We just might have found a new NASCAR superstar driver in Connor Zilisch. After dominating the proceedings in the ARCA races this year, the 18-year-old driver has now scripted a historic win on his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International. Although he looked like the winning driver throughout the day, he had to put up a brave fight to secure the results he wanted.

The 18-year-old was side-by-side trading paints with some of the seasoned drivers, like Shane van Gisbergen, Sheldon Creed, and A.J. Allmendinger, but he managed to fend them off. There was definitely an element of luck attached to his win as the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy barely had fuel left in the tank, but after he took the white flag, a big crash erupted behind him, resulting in a refill escape.

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Coming off his last lap under the yellow, Connor Zilisch knew he wasn’t going to be passed by his opposition and slowly made his way to the start-finish line. The mood inside the JRM camp was all celebratory and cheering, but Zilisch’s crew chief Andrew Overstreet didn’t like what he saw at the end of the race.

“This is embarrassing the way we end these races nowadays. There’s just no respect among any of these drivers. … Be professional.” Overstreet said this on the team radio, as was noted by Jeff Gluck on X.

Here, the crew chief was referring to the tactics used by drivers late in the race, as the other JRM driver Brandon Jones was shoved on the racetrack while coming off the bus stop turn (Inner Loop); as a result, the No. 9 car took out the No. 87 of Mike Skeen after skidding on the grass and tangling him on the other end of the turn.

Jones, like Connor Zilisch, started his career on a high note himself. He has three top fives and 10 top 10s in 2023 and one top five and six top 10s so far in 2024. Additionally, the JRM star driver is once again set to join the JGR team in 2025, as Joe Gibbs himself announced on Sept. 3. “We’re thrilled to have Brandon return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, He has a proven history of success with us and is someone that we know will be in the championship hunt each year. His veteran leadership will also be a tremendous asset to our program.” Although Jones is all excited for the next year, Watkins Glen didn’t go as expected and was not “professional” as JRM crew chief Overstreet stated.

After a rather clean race up until the first two stages, the final stage saw drivers throwing caution out of the wind to meet their objectives. Before the double overtime run, the race had to be put under a red flag for 22 minutes to clear debris and fluid off the racing surface. The second big wreck involved Ryan Seig’s late-race antics in particular, which were also questioned by the fans online.

Meanwhile, Connor Zilisch, who safely made it out evading, said, “I was glad to get through those restarts clean, I knew as long as I got off of (turn) one I was fast enough that I was going to be able to drive away and get a gap by the top of the Esses.”

Just the start Zilisch needed to kickstart his Xfinity Series run

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Starting on the pole, the 18-year-old had to overcome multiple challenges throughout the day to secure the win. He managed to keep a fiery Ty Gibbs at bay and rebounded after making a mistake of jumping track positions under the yellow. And, last but not least, Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s young star kept the likes of SVG, Sheldon Creed, and A.J. Allmendinger at a distance in the dying moments of the race. Most of all, he didn’t crumble under the pressure despite being low on fuel and came out victorious in his first-ever Xfinity Series race.

Talk about making history with this run; he became just the seventh driver in series history to win in the debut race. Taking the checkered flag and waving toward the fans in the grandstands, Zilisch was lost for words during his post-race interview. “It’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me.”

“I worked so hard for this race. I’ve been preparing for it for months; it’s so special to me. I don’t know how I even saved enough. I sputtered up the hill with two to go. I didn’t think I was going to make it to the line. I was saving the last two laps. I’m going to enjoy this for a while,” Zilisch said in the post-race interview with NBC Sports.

For all the hype and buzz that surrounded this young driver, it’s fair to say he has over-delivered. If this was his cameo performance, just imagine what he could achieve in a full season next year with JRM.