Connor Zilisch wins in his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen: Introducing. … Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old North Carolina native made his formal entrée into big time NASCAR racing with a major statement holding off the field on a pair of thrilling overtime restarts at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course to claim his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in his first career start.(Read more)

In his Xfinity Series debut, #88-Connor Zilisch stretched his fuel tank to score the victory in the Xfinity Series Season The Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International. Zilisch becomes the seventh driver in series history to win in their debut race. Zilisch led a race-high 45 laps.
#18-Sheldon Creed finished runner-up for the 12th time in his career, extending his streak of the most second-place finishes before winning. #16-AJ Allmendinger finished third, with #81-Chandler Smith and #97-Shane van Gisbergen rounding out the top five.
#92-Ross Chastain took the checkered flag in sixth, as #48-Parker Kligerman, #2-Jesse Love, #15-Joey Logano and #91-Josh Bilicki completed the top 10.
Zilisch scored the Stage 1 victory while #17-William Byron won Stage 2.
There were 10 lead changes among seven drivers and seven cautions for 19 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 85.007 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:
Connor Zilisch won the Mission 200 at the Glen, his first victory in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut – he is the seventh different driver to win in their Xfinity Series debut.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2024.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Watkins Glen International.
Sheldon Creed (second) posted his third top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International. It is his 16th top-10 finish in 2024.
AJ Allmendinger (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in five races at Watkins Glen International.
Shane Van Gisbergen (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Justin Allgaier leads the point standings by 43 points over Cole Custer.

Xfinity Series Standings after Watkins Glen(Race 25 of 33):
1))#7-Justin Allgaier (2 wins, regular season championship leader)
2)#21-Austin Hill (3 wins)
3)#97-Shane van Gisbergen (3 wins)
4)#81-Chandler Smith (2 wins)
5)#1-Sam Mayer (2 wins)
6)#00-Cole Custer (1 win)
7)#2-Jesse Love (1 win)
8)#98-Riley Herbst (1 win)
9)#16-AJ Allmendinger (clinched)
10)#18-Sheldon Creed (clinched)
11)#48-Parker Kligerman 704, +85
12)#8-Sammy Smith 662, +43
Currently below playoff elimination line
13)#39-Ryan Sieg 619, -43
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 90: #88-Zilisch has enough fuel to coast to the finish, scoring the win in his series debut.
Lap 89: Huge wreck on the backstretch, beginning with #98-Herbst. #39-Sieg, #26-Jones and others piled in.
Lap 88: #97-van Gisbergen and #16-Allmendinger are rubbing on each other for second. #1-Mayer spins in Turn 10.
Lap 86: The track is still being cleaned up after more oil was laid down from the most recent incident in the inner loop.
Lap 83: #19-Gibbs is out of fuel and stopped on the track. #9-Jones spun in the inner loop and was clobbered by #87-Skeen.
Lap 81: The red flag is out for oil being laid down around the entire 2.45-track from #5-Alfredo.
Lap 80: #16-Allnendinger makes it three-wide on the restart but #88-Zilisch escapes with the lead. The caution flies for a wreck between #21-Hill, #8-Smith, #5-Alfredo, #11-Williams, #17-Byron and #27-Burton.
Lap 78: #2-Love pits from inside the top 10. #00-Custer, #21-Hill, #39-Sieg also pit.
Lap 76: #38-DiBenedetto is stalled in the inner loop with no power to bring out the caution with six laps remaining.
Lap 75: #18-Creed pits from third position for a splash of gas.
Lap 72: #88-Zilisch leads #18-Creed by 5.6 seconds with 10 laps remaining. #19-Gibbs in third is trying to stretch his fuel mileage to the end.
Lap 67: #97-van Gisbergen pits from the lead, handing the lead back over to #88-Zilisch. Van Gisbergen was caught speeding on pit road.
Lap 66: #17-Byron makes an unscheduled pit stop after reporting a vibration in the front.
Lap 65: #48-Kligerman pits from second position for his final stop.
Lap 64: #98-Herbst pits from inside the top five for fresh tires and fuel.
Lap 55: #81-Smith pits for only left-side tires.
Lap 54: #00-Custer, #92-Chastain, #32-Green and #87-Skeen pit for what should be their final stop of the race. #39-Sieg spun entering Turn 1.
Lap 53: #17-Byron pits from the race lead.
Lap 51: #17-Byron passes #00-Custer for the lead entering Turn 1.
Lap 47: The majority of the field pits. #21-Hill will restart at the rear for speeding on pit road. #00-Custer is the new race leader with #17-Byron, #97-van Gisbergen, #32-Green and #81-Smith rounding out the top five.
Lap 46: #19-Gibbs, #1-Mayer and #88-Zilisch didn’t stop after cutting the inner loop during the caution and will have to restart at the rear.
Lap 45: #7-Allgaier is stuck in the gravel pit after spinning in Turn 10. #87-Skeen also went through the gravel.
Lap 44: #88-Zilisch got into the rear of #17-Byron and slid wide in the esses, dropping to fifth position.
Lap 42: #35-Annunziata has been pulled out of his car for being overheated. #16-Allmendinger made a second trip down pit road for a flat left-front tire.
Lap 41: #20-Almirola has lost third and fourth gear and brought his car to pit road under caution.
Lap 40: #17-Byron wins Stage 2 by 3.4 seconds over #19-Gibbs. #88-Zilisch, #1-Mayer, #7-Allgaier, #00-Custer, #98-Herbst, #21-Hill, #39-Sieg and #51-Clements score stage points.
Lap 37: #16-Allmendinger, #97-van Gisbergen, #9-Jones, #18-Creed, #81-Smith, #91-Bilicki flip the stage and pit.
Lap 35: #88-Zilisch has worked back up to fifth after outbraking #7-Allgaier into Turn 10.
Lap 30: #19-Gibbs bumps #16-Allmendinger out of the groove to take second position.
Lap 29: #17-Byron takes the lead from #16-Allmendinger in Turn 1 and hangs on to the lead during a battle through the esses. #42-Honeyman wheel hopped into the inner circle and blew a right-rear tire.
Lap 28: #17-Byron takes second from #19-Gibbs on the outside of Turn 1.
Lap 24: #16-Allmendinger got the lead on the restart from #19-Gibbs. #17-Byron passed #1-Mayer for fourth. #7-Allgaier runs fifth.
Lap 22: #88-Zilisch lost five spots on pit road and is scored 14th. #81-Smith had his hood up during the caution. #8-Smith had a broken right-rear shock and shock mount.
Lap 20: #88-Zilisch wins his first career stage by more than 11 seconds. #7-Allgaier, #20-Almirola, #81-Smith, #18-Creed, #00-Custer, #2-Love, #98-Herbst, #39-Sieg and #51-Clements earn stage points. With the stage winding down, #81-Smith had debris on his grille and began overheating.
Lap 16: #19-Gibbs, #16-Allmendinger, #17-Byron, #1-Mayer, #21-Hill, #9-Jones, #97-van Gisbergen, #32-Green all short pit the stage.
Lap 13: #88-Zilisch has stretched his lead to more than six seconds over #19-Gibbs. #48-Kligerman believes he lost fourth gear and has dropped to 22nd position.
Lap 12: #98-Herbst missed the inner loop and had to come to a complete stop before merging back into traffic.
Lap 8: #88-Zilisch has extended his lead to more than two seconds over #19-Gibbs. #7-Allgaier remains in third, with #16-Allmendinger and #81-Smith rounding out the top five.
Lap 5: #8-Smith reports a mechanical issue from 16th position. The team believes it could be an issue with the track bar.
Lap 1: #88-Zilisch scoots away from the field, with #19-Gibbs and #7-Allgaier behind.

