Zilisch takes out van Gisbergen

The JR Motorsports rivalry of Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch has got ugly after the Kiwi was taken out of the lead in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen.

Zilisch and van Gisbergen had developed a reputation for racing hard, but clean across three thrilling road course races since the former’s debut at the same circuit last year.

However, things reached boiling point in Sunday morning’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen.

Zilisch had the edge in car speed all day, but after a well-timed pit stop, van Gisbergen found himself in charge deep into the final stage.

SVG had his elbows out and was keeping Zilisch behind until the penultimate corner of Lap 63 of 82.

Zilisch tried to perform a move around the outside, but ran wide and when he tried to rejoin the track he struck van Gisbergen, sending the Kiwi spinning backwards into the barriers.

It took van Gisbergen out of the race from the lead.

“Not ideal and pretty gutted for the JR Motorsports guys,” SVG said.

“The car was not great, but we still managed to get ourselves in a good position, but pretty average way to end.

“I have not seen it yet, but will watch it later and work it out.”

Zilisch felt there was little he could as he re-entered the track from the run off area and van Gisbergen using the outside kerb.

“I don’t know what I could have done, I had nowhere to go. He did not leave me any room to rejoin,” Zilisch reported over the radio.

Zilisch and van Gisbergen resumed their rivalry on the front row and the youngster prevailed from pole with a well-timed rolling start midway through the final corner.

Being trapped on the outside, van Gisbergen dropped back and even had to fight for third with Mayer and Gray, but held position after getting his elbows out at Turn 1.

The Kiwi was able to claw back ground on the leader as the JR Motorsport teammates skipped clear of the field, already being more than a second off after just one lap.

Only five laps were possible before the first caution with Josh Bilicki stuck in the gravel after contact from Ryan Sieg at the penultimate corner.

Sieg lost control on the approach to the left-hander and struck Bilicki, sending the pair spinning in

Van Gisbergen had a much stronger restart and was able to produce a thrilling side-by-side battle across the first four turns.

However, not only did Zilisch retain his lead, but Sawalich used the draft to send SVG to third.

He could only hold off the Kiwi for a lap as the #9 struck back, swinging around the outer loop, but not before Zilisch was able to pull a 3s advantage.

Further back, the penultimate corner had struck again with Annunziata and ALFREDO tripping over each other but the track stayed green.

With Zilisch flying, van Gisbergen turned to pit road and was the first to box on Lap 18.

Zilisch pitted a lap and emerged well clear of van Gisbergen, while Allgaier held off Gray in a tight battle for stage victory.

After the stops van Gisbergen settled into third behind Sawalich and Zilisch, but the Kiwi got swamped at the restart and fell to fifth also behind Mayer and Smith.

SVG made some late moves to progress to second before the second stage dominated by Zilisch concluded.

At the start of the final stage van Gisbergen had rediscovered some pace and took the fight at the restart.

Instead of going around the outside, van Gisbergen swung to the inside at Turn 2, but as had been the case all day, Zilisch had the greater pace and held sway.

The #88 skipped 2.6s clear before SVG pitted early with 31 to go, moments before a caution was needed after Sheldon Creed suffered a heavy hit.

He was assisted into the fence hard in the run between Turns 5 and 6 by 4

The caution provided the perfect window for everyone to pit, but the early call gave van Gisbergen track position.

He restarted third, but a bold dive down the inside of three cars allowed the Kiwi to charge into the lead.

Meanwhile, Zilisch had to work hard to regain his lead, restarting down in ninth.

However, he only needed three laps to soar up to third and with van Gisbergen unable to pull clear he was back in the game with runner-up Austin Hill and the leader right in front of him.

After picking off Hill with ease, the JR Motorsports teammates were back rose to tail.

Zilisch waited for two laps before making his first move, a lunge at Turn 1, but the Kiwi had it covered.

Another failed look resulted in not only contact through Turns 2 and 3, but also brought Hill back into play, and the #21 even got passed the #88 briefly before the Bus Stop.

After one more lap of following, Zilisch took aim at the penultimate corner and looked to get it done.

However, Zilisch ran wide and when he rejoined the track, struck van Gisbergen, sending the Kiwi spinning out of the lead and rear-ending the outside wall.

The contact was so hard SVG was wiped out on the spot with the #9 Chevrolet.

Zilisch was not unscathed, however, with some slight damage on the right front guard, which left him vulnerable to Hill at the restart.

Hill gave the #88 a nudge at the opening turn, which sent the JR Motorsports youngster plummeting from first to fifth.

It was a devastating blow just before another caution was required to pick up debris left at the Bus Stop.

However, Zilisch pulled off some stunning moves to overhaul Hill and McDowell to hit the lead within two laps.

His nearest rivals then clashed behind him coming out of Turn 5 where the pair used all of rhe run off available.

As they tried to swing back towards the track Hill struck McDowell, which sent the #11 flying into the inside Armco and pinballing across the track.

The sickening impact for McDowell when fighting for second left many with nowhere to go, and a 16-car pile-up left the track blocked and the reds were waved.

After two race-changing incidents were sparked by drivers flying through the run off area, it begs the question should NASCAR enforce track limits.

Image: Fox Sports

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here.