Connor Zilisch’s father drops hilarious 2-word reply on Shane van Gisbergen potentially grabbing back-to-back wins

Connor Zilisch's father responded to Trackhouse Racing's post about scoring back-to-back wins with Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma Raceway. The older Zilisch didn't hold back and jokingly hoped SVG wouldn't get the job done.

For context, Zilisch and van Gisbergen had an intense late-race showdown on the streets of Chicago last weekend. The Kiwi driver pushed Zilisch off turn one on the restart on lap 49 of 50, a move that forced the 18-year-old to brush the wall and give up the lead.

The #88 JR Motorsports driver settled for second place after starting in 35th. SVG, who drove JR Motorsports' part-time #9 Chevrolet, won the race after starting from the pole position and leading for 27 laps, the most in The Loop 110 (Xfinity Series).

The two drivers are set to face each other again at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, with Jim Zilisch jinxing against a back-to-back win for the #9 team.

“Hope not!” Connor Zilisch's father wrote on X.

Below is Trackhouse Racing's comment on JR Motorsports showcasing SVG's car for Sonoma.

“Back-to-back!?” the team asked.

The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway has a 39-car entry list, including Shane van Gisbergen's #9 Chevy and Riley Herbst's #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The 79-lap road course race will be live on The CW Network on July 12 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

While Connor Zilisch is a full-time driver for JR Motorsports, SVG primarily competes in the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing. The three-time Supercars champion also won the Cup race on Sunday, sweeping the Chicago race weekend.

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“I definitely would have done it differently”: Connor Zilisch on losing the lead to Shane van Gisbergen in Chicago

Despite Shane van Gisbergen's aggressive move to take the lead in the Chicago street race, Connor Zilisch wasn't upset. Instead, the 18-year-old said he would've done it differently only if he knew that's how the Kiwi driver races.

Zilisch chose the outside on the restart, thinking he would be alongside SVG on turn one. He wanted the inside line on the right-hander on turn two, but failed to get it after his opponent made a move on him even before reaching the corner.

Regardless, the #88 JR Motorsports driver took it as a lesson. Explaining his point of view during the restart, he said (via Bob Pockrass on X):

“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 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.”

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

After 17 races (he missed one race due to a back injury at Texas Motor Speedway), Zilisch sits fifth in the points standings. The series rookie has amassed two wins, seven top-fives, and nine top-10s.