Connor Zilisch complains about back pain after vicious hit at Talladega

Leading on the last lap down the backstretch, Connor Zilisch was pushed out of line by Jesse Love and took a devastating hit. Zilisch took a head-on hit to the inside wall and complained about his back hurting soon after. Austin Hill won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race as a result of the caution.

Connor Zilisch was putting himself out there late in this race. He led 9 laps towards the end. Zilisch got out of the car under his own power, but pointed to his back as he spoke to safety crew members.

“Ow ow ow, my back … ohhhhhh,” Zilisch was heard saying on the radio via Brett Winningham of Speedway Digest.

After spending time at the care center, Zilisch left. He commented on the wreck afterwards.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Zilisch said. “That’s one of the wrecks where you move your legs and make sure everything feels okay afterwards. So, very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports race cars. Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was as fast as Xfinity Mobile. We were in the right spot, just, yeah, I haven’t really watched it close enough to know what happened. But yeah, grateful to be up and walking.”

Jesse Love came by to see his friend whom he had wrecked. No hard feelings between these two young racers.

“Yeah, that’s great,” Zilisch continued. “Jesse’s probably my best friend in the world, and I’m grateful to have someone like him who can come and stand in front of me, and you know, give me a hug after that.”

Jesse Love did go see his friend in the care center. Those two have a close relationship and it showed today after this race. Love was clearly not happy with what happened.

Jesse Love concerned for Connor Zilisch after Talladega wreck

Like any friend would be, Jesse Love was worried about Connor Zilisch after the wreck. It wasn’t anyone’s fault really, it was just what happens at Talladega late in these races. Big moves, big blocks, and sometimes you pay for that.

“It was definitely tough how that ended. I hope my friend’s okay. I’m not going to comment on what I thought happened there yet. … I just want to go check on and make sure he’s alright with like a really hard hit and he ain’t really taking many hard hits yet outside of Millbridge.”

Austin Hill wins this race with the late theatrics. It was a three-wide scene on the frontstretch as Hill, Love, and Jeb Burton all laid claim to the win originally. However, it was the 21 car that had its nose out far enough when the caution came out.

You hate to see a race end this way, both the wreck and the photo finish call because of the caution. That’s just how this racing thing goes sometimes. Thankfully, Zilisch appears to be okay and is looking forward to the next race.