The NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Watkins Glen International on Saturday afternoon in the Mission 200 at the Glen. Connor Zilisch started the race on the pole, with Shan van Gisbergen starting second.
In the first stage, the first caution came out on the sixth lap when Ryan Sieg hit Josh Bilicki, sending him into the gravel trap at Turn 10. Connor Zilisch led 17 laps, and Shane van Gisbergen led one lap. With two laps to go, Zilisch made a pit stop, and Justin Allgaier took the lead. Allgaier went on to win the first stage.
A majority of drivers went to pit road during the caution. Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen were on the front row to start the second stage. Gisbergen fell to fourth place behind William Sawalich and Sam Mayer. Gisbergen would pass Mayer to take third place. Connor Zilisch had built a 3.8-second lead. He led 21 laps to win the second stage.
Everyone went to pit road during the caution. Connor Zilisch beat Gisbergen off pit road to keep the lead. The final stage started on lap 45. On lap 66, Gisbergen was leading the race when Connor Zilisch clipped him on the right rear and sent him crashing into the wall at Turn 11 to bring out the fifth caution of the day.
Later in the final stage, Austin Hill hooked Michael McDowell, and McDowell slammed hard into the wall at Turn 5, collecting 14 other cars on lap 75. Among those involved in the crash with Jesse Love, Jeb Burton, Nick Sanchez, and Taylor Gray. The race went under a red flag. The red flag lasted 45 minutes.
Connor Zilisch led 60 laps, including the final four laps to win the race by 2.326 seconds over Sam Mayer. It was Zilisch’s sixth win of the season. Sammy Smith, Austin Hill, and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Justin Green, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, and Harrison Burton rounded out the top ten.
There were seven cautions for 20 laps, and 17 lead changes among nine drivers. There was an unfortunate accident in victory lane when Connor Zilisch fell off his car and onto his head. Zilisch was stretchered to an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Zilisch put out a tweet a couple of hours later saying he was released from the hospital and revealed he broke his collarbone. He will not compete in the Cup Series race on Sunday.
The Xfinity Series returns to Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 22, 2025, at 7:30 pm on The CW.
