So close, yet so far: That’s how Connor Zilisch must be feeling after missing out on the win at Talladega Superspeedway. The 18-year-old was in the lead right until the last lap, only to be wrecked seconds before the checkered flag. It was a heartbreaking outcome for the racer, who was on the verge of securing his second Xfinity Series win of the season after entering Victory Lane at the Circuit of The Americas earlier this year.

Even though Zilisch must be feeling hard done by the race-winner, Austin Hill has absolved his teammate of any blame. The Richard Childress Racing driver justified Love’s actions in the post-race interview, going on to claim that it was “just racing.”

Austin Hill stands up for his teammate

Even though they’re good friends off the track, Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love are fierce competitors every time they start the engines. Both racers were in it to win it at the 2025 Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, even if they had to compete hard against each other. Unfortunately, Love’s attempt to cut under the No. 88 Chevy to take the lead proved to be a bad call, as Zilisch went spinning and slammed the inside wall nose-first. It had a pretty bad impact, and his rear tires were lifted completely off the ground.

However, Austin Hill, who surpassed Dale Earnhardt by securing his ninth win on a drafting track, defended his teammate in the post-race press conference. He said, “It’s just racing on the final lap. Any superspeedway that you go to, you’re leading that line, you have to throw that block, or you’re probably going to end up losing the race. If you’re the #2, you have to take the run that you had. Really, you can’t put anyone at fault. It’s just racing at the end.” The No. 21 Chevy driver went on to say, “When it comes down to white flags at these superspeedways, nobody is lifting.”

Jesse Love might have felt the need to prove a point. The 20-year-old finished first at Rockingham Speedway, only to be disqualified because of a rear suspension infringement. Perhaps that’s why he began the Talladega race weekend all guns blazing, finishing first in qualifying and winning the opening stage. Despite finishing third at the ‘Dega’, the youngster said, “I just want to go check on him (Zilisch) and make sure he’s alright. Looked like a really hard hit, and he really hasn’t taken many hard hits yet.”

Ultimately, despite being involved in a scary wreck, there were no hard feelings from Zilisch, even though he had to settle for a 27th-place result. The 18-year-old said, “Jesse’s probably my best friend in the world, and I’m grateful to have someone like him who can come and stand in front of me, and you know, give me a hug after that.” Having come agonizingly close to entering Victory Lane, Connor Zilisch will now set his sights on Texas Motor Speedway to make amends.

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Zilisch is thankful to walk away after the Talladega crash

A win was almost within his grasp. Having led nine laps towards the end, Connor Zilisch put himself in contention for another triumph, only to see it all slip away right before the checkered flag. The SAFER barriers may have cushioned the impact, but diving headfirst into the inside wall is always a painful experience, and the racer was heard saying, “Ow ow ow, my back … ohhhhhh,” on the team radio. He was quickly escorted to the infield care center before being released to speak to the media.

Recounting his experience, Zilisch said, “Yeah, I’m okay. That’s one of the wrecks where you move your legs and make sure everything feels okay afterwards. So, very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports race cars. Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was as fast as Xfinity Mobile. We were in the right spot, just, yeah, I haven’t really watched it close enough to know what happened. But yeah, grateful to be up and walking.”

Widely hailed as a ‘generational talent’, Connor Zilisch has taken the NASCAR world by storm. He secured a win on his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen last year and has gone from strength to strength since then. While seeing a race end with a wreck and a controversial photo-finish decision isn’t ideal, that’s “just racing” sometimes, as Austin Hill said.