ROYAL FLUSH; ALMIROLA ACES VEGAS

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Aric Almirola was dealt the hot hand at Vegas Motor Speedway, cashing in his deck to sweep the NASCAR Xfinity Series race as tempers flared deeper in the pack.

A caution with 29 laps to go for Dean Thompson set the final round of stops, and Almirola exited the pits second to Connor Zilisch. Almirola initially fell back as far as third, but battled back into contention and muscled inside of Zilisch off the Nellis Straightaway with nine laps remaining.

“The box score will show a perfect race,” Almirola said. “But that was not easy.”

The former NASCAR Cup Series driver will go down as having led the most laps at 107 and winning both stages. Yet, his third stage was riddled with opposition from Zilisch and others.

“Our car was really good on the long run,” Almirola said after scoring his 10th career Xfinity Series win. “It just took forever to get going on the short run.”

Almirola will take over the regions in the No. 19 Toyota for the remainder of the season, chasing the owner's title. Justin Bonsignore, who was slated to drive the final two races, approved this move.

“I left Phoenix last year, pretty sad and disappointed,” Almirola said. “The way this year has played out, and I find myself here with another opportunity. 

“So hopefully the Lord's blessed me with a second chance, and maybe I won't screw it up.”

Jesse Love led 22 laps and contested Almirola in the final stage, taking the lead during the final round of green flag cycles, but drifted back on the final restart. While racing for a spot in the top five with 20 laps remaining, Love and Nick Sanchez found themselves in a fierce fight on the track.

The two exchanged words following the checkered flag.

“If I were to pull over and give him a top five, it's not going to sit well,” Sanchez said. “He wasn't exactly being cordial on the side drafts.”

“So when you're touching someone's left on the straightaway, it's game on.”

Jesse was frustrated with Nick considering past experience and reputation.

“We about crashed four times down the straightaway side-drafting each other,” Love said. “I’m airing out my dirty laundry, I don’t really want to do that too much, it’s between me and Nick.”

Connor Zilisch finished second; the 10-time winner paced the field for 34 laps. It was his 19th consecutive race in which he led a lap, and Zilisch also surpassed 1,000 laps led in his career.

“I definitely struggle being consistent enough out front to hold the lead at this track,” Zilisch said. “I’ll have to go back and see what I could have done differently.”

Las Vegas marked one of Zilisch’s final four full-time Xfinity races, as he will be promoted to the Cup Series in 2026 with Trackhouse Racing.

“No matter what happens, the rest of the year, I’m really proud of my whole No. 88 group,” Zilisch said of his historic season. “I’m definitely trying to enjoy it, but at the same time, the most important part of the season is coming up.

“We have to keep our heads down and try to finish these last three weeks.”

Three races remain in the Xfinity Series season with Talladega Superspeedway on deck. The battle toward the championship continues on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 4 p.m. ET, live on the CW.