By David Morgan, Associate Editor
LEBANON, Tenn. – The master got the better of his young apprentice on Saturday night in Nashville.
In a battle between JR Motorsports teammates, defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier drove away from Connor Zilisch over the course of the final green flag run to score the victory in the Tennessee Lottery 250.
It now gives the elder statesman in the JRM camp three wins on the season and a second win on the 1.333-mile concrete oval to go along with his 2022 win.
“There’s no cooler feeling than to win at a place like this – Nashville,” said Allgaier. “The fans are incredible and this race is special to me.
“I said before the race I really wanted to get a second guitar so both kids would have a guitar. So they can fight over both of them or one of them or whatever. I’m really proud of JR Motorsports, everybody in the Hendrick engine shop, Chevrolet, all of our partners.
“…Just thank God for the ability to come out here and do this. JR Motorsports brought some incredible Chevrolets today and we were going to battle it out. I didn’t think that last restart was going to be the most important piece. It worked and we’re standing in Victory Lane. It’s pretty special.”
Allgaier took over the lead on the final restart with 48 laps to go, making a bold three-wide pass from the second row to move to the top spot ahead of Zilisch.
While the youngest member of the JRM camp would keep himself as a permanent fixture in his teammate’s mirror, Allgaier was eventually able to pull away to a 1.289-second margin of victory by the time the checkered flag flew.
All in all, Allgaier would lead three times for a total of 101 laps, along with winning the first two stages.
.@J_Allgaier earns his THIRD @NASCAR_Xfinity victory of the season! pic.twitter.com/CSPAuTFqVS
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) June 1, 2025
Zilisch said afterwards that once Allgaier obtained the lead, clean air was king and there wasn’t much more he could have done to surpass him.
“I think it was all clean air today. The two of us had such similar race cars that, you know, just clean air makes the difference,” said Zilisch. “That two or three percent of grip is what makes the difference. And I kind of just got tight behind him trying to get to him and that’s why I fell off those last few laps. I just couldn’t quite hold onto it.”
He added admiration for Allgaier and how much he has been able to learn under his tutelage since joining the JRM stable this season.
“I don’t think people realize how good Justin is, just because he is not in the Cup Series,” Zilisch said. “I mean, he’s got so much talent and he’s so methodical and it’s rare you find him making the wrong moves. So, yeah, I do learn a lot from him and it’s great to have him as a teammate too.
“He has been a big help for me and answers any question I have, stupid or whatever I have to ask. He’s there for me. And he’ll also tell you when you’re dumb. So, it’s good to have him.”
Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed would finish the race third and fourth, respectively, for Haas Factory Team, with Ross Chastain charging his way to a fifth-place finish in another JRM entry.
The remainder of the top-10 finishers were Aric Almirola, Austin Hill, Jesse Love, Daniel Dye, and Carson Kvapil.
Aside from the two stage breaks, the race would be slowed for caution on five different occasions. The biggest of those crashes came on Lap 100 when a total of eight cars were swept up in a crash on the restart.
The crash began when the field stacked up and cars went spinning, most notably with Christian Eckes and getting the worst end of the deal.
After a week off, the Xfinity Series packs up and heads south of the border to Mexico City on June 14 for the running of the Chilango 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Xfinity Series last raced in Mexico City back in 2008, won by Kyle Busch.
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