If any more evidence was needed to prove that Connor Zilisch is one of the best prospects in NASCAR history, look no further than Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen.
The 18-year-old dominated Saturday’s event, and after topping the practice charts and winning the pole earlier in the day, he closed the deal by winning the Mission 200 at the Glen in NASCAR overtime.
The victory comes in Zilisch’s Xfinity Series debut and completes a weekend sweep for the Charlotte, N.C., native, who also won Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race.
“I don’t even have words,” Zilisch said, according to NBC Sports. “I worked so hard for this one. I’ve been working for this one for months. It’s so special to me, man. I don’t know how I saved enough (gas). I didn’t think I was gonna make it back to the line. I’m gonna enjoy this one for a while.”
After a penalty for cutting the course under caution, Zilisch and the No. 88 team played the right strategy to keep Zilisch in control of the race. Even when forced to save fuel and hold off a snarling pack, Zilisch remained calm under pressure, steering his Camaro into victory lane.
Zilisch endured multiple overtime restarts and a lengthy red flag that saw the race take over three hours to complete.
Unlike his Truck Series debut at COTA — when Zilisch won the pole, but missed the first corner and had to fight back to a fourth-place finish — Zilisch was largely mistake-free, aside from the curious course-cutting penalty that was also incurred by Ty Gibbs.
Sheldon Creed finished second with AJ Allmendinger, Parker Kligerman and Chandler Smith rounding out the top five. Shane van Gisbergen, Ross Chastain, Jesse Love, Joey Logano and Josh Bilicki completed the top 10.
Other notable finishers in Saturday’s race included William Byron in 11th, Justin Allgaier in 15th, Sam Mayer in 20th, Cole Custer in 21st and Gibbs in 25th.
The next Xfinity Series race will be on Friday, Sept. 20. The Xfinity Series field will take on Bristol Motor Speedway in its regular-season finale at 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on the CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
