The 18-year-old North Carolina native made his formal entrée into big-time NASCAR racing with a major statement by holding off the field on a pair of thrilling overtime restarts at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course to claim his first career Xfinity Series victory in his first career start.
The Mission 200 at The Glen finished under caution with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finishing runner-up — for a record 12th time — emerging from a three-wide battle for second place with a multicar accident farther behind in the field bringing out the yellow flag that ultimately froze the field.
“I worked so hard for this one,” a smiling Zilisch said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve been working for this one for months and it’s so special to me, man. I don’t even have words.
“I don’t know how I saved enough, I sputtered up the hill,” he said of having to save fuel in the closing laps which included a restart with two laps remaining and then two more in overtime.
“With two to go, I didn’t think I was going to make it back to the line even. I’m going to enjoy this one for a while. I can’t say enough about JR Motorsports and everyone who supports me.”
Zilisch, who also won in the LMP2 class in this year’s IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona, is the seventh driver to win in his first Xfinity Series start — a list that includes the legendary Dale Earnhardt and current Cup Series standout Ty Gibbs. And he becomes the second youngest race winner — to Joey Logano — in series history at 18 years, one month and 23 days.
It was that kind of weekend for the young driver, who led a race-best 45 of the 90 laps after earning his first career Xfinity Series pole position earlier Saturday. On Friday, he claimed his fifth ARCA Menards Series victory in seven starts.
His work on Saturday wasn’t necessarily an “easy” win, however. He really had to earn it — rallying from a mid-race penalty and managing fuel in the closing laps.
In an unusual situation during a caution, Zilisch received a penalty while running among the top three late in the race. NASCAR ruled the top-running trio — also including Gibbs and Sam Mayer — cut the course and the penalty sent them all to the rear for the restart. Zilisch rallied from 31st place and was top-five 20 laps later.
Creed, who is still competing for that first series victory after so many close calls, smiled on pit road Saturday, conceding this time his second-place finish was one he could actually be pleased with instead of seeing it as a near-miss. His rally on the final lap, getting the best of some of the best road course drivers was a small victory in and of itself.
“Just trying to keep the nose on it there, actually really fun,” Creed said of the last lap battle. “I felt like that was the battle for the win probably there if the 88 [Zilisch] ran out [of fuel]. I thought I put myself in really good positions to end up second again. I’m actually happy, for how my day was going.”
He finished just ahead of Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, the Xfinity Series’ all-time road course best, JGR teammate Chandler Smith and Kaulig’s Shane van Gisbergen, who had won the season’s previous three road course races.
Van Gisbergen was so impressed with Zilisch that when he congratulated the teenager in Victory Lane, he smiled and suggested some team should put Zilisch in a Cup Series car for Sunday’s race.
Zilisch took a call from team owner, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. during his winner’s press conference.
“Enjoy this, you never win your “first” again,” Earnhardt told him.
Ross Chastain, who won the pole for Sunday’s Cup Series race at the track earlier Saturday, finished sixth in the DGM Racing Chevrolet with Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman scoring a seventh-place finish. Richard Childress Racing rookie Jesse Love was eighth, followed by Joey Logano in the AM Racing car and Josh Bilicki rounding out the top 10.
The race was impactful with only a single event now left in the regular season to determine the 12-driver playoff field. JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier finished 17th after an eventful day when the veteran was collected in multiple multi-car incidents. But he still emerged as the Xfinity Series championship leader by 43 points over defending series champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, who finished 21st Saturday after also being caught up in incidents on track.
At the other end of the standings, JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith was able to slightly extend his advantage over RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg for the 12th and final playoff position. Despite a mechanical issue from his first green flag pit stop, Smith was able to rally to a 19th-place finish. Sieg, who collected points during the second stage, is now 44 points behind Smith heading to Bristol.
The regular-season finale concludes with next Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Justin Allgaier is the defending race winner.
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Connor Zilisch as the winner.
Non-playoff drivers split the top-10 starting spots evenly with the playoff as Ross Chastain nabbed his second career Cup Series pole with a 122.279 mph lap in the final round of qualifying. While big names like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott missed out on advancing in the first round of Saturday’s qualifying, Martin Truex Jr., who enters Sunday’s race 19 points below the elimination line, took advantage of others’ misfortunes and will start on the front row alongside Chastain. Playoff drivers Alex Bowman (fourth), Austin Cindric (fifth), Joey Logano (seventh) and Daniel Suárez (eighth) will have great track position when the green flag drops.
