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Connor Zilisch reacts emotionally after winning debut Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen

JHby:Jonathan Howard•09/14/24•

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Connor Zilisch
Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

In a wild and intense NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Connor Zilisch overcame everything thrown at him and won. Zilisch came in and swept the ARCA and Xfinity races at Watkins Glen, a weekend to remember for the 18-year-old.

Connor Zilisch overcame a late penalty that put him in the rear of the field. Then he overcame multiple overtime restarts when he was at one point in time a gallon short on fuel.

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After the win today, Zilisch was overcome with emotion. The young driver doesn’t have a lot of starts under his belt, but he has been preparing for this for months.

“I don’t even have words. I’ve worked so hard for this one,” Zilisch said, fighting back tears. “I’ve been working for this one for months and it’s so special to me man. I don’t even have words right now. 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 was saving the last two laps. But man, I’m going to enjoy this one for a while.”

That is a racer that is going places. He has the right attitude and passion for it. Clearly, whatever Chevy has done to prepare him has worked. Today he didn’t just win at Watkins Glen, he made the rest of the field, including Shane van Gisbergen look average.

Earlier in the race, Connor Zilisch won Stage 2 by over 10 seconds. He won the ARCA race over Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing development driver William Sawalich by more than 12 seconds.

Every time this kid has stepped into a car, he has excelled. 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Mazda MX-5 Cup, CARS Tour, Truck Series, Xfinity Series – it doesn’t matter.

In fact, I’m pretty convinced that you could put Zilisch in the Cup race tomorrow and he could pull out a top-10. We are going to be hearing a lot more about this guy. He will be racing full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2025 with JR Motorsports. Today was just a preview.

It is a shame we didn’t see Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs race to the line. Gibbs ran out of fuel in overtime. Those two are going to have epic battles in the future. They are the future faces of the sport and they have an opportunity to be the superstars that NASCAR needs to gain more traction and relevance.