Connor Zilisch became the seventh driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to win his debut race Saturday, taking the checkered flag under caution after a wreck-filled final few laps of the Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
The scheduled 82-lap race went double-overtime and was extended to 90 laps, with Zilisch twice holding off the field on restarts to earn the victory in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Carolina Carports Chevrolet co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who called to congratulate Zilisch during the post-race press conference.
Sheldon Creed finished second, AJ Allmendinger third, Chandler Smith fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth in the 38-car event at the 2.45-mile road course.
“It’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me,” said the 18-year-old Zilisch. “I worked so hard for this race. I’ve been preparing for it for over three months now. Outside of the (Rolex 24 at Daytona), this was probably the biggest race of the year for me. To come out here and just prove to myself that I can do it and I can compete in the highest level is special to me.”
The victory capped a perfect race weekend for Zilisch, who dominated Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen, an ARCA Menards Series race. It was the fifth win in eight ARCA races this year for the Mooresville, North Carolina, native.
He came back Saturday morning to earn the pole position for the Xfinity race, his first of a four-race deal this year with JR Motorsports. He will drive full-time for the team in 2025.
Zilisch last pitted on lap 48, and fuel was a concern as he chased the win. He was advised by his team to save fuel with 22 laps remaining and conserved enough to make it to the finish line.
Zilisch cruised to a victory in the first 20-lap stage but was sent to the back of the field just past the race’s halfway point after he skipped the Inner Loop during a caution flag. Zilisch followed leader Ty Gibbs and defending race winner Sam Mayer, unaware doing so would cost him a penalty.
“It’s dumb of me. But I thought they just knew better than me, and I should have known better,” Zilisch said. “I thought those guys who have been racing in this series for a few years would have been doing the right thing, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll just follow them and try to act cool,’ and then I was at the tail of the field. But honestly, it was a blessing in disguise because it put us in our window and got us to the end of the race.”
Zilisch powered into eighth place by lap 57, then quickly secured the No. 5 spot. He took over the lead on lap 67 when van Gisbergen pitted. Van Gisbergen, a three-time winner this season, was hit with a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.
What had been a relatively clean race got messy late, starting with a 22-minute red flag to clean up the track after an incident.
Zilisch held off Mayer, who ended up finishing 20th, and renowned road-course ace Allmendinger on the final two restarts before cautions came out. The first yellow was the result of an incident involving Brandon Jones and Mike Skeen in the Inner Loop, and the second was caused by a four-car wreck on the backstretch.
“I was glad to get through those restarts clean,” Zilisch said. “I knew as long as I got off of (turn) one I was fast enough that I was going to be able to drive away and get a gap by the top of the Esses.”
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Connor Zilisch wins Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen
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