William Byron (11th), Chase Briscoe (12th), Elliott (14th), Ty Gibbs (15th), Reddick (16th), Christopher Bell (17th), Larson (20th), Hamlin (22nd), Brad Keselowski (28th), Ryan Blaney (30th) and Harrison Burton (33rd) will all have work to do to improve their playoff position at The Glen.
Road-course ace Reddick was fastest on single-lap speed in split 20-minute practices for both groups to get a feel of tire fall-off. Looking at 10 and 15-consecutive lap averages, it was dominated by road-course ringers, with Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen and Cindric all appearing inside the top 10. Blaney was the slowest of playoff drivers to make 10 consecutive laps, while Elliott and Gibbs did not turn 10 straight circuits during either practice session. | Full Saturday recap
Big story line
Hendrick Motorsports going for six straight at Watkins Glen
For the last six years, Watkins Glen has been a playground for Hendrick Motorsports, with three different drivers in the historic organization splitting the taste of victory in the last five races at the road course. Chase Elliott was the first to strike, nabbing a long-awaited maiden victory in 2018 after holding off Martin Truex Jr., who was the last non-Hendrick driver to win at The Glen.
William Byron dominated the most recent Watkins Glen race. He started second and led 66 of 90 laps en route to his fifth win during the 2023 season.
Fortunes haven’t been the same for Alex Bowman, who is still seeking his first top-10 result at The Glen. With an average finish of 21.4 across seven starts at the road course, the No. 48 driver will need to dramatically improve that mark on Sunday to hold onto what is a steady margin above the elimination line (plus-27) after a strong showing at Atlanta.
While most of the Hendrick camp is in a good position in the playoffs entering Sunday, Larson finds himself in a precarious spot after crashing late in Stage 1 at Atlanta and parachuting down to 10th in the standings after entering the postseason as the top seed. Now, with just a 15-point gap to the elimination line, Larson needs to get back to his 2021 and 2022 ways at Watkins Glen or be stuck in a bind entering a cutoff race at Bristol that could produce the same chaos as it did in the spring.
Sunday also lends an opportunity for the Chevrolet and Hendrick camp to reassert their position as the favorites for the remainder of the playoffs. Two Team Penske drivers and a pair of Toyota wheelmen currently command the top four spots of the playoff standings. Chevy’s last win came from Austin Dillon at Richmond in August, and Ford has won the last three events with three different organizations. Watkins Glen isn’t just vital to a handful of drivers’ playoff positions but one that could set the tone for the rest of Hendrick’s 2024 postseason campaign.
History tells us…
Tire fall-off will favor the veterans. If Goodyear’s tire compound this weekend does produce the intended dramatic fall-off, then it will likely play into the hands of the sport’s most experienced. While Bristol is no comparison to Watkins Glen, we saw the trio of Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski command the top three amid a race filled with drivers wearing their tires out too fast, and the three conserved their tires enough in the final to speed past the field to the checkered flag.
For a driver like Keselowski, who has just one road-course top 10 in the last 21 races, a different look to a road-course race could certainly boost the driver’s hopes to finally have a big day as he enters Sunday’s race one point below Ty Gibbs for the final spot in the Round of 12.
Add in road-course connoisseurs Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and the one-off return of Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday, and now, all four of those guys could be legitimate threats to spoil the playoff field with their experience on left and right-turn venues.
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. Road-course events usually don’t play in favor of an underdog, but in the two Next Gen events so far at Watkins Glen, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion has had two sneaky-good performances. A 15th and 13th-place showing in the last two races at The Glen may not be flashy, but Stenhouse has been consistent at the speedy road course with top-20 finishes in all but two of his 10 starts (2015, 2016).
