NXS Race Recap: Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog

Connor Zilisch brought speed to the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway. He was able to secure the pole for the final race of the regular season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Nick Sanchez joined him on the front row. William Sawalich and Sam Mayer started on the second row. Justin Allgaier, who was competing with Zilisch for the regular season championship, started the race in 14th. The stage lengths were 35 laps for the first and second stages, with the final stage being 90 laps.

Zilisch Brought the Speed

Sanchez got a better start at the drop of the green flag, and they were side by side through turns one and two. However, Zilisch was able to use the back stretch to get back to the lead and take it outright. Sanchez settled in second. Sawalich got in front of Mayer to take third.

Allgaier quickly began making passes. Before the finish of lap five, Allgaier had battled his way into eighth.

Sawalich was able to drive underneath Sanchez to take second. Sanchez then fell to fifth after Mayer and Almirola also got by.

Allgaier continued his quest to the front. With 20 to go in the stage, He had worked his way to sixth. Sanchez got loose in turn four, which allowed Allgaier to pass and take fifth. Then, he caught and got by Mayer to move into fourth.

Almirola was able to close the gap and pass Sawalich for second.

The first caution came out for Jordan Anderson got into the wall. His car suffered a lot of damage. That caution ended the stage with Zilisch getting the stage win. Almirola, Sawalich, Allgaier, and Sanchez rounded out the top five.

Sawalich was the first car off of pit road. Austin Hill, Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, and Allgaier were the next four out.

Under the caution, Carson Kvapil had to retire his car with engine issues.

Allgaier did NOT Give Up

Sawalich and Hill brought the field back to green. Sawalich got a huge restart and took the lead into turn one. Allgaier used the outside line to pass for second out of the turn. R. Sieg quickly began to fall after taking two tires during his pit stop.

Allgaier did not let Sawalich scamper away. On lap 47, He drove to the inside and made the pass for the lead. Sawalich was able to hold off the charging Zilisch to stay in second. Zilisch could not complete the pass and fell to fourth. Almirola and Zilisch closed the gap to Sawalich.

Almirola used a run on the back stretch to get by Sawalich. Zilisch used this opportunity to also make the pass on Sawalich. Almirola began closing the gap to the leader. He was able to get to within half a second of Allgaier. He lunged at the lead but got loose and made contact with Allgaier. Allgaier brushed off the contact and was able to hold the lead.

Allgaier would take the field to the green-white-checkered to win stage two in the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog. Almirola, Zilisch, Sawalich, and Jesse Love finished the stage in the top five.

Tough End for One Burton

Zilisch and Sawalich brought the field back to the green. Zilisch got the better restart and retook the lead. Love got underneath Sawalich and was able to slide into second. Zilisch began to build his lead over the field.

Almirola caught Sawalich and was able to complete the pass and take third. He continued his pace and caught Love. He was easily able to pass Love and move into second.

On lap 110, Jeb Burton had an issue with his right front and hit the wall hard. Burton was able to limp the car to the pits, but the contact ended his day and brought out the third caution of the day.

Zilisch was the first car off of pit road. Almirola, Brandon Jones, Love, and Hill followed Zilisch off of pit road.

Zilisch and Almirola brought the green flag back out. Zilisch got a better restart, and he took the lead. Almirola got loose in turn there,e which allowed Love to pass for second.

With 32 to go, Harrison Burton got turned around after contact with Brennan Poole. Burton was able to keep his car off the wall.

Trouble For Allgaier

Zilisch and Love led the field back to the green flag. A huge stackup on the restart brought out the next caution. Sheldon Creed had an issue getting back up to speed. Corey Day tried pushing, but Creed got sent into the wall. Mayer then tried to pass but got into the wall. Corey Day, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, Allgaier, R. Sieg, Kyle Sieg, Brennan Poole, Nick Sanchez, and Taylor Gray were all involved in the melee.

On lap 143, Zilisch and Love brought the green flag back out. Zilisch got a good restart. Sawalich drove underneath Love to challenge for second. Almirola snuck around Love and Sawalich and snatched second.

With 17 to go in the race, the caution came back out for debris that was sitting on the front stretch. Many cars were able to avoid it, but some did make contact with it.

The Finale

The green flag came back out with 12 to go. Zilisch and Allgaier restarted out front. Zilisch drove in turn one deeper than Allgaier and took the lead on the back stretch. Almirola fell to Sawalich for second.

Brandon Jones, Christian Eckes, and Almirola all make contact fighting for the third spot. Eckes was able to gather it up and take third.

Zilisch did not look back. He pulled away from Sawalich by over half a second. He set sail to take the white flag and then the checkered flag to win the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog! Sawalich was able to hold off a charging Eckes for second and third. Jones and Love rounded out the top five. Almirola wound up just outside the top five in sixth.

Marvin’s Moment:

Crown him now, Connor Zilisch is the real deal. He dominated the regular season by a lot. I will say this until the end of the season: if CZ does not win the championship, it will be a terrible ending to a wonderful season. He has been through two injuries this season. Those injuries did not slow him down at all. The series begins its playoffs next week in Bristol!