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Connor Zilisch gives update following scary crash at Talladega

JHby:Jonathan Howard•about 14 hours•

Jondean25

Connor Zilisch Talladega
Mandatory Credit: Jason Allen-Imagn Images

During the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega, Connor Zilisch was in a huge single-car crash into the inside wall. That wreck brought out the caution on the last lap and gave the race to Austin Hill.

While he initially complained about back pain, Connor Zilisch left the infield care center without any lingering problems. Today, after his first big hit in NASCAR, he has provided an update.

Fans can feel assured that the young driver is doing alright. Just a little soreness.

“Sore today but more than anything just upset that I couldn’t close that one out for my team,” Zilisch posted on X/Twitter. “If we keep putting ourselves in position to win races, it will come. Thank you to everyone who reached out to make sure I was okay.”

Connor Zilisch put himself out there. He was willing to put himself out front and tried to block his way all the way to the finish line. It was just one block too many in the end. A tap from Jesse Love was all that it took to send the 88 car into the inside wall.

The Xfinity Series kept things clean for the most part. There were only three cautions for cause, and none of them were the “big one.” Every wreck was just a few cars or, in the case of Zilisch, just a single car.

Connor Zilisch happy to have a friend like Jesse Love

The initial wreck looked horrible. It was more or less head-on into the wall, with the back end of the car raising up in response. When Connor Zilisch complained about back pain over the radio, many fans feared the worst.

“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.