Watkins Glen Still Belongs to Connor Zilisch

This year, Zilisch flattened his car’s rear tires during his victory burnout, and a wrecker had to tow him off the track. His crew then replaced the flat tires with new ones so he could drive to victory lane. In an effort to make sure he didn’t break his collarbone this year, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks obtained a couch pillow from Zilisch’s RV and placed it beside the driver’s door before he exited the car through its roof hatch. He then slid down the car’s windshield and off the front of the car.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Zilisch said when asked if his exit through the car’s roof hatch was planned. “I was debating whether I wanted to climb out the roof, get out of the window and just maybe throw the ground a bird. I felt good to be back in that victory lane, and we’re now 2-to-1 against each other. I think I’ve got the upper hand.”

While Zilisch celebrated, Love couldn’t hide his disappointment at letting the victory slip through his fingers. The dejected Love, who defeated Zilisch for the series championship last year, said there were “a hundred small mistakes” that allowed Zilisch to get close to him.

Connor Zilisch exits through the roof of his car .Chris Graythen - Getty Images

“At the end of the day, the glaring piece of it is I had a bad corner,” the dejected Love said. “I had a bad corner. All I want to do is beat Connor here (Watkins Glen). We’re best friends and we’ve caused each other a lot of pain. I didn’t execute when I needed to, and I think the reason I’m so quiet is I’m just embarrassed. As a driver, you can’t make those mistakes, and it was such a bad mistake, it’s just embarrassing. I know that I’ll learn from this and be better because of it, but I let down a lot of people, including myself… maybe it’s probably a good idea for me to feel this pain right now.”

Zilisch’s mother was the first person to Love after the race, consoling him with a hug before going to her son’s celebration in victory lane.

“Jesse’s parents treat me like family and… my parents do their best to do the same,” Zilisch said. “It means a lot to be able to race against one of my best friends pretty often. He’s gonna make his way to the Cup Series here soon. I’ll look forward to making more enemy friendship, whatever you call it, on the race track. We always respect each other and push each other to be better off the track.”