- Connor Zilisch bagged his second O’Reilly Auto Parts win of the season.
- It’s his third consecutive win at Watkins Glen.
- SVG was in contention, but a pit-road mishap cost him his chances.
Despite clipping the grass and slamming the wall after the bus stop for a scare that could have brought his run to a halt, Connor Zilisch kept the car running without a caution and, with a pass in the final corner in a wounded machine, protected his unbeaten record at Watkins Glen.
His Cup season may not be going the way either he or the Trackhouse Racing team envisioned, but his starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have continued to keep the fire burning.
They have served as a reminder that his talent remains intact, even if the leap to the Cup garage has come with bruises and lessons. In the five O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts this season, Zilisch has now parked the car in Victory Lane twice. The first win came at Bristol, while the second came at Watkins Glen.
How did the race swing into Connor Zilisch’s hands?
Though Zilisch started from P17, he wasted no time slicing through traffic and had already cracked the top 10 within the opening lap alongside Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen. By Lap 7, Zilisch had muscled his way into fourth place, and by Lap 9, he climbed to P3 after slipping past Justin Allgaier entering Turn 3.
Before Stage 1 wrapped up with Brent Crews taking the stage win, Zilisch had already planted himself in second position, creating a base to become a duel between the Trackhouse pair and the rest of the field.
By Lap 25 in Stage 2, Zilisch had seized control of the field from the outside lane while van Gisbergen lined up to his inside. Zilisch cleared for the lead through the esses and never lifted, keeping the hammer down while chaos brewed behind him.
After the caution flag flew on Lap 34 for debris on the backstretch, and separately after Lavar Scott spun in Turn 7 from 28th position, the contest narrowed into a two-horse race between SVG and Zilisch. But while Zilisch escaped with the lead intact, SVG was forced wide, opening the door for Brent Crews to steal second through the esses.
Crews hounded Zilisch through Turn 5, staying glued to his rear bumper. Still, when it ended, Zilisch won Stage 2, followed by Brent Crews, Shane van Gisbergen, Justin Allgaier, and Jesse Love in the top five.
On Lap 46, Sheldon Creed thundered through the grass exiting the bus stop while running 15th, briefly launching airborne before continuing, which triggered another caution for debris. By that point, Zilisch had slipped back to P4. Yet the setback proved little more than a speed bump. By Lap 54, he charged past Harrison Burton for third and then dispatched Brandon Jones for second entering Turn 5.
Wounded car…
After pitting with 25 laps remaining, Zilisch began hunting down Jesse Love, who had inherited control of the race. He stormed past Love’s No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in Turn 7, carving chunks out of the gap lap after lap. But with six laps remaining, disaster nearly struck. Zilisch clipped the grass while charging through the bus stop chicane and damaged the undercarriage of his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
Even with the car wounded, Zilisch refused to wave the white flag. Adjusting to the altered feel beneath him, he continued the pursuit of his friend and rival. Then came the final lap, where he made up massive ground through the bus stop before pouncing when Love drifted wide exiting the last corner. Zilisch stormed alongside and won the drag race to the stripe by 0.262 seconds in Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen.
The finish was another competition between Zilisch and Love, which had simmered for months. Back at Phoenix Raceway in November, Love had outdueled the heavily favored Zilisch to capture the series title. This time, the scene flipped. On Saturday, it was Love left staring at heartbreak while Zilisch celebrated under the checkered flag.
The win marked Zilisch’s third straight success at the 2.45-mile road course in as many starts. It also became the 13th win of his O’Reilly Series career. With the result, Zilisch joined Terry Labonte and Marcos Ambrose as the only drivers to win three straight O’Reilly Series races at Watkins Glen.
JR Motorsports also extended its streak to 70 straight races with at least one car inside the top 10, leaving the organization nine shy of RFK Racing’s mark set between 2008 and 2010. JRM also continued its road-course stranglehold with an 11th straight victory on such layouts.
The win came after Zilisch spent the closing stretch reeling in Love, who had pitted on Lap 48 of 72 and then shifted into fuel-saving mode. At one point, Connor Zilisch trailed by 18 seconds, but over the final 25 laps, he hacked away at the deficit chunk by chunk until he finally struck when it mattered most.
What happened to SVG during the race?
Shane van Gisbergen began the race from P12 and, after ending Stage 1 down in P19, recovered to finish Stage 2 in third place.
SVG remained in the thick of the fight for the win until contact on pit road between his machine and Zilisch’s car ripped apart the left-front fender on Zilisch’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. SVG was forced to pit again for repairs, effectively sending his shot at Victory Lane up in smoke.
By Lap 56, SVG clawed his way past Rajah Caruth to move into fifth place, and one lap later, as the leaders cycled through pit stops, he inherited the lead. But after pitting on Lap 62 and surrendering track position, he never managed to claw his way back to the front.
When the checkered flag waved, SVG could do no better than P8 despite leading seven laps during the event.
The result came after another taxing day for the New Zealander. Earlier, a day ago, in the Craftsman Truck Series race, he had finished P3 while reporting fuel-pressure issues through the esses on multiple occasions. Then, during Cup practice, SVG could manage only P11 before flipping the upcoming racing scene in qualifying by snatching pole position with a lap of 71.165 seconds at 123.937 mph. Zilisch, meanwhile, will line up from P5 for the Cup race.