Cars to the rear: #26-Ed Jones (engine change); #11-Josh Williams, #15-Joey Logano, #27-Jeb Burton, #92-Ross Chastain, #97-Shane van Gisbergen (unapproved adjustments).

Pit Stall Selections

In his Xfinity Series debut, #88-Connor Zilisch won the pole for The Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International. With a speed of 124.176 mph, Zilisch was nearly a tenth-and-a-half quicker than his closest competition.
2021 Watkins Glen winner 19-Ty Gibbs will start second (123.927 mph). The winningest road course driver in series history #16-AJ Allmendinger will start third (123.522 mph). JR Motorsports #7-Justin Allgaier (123.481 mph) and #1-Sam Mayer (123.229 mph) round out the top five.
#81-Chandler Smith, #17-William Byron, #20-Aric Almirola, #18-Sheldon Creed and #21-Austin Hill complete the top 10.
Did Not Qualify: #07-Jade Buford, #13-Kyle Keller, #29-Blaine Perkins
See the complete Watkins Glen Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Fast Facts — Watkins Glen
Connor Zilisch won the Pole Award for the Mission 200 at the Glen with a lap of 71.028 seconds, 124.176 mph.
This is his first pole in one NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2024.
This is his first pole in one races at Watkins Glen International.
Ty Gibbs(i) (second) posted his sixth top-10 start of 2024 and his third in four races at Watkins Glen International.
AJ Allmendinger (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his 18th in 25 races this season.
Jesse Love (11th) 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 122.382 mph
#19-Ty Gibbs 121.851 mph
#16-AJ Allmendinger 121.703 mph
#48-Parker Kligerman 121.690 mph
#7-Justin Allgaier 121.524 mph
Slowest: #13-Kyle Keller 116.360 mph
Most laps run: #7-Allgaier, #20-Aric Almirola, #87-Mike Skeen, 15
Notes: #27-Jeb Burton didn’t complete a lap and had his hood up on pit road.
See full Watkins Glen Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes

There are 41 drivers/teams on the entry list for The Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. Three cars will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Jade Buford, #13-Kyle Keller, #14-RC Enerson, #15-Joey Logano, #17-William Byron, #19-Ty Gibbs, #20-Aric Almirola, #26-Ed Jones, #32-Austin Green, #35-Thomas Annunziata, #36-Kyle Weatherman, #45-Alon Day, #87-TBA, #88-Connor Zilisch, #91-Josh Bilicki, #92-Ross Chastain.
See the full Watkins Glen Entry List.

Watkins Glen At-Track Schedule