Connor Zilisch wins Xfinity Series debut at WGI, earns victory on second-straight day

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (WETM) – For the second-straight day, Connor Zilisch made it to victory lane at Watkins Glen International.

One day after a dominant win in the ARCA Menards Series’ General Tire 100 at The Glen , Connor Zilisch earned the biggest victory of his NASCAR career. The 18-year-old battled through a thrilling Mission 200 at The Glen, to claim the win in his Xfinity Series debut.

Zilisch followed up a masterclass in the ARCA Series race, claiming the Xfinity Series pole position, and a 10 second win of Stage 1. Pit strategy shuffled the 2nd stage win to 2023 WGI Cup Series winner, William Byron. In the final stage, the intensity ramped up, as Zilisch surged back to the lead, facing the potential of running out of fuel.

With 2 laps to go, a red flag was thrown after several drivers spun in turn 1 and in “The Esses.” Once the action resumed, the 1st overtime would fall back under caution with a huge wreck. After Ty Gibbs rolled slowly through turn 1 with car trouble, Brandon Jones, and Mike Skeen saw rough ends to their races. In the 2nd overtime, Sam Mayer would spin just before Zilisch took the white flag, then a massive crash would ensue at the entry to the “Bus Stop,” causing a caution. Since Zilisch has already taken the white flag, the battle became one with his fuel tank, under yellow.

Despite the low gas tank, Zilisch rolled back across the finish line for a thrilling victory.

“It’s pretty incredible, said Zilisch. Words can’t explain it. I’m just so thankful for my entire JR Motorsports team, Carolina Carports, and everyone who made this possible for me. Thanks to Team Trackhouse for supporting me and it takes a team to make this stuff happen. It’s a dream come true to come out here and win in my first race.”

The debut win for the JR Motorsports driver marks the second-straight season that the team has won the Xfinity Series race at WGI. Sam Mayer outlasted Ty Gibbs for the win in 2023.

A full look at the top 10 finishers from the Mission 200 at The Glen are listed below.
1. Connor Zilisch – JR Motorsports #88
2. Sheldon Creed – Joe Gibbs Racing #18
3. A.J. Allmendinger – Kaulig Racing #16
4. Chandler Smith – Joe Gibbs Racing #81
5. Shane Van Gisbergen – Kaulig Racing #97
6. Ross Chastain – DGM Racing #92
7. Parker Kligerman – Big Machine Racing #48
8. Jesse Love – Richard Childress Racing #2
9. Joey Logano – AM Racing #15
10. Josh Bilicki – Joey Gase Motorsports #91

The Xfinity Series will next head to Bristol for their regular season finale. The race will air Friday, September 20th at 7:30 p.m. on The CW.
(Video Courtesy: USA Network)

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