The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts race at Watkins Glen saw a dramatic finish. Two-time and defending O'Reilly winner at the Glen, Connor Zilisch, overcame a late setback to pass Jesse Love on the final lap, leaving the RCR driver heartbroken.

In the last few laps, Love was running low on fuel while Zilisch was cutting down the gap to him. It was during this that the JR Motorsports driver drove through the mud and damaged his front splitter. But he managed to continue his pursuit and catch up to the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Connor Zilisch eventually drove past his best friend in the last corner to take home his third consecutive O'Reilly victory at Watkins Glen. During his post-race interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Jesse Love was seen fighting back tears while talking about the final few laps.

"I put so much effort into the road course side of things over the last year and a half, and because of that, I care so much about it," said Love as his voice broke. "And the pieces were there today this weekend. I probably wasn't missing the skill there; I was missing the mental strength to do my job in a situation like that, and it caught me off guard because that's not who I am, and I am better than that," he said.

Love further added, "I probably need to feel this pain for a while to be better because of it. I've been very fortunate not to have many traumatizing experiences in my life, but this is the worst pain I've ever experienced. I don't know why. I think I'm just embarrassed of myself and frustrated."

The #2 Richard Childress Racing driver struggled during the last few laps of the race. To add to this, it did not help that his radio communication was somewhat chaotic. The team initially instructed him to save fuel, but as Zilisch began catching up to him, the radio calls became frantic as he was instructed to push the car. 

The 2025 NOAPS champion might have lost the race, but it has taught him a lesson that will help him be better.

Connor Zilisch joins NASCAR legends with Watkins Glen three-peat

The JR Motorsports driver led a total of 20 laps and won Stage 2 to eventually make it a three-peat at Watkins Glen. He was 18 seconds off Love at one point, but more fuel in the tank of his No. 1 JRM Chevy helped him push hard.

In an interview with CW, Connor Zilisch said, "I wasn’t going to move Jesse in the last corner, but he got in deep, and I was able to get by. Man, it’s so cool to come back and get my third win at Watkins Glen with JRM."

With this win, he joined the likes of Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, who are the only two drivers to claim three back-to-back wins at the 3.45-mile circuit. It was also Zilisch's second O'Reilly win of 2026 and the 70th straight race that JR Motorsports had a car in the Top 10.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak