September 14, 2024 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Connor Zilisch wins from the pole in Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Introducing. … Connor Zilisch.

The 18-year-old North Carolina native made his formal entrée into big time NASCAR racing with a major statement holding off the field on a pair of thrilling overtime restarts at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course to claim his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in his first career start.

The Mission 200 at The Glen finished under caution with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finishing runner-up – for a record 12th time – emerging from a three-wide battle for second place with a multi-car accident farther behind in the field bringing out the yellow flag that ultimately froze the field.

“I worked so hard for this one,” a smiling Zilisch said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve been working for this one for months and it’s so special to me, man. I don’t even have words.

“I don’t know how I saved enough, I sputtered up the hill,” he said of having to save fuel in the closing laps which included a restart with two laps remaining and then two more in overtime.

“With two to go, I didn’t think I was going to make it back to the line even. I’m going to enjoy this one for a while. I can’t say enough about JR Motorsports and everyone who supports me.”

Zilisch, who also won in class in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona IMSA race, is the seventh driver to win in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start – a list that includes the legendary Dale Earnhardt and current NASCAR Cup Series standout Ty Gibbs. And he becomes the second youngest race winner- to Joey Logano – in series history at 18 years, one month and 23 days.

It was that kind of weekend for the young driver, who led a race best 45 of the 90 laps after earning his first career Xfinity Series pole position earlier Saturday. On Friday, he claimed his fifth ARCA Menards Series victory in seven starts.

His work Saturday wasn’t necessarily an “easy” win, however. He really had to earn it – rallying from a mid-race penalty and managing fuel in the closing laps.

In an unusual situation during a caution, Zilisch received a penalty while running among the top-three late in the race. NASCAR ruled the top-running trio – also including Gibbs and Sammy Smith – cut the course and the penalty sent them all to the rear for the restart. Zilisch rallied from 31st-place and was top-five 20 laps later.

Creed, who is still competing for that first series victory after so many close calls, smiled on pit road Saturday, conceding this time his second-place finish was one he could actually be pleased with instead of seeing it as a near-miss. His rally on the final lap getting the best of some of the best road course drivers was a small victory in and of itself.

“Just trying to keep the nose on it there, actually really fun,” Creed said of the last lap battle. “I felt like that was the battle for the win probably there if the 88 [Zilisch] ran out [of fuel]. I thought I put myself in really good positions to end up second again. I’m actually happy, for how my day was going.”

He finished just ahead of Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ all-time road course best, JGR teammate Chandler Smith and Kaulig’s Shane van Gisbergen, who had won the season’s previous three road course races.

Van Gisbergen was so impressed with Zilisch that when he congratulated the teenager in Victory Lane, he smiled and suggested some team should put Zilisch in a NASCAR Cup Series car for Sunday’s race.

Zilisch’s took a call from team owner, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. during his winner’s press conference.

“Enjoy this, you never win your “first” again,” Earnhardt told him.

Ross Chastain, who won the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the track earlier Saturday, finished sixth in the DGM Racing Chevrolet with Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman scoring a seventh-place finish. Richard Childress Racing rookie Jesse Love was eighth, followed by Joey Logano in the AM Racing car and MBM Motorsports’ Josh Bilicki.

The race was impactful with only a single event now left in the regular season to determine the 12-driver Playoff field. JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier finished 17th after an eventful day when the veteran was collected in multiple multi-car incidents. But he still emerged as the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship leader by 43-points over defending series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, who finished 21st Saturday after also being caught up in incidents on track.

At the other end of the standings, JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith was able to slightly extend his advantage over RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg for the 12th and final Playoff position. Despite a mechanical issue from his first green flag pit stop, Smith was able to rally to a 19th-place finish. Sieg, who collected points during the second stage, is now 44 points behind Smith heading to Bristol.

The regular season finale concludes with next Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Current NASCAR Cup Series driver Noah Gragson is the defending race winner.



NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 25
Race Results for the Mission 200 at the Glen - Saturday, September 14, 2024
Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY - 2.45 - Mile Road

Total Race Length - 90 Laps - 220.5 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 9/14/2024 @ 06:27 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 88 Connor Zilisch Carolina Carports Chevrolet 90 1 3 58 Running 3 45 6
2 9 18 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota 90 5  41 Running  
3 3 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 90   34 Running 1 5
4 6 81 Chandler Smith Smith General Contracting Toyota 90 4  40 Running  
5 13 97 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 90   32 Running 1 14
6 21 92 Ross Chastain(i) Protect Your Melon Chevrolet 90   0 Running  
7 19 48 Parker Kligerman Borchetta Bourbon Chevrolet 90   30 Running  
8 11 2 Jesse Love # Whelen Chevrolet 90 7  33 Running  
9 33 15 Joey Logano(i) Panini Ford 90   0 Running  
10 26 91 Josh Bilicki Chemung Supply Corporation Chevrolet 90   27 Running  
11 27 32 Austin Green 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet 90   26 Running  
12 7 17 William Byron(i) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 90  1 0 Running 2 16
13 12 98 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Ford 90 8 7 31 Running  
14 23 31 Parker Retzlaff FUNKAWAY Chevrolet 90   23 Running  
15 35 43 Ryan Ellis Rich Mar/Laughlin Family Foundation Chevrolet 90   22 Running  
16 32 42 Leland Honeyman # Excite Motorsports Chevrolet 90   21 Running  
17 4 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 90 2 5 35 Running  
18 18 51 Jeremy Clements ASE/Nordic Logistics Chevrolet 90 10 10 21 Running  
19 17 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 90   18 Running  
20 5 1 Sam Mayer 10X Health Chevrolet 90  4 24 Running 1 1
21 15 00 Cole Custer HighPoint.com Ford 90 6 6 26 Running 1 6
22 14 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 89 9 9 19 Running  
23 31 44 Brennan Poole Frontline Fire Protection Chevrolet 89   14 Running  
24 37 26 Ed Jones Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota 89   13 Running  
25 2 19 Ty Gibbs(i) Starkey Toyota 89  2 0 Running 2 3
26 8 20 Aric Almirola Go Bowling Toyota 88 3  19 Running  
27 34 14 RC Enerson Lucas Oil School of Racing Chevrolet 85   10 Running  
28 16 9 Brandon Jones Menards/Pelonis Chevrolet 84   9 Accident  
29 30 35 Thomas Annunziata NFPA Toyota 84   8 Running  
30 25 87 Mike Skeen Navy Seal Foundation Chevrolet 83   7 Accident  
31 28 27 Jeb Burton Heartbeat Hot Sauce/Norma Chevrolet 81   6 Oil Leak  
32 38 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 80   5 Accident  
33 10 21 Austin Hill Global Industrial Chevrolet 80  8 7 Accident  
34 24 5 Anthony Alfredo Ferguson Chevrolet 80   3 Accident  
35 20 38 Matt DiBenedetto ReMA Ford 75   2 Rear Gear  
36 22 45 Alon Day JSSI Chevrolet 57   1 Brakes  
37 36 28 Kyle Sieg Lotze Ford 54   1 Axle  
38 29 36 Kyle Weatherman DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet 15   1 Rear End  

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 35 Mins, 38 Secs. Average Speed: 85.007 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 88, 7, 20, 81, 18, 00, 2, 98, 39, 51
Stage 2 Top 10: 17, 19, 88, 1, 7, 00, 98, 21, 39, 51

Failed to Qualify: (3) 29 Blaine Perkins, 07 Jade Buford, 13 Kyle Keller.

Caution Flags: 7 for 19 laps; Laps: 22-24 (Stage 1 Conclusion [32]); 42-44 (Stage 2 Conclusion [91]); 47-49 (#7 Stopped On Track Turn 6 [8]); 78-80 (#38 Stalled On Track  [None]); 82-83 (#21, 5, 11, 15 Incident Turn 1 [Red Flag: 00:22:27] [7]); 85-88 (#9, 87 Incident Inner Loop [42]); 90-90 (#98, 26, 44, 39 Incident Backstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers; C. Zilisch 1-22; T. Gibbs(i) 23-24; A. Allmendinger 25-29; W. Byron(i) 30-44; T. Gibbs(i) 45; C. Custer 46-51; W. Byron(i) 52; S. Van Gisbergen # 53-66; C. Zilisch 67-82; S. Mayer 83; C. Zilisch 84-90.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: September 20, 2024 - Bristol Motor Speedway

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