Connor Zilisch Was Thinking About Controversial Move on Shane van Gisbergen as He Took Checkered Flag

The scary moment was caught on live television and veteran announcer Adam Alexander was clearly in shock like the rest of the audience. After being transported to a nearby hospital, the JR Motorsports driver provided an update to his fans hours later on X, indicating the CT scan showed no head injury but he had suffered a broken collarbone. 

That dramatic fall obviously overshadowed the race and final result. But the teenager overcame adversity during the day, including getting moved by Austin Hill on a restart and a tough battle with his JRM and Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen.

The two drivers have entertained fans with bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door racing action multiple times this year. They did it again at WGI in that final stage, with the Kiwi holding off the No. 88 pilot for multiple laps.

With 18 laps to go, the youngster got on the outside of the No. 9 car going into Turn 6 and slightly edged in front around the turn and into the runoff area. However, when returning to the track surface, Zilisch got into the left rear of his teammate, sending him for a spin and a hard hit into the outside wall going into Turn 7. 

Surprisingly, on his final trip around the circuit and just moments before taking the checkered flag, that incident was top of mind.

“Alright, be for real. Was that wreck with the No. 9 not my fault?” he asked over the team radio.

“No. You're good,” crew chief Mardly Lindley replied. “It was not.” 

A few seconds later, he crossed the start-finish line for his sixth win of the year.

“Hell yeah, boys!” the happy driver shouted. “Number six. Watkins Glen baby let’s go! Proud of you guys. Thank you. Love you guys. Thank you.”