Connor Zilisch is making a habit of winning on big stages. And in motor racing, there’s no stage bigger than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s fitting, then, that Zilisch should win in his Indy oval debut with a checkered flag in the Xfinity Series, kissing the famous yard of bricks.
Better than that, though, is what the win meant for his team. Zilisch scored the 100th win for JR Motorsports, a monumental milestone for the team that opened in 2005 under Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Man, that’s awesome,” Zilisch said in victory lane. “Winning at Indy is awesome, but winning a hundred races for Dale, and Kelly, and LW [Miller], and everybody at JRM is even more special. It’s crazy the team that they’ve been able to build, and it’s become a powerhouse in the Xfinity Series, and I’m just very grateful to be a small, small part of the team and to help build their legacy.”
The win adds to Zilisch’s own nascent legacy, too. His third in a row and fifth overall in a standout rookie season, it further cements the 19-year-old’s position as one of the sport’s strongest prospects in years. And this win was not just handed to him; he had to fight for it.
Zilisch started seventh and moved steadily through the field, getting to fifth in Stage 1 and fighting for the lead in Stage 2. However, a tire gun issue on pit road sent him back to fifth for the start of the final stage. By lap 78 of 100, Zilisch had gotten back to third, but it nevertheless remained Kyle Larson and Justin Allgaier on point at the front of the field when the caution came out for weather with 20 laps to go.
A chaotic restart gave Zilisch his chance. Larson made an aggressive move under Allgaier in Turn 1 but got loose, running up the track into Allgaier and sending him into the wall. The contact took Allgaier out of the race and cost Larson several spots on track. For Zilisch, it meant the seas parted and he stepped right into the lead of the race.
“Man, it happened really fast,” Zilisch described of the incident between Larson and Allgaier. “I wasn’t even really watching them, I was watching the car outside of me, and next thing I know they’re in the wall and I’m just trying to avoid them.
“So, yeah, it caught me by surprise, but it was good for me I guess. It worked out. Very grateful to be in the right place at the right time and for things to work out like that.”
It wouldn’t be just that easy, though. A caution that initially came when Austin Hill spun Aric Almirola into the wall after Almirola made got loose and made contact with Hill, resulting in Hill getting held for five laps as a penalty for reckless driving, turned into a red flag for further weather. When the race was finally restarted with four laps to go, Taylor Gray was able to get to the lead ahead of Zilisch and a side-by-side battle ensued until Zilisch took the spot for good on the penultimate lap.
Zilisch explained that he was incredibly determined to get the lead back on those final two laps, and credited his JR Motorsports team with giving him a car that could compete at the front of the field.
“Oh man, I was going to do anything to get the lead back, and we sure did that. My car was really, really good. I could go anywhere I wanted and put it where I wanted to, so just very grateful to be a part of that and have such fast cars at JRM.”
For Dale Jr himself, the milestone victory clearly meant a lot. After an illustrious career as NASCAR’s perennial most popular driver, he’s continued to make a name for in different ways, including as a commentator and most recently as a part-time crewchief. But the team is a major project for him and other members of his family.
Earnhardt expressed some of what it meant to him in a quick interview as he hurried down pit road with a special flag to celebrate.
“It feels real good, the driver did a good job. A great racecar. A hard race to win, it was very eventful there at the end. This is a big deal for our company. Proud of our employees. Proud of Hendrick Engines, they build great motors.”
The driver JR turned to following the interview on his way to victory lane was second-place Sam Mayer, a former JR Motorsports driver for three years who joined the Haas Factory Team this season. Mayer was able to get by Taylor Gray for second with two laps to go but could not get up to Zilisch. The final margin of victory was 0.339 seconds.
Mayer showed just how much a win at Indianapolis means with his disappointment at the result. He has not won on the 2.5-mile oval in his career, though he’s finished second on the road course configuration that NASCAR ran for three years.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” a dejected Mayer said. “This one’s tough. Really proud of these guys, the Autobell Ford Mustang was really, really good. I didn’t really have much to complain about all race, and we were right there at the end.
“Man, we were so close. Definitely painful to not get that one home. I don’t know, I don’t know, this is just one of those weird ones, you know?”
Taylor Gray, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top five. William Sawalich, Sammy Smith, Daniel Dye, Jesse Love, and Dean Thompson all earned top-ten finishes.
The Xfinity Series returns on Saturday, August 2nd at Iowa Speedway.
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