NASCAR
Connor Zilisch wins Watkins Glen again, falls in Victory Lane
UPDATE: JR Motorsports has confirmed that Zilisch has been released from the hospital. Zilisch has also posted to X that he has a broken collarbone.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Connor Zilisch’s current condition is unknown after he fell from his car in victory lane at Watkins Glen. He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation but was awake and alert.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The sizzling summer stretch continues for Connor Zilisch. The dominant car of the day ended in a very familiar victory lane at Watkins Glen. After leading 60 of 82 laps, Zilisch earned his sixth win of the season and back-to-back New York triumphs. Unfortunately a fall in victory lane from his winning pose left Zilisch getting medical aid instead of celebrating this big win.
Zilisch flexed his muscles early in Stage 1, soon building up a huge lead over his competitors. Zilisch did opt to short pit this stage, handing the points to teammate Justin Allgaier. Stage 2 saw Zilisch regain control and once again drive off towards the horizon for this win.
Zilisch’s march to a dominant wire-to-wire day only hit a speed bump with 30 laps left. A caution flew just after Shane van Gisbergen and a few others hit pit road, burying the No. 88 for the next restart. Zilisch did fight his way back through the pack, though, and spent several laps all over SVG’s bumper. This tight battle for the lead only ended when the 9 was spun by the 88 in turn seven, ending van Gisbergen’s day after a massive impact.
The next restart saw Zilisch nudged from the lead by Austin Hill, but the 88 stormed back by a few corners later. Hill was soon at the center of another massive accident, though. Racing Michael McDowell for second out of turn five, contact sent the No. 11 sideways at the narrowest part of the track. This triggered a crash taking out a dozen cars and causing a lengthy clean up.
Once racing resumed with five laps left, Zilisch was pitted against teammate Sammy Smith on the restart. Zilisch momentarily lost the top spot to the No. 8, but retook command by the esses and drove off to a seventh career Xfinity Series win.
Zilisch was taken by backboard to the infield care center after his fall in victory lane, and later transported to an area hospital. Any further updates will be posted above and come from JR Motorsports.
Behind Zilisch, the rest of the top-five were: Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, and Carson Kvapil. The top-10 were rounded out by: Justin Allgaier, Austin Green, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, and Harrison Burton.
The Xfinity Series Playoff cut line battle grows to 30 points, still separating Harrison and Jeb Burton.
After an off week, Xfinity Series competitors will be back in action at Daytona International Speedway. The Wawa 250 goes green Friday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. It will mark the third-to-last regular season race for Xfinity Series teams.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