Stenhouse enters Sunday’s race with 150-1 odds, which puts him near the bottom of the betting board, but in terms of points scored in the last two races at Watkins Glen, he’s earned more than the likes of Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman. | Watkins Glen odds
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• New tire compound: Goodyear to bring softer tire with dramatic fall-off for Cup Series at The Glen | Read article
• Title favorite in trouble?: Larson carries less buffer into Watkins Glen on Sunday | Read article
• Welcome back, Juan: Juan Pablo Montoya in it to win it in first Cup race since 2014 on Sunday | Read article
• Word of mouth: How mouthpiece data, driver feedback led to Watkins Glen safety improvements | Read article
• Bubble Watch: Which drivers need big points day on Sunday? | Photo gallery
• Second attempt: Kyle Larson to try Indy 500-Coke 600 double in 2025 | Read article
• Inside the Playoffs: ‘Logano is the one you didn’t want to already be in’ | Watch video
• Inside the Race: How Watkins Glen configuration changes will affect strategy on Sunday | Watch video
• Crew rosters: See the full roster for every Cup Series team competing this weekend | Read article
• Active road-course winners: No. 48 driver the most recent winner on a road course | Photo gallery • Power Rankings: Bowman makes an early statement with strong Atlanta showing | Photo gallery
• Road-course ringers: The winningest Cup Series drivers on left, right-turn circuits | Photo gallery • Turning Point: The even-year enigma of Joey Logano | Read article
• NASCAR Betting: Where Montoya lands in one-off return at Watkins Glen | Photo gallery
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s playoff race | Read article • 36 for 36: Check out this week’s survivor pool picks | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Expect the unexpected for Sunday | Photo gallery
• Fantasy Update: Playoff drivers struggling at Watkins Glen | Read article • Memorable moments: Races for the history books from Watkins Glen | Photo gallery
• Watkins Glen gladiators: Full list of Cup Series race winners | Photo gallery • NASCAR Classics: Rewind with three Watkins Glen all-timers from the vault | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs for Watkins Glen playoff race | Pick your favorite
Fast facts ⏩
Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• All six stages in 2024 on road courses were won by a different driver. • The last eight races of 2024 were won by eight different drivers.
• A Watkins Glen race winner has never started lower than 18th. The last six races there were won from a top-six starting position.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
As expected from the Goodyear tire test at Watkins Glen International, tire wear was at a premium during a pair of practice sessions on Saturday afternoon. Most cars experienced at least two seconds of fall-off during a 10-lap run. Tyler Reddick and Shane van Gisbergen were exceptions as both fell under the two-second barrier. But non-playoff drivers came to play in qualifying, with Ross Chastain earning his second career pole.
With the bulk of playoff drivers struggling in qualifying, it makes it much of a guessing game as to choosing the best fantasy lineup because many non-playoff drivers will be going strictly for the win while playoff drivers worry about stage points. Let’s give it a whirl.
NEXT IN LINE: William Byron, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, Chris Buescher
RISING: With eight finishes of 24th or worse in the last nine races, Truex desperately needs a good run at a track he’s had past success at. The 2017 Cup champion has six top-10 finishes in the last seven races at WGI, highlighted by a 2017 victory. Should the No. 19 team manage the tire wear, it’s a prime opportunity to earn the most stage points among playoff drivers as he starts ahead of the other 15.
Alex Bowman has become a serious road-course threat. Not only did he win the series’ most recent road course at the Chicago Street Course, but he often excels at COTA and has scored the most points in the field this season on road courses. Yet, Bowman has pinpointed Watkins Glen as one of his worst tracks, having yet to crack the top 10 in the finishing order. He was the best of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers in qualifying, placing fourth.
FALLING: Byron was the best of the three Hendrick Motorsports drivers to previously win at Watkins Glen in qualifying, with the No. 24 Chevrolet starting in 11th. (Chase Elliott was 14th, and Kyle Larson was 20th.) The superstar team has won the last five Watkins Glen races but is facing an uphill battle entering Sunday.
With how much Ty Gibbs succeeds on road courses, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him hustle his way through the field from a 15th-place starting position. The No. 54 Toyota has been in contention for the win in two of the previous three road courses this season, with a pair of top-five finishes. However, Gibbs struggled with the handling of his car during practice, though the speed was comparable to the front runners.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Denny Hamlin vs. Chase Elliott: Neither driver secured the qualifying position they desired, but both could still score stage points with how the race strategy plays out. Hamlin believes if he gets a superb opening restart, he can drive to the top 10. But this is a heads-up battle, and Elliott has been in contention to win more often than the No. 11 machine. Staying with Elliott this weekend.
