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Zilisch wins in chaotic NASCAR Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen

18-year-old Connor Zilisch drove an incredible race from pole position, in an event that threw literally everything it could at the debutant to deny him the win. Yet he prevailed, saving enough fuel in double overtime and escaping the chaos behind him to win. Zilisch even overcame a mid-race penalty for cutting the bus stop under caution, which sent him to the rear of the field.

He joins an exclusive list of drivers who won in their NASCAR Xfinity debut: Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1982), Joe Ruttman (1982), Ricky Rudd (1983), Terry Labonte (1995), Kurt Busch (2006), and Ty Gibbs (2021).

"I don't even have words," said Zilisch, who was driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. "I worked so hard for this one. I've been working for this one for months. It's so special. I don't know how I saved enough. I sputtered up the hill with two to go. I didn't think I was going to make it back to the line. I'm going to enjoy this one for a while."

Race winner Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports, Carolina Carports Chevrolet Camaro (Photo by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images)

The race ended under caution after a violent multi-car crash on the final lap.

Sheldon Creed, who already holds the record for most runner-up finishes without a win, was second for the 12th time in his career.  A.J. Allmendinger was third, Chandler Smith fourth, and Shane van Gisbergen fifth. Ross Chastain, who starts from pole position for Sunday's Cup race, was scored sixth at the time of caution.

Zilisch was cruising to the win when a caution with six laps remaining threw the race into complete chaos. Matt DiBenedetto stalled at the bus stop, setting up a mad-dash to the finish. The race went into overtime after a multi-car crash in Turn 1, leaving Austin Hill and Anthony Alfredo with significant damage. The race was red-flagged due to fluid all over the track. After a lengthy stoppage, the event resumed only for more carnage to ensue. Ty Gibbs ran out of fuel from fourth place while Brandon Jones and Mike Skeen crashed at the bus stop.

That forced the race into double overtime. While more cars went spinning and his rivals slammed fenders for the lesser positions, Zilisch skipped away with the win. The race finally ended with Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg came together on the run towards the bus stop, collecting several cars.

Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1
C. ZilischJR Motorsports
88 Chevrolet 90

2:35'37.656

  5 58
2 S. CreedJoe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota 90

+0.319

2:35'37.975

0.319 8 41
3 A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 90

+0.779

2:35'38.435

0.460 8 34
4
C. SmithJoe Gibbs Racing
81 Toyota 90

+1.450

2:35'39.106

0.671 8 40
5 S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing 97 Chevrolet 90

+1.462

2:35'39.118

0.012 8 32
6 R. ChastainDGM Racing 92 Chevrolet 90

+1.499

2:35'39.155

0.037 6  
7 P. KligermanBig Machine Racing Team 48 Chevrolet 90

+1.608

2:35'39.264

0.109 6 30
8
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing
2 Chevrolet 90

+1.609

2:35'39.265

0.001 7 33
9 J. LoganoAM Racing 15 Ford 90

+3.228

2:35'40.884

1.619 6  
10 J. BilickiDGM Racing 91 Chevrolet 90

+3.888

2:35'41.544

0.660 8 27
11
A. GreenJordan Anderson Racing
32 Chevrolet 90

+10.627

2:35'48.283

6.739 18 26
12 W. ByronHendrick Motorsports 17 Chevrolet 90

+10.628

2:35'48.284

0.001 7  
13 R. HerbstStewart-Haas Racing 98 Ford 90

+14.079

2:35'51.735

3.451 6 31
14
P. RetzlaffJordan Anderson Racing
31 Chevrolet 90

+14.080

2:35'51.736

0.001 6 23
15 R. EllisAlpha Prime Racing 43 Chevrolet 90

+14.284

2:35'51.940

0.204 8 22
16
L. HoneymanYoung's Motorsports
42 Chevrolet 90

+23.011

2:36'00.667

8.727 9 21
17 J. AllgaierJR Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 90

+23.296

2:36'00.952

0.285 7 35
18 J. ClementsJeremy Clements Racing 51 Chevrolet 90

+31.583

2:36'09.239

8.287 19 21
19
S. SmithJR Motorsports
8 Chevrolet 90

+36.198

2:36'13.854

4.615 8 18
20
S. MayerJR Motorsports
1 Chevrolet 90

+38.381

2:36'16.037

2.183 5 24
21 C. CusterStewart-Haas Racing 00 Ford 90

+39.355

2:36'17.011

0.974 6 26
22 R. SiegRSS Racing 39 Ford 89

+1 Lap

2:34'14.970

1 Lap 6 19
23 B. PooleAlpha Prime Racing 44 Chevrolet 89

+1 Lap

2:34'17.204

2.234 5 14
24 E. JonesSam Hunt Racing 26 Toyota 89

+1 Lap

2:34'17.371

0.167 6 13
25
T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing
19 Toyota 89

+1 Lap

2:36'00.668

1'43.297 6  
26 A. AlmirolaJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 88

+2 Laps

2:36'12.654

1 Lap 11 19
27 R. EnersonSS-Green Light Racing 14 Chevrolet 85

+5 Laps

2:34'48.428

3 Laps 10 10
28 B. JonesJR Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 84

+6 Laps

2:19'14.083

1 Lap 14 9
29
T. AnnunziataJoey Gase Motorsports
35 Toyota 84

+6 Laps

2:36'42.021

17'27.938 7 8
30 M. SkeenJordan Anderson Racing 87 Chevrolet 83

+7 Laps

2:17'11.790

1 Lap 5 7
31 J. BurtonJordan Anderson Racing 27 Chevrolet 81

+9 Laps

2:08'39.527

2 Laps 5 6
32 J. WilliamsKaulig Racing 11 Chevrolet 80

+10 Laps

2:06'38.289

1 Lap 12 5
33 A. HillRichard Childress Racing 21 Chevrolet 80

+10 Laps

2:06'39.342

1.053 6 7
34
A. AlfredoOur Motorsports
5 Chevrolet 80

+10 Laps

2:06'39.460

0.118 9 3
35 M. DiBenedettoRSS Racing 38 Ford 75

+15 Laps

1:54'40.704

5 Laps 7 2
36 A. DayAlpha Prime Racing 45 Chevrolet 57

+33 Laps

1:34'47.419

18 Laps 7 1
37
K. SiegRSS Racing
28 Ford 54

+36 Laps

1:28'01.485

3 Laps 5 1
38 K. WeathermanDGM Racing 36 Chevrolet 15

+75 Laps

19'15.739

39 Laps 11 1

 

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