Connor Zilisch wins second consecutive Watkins Glen Xfinity race, transported to hospital following Victory Lane fall: It was as hard-earned a victory as the 19-year old Connor Zilisch has claimed in his brief NASCAR career – answering his win from pole position a year ago in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the historic Watkins Glen International road course with a second consecutive victory Saturday afternoon in a crash-heavy Mission 200 at The Glen.(Read more)(NASCAR)

In dominant fashion, #88-Connor Zilisch won the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. The win is his sixth victory of the season, and his fifth in the last eight races. Zilisch earned six playoff points and led a race-high 60 laps.
#41-Sam Mayer finished runner-up, posting his third top-two finish in as many weeks. #8-Sammy Smith, #21-Austin Hill and #1-Carson Kvapil rounded out the top five.
#7-Justin Allgaier won the opening stage, but pitted late and rallied to a sixth-place effort. #32-Austin Green, #16-Christian Eckes, #20-Brandon Jones and #25-Harrison Burton completed the top 10.
There were 17 lead changes among nine drivers and seven cautions for 20 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 82.102 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Watkins Glen Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – Watkins Glen International:
Connor Zilisch # won the Mission 200 At The Glen, his seventh victory in 26 Xfinity Series races.
This is his sixth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his second victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Watkins Glen International.
Sam Mayer (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in five races at Watkins Glen International. It is his 14th top-10 finish in 2025.
Sammy Smith (third) posted his second top-10 finish in four races at Watkins Glen International.
Connor Zilisch (first) was the highest finishing rookie.
Connor Zilisch # leads the point standings by 7 points over Justin Allgaier.

