Race 20 of 33: BetRivers 200
Track Specs: 1-mile concrete oval / 200 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Allgaier’s finish: 4th
Kvapil’s finish: 15th
Smith’s finish: 24th
Chastain’s finish: 38th
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch won Saturday’s rain-shortened BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway, his fourth victory of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Zilisch led twice for 77 laps and was out front when rain halted the event for good on la 134. The Mooresville, N.C. native won for the fifth time in 23 career NXS Starts and his victory on Saturday afternoon came in his first Xfinity start at Dover. Zilisch qualified third for the event, scheduled for 200 laps. He finished fourth in Stage One thanks to a loose-handling Carolina Carports Chevrolet. Zilisch pitted during the stage caution on lap 50 for four tires and a crucial adjustment by crew chief Mardy Lindley to improve the car’s balance. Speedy service on pit road by the No. 88 pit crew moved Zilisch up to second for the restart on lap 54, and one lap later he took the lead and won Stage Two when the segment ended on lap 90. Zilisch made his final stop under caution at lap 95 for four tires. Once again, the pit crew delivered, getting Zilisch out first. He took the lead on lap 99 and was out front 35 laps later when a light rain stopped the race. After a 45-minute delay, NASCAR officials called the race, officially giving Zilisch the victory.
“I wish we could have finished it out, but it still feels great to get a win. Our Carolina Carports Chevrolet was good all day. We struggled in Stage One a little but made the right adjustments and put ourselves in position to win the race when it rained. It’s so cool to get our fourth win this early in the season and we’re excited for the rest of the year. It’s incredible to have this No. 88 team firing on all cylinders and we’re looking forward to continuing this momentum.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 Registix Chevrolet, rallied back from an incident in qualifying to earn a hard-fought and resilient fourth-place finish on Saturday afternoon in the rain-shortened NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Dover Motor Speedway. Originally qualifying in the seventh position, Allgaier was forced to relinquish his starting spot after repairs were needed to the right side of his JR Motorsports Chevrolet following contact with the outside retaining wall. Despite starting from the back, the Illinois native charged forward, rapidly ascended up the leaderboard to score valuable stage points in both Stage One and Stage Two. Restarting inside the top five for the final stage, Allgaier methodically looked to move forward before repeated rain shows brought the Saturday matinee to an abrupt close shy of the finish with Allgaier scored in fourth. With today’s top-five result, Allgaier remains out front in the NXS standings, 56 points ahead of JRM teammate Connor Zilisch.
“I can’t thank everyone at JRM enough for today. Everyone came together to help us fix the right side and to be able to pay that effort off with a solid run is great. This Registix Chevrolet was extremely fast right from the start and it feels like we’ve got that momentum heading back in the right direction. Big congrats to Connor (Zilisch) on getting the win. Now we’ll set our sights on Indy next week.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, qualified in the 14th position for his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the Monster Mile on Saturday afternoon. He ultimately brought home a top-15 finish after the race was called early due to rain. Throughout the first two stages, Kvapil battled the balance of his JR Motorsports Chevrolet while maintaining his position within the top 20. Lining up to start the final stage in the 18th position, the 22-year-old Mooresville native began to charge his way through the field, making it up to 15th before a red flag waved for rain and the race was put on hold. After efforts to dry the track were unsuccessful, the race was deemed official in accordance with the NASCAR rulebook and Kvapil was scored with a 15th-place finish.
“We felt really optimistic coming into the weekend and unfortunately things didn’t pan out like we hoped they would. The car started to come to me toward the end, so I wish we would have been able to run out the rest of the laps, but we are going to learn from it and turn our focus to Indy.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet, finished 24th at Diover Motor Speedway on Saturday after rain forced NASCAR to deem the BetRivers 200 official just after the halfway point in accordance with the rulebook. Smith holds strong in 10th in the championship standings following the result.
Stage One went caution-free through its 45 laps and Smith gained a couple of positions to finish 15th. The JR Motorsports pit crew gained two spots for their driver and he would start Stage Two from 13th position. The 45-lap Stage Two ran caution-free and Smith struggled with the handling of his Pilot Chevrolet, reporting a loose condition that didn’t seem to tighten up on the long run as expected. Smith finished the segment in 17th position.
Coming down pit road at the stage break, Smith took four tires and an adjustment to free up the handling for the final stage. Unfortunately, a pit-road penalty forced the No. 8 to restart from the tail of the field when the race resumed. Smith was able to drive to 24th before rain showers resulted in a red-flag condition, and the race came to an early end shortly after.
“I wish we were able to run the rest of the race to see what our adjustments were going to do there at the end. I hate it for my guys and my partners when we don’t get a chance to get the finishes we deserve. JRM, Pilot, TMC and Allstate Peterbilt put so much into this and I can’t thank them enough. We’ll bounce back in Indy next week and be where we need to be.”
Ross Chastain
Saturday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway marked Ross Chastain’s fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start in the No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. With gray skies looming, Chastain earned the fifth starting spot for the 200-lap matinee. In Stage One, Chastain spent most of it in the top five despite a tight-handling Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet. The Florida native visited pit road during the stage break for fuel, four tires and adjustments. He started Stage Two from the ninth position and drove up to sixth over the course of the 45-lap stanza. Chastain made a pit stop for fuel, four tires and adjustments before the final stage and looked to continue to climb toward the front before radioing that he felt a vibration under his seat. Forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to diagnose the issue, it was deemed that repairs were unable to be made, bringing an abrupt end to Chastain’s day and relegating the JRM driver with a 38th-place finish.
“Well, we had a solid day going with the Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet. Cory (Shea, crew chief) kept adjusting on the car to improve the handling throughout the race. The final stage started and I felt a vibration in the car underneath my seat. After the guys opened the hood they diagnosed it as a mechanical issue and we couldn’t continue. Not the day all wanted, but the bright side is we were running strong. I have one more chance coming up at Iowa and we’ll see what we can do.”