Connor Zilisch’s accident in victory lane that left him with a broken collarbone stands as one of the most frightening celebrations gone wrong in NASCAR. The incident has rattled fellow drivers, some of whom may now think twice before climbing onto their cars in victory lane. Among them is 2012 NASCAR Cup champion Brad Keselowski.
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The Xfinity Series rookie Zilisch lost his balance while standing on the door and roof of his winning car, his foot tangled in the window netting, and he slammed to the ground with nothing to break the fall. The 19-year-old was later taken to a local hospital, where doctors confirmed the collarbone fracture.
Zilisch quickly underwent a surgery to speed his recovery and return to racing. But given it has already scared the NASCAR aces, Keselowski was asked before Richmond if he would still scale his car after a win.
He replied, “Probably not. I think I’ll just grab my American flag and stand outside of it. But man, that was sure scary. I called Adam Alexander yesterday because now that we know Connor’s okay, it is one of the funniest damn videos I’ve ever seen in my life. And we’ve all had our, you know, moments.”
“The funniest part to me was Adam just saying, ‘Oh my god, he fell.’ And my wife and I, we’ve had a lot of fun with that. But, you do this sport long enough, you’re bound to have a moment that you wish you could have back. And, I’ve got quite a few of them, and Connor got his first one,” Keselowski continued.
Meanwhile, Christopher Bell admitted he was so shaken after hearing about the accident that he couldn’t even bring himself to watch the video, leaving his stance on victory-lane celebrations uncertain.
Chase Elliott will still celebrate the same way
While many drivers admitted Zilisch’s fall shook them, Chase Elliott said it won’t alter his own post-race celebrations. Empathetic to Zilisch’s pain but unfazed about his own routine, Elliott explained on the Five To Go podcast, that it doesn’t change anything for him.
He said, “It’s one of those things where you can trip over your shoelace and you bust your knee up and walk into your house from a driveway. Stuff happens. It’s life. The guy was enjoying a great day. And then an accident happened.”
Elliott has stood on the door window frame of his car many times during his career, never once getting his foot in the net or taking a tumble like Zilisch. For that reason, he welcomed NASCAR’s decision not to change victory-lane celebration rules.
Still, NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde noted that Zilisch’s window net was “flapping on the outside,” a factor that contributed to the mishap. Speaking on the Hauler Talk podcast, Forde confirmed the sanctioning body will address the issue to ensure nets remain tucked inside going forward.
