What do you notice first when you step into a race shop after the checkered flag drops? The answer wasn’t clear until the middle of the season for Xfinity rookie driver Connor Zilisch. He anticipated technical talks, brief pit-stop assessments, crash footage, and, of course, the occasional loud voice during his first few Monday morning debriefs. Rather, he perceived a different tone that guided the discussion very effortlessly: one that was calm and contemplative. It was another driver, not the owner or the crew chief.
Zilisch spent those initial weeks learning how to handle tires on concrete ovals, deciphering stack-up telemetry, and getting used to the heavier Xfinity car. However, a voice in the room, not loud but precise, resonated the most. It posed timely questions. It made the connection. It influenced how the team operated, and Zilisch leaned closer.
The veteran blueprint of shared knowledge of the garage
That was, in fact, Justin Allgaier. He didn’t enter JR Motorsports with a coaching manual, despite having nearly 20 years of experience in national-series stock cars, 28 Xfinity victories, including his 2025 victory at Nashville, and the series’ 2024 title. He possessed something more powerful: experience that had been honed by failures and then again by successes. That’s the expertise Zilisch started to rely on, and when he finally spoke up about it, the narrative shifted. “He’s like a dad to us,” Zilisch said. “I don’t think we’d be doing as well as we are right now without him.”
This isn’t hyperbolic. Allgaier calls out rookies who push too hard early in a green flag run, burning tires and pushing aero balance. Before telemetry indicates it, he witnesses the edge of grasp fading. He recognizes when a chassis modification is helpful in one area but expensive to handle in another, and he raises this before it gets out of hand. Flexibility is fueled by that kind of understanding. Those conversations helped Zilisch, who has the raw speed for four Xfinity victories, including Sonoma, to cut weeks off his learning curve.
After 188 concrete laps at Nashville Superspeedway in May, Allgaier and Zilisch finished the night first and second, respectively. In the long run, the veteran managed clean air and tire wear to draw away from the rookie, who led 18 laps and parked his Chevy within the top five.
Zilisch was quick to attribute his teammate’s modest coaching style to the fact that he matched Allgaier for the majority of the last 20 laps when a reporter brought it up. He observed Allgaier’s handling of long-run tire fade, his utilization of clear air, and his adaptation of his own pace. “Guys will try to hide their secrets or what they’re doing,” Zilisch said. “But Justin’s an open book.” Allgaier advocates for openness in a sport where shifting tactics, weight bias alterations, and car setups are highly prized. He talks candidly about spring-rate adjustments, wedge modifications, and even aero alterations that he has perfected since his first ARCA start at the age of sixteen.
“(@J_Allgaier‘s) like a dad to us, he’s so valuable to our team”
– @ConnorZilisch shares what it means having Allgaier as a veteran teammate at @JRMotorsports. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/QS1mo6ohNA
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 20, 2025
Additionally, Allgaier provides Zilisch with clear technical context when he needs it, such as why the chassis became tight late or how brake bias affected corner rebound. Zilisch is not the only one who gains. Noah Gragson attributes his Cup-level rise in JRM to Allgaier’s preparation. Another former teammate, Josh Berry, believes Allgaier is “very underrated” and that everyone can learn from his consistency and front-running style.
He is molding Zilisch, not ignoring him for the sake of legacy. And both become stronger as a result. The entire JRM ship steers better when each driver performs better. And speaking of performance, the rookie has delivered some good ones this season.
Connor Zilisch takes Dover victory in rain-shortened thriller
At the rain-shortened BetRivers 200 in Dover, Connor Zilisch secured his fifth career victory. Zilisch held off a fierce late push from veteran Aric Almirola after leading a race-high 77 of 134 laps at the “Monster Mile” before the rain arrived and NASCAR halted the race with 66 laps left. Throughout the event, Zilisch ran regularly in the top two after qualifying third out of three rookies. After the stage break, he made a smooth restart to take the second stage lead before creating a narrow but significant margin. He benefited from a dry track, perfect restarts, and precise pit work on this fast-paced concrete oval.
Zilisch was quick to credit Almirola, who pursued him relentlessly before the red flag. “I hate that we couldn’t finish the race the right way,” he said. “Aric was really fast and was going to give me a run for my money, so props to him for making me work for it.” Almirola himself agreed: he was gaining on Zilisch when the rain arrived.
Further, Zilisch has made consistency its hallmark. He was riding an eight-race top-five streak going into Dover, which included three victories and three second-place results. The Dover victory helped JRM’s chances of winning the championship by propelling him to second place in the standings, only 56 points behind teammate Justin Allgaier.
“Our JR Motorsports team…capitalized on all fronts, had good pit stops at both stages and put ourselves in position to be in the right spot when the rain fell,” Zilisch said. Indeed, the No. 88 Chevrolet was always looming out front, prepared when the weather closed in, thanks to its accurate pit calls and serene pit-road performance.
Zilisch is demonstrating that he can succeed even when nature intervenes by including victories that were cut short by the rain in his resume. What do you think of his victory?
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