Zilisch soars to last-lap triumph in Mission 200 at The Glen

After leaving the track in an ambulance nine months ago , Connor Zilisch carefully slid down the front of his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet following his triumph in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, May 9. It was a stark difference from the furious manner in which Zilisch drove the car in an effort to catch Jesse Love in the Mission 200 at The Glen.

After a miscue with six laps remaining slowed his pursuit, Zilisch overtook his close friend with an inside pass on the final turn of the 82-lap race. Zilisch, 19, became the third driver in series history to win three consecutive Watkins Glen races, joining Terry Labonte (1994-1996) and Marcos Ambrose (2008-2010). "I was driving as hard as I could for all 30 of those laps, just trying to make up that gap," said Zilisch, who overcame an 18-second gap without benefit of a caution flag.

"I wasn’t going to move Jesse in the last corner there, but he got in deep and I was able to get by. " Love ended up second in the 38-driver field, followed by Taylor Gray in third, Ross Chastain in fourth, and Brandon Jones in fifth. Saturday's victory came a day after Kaden Honeycutt got by Zilisch on the first lap of two in overtime to win the Craftsman Truck Series' Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen .

It also followed an August 2025 O'Reilly race at the track in which Zilisch suffered a broken collarbone after he tripped on the netting of his car while trying to exit in victory lane. Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks put a couch pillow from Zilisch's RV below the driver's seat in victory lane after Saturday's race. Zilisch is driving full-time with Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series, with Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen part of a tripleheader of weekend racing for the native of Charlotte, North Carolina.