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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Connor Zilisch saved enough fuel, survived a pair of overtime restarts and pulled away to win his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut Saturday at Watkins Glen.
The 18-year-old, driving for JR Motorsports, became the seventh driver in series history to win in their debut. Zilisch, a development driver for Trackhouse Racing, is the second youngest winner in series history.
“It’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me,” Zilisch said. “I worked so hard for this race. I’ve been preparing for it for over three months. Outside of (his Rolex 24 at Daytona win), this is probably the biggest race of this year. for me So to come out here and do that and just prove to myself that I can do it and I can compete in the highest level is special to me.”
MORE: Watkins Glen results
Sheldon Creed finished second for a record-extending 12th time as he seeks his first series win. AJ Allmendinger finished third, Chandler Smith finished fourth and Shane van Gisbergen, who had won the previous three road course races this season, placed fifth.
Zilisch’s win comes in a year where he has been on the winning LMP2 team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the IMSA race at Sebring, won his first four ARCA races and won the pole in his Truck debut at Circuit of the Americas.
Friday 5: Is Connor Zilisch the next big thing in NASCAR?
The 18-year-old makes his Xfinity Series debut Saturday at Watkins Glen on USA Network.
Already, Zilisch has gained fans in several Cup drivers.
Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch said ahead of this weekend of Zilisch: “His future’s bright and he’s got a lot ahead of him.”
Former Cup champion Kyle Larson said ahead of this weekend of Zilisch: “He’s really good … he’s got his head on straight and he seems very mature.”
Zilisch started on the pole, led 45 of the 90 laps and won the opening stage by 10.8 seconds.
Zilisch, who won Friday’s ARCA race at Watkins Glen, will drive full-time for JR Motorsports next year in the Xfinity Series.
Stage 1 winner: Connor Zilisch
Stage 2 winner: William Byron
Next: The series runs Friday, Sept. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on CW Network) in the final race of the regular season.
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