Kyle Larson vs. William Byron: So many playoff drivers had below-average qualifying runs, but none stick out more than Larson. The No. 5 will start mid-pack in 20th, while Byron was the second-best Hendrick car in 11th. A lot can happen over 90 laps at The Glen, but I’ll flip to the defending winner of this race in Byron.
Christopher Bell vs. Tyler Reddick: This one is interesting. Reddick looked to be lights-out in practice, ranking the best in one, five and 10-lap averages. One mishap in qualifying relegated Reddick to a 16th-place starting position. That was still better than Bell, who was a surprising 17th. The plan of action is to keep Reddick available in my lineup, believing he has one of the best cars in the field.
Austin Cindric vs. Ty Gibbs: With how the Round of 16 is set up, Cindric could capitalize massively with consecutive standout playoff performances. The No. 2 Ford looked sporty on Saturday, back to its 2022 ways on road courses. It’s hard to imagine Gibbs won’t progress from a disappointing qualifying effort, but I’ll flip for the third time in this set of four featured matchups.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Many NASCAR Cup Series playoff brackets were hindered after an eventful postseason opener last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. No brackets have been busted — yet.
With Atlanta having superspeedway tendencies, teams played varying strategies. Denny Hamlin hung out in the rear, believing there would be a late pileup and aimed to score at least 20 points. That didn’t happen, and when there was a last-lap wreck, the No. 11 Toyota was involved. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, known for his superspeedway prowess, had a ho-hum performance and dropped below the elimination line by a single point.
Kyle Larson, the No. 1 seed, lost control of his car in the waning laps of the opening stage from third position and smacked the wall hard and scored a single point for the race. Martin Truex Jr. was also caught up in a wreck during the final stage and finished 12 laps down in 35th position. He remains 15th on the playoff grid, 19 points below the elimination lane.
The final two races of the Round of 16 have a bundle of challenges. High tire wear is expected in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), as well as next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Both are tracks at which it’s easy to make a mistake.
Keselowski has scored a single top-10 finish in the last 21 road-course races and qualified 28th for Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. He believes if he can escape Watkins Glen within 10 to 20 points of the elimination line that he could still point his way into the Round of 12.
“Here, not so great. Bristol has been really good for us,” Keselowski said of his outlook. “We just want to be within fight range for Bristol. Even if we’re not in fighting range, I think we will have a great shot to win.
“I look at the guys that I’m around and I’m prepared to go to Bristol and run real hard, have a great car and make it count.”
The No. 11 team had a discussion this week and Hamlin said his crew chief Chris Gabehart won’t allow his driver to pull the same strategy at Talladega in the Round of 12, should Hamlin advance out of the opening round. Sitting two points above the elimination line, there is little room for error, though he has been victorious in the last two Bristol races.
“Certainly, I don’t love where I’m at,” Hamlin said. “That’s a given. But I still think if I just do the best that I can [at Watkins Glen], do the best I can at Bristol, it will still work itself out. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. My number one goal is getting to a win total and I have plenty of races to do that. I’m going to try to win at least two races in this playoffs and hopefully they count towards something when I do.”
Following the conclusion of the Atlanta race, Larson was enthused to still be above the elimination line. He has three combined wins at Watkins Glen and Bristol, including visiting Victory Lane in two of the last three races on the famed road course. He doesn’t feel comfortable, though, knowing how challenging both tracks are.
“I thought it would be way worse,” Larson said on Saturday, when discussing his points position after failing to finish at Atlanta. “When you’re strapping out of the car, you’re like, ‘Man, I’m going to be right at it or below. But watching the race play out and they had the points up there, I figured I would end the race from 12 to 18 or so back and we’re right in the middle of it at 15 ahead. I will take that for only getting one point.
“We have results and that helps give you a little bit of confidence, but it’s still a couple of nerve-wracking tracks.”
Amid a summer slump that hasn’t seen Truex score a top-five finish since early May at Kansas Speedway, he isn’t sure if he will have to win at either The Glen or Bristol to advance to the Round of 12. His track record is much better at WGI, with six top-10 finishes in the last seven races. He has five top-10 finishes total at Bristol — and finished third in March — in 34 starts.
