While Connor Zilisch’s dominant victory in Saturday’s (August 9) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International likely didn’t come as a huge surprise to many people, what was surprising were the events that transpired both during and after the 82-lap event.
With nine laps remaining in the final stage, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill clipped Michael McDowell’s No. 11 Chevrolet in the left rear after both drivers ran wide exiting turn 5. The contact would result in a vicious crash, which saw McDowell slam violently into the Armco barriers and spin across the track, collecting over a dozen cars and necessitating a lengthy red flag to clean up the carnage and repair the barriers.
However, this wasn’t the only scary moment that occurred Saturday. As race winner Zilisch attempted to climb out of his car to celebrate in victory lane, he lost his footing and took a nasty fall onto the ground. The 19-year-old was transported via ambulance to the infield care center and later to a local hospital for further evaluations. He has since been released, but suffered a broken collarbone from the fall.
Zilisch’s post-race injury overshadows what was yet another impressive performance from the JR Motorsports rookie, as he won the pole and led 60 laps en route to his sixth win of the season, and fourth in the last five races. Crossing the line behind Zilisch were Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith, with Hill and Carson Kvapil rounding out the top five. Justin Allgaier, Austin Green, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton rounded out the top 10.
The Winners
Despite Zilisch having the car to beat all day, his win did not come easy. The Team Trackhouse development driver had to work his way back to the front during the final stage after losing numerous spots due to an ill-timed caution and a fierce battle with teammate Shane van Gisbergen for the lead. The two drivers managed to keep things relatively clean for several laps, but with 18 to go, Zilisch ran wide into turn 6 and made contact with van Gisbergen while trying to merge back onto the track, sending the four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner hard into the turn 7 barrier.
Following this, Zilisch had to endure several late-race restarts, including one in which he was shoved out of the way by Hill in turn 1 and lost multiple positions, before rebounding and taking the lead back with 10 laps to go. Zilisch’s victory marks his second consecutive win at Watkins Glen after scoring his first career victory there last year, as well as his 11th top-five finish in a row since returning from a back injury suffered at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season.
It was another strong showing for Haas Factory Team’s Mayer, who has now finished top two in his last three starts, including a win at Iowa Speedway last weekend. The runner-up result marks his 10th career top five on a road course.
For a brief moment, it looked as if Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate Smith could go to victory lane, as the Iowa native took the lead into turn 1 on the final restart with four laps to go. However, Zilisch quickly got back around him going into the esses, forcing Smith to settle for third, his best result since winning at Rockingham Speedway in April.
The driver at the center of controversy yet again was Hill, as he triggered the massive accident with nine laps to go that took out so many contenders. He also ran into the back of Zilisch on one of the late-race restarts, nearly spinning him out. Despite all of the controversy, Hill managed to score his 10th top-five finish of the season, four of which have come at road courses.
Kvapil and Allgaier joined their two teammates inside the top 10 by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. It was a successful points day for Allgaier, as he managed to score points in both stages and currently sits only seven points behind Zilisch in the regular season standings.
Lastly, it was a great showing for Green and Eckes, who both narrowly avoided the huge crash with nine laps to go to finish seventh and eighth, respectively. Green has now finished 11th or better in his last four road course attempts, while Eckes has scored top-10 finishes in three of his past four races this season.
The Losers
Many of the drivers who scored poor finishes on Saturday were victims of the late race crash between Hill and McDowell, as they simply had nowhere to go to avoid the wreck or just couldn’t get stopped in time.
Prior to the wreck, McDowell had shown great speed and briefly took the lead from Zilisch on one of the late-race restarts, but the young driver took the top spot once again with 10 laps remaining. Thankfully, McDowell walked away from his violent crash but was credited with a disappointing 25th-place result.
Some of the other big names involved in the accident included Joe Gibbs Racing rookies Taylor Gray and William Sawalich, who were both having strong runs before getting caught up in the carnage. The pair finished 18th and 26th, respectively.
Nick Sanchez and Ryan Sieg also suffered heavy damage in the wreck, resulting in them finishing 24th and 28th, respectively. For Sieg the poor result had major points implications, as he now sits 38 points below the playoff cutline with only three races remaining in the regular season.
Lastly, two drivers who were taken out of contention before the late-race carnage were Sheldon Creed and van Gisbergen. Creed made contact with Parker Retzlaff’s Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet exiting turn 5 — in a very similar fashion to Hill and McDowell’s crash — sending him hard into the Armco barriers. Meanwhile van Gisbergen spun from the lead after getting clipped in the right rear by Zilisch, who was attempting to merge back onto the racing surface. Creed ended the day in 35th, while van Gisbergen was credited with 31st.
Fuel for Thought
With Hill once again making the headlines for all of the wrong reasons, it raises the question of whether NASCAR needs to step in again and have a conversation with the series veteran in the near future. While Saturday’s incident at Watkins Glen may not have been intentional, it was certainly not a good look for a driver who just returned from a suspension for wrecking another competitor. Plus, he’s had a history of questionable run-ins with others on the track over the years. I am all for drivers racing each other aggressively and using the bumper from time to time, but what we saw on Saturday felt like an avoidable incident that resulted in many torn up race cars. It may be in the sanctioning body’s best interest to have a more in-depth talk with Hill about some of his actions on track to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Kaz Grala’s No. 24 Overplay Toyota was one of the most vibrant and eye-catching paint schemes on track Saturday. Grala finished the day in 11th after starting eighth.
On a Mission ➡️
— Sam Hunt Racing (@Team_SHR26) August 9, 2025
The Mission 200 starts now! Cars are rolling to take the green flag at @WGI.
Starting lineup:
P8 – @KazGrala
P19 – @deanthompsonr #TeamToyota | #LetsHunt pic.twitter.com/iyLnFZCejO
Where to Next?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series takes the week off before returning to action August 22 under the lights at Daytona International Speedway for the WaWa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. Last year’s event was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ryan Truex, who held off the field on an overtime restart to score the victory. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET, with television coverage on The CW and radio coverage on the Motor Racing Network.
Jake Altmayer joined the Frontstretch team in 2025, assisting as a news writer and contributing to other weekly columns and articles, such as Friday Faceoff and Xfinity Breakdown. A 2024 graduate of DePaul University, Altmayer has closely followed NASCAR's national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) for nearly a decade and has attended more than a dozen races over the course of that time. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, spending time with his loved ones, and listening to his favorite band, the Beach Boys.