After winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen, Zilisch fell from his #88 JR Motorsports Camaro while celebrating and broke his left collarbone in the fall.
Zilisch was poised to join Trackhouse Racing in the #87 Camaro for Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series race but was withdrawn.
The teenager made an appearance during the broadcast where he revealed van Gisbergen’s famous Sandown effort was spurring a short time on the sidelines.
That weekend, van Gisbergen qualified 17th for the opening under an injury cloud before storming through the field to pull off an epic last lap pass on Cameron Waters and win the third race of the Supercars season.
“We’re still working out with all the doctors to figure out what’s going to be the next step,” Zilisch told NBC Sports.
“I’ve got a little bit of motivation from Shane, my teammate. He had a plate put in and raced the weekend after.
“I don’t know if I’ll be that quick, but hopefully my young bones will heal fast and I’ll be able to get back in as soon as possible.”
Asked how he was feeling after the injury, Zilisch said he was doing okay before going on to explain the circumstances of the accident.
“Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn’t walk away, but very grateful to be walking today and just be all right,” he said.
“Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, everybody who reached out, wished me well, I do really appreciate it a lot.
“I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door and as soon as they started spraying water my foot slipped.
“The last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling. Glad it wasn’t any worse and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries but I hate that I couldn’t make it to the race today and give myself a shot to go get a good result for Trackhouse and Red Bull.”
Van Gisbergen’s injuries included a broken collarbone, a busted shoulder ligament, and broken ribs.
The then-Triple Eight Race Engineering driver won all three races upon his return at Sandown, headlined by arguably one of his greatest career drives.
Asked about Zilisch’s predicament, van Gisbergen said it’s possible that the 19-year-old could race at the upcoming Daytona race on Sunday, August 23 (AEST).
“I did a bit more damage to my shoulder and also I had a fake ligament put in, but I had a weekend off and then I raced the next week, so pretty much what he’s going to go through,” van Gisbergen explained.
“But once the plate was in there, it was stronger than the bone was. I’d get a plate put in and then take it out at the end of the year. But [he’s] obviously going to 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 yeah, I raced the next week and did pretty well.
“Yeah, for sure with some good doctors and some good drugs, he’ll get through the race fine.”
Assuming Zilisch misses the upcoming race at Daytona, he will need a medical waiver from NASCAR to be Playoffs eligible, which is all but assured.
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks said he and the team have the benefit of time with a weekend off between events to decide whether Zilisch misses a race.
“I think it’s a discussion that we all have to have,” said Marks.
“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.”
Marks said Zilisch is a “huge part of the future of the business” and that his potential would be considered.
“We have to approach that as such and make sure that we’re not hurting any long-term opportunities by taking advantage of a short-term opportunity,” said Marks.
“That’s kind of a long-winded way of saying we have to sit down as a group and decide what’s best.”
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