“I feel really good about it, honestly,” Truex said of his outlook for the next two weekends. “We should be able to perform well [at Watkins Glen]. It is going to be interesting this weekend with tires that they’ve brought and the fall off that everyone is talking about. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
Truex earned the best starting position of all 16 playoff drivers on Saturday at Watkins Glen, lining up on the front row next to Ross Chastain.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain won his first pole position of the 2024 season — and second of his career — Saturday afternoon at the historic Watkins Glen International road course.
Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet turned in a fast lap of 122.279 mph around the 2.45-mile, seven-turn course in upstate New York to edge former race winner Martin Truex Jr. for the top position by a mere 0.134 seconds. Ranked 15th of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers, it was an important result for Truex as well.
The two will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), the second of the series’ 10 playoff races and the first of two road courses on the postseason schedule.
“It wasn’t any one thing, just so many years of trying to learn how to do this, it was just a career moment, a lifetime achievement to go faster than everybody in the Cup Series, just unbelievable for Trackhouse to do,” Chastain said.
It was an interesting qualifying session with Chastain among five non-playoff drivers who advanced to the final qualifying round on Saturday. Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, who will start third, his Kaulig teammate AJ Allmendinger, who will start sixth, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, who line up ninth and 10th, respectively, completed that group of drivers not eligible for the championship.
In addition to Truex, the playoff drivers to advance to final qualifying were Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman (fourth), Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (fifth) and Joey Logano (seventh) and Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez (eighth).
Sunday’s race is the second of the three first-round races. The lowest-ranked four of the 16 drivers will be eliminated from championship eligibility after next week’s race at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway half-mile.
Qualifying has proven to be especially important at the Watkins Glen course with the race winner starting seventh or better on the grid in 16 of the last 19 races.
Logano, who won last week’s playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, is the only driver to have secured his second-round position in the Round of 12. His Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who holds a five-point edge over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell in the championship points standings, will start 30th. Bell will roll off 17th.
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, the Regular Season Champion, is fourth in the standings and will start 16th. Hendrick Motorsports William Byron, the defending race winner who is ranked fifth in the playoff standings, will start 11th. His teammate Chase Elliott — a two-time Watkins Glen winner — will roll off 14th. Their teammate Kyle Larson — another two-time Watkins Glen winner — will start 20th.
JGR’s Denny Hamlin, also a former Watkins Glen winner, will start 22nd. His JGR teammate Ty Gibbs, who holds that 12th and final transfer position by a mere one point over Brad Keselowski, will roll off 15th.
The veteran and former series champ RFK Racing co-owner Keselowski will start 28th. Harrison Burton, who is ranked 17th — 16 points below the elimination line — will start 33rd Sunday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who is 16th in the Playoff standings and 21 points below Gibbs, had an encouraging qualifying session and will start 12th.
Juan Pablo Montoya, a former Watkins Glen race winner, will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start in 10 years and will roll off 34th in the No. 50 23XI Racing Toyota.
Reddick fastest in practice
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick topped the leaderboard in practice at 122.469 mph, besting Ross Chastain (122.337 mph) and Kyle Larson (122.296 mph).
Shane van Gisbergen (122.267 mph) and Denny Hamlin (122.015 mph) rounded out the top five.
Connor Zilisch isn’t afraid to be uncomfortable. In fact, he credits that willingness to get out of his comfort zone for much of his immediate racing success.
Early on in Zilisch’s young racing career, he appeared to be on the path to Formula One. He moved out of his parents’ house in suburban Charlotte and went across the pond to Europe. Upon returning to the United States, Zilisch began racing anything and everything. But his first oval race didn’t come until June 2022.
“There are places where I have to go out and learn,” Zilisch told NASCAR.com. “But over time, I’ve always felt like I can adapt to something and be comfortable after enough time with how much preparation that I do and the races where I feel like I need it.”
In mid-January, Zilisch, then 17 years old, signed a multiyear contract with Trackhouse Racing as a developmental driver. It became Justin Marks’ responsibility to point the young protege in the right direction. Later that month, Zilisch won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in his first attempt. He followed that up in March, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in his first try.
