Connor Zilisch suffers brutal injury in Watkins Glen Victory Lane fall

Connor Zilisch celebrated victory at Watkins Glen but ended up in the hospital after the NASCAR rookie slipped from his car and broke his collarbone.

The 19-year-old had just claimed his sixth Xfinity Series win of the season. He attempted to climb onto the roof of his No. 88 Chevrolet to celebrate.

His left foot appeared to catch on the window net, throwing him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground. The incident happened moments after the chequered flag and was caught on video.

Here is another view of the fall. Prayers 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/tJ3I6049SN

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Medical teams arrived within seconds. They placed Zilisch on a backboard before moving him to the track’s medical centre. NASCAR confirmed he was “awake and alert” before he was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Later that evening, Conor Zilisch posted on X to thank fans for their messages and confirm the diagnosis. “Thankfully, CT scans for my head are clear,” he wrote.

“Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.” He also confirmed the collarbone break meant he would miss Sunday’s Cup Series race.

Speaking further about the fall, Zilisch said: “Yeah, first of all I’m doing OK. Very grateful to be able to walk away from that.

“Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, everybody who reached out and wished me well, I do appreciate it a lot.

“I was climbing out of the car, and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water my foot slipped.

“The last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling. Glad it wasn’t any worse, and the collarbone was the extent of the injury.”

It was a dramatic end to another dominant display from the JR Motorsports driver. Zilisch started from pole and led 60 of the race’s 82 laps.

He finished more than two seconds ahead of Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer. The win moved him within one of Christopher Bell’s rookie record of seven victories, set in 2018.

The race itself was far from straightforward. A record 16-car crash with eight laps to go forced a 45-minute red flag. The day had already been tense, with much of the focus on the expected duel between Zilisch and road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen. They started side by side and traded the lead until contact with 18 laps remaining sent van Gisbergen off track.

Connor Zilisch told his crew, “he [van Gisbergen] spun off my nose,” before adding, “if I wrecked him, tell me.”

He was told to shake it off and keep racing. Van Gisbergen avoided criticising Zilisch, saying he would need to review the footage before commenting further.

For Zilisch, the collarbone break is a rare setback in a rookie season where he leads the series in both wins and points. His focus will now shift to recovery as he aims to continue his record-chasing campaign.