JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch fired shots at fellow racer Aric Almirola while battling him for second in Saturday’s Xfinity Series playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Named Focused Health 302, the 201-lap event marked Zilisch’s 28th start of the 2025 season.Connor Zilisch is currently in his maiden Xfinity season with JR Motorsports, a team owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer and two-time Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. He sits at the top of the championship standings with 3071 points. Zilisch was also the driver to score the 100th win for JR Motorsports with his victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in July.Zilisch was going for his 11th win of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but Almirola fought back hard. Things went to the point where Zilisch felt he would crash due to Almirola’s door-to-door racing antics, as the duo battled for second. Taking to his team radio, Connor Zilisch said (as quoted by Dustin Albino on X),“This motherf*** is going to make me crash out.”“Give it back to him,” Zilisch’s crew chief, Mardy Lindley, replied.Unlike Zilisch, the former Cup Series driver is not in the playoffs. But he can still contend for wins. As of now, Almirola sits 20th in points standings with three wins, six top-fives, and nine top-10s.The race is now over, and Aric Almirola had the last laugh. He swept all three stages en route to his fourth victory of the season. The top five spots were rounded off by Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Corey Day, and Nick Sanchez.“I just could not wrap the line, we were just really loose”, Connor Zilisch reflected on his final run to the finish line. “The frustration comes from how much this means to me and my team to lock into Phoenix… plus 82 (on the cutline) is not bad but another win sticker would have been cool.”Next up for Zilisch is the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Scheduled for October 18, fans can watch the race on CW (4 pm ET onwards) or listen to its live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.Connor Zilisch says Max Verstappen’s journey in F1 is a “little bit easier” than success in NASCARConnor Zilisch is all set to move to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026 with Trackhouse Racing. But the young racing phenom knows how difficult it is to find success at the Cup level.While speaking with CBS Sports about the same, Zilisch cited Formula One standout Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, now 28, bagged his first start with Red Bull's senior team in his teens and jumped to the highest level of F1 racing smoothly. Well, things might not be that easy for Zilisch when he graduates to the Cup Series next year.“Obviously, Max Verstappen is a once-in-a-generation talent, and it’s hard to say I’m going to be like him and have as successful a jump to the highest level as he did. I know the jump to the Cup Series is nothing easy, and it’s going to be tough no matter what and no matter who you are.”“I feel that just the way he was brought up, it might be a little bit easier for him, and especially in F1, with how car-dependent it is,” Connor Zilisch continued. “I feel it’s easier to rise to the occasion. I think it is going to be a bit of a harder jump than maybe a guy like Max Verstappen going to F1.”Zilisch is the youngest driver (since 2008) to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series, making his debut at age 18 at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in March 2025. He is also the youngest Xfinity Series debutant to win a race at Watkins Glen in September 2024.