Connor Zilisch outdueled a dominant Kyle Larson with a late strategy masterclass to win Saturday night’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Suburban Propane 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Zilisch capitalized on a critical gamble to stay out on older tires during the penultimate caution which propelled him to the lead and held off Larson to the line in a spectacular JR Motorsports 1-2 finish.
“That was awesome,” said Zilisch. “It’s been a tough past few weeks for me in the Cup Series. Feels good to come back down here into the O’Reilly Series and remember that I could still do it.
“We played strategy. Rodney made a great call to keep us out. The tires weren’t wearing much all night and we were able to get the track position we needed to go out and win the race.
“Really cool to be able to race against Kyle and learn from him. He’s so talented and such a fast race car driver. It’s good to be back with JRM and back in Victory Lane.”
The chaotic 300-lap sprint on the 0.533-mile short track illuminated the fierce competition among a field of 38 drivers with eight caution periods totaling 59 laps.
Barely into the first lap, drama unfolded as Mason Maggio’s No. 91 Chevrolet spun on the backstretch, triggering the initial caution and bunching the field before any real rhythm could emerge.
The race was later red-flagged with just over 100 laps to go after Maggio’s engine expired in a blaze in the garage area, forcing officials to manage a fiery cleanup while the field circulated under yellow. Fortunately, the driver was unhurt.
Kyle Larson took over the lead from pole sitter William Sawalich on Lap 28 and went on to dominate 230 of 300 laps, but a late-race caution involving Anthony Alfredo saw Larson lose after pitting along with most of the field.
“It’s a bummer, but I had a lot of fun tonight,” said Larson. “Our car was really good. Just tough being the leader in that situation of knowing to pit or not. But I’m happy with the run. It just doesn’t always work out.”
Full 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Bristol Race Results – Suburban Propane 300
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Connor Zilisch | JR Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 2 | 88 | Kyle Larson | JR Motorsports Chevrolet | +0.703 |
| 3 | 19 | Brent Crews | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +1.291 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports Chevrolet | +1.459 |
| 5 | 9 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports Chevrolet | +1.819 |
| 6 | 00 | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team Chevrolet | +2.446 |
| 7 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +2.694 |
| 8 | 17 | Corey Day | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | +2.796 |
| 9 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports Chevrolet | +3.125 |
| 10 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +3.350 |
| 11 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing Chevrolet | +3.861 |
| 12 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | +4.288 |
| 13 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports Chevrolet | +4.555 |
| 14 | 32 | Rajah Caruth | Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet | +4.661 |
| 15 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet | +4.835 |
| 16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet | +5.166 |
| 17 | 24 | Harrison Burton | Sam Hunt Racing Toyota | +5.349 |
| 18 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet | +5.760 |
| 19 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +6.169 |
| 20 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team Chevrolet | +6.513 |
| 21 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | +10.234 |
| 22 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet | +1 Lap |
| 23 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet | +1 Lap |
| 24 | 26 | Dean Thompson | Sam Hunt Racing Toyota | +2 Laps |
| 25 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing Chevrolet | +2 Laps |
| 26 | 5 | JJ Yeley | Hettinger Racing Ford | +2 Laps |
| 27 | 48 | Patrick Staropoli | Big Machine Racing Chevrolet | +2 Laps |
| 28 | 74 | Gray Gaulding | Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet | +2 Laps |
| 29 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing Chevrolet | +3 Laps |
| 30 | 02 | Ryan Ellis | Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet | +3 Laps |
| 31 | 55 | Joey Gase | Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet | +3 Laps |
| 32 | 45 | Lavar Scott | Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet | +5 Laps |
| 33 | 42 | Logan Bearden | Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet | +5 Laps |
| 34 | 35 | Blake Lothian | Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet | +5 Laps |
| 35 | 87 | Austin Green | Peterson Racing Chevrolet | +10 Laps |
| 36 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports Chevrolet | +13 Laps |
| 37 | 91 | Mason Maggio | DGM Racing Chevrolet | +109 Laps |
| 38 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet | +124 Laps |
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