Zilisch 'frustrated' as part-time driver spoils NASCAR playoff party again

NASCAR star Connor Zilisch has admitted his frustration at failing to lock into the Xfinity Series playoff Round of 8 at Las Vegas on Saturday.

For the second time in four playoff races, part-time driver Aric Almirola denied the playoff field the chance to win-and-in, this time with a dominant performance which saw him also pick up both stage wins.

Zilisch fought the 41-year-old hard, getting to within a couple of tenths of a second in the dying stages, but found his car getting increasingly squirrely as the laps counted down.

The teenager has a massive 82-point gap to the cut line with two races left before Phoenix, but has now visited victory lane just once in four races – after a run of seven wins in eight starts before the postseason began.

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Zilisch remains the overwhelming favorite for the title, and extended his record streak of 18 top-five finishes in a row, but admitted after the race: “Yeah, I mean, the frustration just comes from how much – you know, this stuff means a lot to me. And you know, a chance to lock into Phoenix, you’ve got to take it.

"I mean, I gave it my all. I drove it as hard as I could, but yeah, I guess that’s all we had today. I’ve just got to do a better job. I just could not wrap the [inside] line. I sucked here in the spring for the same reason, and we were just really loose and struggled to move around.”

While Almirola isn't one of the drivers in the playoffs, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing car he drives has advanced to the Championship 4 of the owners' championship, having picked up three wins (all Almirola) and five more top-five finishes (Almirola and Riley Herbst) so far this year.

“It’s so much fun to be a part of this," he said after the race. "Thank you, Coach [Joe Gibbs]. Such an awesome honor to go race for an owner’s championship with J.D. Gibbs’ name on the car, and the whole Gibbs family. I’m having so much fun, this is the time of my life, man.”

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