Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch clashed during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Watkins Glen.
Qualifying for Sunday morning’s race was rained out, which meant the grid was set per the rule book – handing pole position to the #88 JR Motorsports Camaro of Rajah Caruth.
Van Gisbergen rolled off 12th and rose to second before his pit stop on Lap 17. Zilisch, who started 19th, led before his pit stop to flip the stage.
Zilisch led the Stage 2 restart on Lap 24 but a spin for owner-driver Jeremy Clements in the #51 Camaro brought the yellow out.
Van Gisbergen got the jump on Zilisch and led the race on the Lap 28 restart before returned serve a lap later at Turn 1.
Brent Crews joined the battle for the lead late in Stage 2, passing van Gisbergen on Lap 36 before setting after Zilisch.
“I was kind of saving my brakes at the start, and then the second stage couldn’t help myself and kind of got amongst it,” said van Gisbergen.
“Brent Crews, he was driving amazing. It was awesome to watch him drive.
“Had a good battle with Connor and I didn’t quite have their speed but also I kind I had a bit in reserve. Never know what I could have had.”
Yikes!@shanevg97 takes some damage as he hits Connor Zilisch on pit road 😬 pic.twitter.com/9hRAapDV4z
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 9, 2026
At the end of Stage 2, the top contenders pitted. As van Gisbergen exited his pit box, the left front of the #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro clipped the right rear of the #1 car.
Van Gisbergen suffered damage to his front bumper and was forced to return to the pits three laps later due to a tyre rub.
The Kiwi fought his way back into contention and ran long during the final stage but suffered an agonisingly slow final pit stop that ultimately cruelled his hopes as the race ran green thereafter.
Van Gisbergen finished eighth and 21.216s in arrears of race winner Zilisch.
“That kind of put us behind on strategy. It was a bit of a shame,” said van Gisbergen.
“But always a pleasure to drive for JR Motorsports and the Kubota Chevy was good.
“It would have been a lot of fun. That kind of ruined out day a bit.
“Got back to eighth, which is respectable, but obviously wanted to fight for something better.”
A DRAMATIC ENDING AT WATKINS GLEN@ConnorZilisch overtakes Jesse Love on the last turn for his third straight win at the track! pic.twitter.com/7XvQmq2EKq
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 9, 2026
At the front of the field, the battle for the win was between Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love in the #2 Camaro and Zilisch in the #1 Camaro.
Zilisch closed down a massive deficit in the closing stages to get to the rear bumper of Love by the final lap.
In a thrilling conclusion, Love caved and overcooked the final corner. He blew past the apex and opened the door for Zilisch to blow by and take the chequered flag by 0.262s.
Results: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Mission 200 at The Glen
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Car
Laps/Diff
Gap
1
1
Connor Zilisch
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
82 laps
2
2
Jesse Love
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
0.262
0.262
3
54
Taylor Gray
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
13.601
13.339
4
32
Ross Chastain
Jordan Anderson Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
15.19
1.589
5
20
Brandon Jones
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
16.68
1.49
6
19
Brent Crews
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
20.038
3.358
7
99
Parker Retzlaff
Viking Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
20.186
0.148
8
9
Shane Van Gisbergen
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
21.216
1.03
9
87
Austin Green
Peterson Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
21.897
0.681
10
7
Justin Allgaier
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
21.922
0.025
11
21
Austin Hill
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
23.874
1.952
12
88
Rajah Caruth
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
25.904
2.03
13
41
Sam Mayer
Haas Factory Team
Chevrolet Camaro
31.481
5.577
14
91
Carson Kvapil
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
32.936
1.455
15
17
Corey Day
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
35.48
2.544
16
8
Sammy Smith
JR Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
37.945
2.465
17
24
Harrison Burton
Sam Hunt Racing
Toyota Camry
38.316
0.371
18
44
Brennan Poole
Alpha Prime Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
49.959
11.643
19
0
Alex Labbe
SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
54.223
4.264
20
42
Will Rodgers
Young’s Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
58.839
4.616
21
50
Preston Pardus
Pardus Racing Inc.
Chevrolet Camaro
1:02.970
4.131
22
7
Josh Bilicki
SS-Green Light Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
1:05.432
2.462
23
39
Ryan Sieg
RSS Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
1:07.727
2.295
24
96
Anthony Alfredo
Viking Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
1:14.870
7.143
25
27
Jeb Burton
Jordan Anderson Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
1:26.154
11.284
26
31
Blaine Perkins
Jordan Anderson Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
32.013
-54.141
27
45
Lavar Scott
Alpha Prime Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
59.009
26.996
28
92
Alex Guenette
DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
1 lap
29
0
Sheldon Creed
Haas Factory Team
Chevrolet Camaro
1 lap
30
55
Glen Reen
Joey Gase Motorsports
Toyota Camry
1 lap
31
28
Kyle Sieg
RSS Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
1 lap
32
53
Derek White
Joey Gase Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
4 laps
3 laps
33
51
Jeremy Clements
Jeremy Clements Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
8 laps
4 laps
34
2
Ryan Ellis
Young’s Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
10 laps
2 laps
35
26
Dean Thompson
Sam Hunt Racing
Toyota Camry
28 laps
18 laps
36
18
William Sawalich
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
67 laps
39 laps
37
35
Matt Wilson
Joey Gase Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
77 laps
10 laps
38
48
Patrick Staropoli
Big Machine Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
78 laps
1 lap
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