Dale Jr.’s NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch and Xfinity Series rookies secure top 3 qualifying spots for Homestead-Miami race

NASCAR Xfinity Series rookies Connor Zilisch, Taylor Gray, and Nick Sanchez will start this Saturday's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the top three positions.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Gray, 19, grabbed the pole for the Hard Rock Bet 300 and will lead an all-rookie top three. He will start next to Zilisch, who drives the No. 88 Chevy for JR Motorsports, with Nick Sanchez in third at the 1.5-mile (2.414 km) intermediate speedway in Florida.

CBS Sports' Steven Taranto shared a post about the same on X and wrote:

"Rookies 1-2-3 in Xfinity qualifying."

Gray, in the No. 54 Toyota, clocked the fastest lap at 33.064 seconds to earn his first career pole. Defending Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier will start fourth, breaking up the rookie streak, while Kaulig Racing's Christian Eckes (No. 19 Toyota) rounds out the top five.

Jayski and NASCAR.com contributor Dustin Albino pointed out the historic achievement on X and wrote:

"According to The CW, this is the first time that four Rookie of the Year competitors will start inside the top five for an Xfinity Series race. Taylor Gray (first) Connor Zilisch (second) Nick Sanchez (third) Christian Eckes (fifth)."

The Hard Rock Bet 300 starts at 3 pm CT (4 pm ET) on Saturday, March 22. The race will be available live on The CW Network, MRN Radio, and FUBO.

"We've definitely made gains" - Connor Zilisch on returning to Homestead-Miami

Connor Zilisch has already won a race in his first full-time Xfinity season with Dale Earnhardt Jr. co-owned JR Motorsports. The 18-year-old earned the pole position and finished 1.639 seconds ahead of William Byron at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last month.

This was his second victory, he won his debut Xfinity race at Watkins Glen in 2024. Last week, Zilisch finished ninth at Las Vegas after a speeding penalty and is currently ninth in the points standings.

Zilisch was placed 12th at the Homestead-Miami race last year while Austin Hill won it after leading a race-high 82 laps.

"I feel really good about Homestead. We've definitely made gains on what I raced last year. I’m excited to go back there and see if we can make progress with the result. I feel comfortable running the wall but last year the guy who ran up front and won the race wasn’t really running up there," Connor Zilisch said in team statement.

"Homestead is such a cool track with so many different lanes to run and a lot of tire fall-off and it creates some really good racing. I'm curious to see what the track is going to be like when we get there for practice on Saturday," he added.

Zilisch also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut this year with Trackhouse Racing, in the Red Bull-sponsored No. 87 Chevrolet.