Connor Zilisch wins Mission 200 at The Glen in Watkins Glen

Connor Zilisch became the seventh driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to win his debut race on Saturday, taking the checkered flag under yellow after an accident-plagued final lap of the Mission 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

The scheduled 82-lap race went into double overtime and was extended to 90 laps, with Zilisch holding off the field twice on the restarts to take the win in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Carolina Carports Chevrolet, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who called Zilisch during the post-race press conference to congratulate him.

Sheldon Creed finished second, AJ Allmendinger third, Chandler Smith fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth in the 38-car race on the 2.45-mile street circuit.

“It’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me,” said 18-year-old Zilisch. “I’ve worked so hard for this race. I’ve been preparing for it for over three months now. Aside from the (Rolex 24 at Daytona), this was probably the biggest race of the year for me. To come here and prove to myself that I can do it and compete at the highest level is special for me.”

The win capped a perfect weekend of racing for Zilisch, who dominated Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen, an ARCA Menards Series race. It was the Mooresville, North Carolina native’s fifth win in eight ARCA races this year.

He returned Saturday morning to secure the pole position for the Xfinity race, his first of four races this year with JR Motorsports. He will drive full-time for the team in 2025.

Zilisch pitted for the last time on lap 48, worried about fuel as he went for the win. His team advised him to save fuel with 22 laps to go, and he saved enough to make it to the finish line.

Zilisch drove to victory in the first 20-lap stage, but was sent to the back of the field just past the halfway point after missing the inside loop during a yellow flag. Zilisch followed leader Ty Gibbs and defending champion Sam Mayer, unaware that this would earn him a penalty.

“That’s stupid of me. But I thought they just knew better than me and I should have known better,” Zilisch said. “I thought the guys who have been racing in this series for a couple of years would do the right thing, so I thought, ‘OK, I’ll just follow them and try to stay cool,’ and then I was at the back of the field. But honestly, it was a blessing in disguise because it got us into our time window and got us to the end of the race.”

Zilisch was running eighth until lap 57, then quickly secured fifth place. He took the lead on lap 67 when van Gisbergen pitted. Van Gisbergen, a three-time winner this season, received a drive-through penalty for speeding on the pit lane.

What had been a relatively clean race turned chaotic at the end, starting with a red flag after 22 minutes to clean up the track after an incident.

More: Ross Chastain takes the pole for Go Bowling at The Glen

Zilisch held off Mayer, who finished 20th, and well-known road racer Allmendinger on the final two restarts before caution periods were issued. The first caution period was the result of an incident involving Brandon Jones and Mike Skeen on the inner loop, and the second was caused by a four-car crash on the back straight.

“I was happy to get through those restarts cleanly,” said Zilisch. “I knew that once I came out of the first corner I was fast enough to pull away and get a gap at the top of the Esses.”

Mission 200 at The Glen Results

Place|Starting position|Driver|Vehicle|Laps completed

(1) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 90.
(9) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 90.
(3) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 90.
(6) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 90.
(13) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 90.
(21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 90.
(19) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 90.
(11) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 90.
(33) Joey Logano, Ford, 90.
(26) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 90.
(27) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 90.
(7) William Byron, Chevrolet, 90.
(12) Riley Herbst, Ford, 90.
(23) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 90.
(35) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 90.
(32) Leland Honeyman, Chevrolet, 90.
(4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 90.
(18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 90.
(17) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 90.
(5) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 90.
(15) Cole Custer, Ford, 90.
(14) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 89.
(31) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 89.
(37) Ed Jones, Toyota, 89.
(2) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 89.
(8) Aric Almirola, Toyota, 88.
(34) RC Enerson, Chevrolet, 85.
(16) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, accident, 84.
(30) Thomas Annunziata, Toyota, 84.
(25) Mike Skeen, Chevrolet, accident, 83.
(28) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, oil leak, 81.
(38) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, accident, 80.
(10) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, accident, 80.
(24) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, accident, 80.
(20) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, rear-wheel drive, 75.
(22) Alon Day, Chevrolet, brakes, 57.
(36) Kyle Sieg, Ford, Axle, 54.
(29) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, rear, 15.

Average speed of the race winner: 85.007 miles per hour.

Time of the race: 2 hrs, 35 mins, 38 secs

projection: Attention seconds.

Warning flags: 7 for 19 rounds.

Changes to leadership: 10 out of 7 drivers.

Lap guide: C. Zilisch 1-22; T. Gibbs(i) 23-24; A. Allmendinger 25-29; W. Byron(i) 30-44; T. Gibbs(i) 45; C Custer 46-51; W. Byron(i) 52; S. Van Gisbergen #53-66; C. Zilisch 67-82; S. Mayer 83; C. Zilisch 84-90.

Summary of the leaders (drivers, leading times, laps led): Connor Zilisch 3 times for 45 rounds; William Byron(i) 2 times for 16 rounds; Shane Van Gisbergen # 1 time for 14 rounds; Cole Custer 1 time for 6 rounds; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 5 rounds; Ty Gibbs(i) 2 times for 3 rounds; Sam Mayer 1 time for 1 round.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 88,7,20,81,18,00,2,98,39,51.

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,19,88,1,7,00,98,21,39,51.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at [email protected]. To get unlimited access to the latest news, subscribe today or activate your digital account.

Mission 200 at The Glen Results

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