Xfinity Series Playoff Standings after Watkins Glen (Race 23 of 33):
1)#88-Connor Zilisch 6 wins (36 playoff points, regular season championship leader)
2)#7-Justin Allgaier 3 wins (23 playoff points)
3)41-Sam Mayer 1 win (8 playoff points)
4)#20-Brandon Jones 1 win (8 playoff points)
5)#8-Sammy Smith 1 win (7 playoff points)
6)#2-Jesse Love 1 win (6 playoff points)
7)#48-Nick Sanchez 1 win (5 playoff points)
8)#21-Austin Hill 3 wins (0 playoff points)
9)#1-Carson Kvapil 660, +112
10)#00-Sheldon Creed 625, +77
11)#54-Taylor Gray 624, +76
12)#25-Harrison Burton 578, +30
Currently below elimination line
13)#27-Jeb Burton 548, -30
14)#39-Ryan Sieg 540, -38
15)#16-Christian Eckes 506, -72
16)#26-Dean Thompson 496, -82
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 82: #88-Zilisch wins at Watkins Glen, his sixth victory of the season. #41-Mayer, #8-Smith, #21-Hill, #1-Kvapil, #7-Allgaier, #32-Green, #16-Eckes, #20-Jones and #25-Burton complete the top 10.
Lap 78: #41-Mayer passes #8-Smith for the runner-up spot, but is till 1.6-seconds behind #88-Zilisch for the race lead.
Lap 78: #8-Smith gets the advantage on the restart and takes the lead on the frontstretch. Zilisch re-takes the lead through Turn 1. #1-Kvapil and #16-Eckes get together in the bus stop and go wide allowing #7-Allgaier to get by.
Lap 76: #48-Sanchez cut a left-front tire and wrecked under caution to add a couple of more laps of caution.
Lap 74: The engines have re-fired after a red flag of 44 minutes and 25 minutes.
Lap 73: #21-Hill made contact #11-McDowell on the exit of Turn 5 and McDowell went airborne into the wall. #54-Gray and #18-Sawalich pile in behind and block the track. Sixteen cars end up with damage to bring out the red flag. #2-Love, #10-Dye, #24-Grala, #26-Thompson, #27-Burton, #28-Sieg, #39-Sieg, #42-Alfredo, #48-Sanchez, #71-Ellis, #91-Bilicki and others were listed as drivers involved.
Lap 72: #11-McDowell and #21-Hill swing wide in Turn 1, allowing #88-Zilisch to get by for the lead down the backstretch.
Lap 71: #11-McDowell passes #21-Hill on the restart to take the lead. #88-Zilisch has moved up to fourth position, passing #54-Gray who dropped to sixth.
Lap 68: #21-Hill nudged #88-Zilisch out of the way to take the lead. #11-McDowell, #54-Gray and #8-Smith all pass #88-Zilisch, dropping him to fifth. The caution flies for debris on the track.
Lap 64: #88-Zilisch ran wide entering Turn 6 and clipped #88-Zilisch when getting back in the racing groove. Van Gisbergen got turned into the Turn 7 tire barriers.
Lap 63: #9-van Gisbergen is holding up #88-Zilisch complaining of rear grip and #21-Hill is reeling the front two cars back in.
Lap 59: #88-Zilisch passes #21-Hill for second spot under braking entering Turn 1. #9-van Gisbergen leads by a half second.
Lap 56: #88-Zilisch makes two passes and is up to third. #21-Hill is closing in on race leader #9-van Gisbergen.
Lap 55: #9-van Gisbergen powers to the lead on the restart with #2-Love settling in second. #21-Hill, #11-McDowell and #88-Zilisch is up to fifth. #4-Retzlaff dropped to 10th after one lap of racing having not pitted on the previous caution.
Lap 52: The rest of the field pits under caution. #1-Kvpail wins the race off pit road, taking two tires; as does #54-Gray. #21-Hill is the first car off pit road with four ties, followed by #88-Zilisch.
Lap 51: #9-van Gisbergen, #11-McDowell,  #2-Love, #48-Sanchez pit, just before #00-Creed got turned down the straightaway after contact from #4-Retzlaff to bring out the caution.
Lap 48: #18-Sawalich has re-entered the top five, passing #11-McDowell. #54-Gray follows through to take sixth position.
Lap 46: #18-Sawalich is up to sixth position and on the freshest tires towards the front of the field. #27-Burton is limping around after cutting a tire earlier in the race and it has affected some of the brakes.
Lap 44: #88-Zilisch fends off #9-van Gisbergen on the restart. #21-Hill slides into third.
Lap 40: #88-Zilisch wins Stage 2, his sixth stage victory of the season. #9-van Gisbergen, #41-Mayer, #21-Hill, #1-Kvapil, #11-McDowell, #00-Creed, #7-Allgaier, #8-Smith and #32-Green earn stage points.
Lap 39: #19-Herbst is off the pace with a mechanical issue and climbs from the car on pit road.
Lap 37: #18-Sawalich, #20-Jones #24-Grala, #54-Gray all pit to flip the stage. #10-Dye has a flat right-front tire.
Lap 36: #9-van Gisbergen takes third position from #41-Mayer with pit stops looming.
Lap 31: #88-Zilisch has gaped the field again, pulling out to nearly four seconds ahead of #18-Sawalich.
Lap 27: #31-Perkins is on pit road with a flat left-front tire.
Lap 26: #7-Allgaier hit the brakes late entering Turn 1, going wide and dropping two spots.
Lap 24: #88-Sawalich clears the field on the restart. #18-Sawalich files out second, with #41-Mayer, #8-Smith and #9-van Gisbergen rounding out the top five. #70-Annunziata gets turned through Turn 7 and backed into the wall.
Lap 21: Drivers that had yet to pit hit pit road. #88-Zilisch and #18-Sawalich will be the front row for the restart.
Lap 20: #7-Allgaier holds off #54-Gray for the stage victory, his eighth stage victory of the season. #00-Creed, #48-Sanchez, #2-Love, #25-Burton, #26-Thompson, #4-Retzlaff, #39-Sieg and #99-DiBenedetto earn stage points.
Lap 18: #88-Zilisch pits from the lead to give up the stage points, handing the lead to #7-Allgaier with two laps remaining in the stage.
Lap 17: #9-van Gisbergen, #18-Sawalich, #41-Mayer, #21-Hill, #8-Smith, #11-McDowell, #19-Herbst, #20-Jones, #24-Grala, #1-Kvapil and #16-Eckes all pit to flip the stage.
Lap 16: #88-Zilisch has checked out to a 4.3-second lead over #9-van Gisbergen with four laps remaining. Pit stop could happen in the next lap.
Lap 13: #7-Allgaier passes #54-Gray to crack the top five for the first time in the race.
Lap 10: #70-Annunziata wheel hopped entering Turn 6 and tagged #42-Alfredo. Both cars spun around.
Lap 9: #9-van Gisbergen passes #18-Sawalich back for second. #41-Mayer and #54-Gray round out the top five. #7-Allgaier has charged to sixth.
Lap 8: #88-Zilisch clears #9-van Gisbergen through the esses to keep the lead on the restart. #18-Sawalich snuck through to take second position.
Lap 5: #39-Sieg wheel hopped under braking entering Turn 6 and clipped #91-Bilicki, who got stuck in the gravel to bring out the caution.
Lap 4: #14-Smithley is losing power with smoke billowing from the right-side of his car.
Lap 3: #54-Gray gets passed #41-Mayer for third position, trailing #88-Zilisch by more than two seconds.
Lap 1: #88-Zilisch gets the jump on the restart and leads the opening lap. #9-van Gisbergen settles in second, with #41-Mayer, #54-Gray and #18-Sawalich rounding out the top five.

