Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Connor Zilisch Spanks Field for NASCAR Xfinity Pole at Watkins Glen

Connor Zilisch cruised to the pole position for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen as he topped SVG by more than a half second.

Rebecca Eisele | TobyChristie.com

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

19-year-old Connor Zilisch is really, really good. How good? Well, he defeated Shane van Gisbergen, already regarded as one of the best road racers in the history of NASCAR, by more than half a second to score the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on Saturday morning.


Pre-Race Resources:

Starting Lineup: Mission 200 at The Glen
Practice Results: Mission 200 at The Glen


The driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet improved upon his already impressive lap turned in practice earlier in the day by turning a 70.884-second (124.429 mph) lap time in the qualifying session. The blistering lap was enough to top van Gisbergen by a margin of 0.562 seconds, which secured Zilisch his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series pole position in just his 26th attempt.

While it was a dominant performance in qualifying, Zilisch knows he’s likely in for a bit of a closer challenge in Saturday’s race. Still, he’s proud of his No. 88 team.

“I feel like it’s going to come closer in the race, so I’m not going to get too ahead of myself. But clearly, we have a fast Registix Chevrolet,” Zilisch said in a post-qualifying interview on The CW. “I’m super proud of this entire team and the work they’ve put in lately. It takes a lot to beat the field by over half a second at one of these tracks, and I couldn’t do it without the car that’s underneath me. So, big thank you to JR Motorsports. Looking forward to the race later today, yeah, it’s going to be a good one.”

Taylor Gray was the best in class behind the two supreme road racing talents (Zilisch and van Gisbergen) as he locked in the third-fastest qualifying lap. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is still looking for the first win of what has been a really good rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Sam Mayer, who won last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway, will start Saturday’s race from the fourth position. Mayer, an eight-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner, won this event in 2023.

William Sawalich joined fellow rookies Zilisch and Gray inside the top five of the qualifying results as he turned the fifth-fastest lap of the session.

Sammy Smith, Nick Sanchez, Kaz Grala, Justin Allgaier, and Austin Hill rounded out the top-10 qualifiers for Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Corey Heim won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Mission 176 at Watkins Glen International
Corey Heim Battles Back From Late-Race Adversity for Watkins Glen Win
Shane van Gisbergen has landed a multiyear contract extension with Trackhouse Racing NASCAR Cup Series
Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Reach Multiyear Contract Extension
6763577556567795485
Corey Heim Bests The Field in Watkins Glen Qualifying
2026_driver_team_chart_ncts
2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver / Team Chart
2026 nascar silly season nascar team chart
2026 NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver / Team Chart
Ryan Preece feels his career-year, which has resulted in a chance at a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff berth with RFK Racing has been "satisfying"
A Career-Year And Chance At Playoffs 'Satisfying' for Ryan Preece

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article