It’s Zilisch Again At The Glen Before Scary Victory Lane Fall

Connor Zilisch celebrates with a burnout Saturday at Watkins Glen International. (Peter Casey/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – It’s safe to say Connor Zilisch loves Watkins Glen International.

The 19-year-old picked up the checkered flag in Saturday’s Mission 200 at the Glen to make it a six-pack of NASCAR Xfinity Series wins on the season, defending his win from a year ago in his series debut in the process.

Zilisch dominated the race, leading 60 of the 82 laps, winning the second stage along the way, and very well could have swept them both had he decided not to short-pit stage one in order to regain his track position at the stage break.

The rookie sensation didn’t get the win handed to him though, as he had to run down and pass JR Motorsports teammate Shane van Gisbergen along the way, then had to survive several late restarts.

‘SVG’ fought Zilisch for as long as he could, but contact between the two with 16 laps left at turn seven sent van Gisbergen spinning into the wall and out of the race.

The next green flag on lap 69 saw Zilisch get tagged by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, losing the lead for four circuits before the young superstar retook the top spot by passing Cup Series veteran Michael McDowell.

From there, Zilisch held off the rest of the field the rest of the way, including through a red flag for a track record 16-car accident exiting the carousel. The end result was his fourth win in the last five races.

Unfortunately, the euphoria didn’t last, as Zilisch slipped and fell to the ground while climbing onto the door ledge of his No. 88 Chevrolet. He was then loaded onto a backboard and taken to the infield medical center before being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

A NASCAR representative confirmed that Zilisch was “awake and alert” prior to being taken to the hospital, and the CW broadcast added that he had been speaking to medical personnel in the minutes after his frightening fall.

It was a sobering end to a wild and crash-filled race that saw seven caution periods during the day.

The race featured a 45-minute red flag, after an incident between Austin Hill and McDowell occurred in the carousel. After McDowell got turned around by Hill on corner exit, sixteen drivers in all were swept up in the wreck, setting the stage for another late-race restart.

In a four-lap dash to the finish, Zilisch successfully held off Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Hill, and Carson Kvapil to cross the finish line first by 2.326 seconds.

Mayer continued his strong momentum as of late, with his third top-three finish in a row. Mayer was the runner-up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and won at Iowa Speedway prior to Saturday.

The Haas Factory Team driver fired off from the second row on the final restart, and jumped in front of Hill and Smith to claim the result.

Smith came home third in a quiet yet positive run, and Hill finished fourth despite more controversy he’d like to forget. Kvapil avoided the wreckage and picked up a sneaky top five, with defending series champion Justin Allgaier crossing the line just behind in sixth.

Road course ace Austin Green placed seventh, while Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes finished eighth after starting all the way back in 36th.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones finished ninth as the top Toyota driver, and AM Racing’s Harrison Burton earned some much needed breathing space at the playoff cut line in 10th.

There were many big hits throughout the day, with drivers including Sheldon Creed and Thomas Annunziata crashing out of the race on the tricky circuit in addition to the late ‘Big One’ that eliminated rookie contenders Nick Sanchez and William Sawalich, among others.

Through all the chaos, Zilisch remains the regular season point leader by seven over Allgaier, while Harrison Burton is 30 points ahead of cousin Jeb Burton for the final spot in the 12-driver playoff field with three races remaining before the postseason reset.

The Xfinity Series takes a weekend off before heading to Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway for the Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola. Ryan Truex won last year’s summer stop at the World Center of Racing.

Broadcast coverage from Daytona airs Friday night, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.