NASCAR Xfinity Series star Connor Zilisch underwent surgery Tuesday morning on a broken collarbone he suffered after slipping and falling off of his car in Victory Lane while celebrating a win at Watkins Glen International. Zilisch shared that he had a plate and screws inserted to help facilitate his recovery.
Zilisch suggested during a Monday appearance on Dirty Mo Media’s Door Bumper Clear that surgery was an option for him in order to aid his recovery and return to a race car as soon as possible. Zilisch, who took the Xfinity Series points lead after his sixth win of the year and his 11th consecutive top five finish, is not slated to race this weekend given the Xfinity Series has an off week before their next race at Daytona on August 22.
“In this case, I think surgery’s something that speeds up the process. So you can get plates and screws and get it reconstructed back together … Thankfully the collarbone is a relatively quick bone to fix and heal.”
Zilisch had been climbing out of his car in Victory Lane to celebrate, and turned to pose for cameras when he lost his footing while standing on the door of his car, sending him falling to the ground head and shoulder first. He was briefly knocked unconscious before coming to. He then left the winner’s circle on a backboard to be taken to the infield care center and then a local hospital. Zilisch was released from the hospital later that night and returned to the racetrack on Sunday with his arm in a sling.
Recounting his fall on Monday, Zilisch expressed gratitude that his injuries were not worse, recalling that the last thing he remembered before being knocked out was thinking he was going to break his femur. Zilisch’s sense of humor was intact, as he shared Tuesday that he received a “Fall Risk” bracelet in the hospital due to anesthesia.
Zilisch also referenced the experience of his Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen, who returned to racing very quickly after a broken collarbone of his own. Van Gisbergen broke his collarbone in a mountain bike accident in 2021, but did not miss any time and won his next three races after returning just two weeks after the incident.
Van Gisbergen, who won Sunday’s Cup race handily, discussed the experience of racing after his own collarbone injury and surgery and related it to Zilisch’s situation.
“Once the plate’s in there, it’s stronger than the bone was,” Van Gisbergen said. “… It’s obviously gonna be in pain. My biggest problem was the tightening of the belts. I could really feel the plate through the skin, and it was a horrible feeling. But I raced the next week and did pretty well. With some good doctors and some good drugs, he’ll get through the race fine.”
Whether or not Zilisch misses any races remains to be determined. Earlier this year, Zilisch was forced to sit out a race at Texas Motor Speedway after suffering a back injury in a crash on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
