Having navigated his way to the victory lane at the COTA, Connor Zilisch was within touching distance of yet another Xfinity Series win at Talladega Superspeedway. Finding himself in the right place at the right time, the driver of the #88 JRM Chevy was leading the pack after taking the white flag. As the field made the entry for turns 3 and 4, Jesse Love tapped the rear end of Zilisch’s car and sent him sliding down the track.

This left the likes of Austin Hill, Jeb Burton, and Love waiting on NASCAR’s final call. After a brief moment of pause, it was announced that Hill was the victor, and this marked his ninth win on a superspeedway track. While the RCR camp was celebrating, there was a genuine concern about Zilisch’s well-being as he wrecked hard into the wall. It’s not the flipping cars but the hard-impact crashes that have led to fatalities in NASCAR. We all know what happened back in the 2001 Daytona 500. So there was genuine concern about how the JRM rookie crashed.

Connor Zilisch counts his blessings after the Talladega crash

Fortunately, Zilisch was seen gingerly climbing out of his car and making his way to the infield care center. This was the first time that the young driver really experienced the impact of a hard crash in a NASCAR race. And having dodged a major calamity, the rookie driver was feeling blessed. “Grateful to walk away from that feeling okay. Thank you for the safe and fast car @JRMotorsports.”

Although Love might be his rival and competitor on the racetrack, after the race, he wanted to check on his friend. “I’m not going to comment on what I thought happened there yet. I just want to go check on him and make sure he’s alright. Looked like a really hard hit, and he really hasn’t taken many hard hits yet.”

It wasn’t pure luck that Zilisch survived the crash. Limiting the physical toll was made possible in large part by NASCAR’s new safety regulations. Much of the collision energy that would have ordinarily gone straight into the cockpit was absorbed by the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier that lined Talladega’s backstretch. Serious neck or spinal injuries were probably avoided by Zilisch’s use of the HANS (Head and Neck Support) system.

Additionally, the energy-dissipating crush zones surrounding the chassis and the stronger roll cage structure of NASCAR’s Xfinity Series vehicles helped control the crash forces. Any internal injuries would have been treated right away thanks to NASCAR’s prompt medical response. Well, we’ve seen tempers flare over crashes and contact on the racetrack. But Zilisch understood that Love didn’t wreck him on purpose.

“Jesse’s probably my best friend in the world. Grateful to have someone like him who can come and stand in front of me and give me a hug after that.” The JRM driver said. Connor Zilisch now looks forward to Texas Motor Speedway with soreness but no internal injuries, fractures, or signs of a concussion. This is a setback, but not a derailment. For Zilisch, the day served as a sobering lesson of the danger and resiliency inherent in racing.

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Austin Hill Conquers Talladega Amid Chaos

When the final restart at Talladega unleashed havoc in the final laps, Austin Hill, driving the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, found himself at the center of the storm. He was side-by-side in a three-wide photo finish. But unlike the Atlanta Cup race last year, the winner was decided by the caution lights. And going by NASCAR’s angle and judgment, the #21 car edged out in front of Jeb Burton.

Hill is a superspeedway maestro, and he had conquered the high banks of Daytona and Atlanta, but a win at Talladega eluded him. But he finally settled the score on Saturday, bagging his ninth superspeedway win, breaking a tie with the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.

“Man, we really had to work for that one. I knew it was either me or the 27 [Burton]. Man, to win them — any way you win them is always great — and finally to conquer Talladega, that’s something I’ve really wanted to do for a long time… We’ve won at all these other superspeedways and to finally get it done at all the different superspeedways we go to, it just shows the 21 team can win at any of them and we’re really good at this style of racing.” Hill said after the race.

The Xfinity Series will be back in action at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. And all eyes will be on Zilisch to see if he can triumph at an oval track after a horrifying crash at Talladega.