Connor Zilisch set fire at the Watkins Glen road course on Saturday by winning his sixth race of the season. All was good until he slipped and fell from the top of his car while celebrating the win. The 19-year-old broke his collarbone in the process and missed the Cup Series race on Sunday. With no date set for his return to the race track yet, he has received advice from someone worthy.
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The former Australian Supercars champion, Shane van Gisbergen, was defeated by Zilisch on Saturday. Speaking to the press, he delivered a piece of wisdom to the youngster about racing with broken bones in the body. Notably, he had won three races of the Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint back in 2021, not only with a broken collarbone, but with three broken ribs that he suffered in a bike accident.
He said, “I had a weekend off and raced the next week. Pretty much what he is going to go through. Once the plate is in there, it’s stronger than the bone was. I had a plate put in and took it out at the end of the year. It is obviously going to be in pain.
“My biggest problem was the tightening of the belts. I could really feel the plates through my skin, and it was a horrible feeling. I raced the next week and did pretty well. So, with some good doctors and some good drugs, he’ll get through the race fine.”
Shane van Gisbergen talked about racing with a broken collarbone, which Connor Zilisch himself referenced. SVG broke his collarbone in a mountain bike accident in 2021, but raced two weeeks later.
How can Zilisch manage? “With some good doctors and good drugs, he’ll get through… pic.twitter.com/QfRwjIpuGU
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) August 10, 2025
Zilisch is one of NASCAR’s most promising youngsters and is bound to land a full-time Cup Series ride in 2026. Winning the Xfinity Series championship will be a huge milestone to achieve before that happens.
With the playoffs set to begin on September 12, Zilisch will hope to fully recover from the injury at the earliest and be back racing the JR Motorsports No. 88 entry. He spoke to the NBC Sports crew on Sunday and revealed that he was already doing a lot better and thanked all the medics who were taking care of him.
Zilisch further added, “Yeah, I was climbing out of the car, and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped. And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but I hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”
The next Xfinity Series race will be at Daytona on August 22. It is unclear if Zilisch will be able to race there. But he reiterated that he and his team were discussing the best possible future steps with doctors.
