Connor Zilisch collected his sixth victory of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season in yet another dominant performance in Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Zilisch, who led a race-high 60 laps in the 82-lap event from the pole, held off Sam Mayer to win the race by a margin of victory of 2.326 seconds.
Race Results
NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen
While it was supposed to be a joyous afternoon for the 19-year-old racer, things spiraled out of control in a scary moment in victory lane after the race. As Zilisch attempted to climb from his car to celebrate his seventh-career win, his left leg slipped from the door of his race-winning No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and fell inside the car.
Zilisch would fall headfirst onto the ground in victory lane from his car. After several minutes of speaking to medical personnel, Zilisch was stretchered to the infield care center and was eventually transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Sammy Smith, Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate, finished the race in the third position, while Austin Hill, who triggered a massive crash on Lap 74, finished in fourth. Carson Kvapil, a rookie who has impressed on road courses this season, came home in fifth.
Justin Allgaier, Austin Green, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, and Harrison Burton rounded out the top-10 finishers in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International.
Through the opening 18 laps of the race, Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen battled for the lead, but both drivers relinquished their positions at the front of the field as they flipped the Stage in an effort to better set themselves up for the race win.
This handed the lead and Stage 1 win to Justin Allgaier, who held off Taylor Gray to score 10 Stage Points and a Playoff Point.
Zilisch would take the Stage 2 win after coming out on top of challenges from William Sawalich and van Gisbergen during the Stage.
In the final Stage of the race, Zilisch and van Gisbergen fought tooth and nail for the race lead, but the aggressive battle resulted in a hard crash for van Gisbergen in Turn 7 with 20 laps remaining in the race. As Zilisch and van Gisbergen ran wide on the exit of Turn 6, Zilisch collided with van Gisbergen’s car while trying to merge back on the track.
The contact sent van Gisbergen’s car driver’s side-first into the outside barrier in Turn 7, which ended his race and resulted in a 31st-place finish.
Connor Zilisch, Shane Van Gisbergen Come Together Battling for Watkins Glen Win
As the race went back to green, a second serious incident occurred on the track as Austin Hill hooked Michael McDowell’s No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on the straightaway between Turns 5 and 6 on Lap 74. The contact sent McDowell careening into both armco barriers, which resulted in a massive impact for the NASCAR Cup Series regular.
Several other cars were swept up in the crash on Lap 74, which brought out a 45-minute red flag.
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With his win on Saturday, Zilisch, who came into the day tied for the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season point lead with Justin Allgaier, pulled out to a seven-point lead in the championship standings. There are three races remaining before the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin.
Next up for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 22. That race will be televised on The CW with the broadcast set to kick off at 7:30 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast of the event.
