A late move entering Turn 1 put Shane van Gisbergen in the lead Saturday afternoon in Chicago. This is a move that Connor Zilisch said surprised him with its aggressiveness.
"We're racing for the win on the last restart, and I just didn't expect it," Zilisch said after finishing second behind van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series race. "It kind of just caught me by surprise, and I wouldn't consider it dirty."
MORE: van Gisbergen wins, full results
Zilisch had a lead of more than two seconds over van Gisbergen with six laps remaining in the Xfinity race. It didn't appear that the New Zealand native would be able to erase the deficit considering that the two drivers continuously battled for the fastest lap.
However, a caution flew for Andre Castro getting stuck in the tire barrier. This set up a two-lap shootout with Zilisch and van Gisbergen on the front row.
Once the green flag flew, Zilisch used the inside to attempt to clear for the lead in the No. 88 Chevrolet, but he did not block his fellow driver after getting the call that he was clear.
This opened up an opportunity for the three-time Supercars champion to pull out the move that surprised Zilisch. He had the inside leverage entering Turn 1, and he used it to move Zilisch wide. The result was that he cleared for the lead while the younger driver tagged the wall.
The restart that sealed the deal. pic.twitter.com/jfcI3HPtT8
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 5, 2025
"It wasn't dirty, it was just aggressive and something I'll take note of," Zilisch said. "I've never raced Shane before, so I didn't know what to expect.
"I was trying to race him as respectful as possible, but when it comes to racing for the win, all of us are going to do whatever we can to win."
Zilisch initially fell to third place after tagging the wall, but he quickly passed Sheldon Creed and moved back into second place. He proceeded to chase down van Gisbergen so that he could attempt a late move of his own.
Zilisch got close to van Gisbergen's bumper, but he wasn't close enough to make a move. He had to settle for a second-place finish.
"Knew that was my opportunity, and I took it," van Gisbergen said after celebrating his win. "It was an awesome 1-2 for the team."
.@ConnorZilisch was there ... but @shanevg97 gets it done! pic.twitter.com/PuDs1GUpj9
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 5, 2025
Looking back on the final restart, Zilisch noted that he would approach the situation differently if given the opportunity. He said that he would have blocked van Gisbergen to prevent the older driver from getting to his inside entering Turn 1.
Zilisch had initially left space to set up inside leverage into Turn 2. This plan backfired after van Gisbergen's move surprised him.
"I take notes on people and understand what they do and how they race," Zilisch said. "I change how I race based on that, and I've just never raced against him before.
"Yeah, if I race against him again, I'm going to do something differently."