The NASCAR Xfinity Series field threw everything it could at Connor Zilisch, but he could not be denied in his breakthrough win at Watkins Glen International.
The Mission 200 was originally scheduled for 82 laps around WGI. It ended up stretching into 90 laps thanks to a lengthy red flag late in the race that spawned two overtime attempts.
Zilisch was the class of the field for much of the day, but he and several leaders cut it extremely close on fuel. They all had just enough to survive a chaotic second overtime attempt that saw several cars all throughout the field crash.
Sheldon Creed managed to finish second, and A.J. Allmendinger was third. Chandler Smith ended up fourth and Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top 5 in fifth.
The Winners
Another NXS race, another second-place finish for Creed.
This time, however, he could only be so mad. Creed emerged as the winner in a fanatic five-car duel for second place on the last restart, coming out with it in a daring three-wide pass.
Then there were a pair of Cup drivers with small teams in the last race Cup drivers can compete in this year. Joey Logano almost matched his eighth place at Chicago in July with a ninth place at WGI. Both results are the only top-10 finishes AM Racing has been able to accomplish this season.
Ross Chastain has been helping out DGM Racing in the second half of the regular season, piloting the No. 92 to some fair results. Although Chastain is now a big, successful Cup driver, he has paid his dues racing for a number of smaller teams throughout his career. DGM is just the latest.
Chastain was able to bring the No. 92 home in sixth, the second top 10 he’s been able to grant this season after finishing ninth at Iowa. His 12th place at Darlington is also a better mark than any other driver has achieved in that car this season.
The Losers
The biggest loser today was probably NASCAR. An engine failure for Matt DiBenedetto with six laps to go delayed the finish by almost a full hour between three crazy restarts and a very lengthy red flag.
That red flag came out after the first overtime. It was very frustrating watching all of this and not only having the leader win the race anyway, but all of the torn up racecars just because entertainment.
NASCAR really, really needs to take a look at itself in the mirror and decide if it is a sport or if it is a reality television show, because this has been just the latest in a string of fiasco finishes for the sanctioning body. No other race series is like this; NASCAR is not unique, it is alone.
Brandon Jones was running in the top five through much of the latter half of the race, but he spun out in the inner loop during the first overtime restart. Mike Skeen had nowhere to go and slammed into the No. 9 Chevrolet.
Jones did not finish the race, and instead of potentially contending for a much needed win, he went home with a 28th-place finish.
The Playoff Pit
With one race to go until the playoffs, the standings are relatively simple.
Ten drivers have now clinched positions in the big dance: Justin Allgaier, van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Allmendinger, Creed, Jesse Love, Riley Herbst, and Sam Mayer are all locked into the playoffs.
Parker Kligerman is 85 points above the cut line and can only miss if there is a new winner. Sammy Smith is 43 points ahead of Ryan Sieg, the only driver on the outside who can point his way in.
Jones, Anthony Alfredo, Brennan Poole, Josh Williams, Leland Honeyman, Parker Retzlaff, Jeb Burton, Kyle Weatherman, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Ellis, and Blaine Perkins are all eligible for the playoffs, but must win the cut-off race to make it in.
Paint Scheme of the Race
I’m a sucker for old timey racecar action, so I have to give this one to Kligerman and the Big Machine Racing bunch. To celebrate a special A.J. Foyt edition of Borchetta Bourbon, the team rolled out this paint scheme.
I have no idea where exactly this photograph is from. I just know that it really is crazy looking at those cars and how almost offensively unsafe they almost certainly are. Modern day open-wheel racing has come a very far way.
Kligerman, who announced this week he’s stepping back from full-time racing next year, had a roller coaster of a race. He lost fourth gear relatively early in the going, but was able to claw back up and finish seventh in the chaos of the final restart.
Fuel for Thought
Even if he had run out of fuel in the closing laps, in many ways Zilisch had already won the day.
After he dominated the first stage, he pitted under the stage caution instead of flipping the stage. He was able to then drive back up through the top 10 after restarting in 14th, then drove back up to third in a very short stage two.
Still not convinced Zilisch could drive through the pack? He spent much of the second half of the race driving from the rear of the field following a bizarre penalty given to himself, Ty Gibbs and Mayer for cutting the course under caution.
So he had that box ticked, along with how fantastic his single-lap speed is. Then he was able to put on a masterclass of fuel saving to survive three late race restarts, didn’t screw up a single restart in the process, and won the race by driving away from the field prior to the final caution.
The kid proved today that there are no weak spots in his game on road courses, and that will be a key feature for him when he embarks on his maiden full-time campaign in NXS competition next season.
Where to Next?
Next up for the NASCAR Xfinity Series is under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. It will be perhaps the biggest race of the season so far, from a competition viewpoint as the cut-off race before the playoffs and from a media perspective. A relative unknown part-timer named Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be participating in the race.
The CW will be broadcasting the race, the first NXS race on the channel. WGI was the final non-CW race at least until 2032, and it all starts on Friday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.