A late caution for the crashed #35 car of Andre Castro slashed Zilisch’s three-second lead to nil and set up a dash to the chequered flag.
Zilisch elected to take the outside lane for the restart, handing van Gisbergen the inside for Turn 1.
Driving the #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, van Gisbergen got a good exit out of the final corner and found enough space to sneak his nose up the inside into Turn 1.
The Kiwi put a pass on his #88 teammate into the first turn.
There was light contact between them, which sent Zilisch into the outside wall and left him scrambling to fend off Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill.
Ultimately, Zilisch couldn’t claw back the lost time and settled for second.
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Post-race, the 18-year-old seemed disgruntled in his first interview but clarified in the post-race press conference that he was comfortable with van Gisbergen’s actionms.
“It wasn’t dirty, no. We’re racing for the win on the last restart and I just didn’t expect it,” said Zilisch.
The teenager said he would learn from the move, adding that he would have approached the restart differently had he had another chance.
“I wouldn’t consider it dirty at all. I could have just done a better job keeping leverage,” he explained.
“I let him get a nose ahead of me and at that point it’s his corner and he can do what he wants to. I didn’t expect it so I wish I could have it back.
“By no means does he have to leave me room. I’m not mad about it. Like I said, I just wish I could have it back. I would have done it differently.”
Zilisch said he regretted not blocking van Gisbergen into Turn 1 having been given the “clear” call by his spotter.
He explained that he took the outside line for the restart to set himself up for Turn 2 despite the obvious compromise into Turn 1.
“I was clear by a foot just before the braking zone. I would have taken it and not let him get to my left side,” said Zilisch.
“I wanted to be on the right side though exiting [Turn] 1 to be on the inside for [Turn] 2. So that was kind of my plan and why I let him get to my left side but had I know he was just going to not let me stay outside out of [Turn] 1 I would have blocked and not let him get to my inside.
“A little learned, but it’s just part of it. He’s got a lot more experience than me and these are the moments I can learn from him and make myself better.
“I’ve never raced Shane before, so I didn’t know what to expect,” he added.
“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 and I should have done more.”
Comments from @ConnorZilisch after a strong P2 finish. pic.twitter.com/a0ElmfUE6V
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Ironically, Zilisch and van Gisbergen come from similar backgrounds. Like van Gisbergen, Zilish was a successful road course racer before transitioning to stock cars.
Zilisch said that while he and van Gisbergen have similar upbringings, NASCAR’s lenient rules left him vulnerable on the restart.
“I see Shane as a driver who came from Australia, New Zealand and over there… we were raised the same, right? When you hit someone, you get a penalty,” he explained.
“I expected that but by no means is that the rule here so I have nothing to complain about. I can’t be upset about it.
“With that, it’s part of racing and definitely I’ll learn and be more aggressive next time, no matter the situation.
“No hard feelings. I didn’t know what to expect and as driver I like to know who I’m racing against and I use that to my advantage.
“I take notes on people and understand what they do and how they race and I change how I race based on that and I’ve just never raced against him before.
“If I race against him again, I’m going to do something differently.”
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