NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch, who broke his collarbone while celebrating his Xfinity Series victory at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, Aug. 9, is “grateful to be walking,” after his scary fall.
The 19-year-old driver had taken the checkered flag in Saturday’s race at the New York road course and was climbing out through the window to celebrate on the roof his car when one foot got caught in the window netting. Zilisch stumbled then took a hard fall to the pavement.
“The last thing I remember is thinking, I don’t know why, but I thought I was going to break my femur,” Zilisch said Monday, Aug. 11, on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. ‘My leg was stuck. I thought I was going to get caught in the headrest and just, I thought I was done.”
Zilisch blacked out momentarily before on-track medical personnel rushed to his aid and whisked him away in an ambulance.
On the podcast, Zilisch revealed the first things he remembered saying to the medical personnel when he came to before they put him on stretcher with a neck brace.
“I was talking to the medics like, ‘I’m good. I’m good. My shoulder hurts a little but that’s it,’” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Why am I on a stretcher right now? I feel fine.’ I didn’t realize what had happened.”
Zilisch was back at Watkins Glen the next day for the NASCAR Cup Series, though only as a spectator. Trackhouse Racing withdrew the car they planned to have him drive in Sunday’s race, which was eventually won by Trackhouse driver Shane Van Gisbergen.
Speaking to NBC Sports reporter Marty Snider during the Cup race, Zilisch expressed his relief and appreciation.
“So, glad it wasn’t any worse, and the collar bone was the extent of the injuries,’ he said. … Hopefully, my young bones will heal fast, and I’ll be able to get back in it as soon as possible.”
What’s next for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch
Zilisch said surgery might be his best option for a quick return to racing, and he has a window because the Xfinity Series is off Aug. 15-16, while both the Craftsman Truck and Cup series race at Richmond Raceway that weekend.
Zilisch, who drives in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports – the team co-owned by siblings Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller – won his sixth race of the season at Watkins Glen and is likely to be one of the favorites for the 2025 Xfinity Series championship. But the first thing on the agenda is healing and recovery.
“I think it might be something that I might have to get surgery for. But in this case, I think surgery is something that speeds up the process, so you can get plates and screws and get it reconstructed back together,’ Zilisch said Monday on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
“Shane [van Gisbergen] talked about it. He had an injury in 2021 and broke his collarbone — he had plates, screws, everything done and he was racing back the next weekend. Thankfully, the collarbone is a relatively quick bone to fix and heal.”
The Xfinity Series returns to racing on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway, a track known for big crashes. Zilisch is the Xfinity points leader and has already missed one race this season due to a back injury.