Watkins Glen in August 2025 was a pressure cooker from the jump, with Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen starting side-by-side on the front row. Zilisch, the 19-year-old prodigy, had already made The Glen his personal turf, dominating past races with JR Motorsports. SVG, the Kiwi road course wizard, turned heads with his 2023 Chicago Street Race win in his Cup debut, proving he could outmaneuver NASCAR’s best.

These weren’t just teammates; they were two of the sport’s top road racers, each itching to outshine the other. For most of the Mission 200 at The Glen, they put on a show, with Zilisch’s raw speed through the Esses matched by SVG’s surgical braking in the bus stop. But with just over a dozen laps to go, things got messy. Heading into Turn 7, they got caught

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