Connor Zilisch won’t relent. The 19-year-old racer continued his stranglehold on the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon as he scored the pole position for Saturday evening’s Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Starting Lineup: Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at Gateway
The driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports WeatherTech Chevrolet turned a 32.935-second (136.633 mph) lap time around the 1.25-mile track, which is hosting its first NASCAR Xfinity Series start since the 2010 season, to secure the pole by 0.027 seconds over Big Machine Racing driver Nick Sanchez.
The pole marks the seventh for Zilisch in his 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign, and it’s the eighth pole of his series career, and it comes in just his 29th NASCAR Xfinity Series start.
Zilisch, who has won six of the last seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races, is seeking his fourth consecutive win in Saturday night’s race.
William Sawalich was the highest-qualified driver not currently locked into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as he qualified third for Saturday night’s race. A win in Saturday night’s regular-season finale would lock Sawalich into the race for the championship. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has some stiff competition ahead of him in the starting lineup.
Sam Mayer, whose Haas Factory Team announced they will switch to Chevrolet from Ford in 2026 on Friday, locked down the fourth starting spot. The driver, who won at Iowa Speedway earlier this year, will look to add another win, and some more Playoff Points to his total heading into the Playoffs.
Taylor Gray, who has yet to officially lock into the Playoffs, but is 60 points above the cutline heading into this race, ranked fifth-fastest in the qualifying session.
Harrison Burton, who holds a 31-point advantage over his cousin Jeb Burton for the final Playoff spot heading into the night, will roll from the sixth position on the starting grid. Jeb Burton qualified 19th, which will give Harrison the advantage of an easier path to Stage Points early in the race.
Related: Burton Cousins Set to Battle for Final Xfinity Playoff Spot at Gateway
Aric Almirola, Carson Kvapil, Austin Hill, and Christian Eckes rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
With only 38 cars on the final entry list for this weekend’s race, all drivers who took to the track in qualifying will start Saturday night’s race.
