NASCAR rookie Connor Zilisch did not drive Sunday in the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International after breaking his collarbone when he fell off his car on Saturday.
The 19-year-old won the Mission 200 at The Glen Xfinity Series race and climbed out of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to celebrate. He had one foot on the hood and one on the ledge of the window and was posing for photographs when he lost his balance and tumbled to the ground, head-first.
He was taken off the track on a backboard and to the hospital via ambulance.
Later Saturday night, Zilisch took to social media and said he did not have a head injury as feared.
“Thank you everybody for reaching out today. I’m out of the hospital and getting better already,” he posted to X. “Thankfully, CT scans for my head are clear, I just have a broken collarbone. Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.”
Zilisch, who was going to drive for Trackhouse Racing on Sunday, made an appearance at Watkins Glen with his left elbow in a sling that hung around his neck.
“First of all, I’m doing OK,” Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the race. “Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn’t walk away, but I’m very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.”
Zilisch said he knew he was in trouble just before the fall.
“Yeah, 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,” Zilisch said. “And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”
Zilisch said he didn’t know whether he would be ready to drive in the Aug. 22 Xfinity race at Daytona International Speedway.
Saturday’s win was the sixth of the season for Zilisch. He was due to drive in the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday afternoon, but Trackhouse Racing announced that Zilisch’s No. 87 Chevrolet had been withdrawn.
Trackhouse’s Shane van Gisbergen won Sunday’s race.
NASCAR confirmed Zilisch was “awake and alert” as he was receiving medical attention on Saturday night.
Zilisch had a busy weekend planned at New York’s Watkins Glen. He finished eighth on Friday in the Truck Series competition and qualified 25th for the Cup Series race.
It is expected Zilisch, a North Carolina native, will move full-time to the Cup Series in 2026.
–Field Level Media
