SVG second in thrilling battle with Zilisch: ‘Tried every trick I could’

SONOMA, Calif. -- Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen went toe-to-toe for a NASCAR Xfinity Series win for the second straight week. But unlike last week on the Chicago Street Course, pole-sitter SVG couldn't work past his 18-year-old JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch and was forced to settle for a second-place finish instead. RELATED: Race results | Best photos from Sonoma The duo put on a fantastic show all race, trading the lead with minimal (but some) contact multiple times after both started on the front row. The action heated up with two laps to go when van Gisbergen charged to Zilisch's bumper through the esses and bumped the No. 88 Chevrolet as he caught him. SVG relented to allow Zilisch to save it and try again on the final lap, where he was faced with another decision: knock Zilisch out of the way or let him go and try again later. He opted for the latter. "I couldn't do it without wrecking him, so just tried every trick I could," van Gisbergen said. "But he drove so well and couldn't get him. And I think it was the last lap into (Turn) 7, I got there but wheel-hopped, pushed him wide and yeah -- could have gone but just waited. I didn't want to do it like that. So yeah, I had a fun day." Racing Zilisch clean was top of mind for the New Zealander. He entered the final hairpin in Turn 11 right on Zilisch's back bumper but opted to go to the outside on entry rather than snug behind him. Would that have been the case if the two weren't teammates? "I would be more aggressive, but I wouldn't do something stupid," van Gisbergen said. "I might probably wouldn't have lifted out of (Turn) 7, but I'm not just going to hit people out of the way. I want to race and clean and hope people race me like that too." WATCH: SVG gives Zilisch thumbs-up in battle for lead SVG's past life ingrained him in the culture of Australian Supercars racing, which issues penalties for passes made via contact. That isn't quite the case in NASCAR. "In this type of racing, it ran through my head into (Turn) 11 on the last lap, like you're allowed to just run through people and bump them wide," van Gisbergen said. "But I'm not going to do that. So I tried to do a crossover and just didn't have the grip out there. I had a lot of fun, and hope he did too." Zilisch did -- and knew his teammate was taking care of him. "I think he wanted to pass me fairly, and I don't think that's the way he wanted to do it, which I really do respect," Zilisch said. "I mean, it takes a lot for a guy to do that, and for him to do that shows a lot about the driver and person he is." [caption id="attachment_478493" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media[/caption] Their close-quarters battle also came one week after a heated battle at the end of their Xfinity race at Chicago. On the final restart, SVG entered Turn 1 on Zilisch's left and ran him wide to the wall on corner exit, forcing Zilisch to either lift or hit the wall. After that race, Zilisch said he thought SVG would race him "a little cleaner" but later emphasized he didn't view the move as dirty and doubled down on that Saturday in Sonoma. "I said it last week: What he did wasn't dirty," Zilisch reiterated. "There was two laps to go, and he's going to take the chance to win the race. And I think maybe some guys, he might race differently, but I think if you show him respect -- and I feel like I did for the majority of the race -- then he's going to show you respect back." RELATED: Relive Chicago's final laps | Zilisch on SVG: 'He pushes the entire field' Van Gisbergen was surprised his Chicago tactic was a topic of discussion at all. "It's weird here in NASCAR," van Gisbergen said. "Like last week was a textbook pass. Everywhere else in the world, that doesn't get spoken about. But here in NASCAR, I had Kyle Busch have a go at me after the driver's briefing last week about it. And it baffles me, you know? But that's just the way people race here. They expect room on exit, and I need to adapt that mindset a bit more, I guess. But put me in the same spot last week, I'll probably do the same thing, and he would do something different. Just how it works here." The pair of JRM drivers combined to lead 70 of 79 laps in Saturday's Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250, dominating the event while still putting on a compelling show. The margin of victory of 0.438 seconds, but third-place finisher William Sawalich was a full 13 seconds behind them. "I knew you have to be perfect to beat the guy," Zilisch said of SVG. "He's really good. And I commend him for that. I look up to him as a driver and a person. The person he is, he's such a good guy. And to get to race against him and learn from him at my age is so valuable for me. So whether I beat him or not doesn't really affect much. Yeah, it feels good. But I know that I can race against a guy like him, and it's just fun getting to do it. I really enjoy it and it pushes me to be better. And I hope I can push him to be to be better too." That was a mission accomplished Saturday, leaving SVG a runner-up. "Second sucks, but I don't know," van Gisbergen said. "I had a really fun race. I enjoyed myself and that's why I race cars."