Connor Zilisch Shines, Wins at Watkins Glen

Connor Zilisch celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the Mission 200 at Watkins Glen. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Connor Zilisch won The Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International in dominating fashion on Saturday afternoon, surviving multiple chaotic overtime restarts to do so.

The 18-year-old driver making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut was able to outduel the likes of AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen to claim the victory.

“I worked so hard for this one,” Zilisch said. “I’ve been working for this one for months and it’s so special to me, man. I don’t even have words.”

The race quickly turned into a fuel mileage showdown at the end, especially with all of the extra laps being added. Zilisch was able to save just enough and drive away from Sheldon Creed before a caution came out on the final lap to end the race.

“I don’t know how I saved enough. I sputtered up the hill,” said Zilisch. “With two to go, I didn’t think I was going to make it back to the line even. I’m going to enjoy this one for a while. I can’t say enough about JR Motorsports and everyone who supports me.”

Connor Zilisch doing a burnout at Watkins Glen after winning in his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series start. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)

Zilisch also became just the seventh driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to win in their debut race, the first since Ty Gibbs won at the Daytona Road Course in 2021. Also at just 18 years old, Zilisch became the second-youngest race winner in series history, right behind two-time Cup Series champion, Joey Logano.

As mentioned earlier, Creed finished in the runner-up position again, extending the record for most second-place finishes without a win to 12, but this time the tune was different for Creed after surviving a hard-fought battle for second.

“Just trying to keep the nose on it there, actually really fun,” Creed said. “I felt like that was the battle for the win probably there if the (No.) 88 (Zilisch) ran out (of fuel). I thought I put myself in really good positions to end up second again. I’m actually happy for how my day was going.”

The second-place finish is also the 12th top-five of the season for Creed, which leads the entire Xfinity Series. Creed has also already set a career-high in terms of top 10’s (16) and top fives in a season.

Connor Zilisch standing on top of his car after winning at Watkins Glen. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)

Allmendinger finished in third place with Chandler Smith coming home in fourth and van Gisbergen finishing fifth, breaking his streak of three-straight wins on road courses in the Xfinity Series.

Going into the last race of the regular season at Bristol, Justin Allgaier holds a 43-point advantage over Cole Custer for the regular season title. On the flip side of that, Sammy Smith remains in the 12th and final playoff spot and has a 43-point cushion over Ryan Sieg.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Connor Zilisch
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Aric Almirola
4. Chandler Smith
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Cole Custer
7. Jesse Love
8. Riley Herbst
9. Ryan Sieg
10. Jeremy Clements

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. William Byron
2. Ty Gibbs
3. Connor Zilisch
4. Sam Mayer
5. Justin Allgaier
6. Cole Custer
7. Riley Herbst
8. Austin Hill
9. Ryan Sieg
10. Jeremy Clements

The Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International Finishing Results