By NATE RYAN<\/p>\n
Connor Zilisch says he\u2019s been a playful target of weekly social media memes since his scary fall<\/a> while celebrating in victory lane at Watkins Glen International last year.<\/p>\n But the barbs really picked up two weeks ago after Carson Hocevar won at Talladega Superspeedway and took a daring victory lap<\/a> while hanging out of his car without any hands on the wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cI got tagged in so many things saying, \u2018Don\u2019t let Connor do this!\u2019\u201d said Zilisch, who broke his collarbone<\/a> after losing his balance<\/a> exiting the car but avoided missing a start with the injury. \u201cSo I\u2019m certainly never going to live that one down. But I definitely get some comedic relief out of it. And it was a little bit scary at first. I\u2019m sure my mom wouldn\u2019t laugh about it still today, but at least I can laugh about it.\u201d<\/p>\n The humor is welcome during a difficult rookie season in the Cup Series. In this case, it\u2019s his team that has taken a figurative tumble.<\/p>\n Trackhouse Racing has endured a miserable year with a combined four top-10 finishes in 11 races between Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain. Their three Chevrolets are ranked below the cutline to qualify for the Chase, the 10-race run for the championship<\/a> to close the season.<\/p>\n But Sunday\u2019s race at Watkins Glen has been circled as prime for a turnaround.<\/p>\n As the defending winner on the 2.45-mile road course<\/a> in New York last August, van Gisbergen has won five of the past six races on road or street courses in Cup. Zilisch has three wins at Watkins Glen in NASCAR\u2019s lower series, and Chastain has a pole position and a top five.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you definitely feel a buzz in the shop,\u201d said van Gisbergen, who set a rookie record last year with five wins. \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty difficult to start the year. We haven\u2019t been where we expected or hoped to be. You\u2019re never just going to turn up and have magically fast cars. We still lack in some areas, and the drivers still need to be better, too.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the lone bright spots for Trackhouse was the March 1 race at Circuit of The Americas, where van Gisbergen finished second<\/a>, and Zilisch ran in the top five before getting spun.<\/p>\n The Trackhouse trio is pulling triple-duty this weekend in NASCAR\u2019s top three national series, hoping the extra laps will help on an altered layout (tire packs have been added to narrow the track in two sections).<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a great opportunity for all of us to get back on the right track, get some good points,\u201d Zilisch said. \u201cRoss and Shane are really close to the (Chase), so a good weekend would be really important for just the energy inside the building. We\u2019ve been really hungry, and there\u2019s no sense of giving up. This is not where we want to be as a team, and it\u2019s certainly shocked us, and we know that we need to get to work. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen the (team) work this hard.\u201d<\/p>\n All three Trackhouse drivers finished outside the top 15 at Texas Motor Speedway, but van Gisbergen said last Sunday\u2019s race was \u201cpromising\u201d with speed improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still not amazing, but we definitely were all happier with our cars,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the main thing is the mood on Mondays. No one\u2019s angry at each other. We\u2019re just working together really well.\u201d<\/p>\n Zilisch has a season best of 14th at COTA, and a breakthrough Cup win would have him (cautiously) jumping for joy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat might bring some more excitement out of me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that victory lane obviously owes me a bit after last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Penalty appeal<\/p>\n Ryan Preece was \u201csurprised\u201d to be fined $50,000 and docked 25 points after being involved in Ty Gibbs\u2019 crash at Texas<\/a>. Replays were inconclusive whether the cars made contact, and Preece radioed his team he didn\u2019t touch Gibbs.<\/p>\n NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde said a key reason for the penalty was an earlier radio transmission in which Preece angrily vowed to wreck Gibbs. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is appealing Preece\u2019s penalty, and a NASCAR spokesman said Saturday that a date still needs to be set for the hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to go through the appeals process, because at least I can share my side,\u201d Preece said.<\/p>\n Legge puts in work<\/p>\n After making her 2026 Cup debut at Watkins Glen, Katherine Legge will catch a 5 a.m. flight Monday to make the start of Indianapolis 500 practice Tuesday.<\/p>\n