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Connor Zilisch Echoes Austin Dillon’s Watkins Glen Concerns

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Connor Zilisch Echoes Austin Dillon’s Watkins Glen Concerns

Originally posted on RFKRacingDigest
By Debrup Chaudhuri | Last updated May 10, 2026 9:56 AM ET

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The surprise for NASCAR fans this weekend was probably hearing Richard Childress Racing’s Cup driver Austin Dillon call the Truck Series race at Watkins Glen on Friday.

Dillon was in the commentary box for Fox, and there was a particular point he kept harping on – the change to the restart line, which has been moved up a few metres, closer to the turn. Because the line wasn’t very clear, the lead car made mistakes on several restarts in the Truck race, with the driver not hitting the throttle on time.

Connor Zilisch, who drove the #71 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports to second place, missed out on the win. Zilisch spoke to the press after the race and was asked if the restart line was creating an issue, something several drivers complained about over the radio.

“Yeah, a hundred percent,” Zilisch replied. “As soon as I saw Ross do it, I knew exactly what he did. You know, there’s like timing lines or something across the track that look like restart lines. And the restart line is not very clear at all.”

“There’s timing lines or something across the track that look like restart lines and the restart lines are not very clear at all. I’ll text the driver chat and say that we need to change that going into tomorrow”@ConnorZilisch calls out the restart lines after chaotic restarts. pic.twitter.com/eLERxw5JZM
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 9, 2026

The rule for the restart line is that it marks where the leader can start to hit the throttle. The incident Zilisch referred to was Ross Chastain misjudging the line during a restart and taking off early, before being handed a penalty, and then wrecking to DNF.

Zilisch spoke about the solution and said, “I’ll text the driver chat and say that we need to change that going into tomorrow.”

Connor Zilisch on contact with Brent Crews

Connor Zilisch and Brent Crews are thick as thieves off track, but when they get into a battle on the track, there is no love lost as each driver aims to outdo the other. In the Truck race at Watkins Glen, there were a few moments of contact between the #71 Spire and #1 Tricon cars.

There was a new barrier installed on the main straight and by the Carousel section, which narrowed the track around the turns. Zilisch spoke about the barriers and said, “Overall, it didn’t seem like the barriers stopped us from wrecking. We still wrecked plenty.”

Zilisch was asked about the contact with Crews and immediately took full accountability.

“Awful one,” the JRM driver said. “It was definitely my fault. I didn’t mean to run up the track and get into him like that. It’s just hard when the track’s that much tighter, you don’t realize where you are. And it didn’t happen until the exit of the corner. And then he hit me pretty bad getting into the brake zone on that second-to-last restart and cost me the lead there.”

Zilisch said that he would talk it out with Crews, who eventually finished seventh, having led 19 laps after taking pole.

However, the mood in the JR Motorsports camp improved on Saturday, after Connor Zilisch took his third consecutive O’Reilly win at The Glen with a last-lap pass on Jesse Love.

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This article first appeared on RFKRacingDigest and was syndicated with permission.

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