Zilisch also got his first proper stab at competing in the ARCA Menards Series across the 2024 season. In five starts this year, he’s won four times and finished second. And in the ARCA Menards Series East, he notched another four victories in seven tries.
Part of what makes Zilisch successful is that he asks plenty of questions. His primary mentor is former NASCAR driver Josh Wise, who spearheads Wise Optimization and assists Chevrolet drivers in their development to test their limits.
“We talk almost every day,” Wise said of his relationship with Zilisch. “I don’t know that there are really any boundaries on that. We talk about life, girlfriends, school, goals, specifics of race craft, you name it. Maybe that’s why there is a bigger influence there because we have a broad relationship.”
The Zilisch hype train will make its transition to the Xfinity Series this weekend at Watkins Glen International, as he will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the first of a four-race deal for 2024. Zilisch is known to win his first race out throughout multiple series and appeared to be on his way to doing so in the Craftsman Truck Series at Circuit of The Americas in March, setting a blistering pace in qualifying. When he overshot the hairpin Turn 1 on Lap 1, he had to reset.
Wise likes seeing Zilisch make errors. He believes that to optimize oneself, you must make mistakes.
“I would like to say (Zilisch) is ready for it, but it’s hard,” Wise said. “I hope he makes a lot of mistakes – we need mistakes – because that’s how we’re going to learn. I don’t expect these to be perfect outings for him; I don’t want them to be perfect outings for him. He needs to go learn, explore, make mistakes that we can learn from quickly. The outcomes that surround that are what they are. It could be a win, it could be an 18th-place finish, but we’re going to get a lot out of these early starts, I can guarantee that.”
Zilisch expects to be a contender for the checkered flag in Saturday’s The Mission 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, NBC Sports App). The real foray starts in his next appearance at Kansas Speedway, where he will compete in the ARCA race the day prior. In October, he will compete at a challenging Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the preferred lane is an inch away from the wall. He will also race in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. That will give the youngster some experience before hopping into the No. 88 car full-time in 2025.
Adam Glanzman | NASCAR Regional
“With going full-time next year, the biggest thing for this year is going to be learning,” Zilisch said. “When I go to so many different styles of race tracks, it’s going to be good to go out and run all the laps, learn and have the expectation going in that I’m not going to compete in my first race at Homestead, I’m not going to compete for a win in my first race at Kansas, and when everyone’s competing for a championship at Phoenix, I’m going to be out there learning.
“It’s tough as a racer. You want to go out and compete for the win and you want to qualify on the pole. For me, I know that the long-term goal is to be competitive in 2025 and to do that, I need to run all the laps in 2024 and take as much from it as I can.”
Prior to all four Xfinity starts in 2024, Zilisch will receive time on the Chevrolet simulator. Already, he is leaning on veteran driver and regular season championship leader Justin Allgaier to get the latest scoop on this quartet of tracks.
This weekend, Zilisch knows he will have to outduel the likes of fellow Trackhouse driver and three-time Xfinity winner Shane van Gisbergen and road-course ace AJ Allmendinger. His ARCA debut also came at The Glen in 2023, losing out to Jesse Love on an overtime restart despite leading most of the race.
“I definitely think that being competitive at Watkins Glen is the goal,” Zilisch added. “That’s a track that I know and where I can go out and compete at. Watkins Glen’s goal is a little different from showing up at Kansas.
“Thankfully, all three of those later races, I’m going to get some experience at those tracks before I go out and race in the Xfinity car and that’s going to help out a lot. At the same time, racing an ARCA race at Kansas isn’t the same thing as running an Xfinity car at Kansas. It’s going to be a learning curve and one that I’m looking forward to.”
One day ahead of Zilisch’s Xfinity debut, Red Bull athletes van Gisbergen and Scott Speed surprised him with a helmet, naming him the newest Red Bull athlete.
“Words can’t describe it,” Zilisch said. “I remember being 11 years old sending an email to Red Bull, trying to get them to sponsor me. Seven years later, now I’m a Red Bull athlete. It’s special to me. I will wear this helmet with honor.”
Once the 2024 racing season ends, Zilisch will shift his attention to his new job at JRM. It’s an opportunity that team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marks are both excited for.
