Connor Zilisch reveals his plan of action if he saw Shane van Gisbergen’s aggressive Chicago move coming

Connor Zilisch reflected on his late-race battle with Shane van Gisbergen during Saturday's (July 5) Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course, where he lost his lead to an aggressive move on the inside by the Kiwi. The 18-year-old prodigy acknowledged that had he anticipated the move, he would've 'protected the inside line more.'

With two laps left, Zilisch and SVG were battling for the lead on the streets of the Windy City. The JRM drivers entered turn 1 side-by-side, and before he knew it, Zilisch lost the top spot and tagged the barrier after van Gisgerben ran him wide.

Zilisch tried to make up lost ground, but SVG quickly pulled away to finish 0.823 seconds ahead. Speaking to the media post-race, Zilisch detailed what went wrong in his turn 1 defense.

"Just before the brake zone I got called to clear and I didn't take it because I wanted to be on the inside for turn two expecting us to exit turn one, side by side. And you know if I knew that I wouldn't have exited turn one, side by side and he was going to take it and clear himself, I would have blocked and protected the inside line more," he said via X/Bob Pockrass.

"So yeah. I definitely would have done it differently, knowing what his plan was. But you know that's racing and you know it wasn't dirty. It was just aggressive and something I'll take note of something I'll take note of," he added.

Connor Zilisch had also faced an uphill battle en route to his runner-up finish. After hitting the wall during practice, he was unable to turn in for qualifying and ultimately began among the backmarkers at 35th. Nonetheless, the #88 driver methodically made his way through the field to reach the frontrunners, before falling short of the top step.

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Shane van Gisbergen reflects upon his Chicago clash with Connor Zilisch

Despite clearing a late surge from Connor Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen's path to victory wasn't smooth. Carburetor issues and strategy misfires played spoilsport for the 36-year-old's second outing in the Xfinity Series. However, as a respite to his troubles, a late stop for fresher tires helped him overcome Zilisch.

During a post-race interview with CW Sports, SVG shared a candid take on his JRM teammate.

"Yeah, he’s a great young driver… I thought that was my opportunity and took it, and yeah. It was an awesome 1-2 for the team,” he said [0:51 onwards].

The result marked Connor Zilisch's seventh top-five of the season, while he currently ranks fifth in the drivers' standings with 571 points, recording an average finish of 11. Notably, he's set to face off against SVG once again at Sonoma Raceway next week.