Last-Corner Pass Gives Zilisch, JRM Three Straight Wins at The Glen

May 9, 2026

Race 13 of 33: Mission 200 at The Glen
Track Specs: 2.45-mile road course / 82 laps
Race Winner: Connor Zilisch
Van Gisbergen’s finish: 9th
Allgaier’s finish: 10th
Caruth’s finish: 12th
Smith’s finish: 16th

Connor Zilisch

Connor Zilisch scored one of the most memorable victories of his young career Saturday afternoon at Watkins Glen International. The driver of the Jockey 150th Anniversary Chevrolet rallied from deep in the field to pass Jesse Love on the final lap to win the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Mission 200 at the Glen. The victory was the third consecutive for Zilisch at Watkins Glen, an accomplishment that ties him with drivers Terry Labonte and Marcos Ambrose. He scored the 13th win of his 41-race career in the series-all with JR Motorsports. Zilisch won for the second time in 2026 and collected his third top-10 finish of the season. On lap 57, Zilisch made his final stop of the race for four tires and fuel under green. From there he stormed through the field, climbing into the top 10 by lap 65 and working his way up to third with 11 laps to go, 6.5 seconds behind the leader. Zilisch bounced through the grass at the Bus Stop corner on the backstretch, but fortunately didn’t have any considerable damage to the No. 1 Chevrolet. He caught race leader Love on the final lap and made the pass for the lead within sight of the checkered flag.

“I’ve got to thank everyone at Jockey and at JR Motorsports for giving me this opportunity. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and everyone on the No. 1 team did a great job and I appreciate all of their hard work. When I ran off the track, it took a little bit for the splitter to clear itself from hitting the track. It was a pretty big hit in the mud there. For about a lap there I thought my race was over but I kept my head down and tried not to lose as much time as possible and keep myself in it and we were able to do that. I wasn’t going to do anything egregious to move Jesse out of the way. I just wanted to show a nose and try to force him into make a mistake. I made a mistake that took me out of contention for a little bit there. I’m not going to ship a guy in the last corner to win. I showed the nose and it was enough for him to lock his right front and wash up the track. It got us the win.”

Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen started the 82-lap NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event in 12th after the field was set by the metric system due to a cancelled qualifying session. Van Gisbergen quickly broke into the top 10 on the first lap and continued to make his way through the field. The No. 9 Kubota team opted to short the pit stage and finished Stage One in 19th. Van Gisbergen started Stage Two on the front row with teammate Connor Zilisch. He briefly took the lead on a restart at lap 28 and battled in the top three for the majority of the stage before finishing third. At the stage break, the No. 9 team opted to pit to find the perfect balance for the final stage. Unfortunately, a collision on pit road caused significant damage, ending Van Gisbergen’s chances at competing for the win. In the end, Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag in the eighth position.

“It’s always a pleasure driving for JR Motorsports and our No. 9 Kubota Chevrolet was good. It would have been a lot of fun if it wasn’t for the unfortunate damage on pit road. IT ruined our day, but I was able to battle back to eighth, which is respectable but I obviously wanted to fight for something better. Thanks to JR Motorsports for having me again.”

Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, earned his series-leading 11th top-10 finish of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking the checkered flag in the 10th position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Watkins Glen International. Allgaier, who started second and ran inside the top 10 throughout the 82-lap matinee, scored 15 stage points on the day, the most of anyone in the field. Additionally. Today’s top-10 result extends the Illinois native’s lead in the championship standings to 155 points over second as the series heads to Dover Motor Speedway next weekend.

“Today was a solid points day for us. There at the end we had some guys make it a really long way on fuel, but I am really proud of everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team. Andrew (Overstreet, crew chief) and all the guys in this group gave me a great car. It’s not the end result we were hoping for overall, but we can hold our heads up and rally around today and be ready to get after it again next weekend at one of my favorite places in Dover.”

Rajah Caruth

Rajah Caruth and the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team battled through changing track position and strategy calls on Saturday to earn a 12th-place finish in the Mission 200. With qualifying rained out, Caruth started from the pole based on the rule book but quickly settled into the top 10 while working through a lack of rear grip. Electing to stay out at the end of Stage One for valuable stage points, Caruth finished seventh before crew chief Mardy Lindley called for four tires, fuel and adjustments to improve the balance.

Following the Stage Two restart, Caruth continued battling in traffic while fighting for grip in the middle of the pack. Despite multiple cautions and another round of pit service, the No. 88 team stated focused on track position, remaining out at the stage break to line up seventh for the final stage. Caruth quickly drove to third on the restart and eventually took over the lead on lap 63 during the green-flag pit cycle. After making a green-flag stop the next time by at lap 64, Caruth cycled back to 15th before steadily working his way forward over the closing laps to finish 12th.

“The HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was pretty solid most of the day, and Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and the No. 88 team gave me a car capable of finishing better than where we did. I just need to continue getting better in traffic and making the right decisions throughout the race. WE were able to get to the lead during the cycle, so there are definitely positives to build on.”

Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Arby’s BBQ Chevrolet, and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series traveled to Watkins Glen International for the Mission at the Glen 200, the second road-course event of the season on Saturday afternoon. With a week of rain and cooler temperatures, the NOAPS teams ran in a different climate than they’re accustomed to as the series held a practice session, but no qualifying. As a result, Smith took the green flag from 10th per the NASCAR rule book before taking the checkered flag in 16th at the end of 82 hard-fought laps.

Smith maintained his track position throughout the opening 17 laps before crew chief Cory Shea made the call to pit before the stage ended. The driver of the No. 8 pitted for fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. After rejoining the field and completing the remaining three laps, Smith finished 27th in the opening stage. The rest of the field pitted at the stage break, cycling Smith to fourth for the restart. A caution waved on lap 26, a lap after the field took the green flag and Smith had advanced to third at that time. Restarting from there on lap 29, Smith was running fourth when the caution waved at lap 33. Smith encountered a nasty wheel-hop which affected the handling of his No. 8 Arby’s BBQ Chevrolet. Smith fought through the remaining laps of Stage Tow and finished ninth, accumulating valuable stage points.

Before the start of the final stage, Smith pitted for fresh tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment. The No. 8 was 16th as the green flag waved on lap 44. Shea called him to pit road one final time at lap 59 for tires and fuel, and Smith blended back into line 31st in the order. Smith continued to work his way forward, eventually finishing 16th.

“Our strategy today didn’t work out like we hoped as we were expecting more cars to run out of fuel at the end, but that doesn’t take away from our day overall. We were up front there in Stage Two, but I had such a bad wheel-hop that I couldn’t explain. It’s a bummer, but I’m grateful for this No. 8 team and Arby’s for all their support.”