Denny Hamlin was “genuinely concerned” for Connor Zilisch after the 19-year-old driver fell off the top of his car celebrating in Victory Lane after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. At the time, Hamlin was walking a trail at the Watkins Glen State Park. Hamlin didn’t have much service, so he didn’t […]
Denny Hamlin was “genuinely concerned” for Connor Zilisch after the 19-year-old driver fell off the top of his car celebrating in Victory Lane after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. At the time, Hamlin was walking a trail at the Watkins Glen State Park.
Hamlin didn’t have much service, so he didn’t see it live. When he finally saw the video, Hamlin immediately thought that Zilisch broke his collarbone. Hamlin was right — Zilisch revealed later that night he suffered a broken collarbone.
“When I stopped at a place and I watched it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m genuinely concerned.’ First thing I thought was that’s a collarbone breaker right there. Like, you fall just right there and sure enough, he broke that,” Hamlin said on Monday’s Actions Detrimental podcast. “But I thought he snapped his leg, I thought he had a concussion — it was just violent. I mean, I’d still be in the hospital. To be young again — holy crap — there’s no way, I don’t think I’m ever gonna stand on top my car ever again.
“SVG didn’t. SVG just stepped one leg out, and he stood beside his car. … Gosh, the pain that must have been. I can just only speak to how much it would have hurt me, not necessarily how much it would hurt someone who is his age.”
Fortunately for Zilisch, he walked away *only* with a broken collarbone. This could have been much worse but still, it affected the rest of his weekend and will affect him moving forward. Zilisch was supposed to compete in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. As a result of his injury, Trackhouse Racing withdrew the No. 87 car from the race.
Connor Zilisch reveals he may need surgery after scary fall at Watkins Glen
Zilisch said on Monday’s “Door Bumper Clear” podcast that his broken collarbone could require surgery. He added that undergoing surgery “speeds up the process” in recovery.
“I think it might be something that I might have to get surgery for,” Zilisch said. “But in this case, I think surgery is something that speeds up the process, so you can get plates and screws and get it reconstructed back together. Shane [van Gisbergen] talked about it — he had an injury in 2021 and broke his collarbone — he had plates, screws, everything done and he was racing back the next weekend. Thankfully, the collarbone is a relatively quick bone to fix and heal.”
Zilisch is the Xfinity Series points leader after his victory at Watkins Glen, his sixth of the season. The Xfinity Series is off next weekend before returning Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway. Zilisch has already missed one race this season due to a back injury. Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said it will be a “group decision” in determining when it’s time for Connor Zilisch to return:
“I think it’s a discussion that we all have to have,” Marks said. “We haven’t really talked about much, obviously, since yesterday, but in the little bit that we’ve discussed in some of the quiet moments over the last 24 hours, it’s going to have to be a group decision.
“It’s going to have to be sponsors, Chevrolet, the team, taking care of his development, taking care of him as a human and as an athlete, and then keeping his motivations high and making sure he knows he’s got a group of people behind him that are supportive of him.”
Category: General Sports
