WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Connor Zilisch is unsure when he will be back in a car after breaking his left collarbone in a fall in victory lane Saturday, but he’s trying to keep a lighthearted attitude about the incident.
“I’ve definitely called myself a dummy more than once already,” Zilisch told NBC Sports during Sunday’s Cup race at Watkins Glen. “If it was any worse, I probably wouldn’t be joking, but, you know, I take these things very light hearted. It’s a very serious matter, but I just try to stay positive through it all.
“I can’t do anything about it at this point but focus on my recovery moving forward. It helps to have people who are willing to joke with me. I’m definitely not afraid of the jokes.
“I’m grateful … that it wasn’t any worse and I can move on from this and I’m here walking around today.”
Zillisch broke his collarbone when he fell from his car in victory lane after winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. He was scheduled to have made his fourth Cup start today.
“I remember, I got up on the car and I put my leg on the window net on the door and as soon as they started spraying water, it just kind of started to slide and I lost my footing,” Zilisch told NBC Sports. “I remember my legs split the door, I had one outside the door, one in the door and that’s when I started to tumble. The last thing I remember was thinking I was going to break my leg.
“I’m very grateful the doctors and medics were there right away to take care of me. I was probably not in the best headspace at that time. They did a great job with everything they did. Grateful that it wasn’t any worse.”
Zilisch was taken on a backboard with a neck brace to an ambulance and transported to the infield care center. He was then taken to a local hospital. JR Motorsports stated at 9:16 p.m. ET Saturday night Zilisch had been released from the hospital. Zilisch stated Saturday night that CT scans showed no head injury.
“The collarbone is probably the best injury I could have had from what happened,” Zilisch told NBC Sports. “Very grateful for all the medics, people who reached out to me, prayed for me. It certainly does mean a lot to me. First of all, thank you to everybody.
“I don’t know the extent of what the next few days or weeks are going to be like, but I got a little bit of motivation from my teammate (Shane van Gisbergen). He told me he had this injury in super cars a few years and had a plate and raced the next weekend. I don’t think I’ll be that quick, but it certainly is an injury that can heal quicker than maybe some other bones in the body.
“So grateful for that, grateful that my head’s Ok, my legs are Ok. Definitely scary for me and everybody who saw it.”
Zilisch has won six Xfinity races this season and is the points leader. The series is off next weekend before returning Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway.
Zilisch missed a race earlier this season after suffering a lower back injury in a crash April 26 at Talladega. He skipped the May 3 race at Texas Motor Speedway.
