Connor Zilisch won Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International, his series debut. This put the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in victory lane and put Zilisch on a historic list with six other drivers.
Zilisch became the seventh driver in series history to win his debut race. He joined Dale Earnhardt, Joe Ruttman, Ricky Rudd, Kurt Busch, and Ty Gibbs. However, Zilisch is the first driver to win the pole in his series debut and then win the race.
HE WINS IN HIS FIRST CAREER NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE. Connor Zilisch completes the ARCA-NXS sweep at Watkins Glen! https://t.co/bPdc0jpFCK pic.twitter.com/We6pkrlqfH
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 14, 2024
Earnhardt was the first driver to achieve this feat and start the historic list. He did so on Feb. 13, 1982. The future seven-time Cup Series champion won the inaugural second-tier series race, which took place at Daytona International Speedway, after leading 52 laps.
Ruttman was next. He won his series debut, which took place at Dover Motor Speedway on May 15, 1982. Rudd then followed by winning his series debut, also at Dover, on May 14, 1983.
Labonte was the next driver to win his series debut, but he did not do so until late in the 1985 season. The future Hall of Famer led 48 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his debut, and he captured the win over Geoff Bodine.
While a flurry of drivers won their series debuts in the 1980s, no one else achieved this feat until the mid-2000s. This is when the elder Busch made his first start in NASCAR's second-tier series.
Busch made his debut at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2006. He led 70 laps after starting seventh and he held off Greg Biffle. Busch celebrated in victory lane one week after his younger brother Kyle won at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Gibbs was the most recent driver to win his debut before Saturday's race at Watkins Glen. The young driver made his first-ever Xfinity start at the Daytona Road Course in 2021. He led 14 laps, won stage 2, and held off Austin Cindric on the final dash to the checkered flag.
A WINNER IN HIS NASCAR XFINITY DEBUT. Retweet to congratulate @TyGibbs_ on his WIN at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/ne1f1ophc7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 21, 2021
Now that Zilisch has joined this historic list, he has another task ahead of him. He has more race wins to pursue before moving to the Xfinity Series full-time.
Gibbs won four races while running a partial schedule in 2021. One of these wins took place at Watkins Glen International, the site of Zilisch's debut.
Busch won two races while running a partial schedule in 2006. His second win, interestingly enough, took place at Watkins Glen International.
Earnhardt made nine starts in 1982 and won twice. His second win was at Caraway Speedway.
Labonte only won one race during his debut Xfinity season. Granted, he only made one start. Rudd made three starts in 1983 but only won one race. Ruttman made two starts in 1982 and won once.
Zilisch has three more Xfinity Series starts ahead of him. These will take place at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 28, Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 26, and Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 9.