Zilisch falls short after epic battle with SVG at Chicago

Yahoo

a day ago

CHICAGO — The fans got their money's worth with two world-class road racers and teammates in Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen on the front row with a two-lap shootout to decide the winner.
The No. 9 of van Gisbergen didn't hesitate to move the No. 88 Chevrolet in Turn 1 on the final restart, which bounced Zilisch off the wall. Fortunately, Zilisch was able to recover to finish second, but after an adversity-filled day, the JR Motorsports driver was left to watch van Gisbergen's burnout from pit road, wishing he had one more lap to get SVG back.
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'By no means does he have to leave the room. I expected it, but I won't expect it next time,' Zilisch said. 'I'm not mad about it, but like I said, I just wish I could have him back. I would have done it differently.'
And what exactly was his plan if he could go back in time and relive the final start?
'I was clear by a foot just before the breaking zone. I would have taken it and not let him get to my left side. I wanted to be on the right side, though, exiting [Turn] 1 to be on the inside for [Turn] 2,' Zilisch added. 'So that's kind of my plan, and why I let him get to my left side. But had I known he was just going to not let me stay outside of him out of one, I would have blocked and not let him get to my inside. So, yeah, live and learn. But I mean, it's just part of it. He's got a lot more experience than me. These are the moments I can learn from him and make myself better.'
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Though Zilisch has continuously turned heads since his national series debut, the 18-year-old phenom — who's just weeks away from turning 19 — lamented his battle with van Gisbergen only sharpens him to have elbows out in late-race situations.
'That's racing, and you know, it wasn't dirty. It was just aggressive and something I'll take note of,' Zilsich said. 'I was trying to race him as respectful as possible. But when it comes to racing for the win, you know, all of us are going to do whatever we can to win, and I should have done more.'
Both Zilisch and van Gisbergen had to make their way from deep in the field to get back up front. For Zilisch he started 35th after crashing in practice and not setting a time in qualifying earlier in the day. While van Gisbergen had to restart 19th after a strategy call to stay out late and pit halfway through the race, he also had to battle a cool shirt malfunction around the same time.
Zilisch's march from worst to first was complete by Lap 38 once he passed Sheldon Creed in Turn 5, and just four laps later, SVG was second 3.7 seconds behind, starting his hunt on the rookie. However, once the caution came out with five to go, the final restart was set to determine whether Zilisch would earn his third win of the season or if SVG would remain supreme on the streets of Chicago.
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'I thought our teammate ran him pretty wide off the corner right there. I thought that was a difference in a race,' Mardy Lindley, Zilisch's crew chief told NASCAR.com. 'Me, personally, should have left him [Zilisch] a lane, because we were clear here, and we just didn't want to chop him and get in front of him, we chose not to do that. Then he used us up down there. So whoever got the lead on the restart was going to win the race.'
Zilisch won't have to wait long for a shot at redemption, as next week the Xfinity Series heads west to Sonoma Raceway, where he will no doubt be a favorite and aim to collect his third checkered flag of 2025.