Connor Zilisch made history as the seventh driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to win his debut race, claiming victory under caution after a chaotic finish at the Mission 200 at The Glen, held at Watkins Glen International. The race, initially set for 82 laps, went into double overtime and stretched to 90 laps. Zilisch skillfully held off the competition on two restarts to secure the win in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Carolina Carports Chevrolet, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who congratulated him during the post-race press conference.
Sheldon Creed finished in second place, followed by AJ Allmendinger in third, Chandler Smith in fourth, and Shane van Gisbergen in fifth 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 at the highest level is special to me.”
Zilisch’s victory capped off a flawless weekend, having dominated Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen in the ARCA Menards Series, marking his fifth win in eight ARCA races this year. On Saturday morning, he secured the pole position for the Xfinity race, the first of a four-race deal with JR Motorsports. He is set to drive full-time for the team in 2025.
Fuel strategy played a key role in his success. Pitting last on lap 48, Zilisch managed to conserve enough fuel to finish the race after being advised by his team to save fuel with 22 laps to go. Despite being sent to the back of the field midway through the race for skipping the Inner Loop during a caution, Zilisch quickly powered his way back to the front.
“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 explained.
By lap 57, Zilisch had climbed to eighth place, soon securing the fifth spot, and eventually took the lead on lap 67 when van Gisbergen, who was penalized for speeding on pit road, pitted. The race, which had been relatively clean up to that point, became messy towards the end, including a 22-minute red flag to clear the track after an incident.
Zilisch held off Sam Mayer and road-course specialist Allmendinger during the final restarts before two cautions came out. The first yellow flag resulted from a collision between Brandon Jones and Mike Skeen in the Inner Loop, and the second was due to a four-car wreck on the backstretch. Despite the chaos, Zilisch held his ground and crossed the finish line to earn his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.