XFINITY: Connor Zilisch 'Grateful' to Walk Away From Hard Crash

Connor Zilisch waves to fans during driver introductions prior to Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. | Josh Calloni | Racing America On SI

Connor Zilisch, a blue-chip developmental driver for Trackhouse Racing, found himself somewhere familiar at an unfamiliar track on Saturday afternoon. Zilisch held the lead with half a lap remaining in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.

However, the 18-year-old phenom wouldn't make it back around to the start-finish line as Richard Childress Racing's Jesse Love, who is best friends with Zilisch, made a move, which led to Zilisch spinning from the race lead.

The caution that came out on the final lap that made @_AustinHill the winner at Talladega 😱 pic.twitter.com/CKWrIUVjFJ

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) April 26, 2025

Zilisch would suffer a massive head-first shunt into the backstretch SAFER barrier. As his No. 88 Chevrolet came to a stop, Zilisch keyed up his team communications and complained about discomfort with his back.

After several tense minutes of evaluation inside of the infield care center, Zilisch emerged. The driver, incredibly was okay, and he was thankful to walk away from the really immense impact.

"Yeah, I'm all good. It was one of the wrecks where you just kind of tingle your toes and move your legs and make sure you're still good," Zilisch explained. "It hurt, and I'll be sore, but really grateful to walk away."

The driver, who complained about his back prior to the trip to the infield care center, was evaluated, and X-rayed for any injuries to his back. According to Zilisch, the X-rays came back with no issues.

While he says he expects to be a full go for the race at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.

"I'll be good for Texas. I'll probably go to the doctor's and get a final check, but I feel okay," Zilisch said.

As Zilisch was being checked out in the infield care center, Love, who made the contact, which was the catalyst for the infield care center visit, briskly walked to the care center to check on his friend. While the on-track incident wasn't ideal, Zilisch says he is thankful to have a friend like Love.

"Yeah, he was just crying in there; he just wanted to make sure I was okay," Zilisch recalled. "He doesn't want to hurt his best friend, and I wouldn't want to do that to him. I'm grateful to have someone like Jesse. Yeah, we race hard on the racetrack, but we care about each other off the track."