Lesson learned.
Connor Zilisch doesn’t begrudge the winning move made on him by Shane Van Gisbergen but his Trackhouse Racing and JR Motorsports teammate certainly didn’t expect it.
The restart that sealed the deal. pic.twitter.com/jfcI3HPtT8
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 5, 2025
‘SVG’ did not have Zilisch clear but he ran the corner like he was. It was not the way he ordinarily races but Zilisch will remember it.
“I mean, it wasn’t dirty,” Zilisch said. “We’ve never raced for the win on a final restart and I just didn’t expect it. It caught me by surprise. I wouldn’t consider it dirty at all. I could have just done a better job keeping leverage. I let him get a nose ahead of me and at that point, it’s his corner and he can do what he wants to. I just didn’t expect it and I wish he could have it back.”
Zilisch is being diplomatic with both his Cup Series teammate and fellow Red Bull ambassador but it was objectively a bold corner.
For his part, Van Gisbergen was not made available to discuss the win because he needed to go to the care center after the race for fluids due to a faulty ‘cool suit’ that left him overheating in the final laps.
He was asked about it in his TV interview too but really didn’t directly answer the question about his race winning move when asked twice about it.
“He is a great young driver, and that was the first time I’ve really raced him,” Van Gisbergen said on The CW. “I knew that was my opportunity, and I took it. Awesome 1-2 for the team.”
Again, Zilisch didn’t harbor too much of a grudge but he will certainly remember it for future battles between the two, who will most likely be Cup Series teammates next year.
“He’s also racing for a win too so by no means does he have to leave me room,” Zilisch said. “I expected it but I won’t expect it next time. So yeah, I’m not mad about it but I just wish I could have it back. I would have done it differently.”
What exactly would he have done?
“I got called clear just before the brake zone and I didn’t take it because I wanted to be on the inside for Turn 2 and was expecting to exit Turn 1 side-by-side,” Zilisch said. “If I had known that we weren’t going to exit side-by-side and he was going to take it and clear himself, I would have blocked and protected the line more.
“So I definitely would have done it different if I had known what his plan was. It wasn’t dirty. It’s racing and it was aggressive and something I’ll take note of.”
