Connor Zilisch wins Xfinity at The Glen but is stretchered out

It was already one of the most chaotic races of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season when a triumphant Connor Zilisch emerged in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International but then he collapsed while doing so and needed to be transported for additional medical evaluation.

It was the sixth win of his season, and the seventh of his career, but all of the attention turned to his physical well-being after his marred celebration.

Zilisch appeared to get tripped up on the window net and fell head or face first onto the pavement below. The camera stayed on him for 10 seconds, in which he did not move, and needed to be carried away from victory lane on a stretcher.

He was reported to have woken up before being placed on the backboard and sat up inside the ambulance. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation.

Zilisch is scheduled to race in the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing on Sunday where he qualified 25th.

KING OF THE ROAD 👑@ConnorZilisch captures his fourth win in his last five @NASCAR_Xfinity races and his sixth overall this season! pic.twitter.com/YnawOkrMHV

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) August 9, 2025

The race itself was one of the most noteworthy of the season.

Zilisch dominated large swaths of the race but a fortunately timed caution for a shredded Sheldon Creed tire, right after Shane Van Gisbergen was the first to peel down pit road for tires flipped the running order.

Van Gisbergen needed to fend off both his Trackhouse and JR Motorsports teammate, and was aggressive in his defense until this happened.

@ConnorZilisch overdrives the turn and makes contact with leader @shanevg97, who takes severe damage after hitting the wall. pic.twitter.com/1ZulRxfMT0

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) August 9, 2025

 What happened?

“I got put in the wall,” SVG said.

Beyond that, Van Gisbergen deferred to having not seen the replay.

“I don’t really know because I haven’t seen it yet,” Van Gisbergen said. “Real shame. … Just gutted that we wrecked.”

How does he feel?

“Fine. Sad.”

He said he was here ‘to win’ and ‘to race with respect’ and ‘blocked fairly, I think so.’

Austin Hill, back from a one week suspension that resulted in the loss of all his playoff points for intentionally crashing Aric Almirola was involved in two mini-controversies as well.

One was moving Zilisch on the ensuing restart after the SVG incident.

.@_AustinHill makes a move for the lead before the caution comes out for debris on the track. pic.twitter.com/QikVBd2J7P

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) August 9, 2025

The other came when Hill did not lift trailing Michael McDowell and triggered this multi-car incident.

“Just two guys going for it,” Hill told Frontstretch. “Nothing malicious. To everyone who wants to make it more than it is, it’s just two guys racing it out. I was trying to get by the 11 as quick as I could because the 88 was getting away from us and I thought maybe I could have a shot of racing for the win.

“I got a massive run off the carousel and thought I could catch him off guard and get to his left side. I was definitely to his left side when we made contact … and that was after I had lifted. I lifted a little bit but the grass was coming up and I needed to get to the right. I was hoping he would move to the right but that didn’t happen.”

Hill went on to finish fourth behind Zilisch, Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith, of which the latter made a late pass for the lead on the final restart but couldn’t retain it.

Three races remain now before the Xfinity Series playoffs. Zilisch and teammate Justin Allgaier – who each won a stage on Saturday and remain atop the championship standings. Zilisch leads Allgaier by seven points.

With his 10th-place showing, Harrison Burton is holding on to the important 12th place Playoff transfer position. He is 30 points ahead of his cousin Jeb Burton and 38 up on Ryan Sieg.

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