“There’s a lot of talent in stock car racing coming up through the ranks right now,” Marks said on episode 566 of the “Dale Jr Download. “There’s a lot of speed. And I think really the differentiator when you’re trying to think of the long-term vision and think of what’s going to be successful in years down the road is a lot of the stuff around the speed, it’s maturity, it’s authenticity, it’s a great story, a great work ethic, drive, all that. Connor demonstrated really quickly that a lot of those boxes were checked and, and, at the end of the day, he’s a winner.”
JR Motorsports has become a staple of seeing young drivers boost their resumes. Zilisch could be the next one as many industry veterans believe he’s on the fast track to the Cup Series.
“I am excited to be able to be a part of your career,” Earnhardt told Zilisch on DJD. “I think a lot of people have you tabbed as one of the very top prospects in our sport. And you know, JR Motorsports can be a part of your ascension to the top level.”
Should Zilisch win in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen, he would become the seventh driver in series history to win in their debut race, with the last being Ty Gibbs at the Daytona International Speedway road course in 2021.
NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Watkins Glen International.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
Steve Luvender: 689
Dustin Albino: -71
r/NASCAR Community: -75
Cameron Richardson: -123
Race 28 of 36: Watkins Glen
An eventful playoff opener last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway shook up the 36 for 36 standings. A disappointing day for Todd Gilliland landed the r/NASCAR community just 10 points, enough to move Dustin Albino up into second place. Albino’s pick of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. proved fruitful enough for 34 points — tied for Stenhouse’s second-best points day of 2024. Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson collected 22 points from picking Corey LaJoie.
Watkins Glen is the next step for the Cup Series and our picking panel. It’s the first time The Glen hosts a playoff race, and the prospect of fast-wearing tires is sure to keep things interesting. How did our pickers decide to approach this road-course weekend?
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 2, Austin Cindric
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (34 points)
Total season points: 618 (second place, +1 from last week)
Dustin: With how well Cindric has performed on superspeedways in the Cup Series — he led a race-high 92 laps in the playoff opener at Atlanta — it might be easy to forget that he grew up road racing. He had immediate success on road courses in the Xfinity Series, and that translated to the Cup Series during his rookie campaign. Team Penske’s road-course program has been slightly off over the last year and a half, but I’m on the Cindric bandwagon of advancing to the Round of 12. With how the 2024 playoffs are set up, it’s reasonable to believe he will reach the Round of 8. Cindric was among the three drivers — Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suárez — that participated in a Goodyear tire test at Watkins Glen in June.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 54, Ty Gibbs
Steve’s pick last week: No. 7, Corey LaJoie (22 points)
Total season points: 689 (first place)
Steve: Gibbs has yet to find Victory Lane in 78 Cup Series starts, but I think he could seriously contend for the win on Sunday. With four road-course victories in the Xfinity Series, including one of those coming at The Glen in 2021, he’s proven his proficiency in turning right and left. I suspect the road-racing prowess of the sophomore driver, combined with the speed of his Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew, will lead to a productive afternoon as the No. 54 team eyes the Round of 12.
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 99, Daniel Suárez
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 7, Corey LaJoie (22 points)
Total season points: 566 (fourth place)
Cameron: Coming off a runner-up result at Atlanta, Suárez has significant momentum heading to one of his better tracks on the circuit. He owns three top-five results in six starts at The Glen, but I could be trapped once again as his other three results were 17th or worse. With a softer tire potentially shaking up the racing and strategy on Sunday, the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team will need to play defense to maintain a 22-point cushion above the elimination line. If they do, it could mean another big points day for Suárez to continue his push into the Round of 12.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 34, Michael McDowell
r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 38, Todd Gilliland (10 points)
Total season points: 614 (third place, -1 from last week)
The NASCAR subreddit is going with Front Row Motorsports for the second week in a row, this time with Michael McDowell getting the nod. Here’s what Redditors had to say in this week’s voting thread:
u/FridgusDomin8or: “This has to be it for this week. McDowell is really good at Watkins Glen; I think back to last year’s race where he started up front, lost all his track position due to a pit road penalty, and drove back through the field (before his engine expired). He’s also a veteran who shouldn’t have a hard time knowing how to conserve tires if that comes into play.”
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Michael here. The guy is really good on the roads, and the glen is one of his better ones. Definitely take him here”
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!
