Motor Speedway has never been kind to a rookie, but Dale Jr.’s racing star is anything but ordinary. With a storm bearing down and veterans lined up behind him, the 18-year-old prodigy didn’t just survive the Monster Mile; he wrote its legacy. For fans expecting the usual suspects to rise in the chaos, what they got instead was a calm, dominant drive from a driver rewriting the JR Motorsports script in real time.

While the red flag eventually froze the field, Connor had already scotched through the ranks, seizing control earlier and refusing to lose his grip. And just as Mother Nature decided to pour down its love on the track, a red flag that ended the race crowned Connor Zilisch, the winner of the Dover Xfinity race.

Connor Zilisch wished they could have raced it out amidst a rain-shortened victory

A deluge of rain at Dover Motor Speedway prompted NASCAR officials to throw the red flag on lap 135 of 200, ultimately crowning Connor Zilisch the winner in a rain-shortened Xfinity race. With the race well past the halfway mark, NASCAR officials made the call. The event would be deemed official if it couldn’t resume. And there, in P1, stood Zilisch, sealing his fifth career Xfinity victory and fourth win of the 2025 season by a 1.483-second margin over Aric Almirola.

The No. 88 driver wasted no time in the drop of the green flag. Starting third thanks to a 23.753-second qualifying lap, he maintained consistency from the start, leading 77 laps and logging his fastest, sizzling 23.953 seconds on lap one at 150.294 mph. He never fell out of the top five all day, averaging a running position of just 2.09, and executed two clean pit stops to stay in command even as the weather loomed. Zilisch said post-race, “I wish we could’ve finished it out, and it’s cool to get our fourth win of the year this early in the season.”

The weather gods played spoilsport in the third stage, draping Dover with rain that triggered a caution on lap 132 and a red flag. Just three laps later, with the track too wet to continue and daylight fading, Dover had no lights, and NASCAR had no choice but to call the race official under the red flag. But it felt like a dramatic climax confirmed that Connor Zilisch’s performance wouldn’t be undone.

This landmark win also saw Zilisch dethrone one of Dover’s most prominent figures, Kyle Busch. At just 18 years and 11 months old, Zilisch won an Xfinity race at Dover, supplanting Busch’s long-standing record. It’s a mark made all the more impressive given its storied history as the Monster Mile. Incredibly, this was just the second NASCAR race ever shortened by rain in Dover’s 55+ year history. The only other being the 2012 truck series race, which ended under a similar deluge and marked Team Onion, Todd Bodine’s final truck win.

The JR Motorsports phenom told The CW Sports broadcast, “We’ve been showing it lately. First of all, I hate that we couldn’t finish the race the right way. Aric (Almirola) was really fast and would’ve given me a run for our money.” Just before the caution came out, Almirola managed to pass Jones in second place. Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier, who started at the rear after a qualifying crash and subsequent repair, climbed to 4th by the beginning of stage 2.

Veteran driver Aric Almirola, 41, believes his car had the pace to challenge Zilisch if only he could get some clean air. Speaking to CW Sports, he said, “He’s fast; I wish I could swap places with him and have some clean air.” Almirola finished second in each stage as well. And there is definitely no denying that Connor has been on a roll lately. With the Dover Xfinity race coming to an end, Zilisch shared his support for the Trackhouse team as they race in Watkins Glen next. Meanwhile, things are working out differently for his JR Motorsports teammate, Shane van Gisbergen.

Shane van Gisbergen finds his footing at Dover International Speedway

Shane van Gisbergen entered Dover with a mix of curiosity and confidence, continuing to adapt to the rigs of the full-time Cup Series on ovals. While the Kiwi has made his name in Supercars and has already tasted success on road courses like Mexico, Sonoma, Chicago, and now Dover High Bank, a concrete surface presents a new kind of challenge, one he is eager to take on.

The Trackhouse Racing driver will start the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover from sixth after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions were washed out due to rain. The starting lineup was set using a metric formula based on owner points, previous finishing position, and fastest laps, placing SVG in the third row next to points leader William Byron. The Kiwi joked on social media that it was his “PB oval qualifying,” nodding to the fact that this was his first-ever Cup Series oval grid placement.

Although grateful for the strong starting point, SVG acknowledges the drawbacks of not getting any track time before the race. In an interview during the rain delay, he said that he would have actually preferred practice and qualifying, especially as an oval rookie. And that lack of pace data on brand-new Goodyear tire compounds, introduced specifically for the summer races, definitely adds another layer of uncertainty.

Despite the challenges, the 36-year-old has expressed his readiness to compete, relying on his team’s prep work and adaptability honed from recent road course successes. With Chase Elliott in pole position, SVG will really have to bring his A-game to win over the Hendrick Motorsports driver. All eyes will be on Sunday’s race to see if SVG can find any success on oval tracks.