NASCAR commentator and pit reporter Parker Kligerman won the most recent Xfinity Series race at Daytona, filling in for JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch. Named the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola and held on Friday, August 22, the 100-lap event marked the 24th race of the regular season.Later on, Kligerman got his race-winning firesuit signed by JR Motorsports owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. He also had Zilisch sign it, for whom it was a pleasant surprise. Kligerman posted a picture of the suit on X and wrote:“Suit acquired.”Soon, Connor Zilisch reacted to Kligerman’s post. The 19-year-old prodigy couldn’t believe that Kligerman let him sign the keepsake, right next to Dale Jr.’s autograph.“Can’t believe you let me sign it,” Connor Zilisch wrote.Zilisch won again next week at Portland International Raceway, marking his eighth victory of the 2025 season. In 24 starts this year, the Charlotte native has 16 top-10s and 14 top-fives. Currently, he sits at the top of the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, with 924 points.Connor Zilisch is just one race away from this year’s playoffs. This coming weekend, i.e., on September 6, NASCAR will host a 160-lap event named Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.After that, the series will dive right into the playoffs, the first race of the seven-race segment being the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. To this day, Zilisch has made just one start at the 0.533-mile oval, short track (for Spire Motorsports), starting from the pole and finishing 19th.However, that was in the Craftsman Truck Series, not the Xfinity or the NASCAR Cup Series. That being said, all eyes are now on World Wide Technology Raceway. Fans can catch the race on CW (7:30 p.m. ET) or listen to its live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.NASCAR Cup Series ace sparks controversy over Connor Zilisch’s Portland victoryNASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin opened up about the nature of Connor Zilisch’s win at Portland International Raceway last week. Zilisch, who recently landed a full-time Cup Series deal for the 2026 season, drove through the A-frame penalty area in Turn 1 following an overtime restart.This move caught the attention of several NASCAR pundits and fellow race car drivers, including Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver reflected on the same on his Actions Detrimental podcast and said:“I guess the uproar is that they feel he didn't even attempt to make the first corner. He had it in his mind the entire time that I'm just going to blow this, run that chicane and see where I net out.”"That does two things for him,” Hamlin further explained. “One, it's really not that big of a time loss. Two, it would be well, now I'm gonna avoid the corner where the incidents happen the most often. You take yourself out of the opportunity of getting wrecked."Well, Denny Hamlin didn’t exactly diss Connor Zilisch’s efforts. To him, the Zilisch was indeed the best driver that day, and his No. 88 JRM Chevy was the best car. The Tampa, Florida, native pointed fingers at NASCAR instead.“These chicanes have been exposed for a few years now, and you haven't figured out a way to actually make them penalize you when you miss the track? Just poor planning,” Hamlin added.Denny Hamlin is the winningest driver among the active Cup Series regulars. He is just two race wins away from a career milestone: 60 wins at the Cup level. Next up for him is the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Fans can watch the race on USA (September 7, 3 p.m. ET) or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.