{"id":76288,"date":"2024-09-15T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racer.com\/?p=366518"},"modified":"2024-09-15T10:00:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T10:00:16","slug":"zilisch-gives-a-masterclass-en-route-to-first-xfinity-victory-at-the-glen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/zilisch-gives-a-masterclass-en-route-to-first-xfinity-victory-at-the-glen\/","title":{"rendered":"Zilisch gives a masterclass en route to first Xfinity victory at the Glen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introducing \u2026 Connor Zilisch.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old North Carolina native made his formal entree 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.<\/p>\n

The Mission 200 at The Glen finished under caution with Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Sheldon Creed finishing runner-up \u2013 for a record 12th time \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked so hard for this one,” a smiling Zilisch said, his voice cracking with emotion. \u201cI\u2019ve been working for this one for months and it\u2019s so special to me, man. I don\u2019t even have words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith two to go, I didn\u2019t think I was going to make it back to the line, even. I\u2019m going to enjoy this one for a while. I can\u2019t say enough about JR Motorsports and everyone who supports me.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Wait for it… Connor Zilisch wins Stage 1 by over 10 seconds!<\/p>\n

\"\ud83d\udcfa\" : USA Network pic.twitter.com\/13VduitoBJ<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 14, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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 \u2013 a list that includes the legendary Dale Earnhardt and current NASCAR Cup Series standout Ty Gibbs. He also becomes the second youngest race winner — to Joey Logano — in series history at 18 years, one month and 23 days.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

His work Saturday wasn\u2019t necessarily an \u201ceasy\u201d win, however. He really had to earn it — rallying from a mid-race penalty and managing fuel in the closing laps.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 also including Gibbs and Sammy Smith \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to keep the nose on it there, actually really fun,” Creed said of the last lap battle. \u201cI felt like that was the battle for the win probably there if the No. 88 ran out . I thought I put myself in really good positions to end up second again. I\u2019m actually happy for how my day was going.”<\/p>\n

He finished just ahead of Kaulig Racing\u2019s A.J. Allmendinger, the NASCAR Xfinity Series\u2019 all-time road course best, JGR teammate Chandler Smith and Kaulig\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen, who had won the season\u2019s previous three road course races.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Zilisch’s took a call from team owner, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. during his winner’s press conference.<\/p>\n

“Enjoy this; you never win your first again,” Earnhardt told him.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ross Chastain, who won the pole position for Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series race at the track earlier Saturday, finished sixth in the DGM Racing Chevrolet with Big Machine Racing\u2019s 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\u2019 Josh Bilicki.<\/p>\n

The race was impactful with only a single event now left in the regular season to determine the 12-driver Playoff field. JR Motorsports\u2019 Justin Allgaier finished 17th after an eventful day when the veteran was collected in multiple multi-car incidents. He still emerged as the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship leader by 43-points over defending series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing\u2019s Cole Custer, who finished 21st Saturday after also being caught up in incidents on track.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the standings, JR Motorsports\u2019 Sammy Smith was able to slightly extend his advantage over RSS Racing\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The regular season finale concludes with Friday night\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

RESULTS<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introducing \u2026 Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old North Carolina native made his formal entree 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 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","has-thumb","has-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76288"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}