Race Info:
Broadcast: CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 82 laps / 200 miles
Stages: 20 / 40 / 82
Average time of race: 2:32:08
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Fuel Window: 32 laps

Cars to the rear: #14-Garrett Smithley, #16-Christian Eckes, #45-Stefan Parsons (unapproved adjustments); #53-Austin J Hill (engine change).

Pit-Stall Selections

For the second consecutive season, #88-Connor Zilisch won the pole for the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. Zilisch’s speed of 124.429 mph was nearly six-tenths of a second faster than second place #9-Shane van Gisbergen.
Despite getting damage from a practice incident, #9-van Gisbergen was still fast enough to run a single-lap speed of 123.450 mph. Rookie #54-Taylor Gray qualified third (123.307 mph), with #41-Sam Mayer (123.181 mph) and #18-William Sawalich rounding out the top five (123.074 mph).
#8-Sammy Smith, #48-Nick Sanchez, #24-Kaz Grala, #7-Justin Allgaier and #21-Austin Hill completed the top 10.
All 38 cars made the race.
See the complete Watkins Glen Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Fast Facts — Watkins Glen International:
Connor Zilisch # won the Pole Award for the Mission 200 At The Glen with a lap of 70.884 seconds, 124.429 mph.
This is his sixth pole in 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his fifth pole and 18th top-10 start in 2025.
This is his second pole in two races at Watkins Glen International.
Shane Van Gisbergen(i) (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2025 and his first in two races at Watkins Glen International.
Taylor Gray # (third) posted his first top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his 14th in 23 races this season.
Connor Zilisch (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#88-Connor Zilisch 124.223 mph
#8-Sammy Smith 122.983 mph
#2-Jesse Love 122.431 mph
#7-Justin Allgaier 122.084 mph
#48-Nick Sanchez 122.005 mph
Slowest: #14-Garrett Smithley 114.868 mph
Most laps run: #00-Sheldon Creed, 24
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of four drivers): #7-Allgaier 119.862 mph
Notes: Early in the session, #88-Connor Zilisch lost his brakes but the team repaired them and he ran the quickest lap. With under 20 minutes remaining in the session, #7-Justin Allgaier spun entering Turn 1. Approaching the “bus stop” with 10 minutes remaining, #53-Austin J Hill blew an engine that extended practice by a few minutes. With the session nearing its conclusion, #41-Sam Mayer looped around in Turn 1 after contact with #9-van Gisbergen. #16-Eckes also piled in and made contact with #9-van Gisbergen.
See full Watkins Glen Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

NASCAR Xfinity Series News & Notes:

• This weekend marks the 31st running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International (1991-2001, 2005-2019, 2021-2025).
• JR Motorsports won all four road course races this season with three different drivers.
• In two head-to-head road course starts this season, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch have each won once.
• Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch won seven of the last nine road course races.
• Shane van Gisbergen needs one win to tie Marcos Ambrose for most NXS wins by a foreign-born driver.
• JR Motorsports had at least one car finish inside the top-five in a record 24 straight races.
• JR Motorsports won the last six road course races and the last three races at Watkins Glen.
• Two active drivers have won in Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen – Sam Mayer 2023 & Connor Zilisch 2024.
• The last seven Watkins Glen races were won by seven different drivers.
• Five drivers earned their first career NXS win at Watkins Glen – Bill Elliott (1993), Ron Fellows (1998), Marcos Ambrose (2008), Austin Cindric (2019), and Connor Zilisch (2024).

Goodyear Tire Notes: The NASCAR Xfinity Series will also run on familiar Goodyear Racing Eagle tires this weekend, with Goodyear supplying the same specification used at Sonoma. This tire setup features a minor tread compound update, first introduced at the California track last month.

There are 38 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. No drives will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Preston Pardus, #9-Shane van Gisbergen, #11-Michael McDowell, #14-Garrett Smithley, #19-Riley Herbst, #24-Kaz Grala, #32-Austin Green, #35-Glen Reen, #45-Stefan Parsons, #53-Austin J. Hill, #70-Thomas Annunziata, #91-Josh Bilicki.
See the full Watkins Glen entry list.

2025 practice and qualifying procedures

Watkins Glen At-Track Schedule

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Race rules and information:

• Inspection Penalty Protocol
• Pit Road Penalties
• Pit Road Speeds
• Points Explanation
• Qualifying Procedures