Connor Zilisch started from pole position at Daytona but stepped out of his car early, leaving Parker Kligerman to finish the Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola. The move raised questions about why JR Motorsports made the switch.The answer is injury risk. Zilisch broke his collarbone while celebrating his win at Watkins Glen two weeks earlier. Surgery left him with a titanium plate and screws in his shoulder. Doctors cleared him to race, but Daytona’s high-speed pack racing made it too dangerous to run the full event.To protect Zilisch while still keeping him in the championship hunt, JR Motorsports had him start the race to collect points. After the first caution, he climbed out, and Parker Kligerman took over the No. 88 Chevrolet.Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, gets out of the car for relief driver Parker Kligerman, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, under caution during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 - Source: GettyZilisch is only seven points ahead of teammate Justin Allgaier in the standings. Skipping the race would have damaged his title chances, so starting was necessary. But running the full 100 laps was not worth the risk of another injury. When rain brought an early caution, Zilisch came to pit road, and Kligerman stepped in. Speaking to The CW, Zilisch said,“It’s just not worth the risk to put myself in danger of having a big wreck and re-injuring something that’s so freshly injured. I’m glad I was able to hand it to Parker. There’s not many guys I’d rather have than him.” (via Motorsportswire)“Obviously, sucks getting out of a car that’s as fast as Xfinity Mobile and a car I know is capable of winning the race, but I’ve got confidence that Parker will do a good job,” he added.The points from Kligerman’s finish will count toward Connor Zilisch’s total, but playoff bonus points such as stage wins or a race victory will not. That limits how much he can gain from the swap, but it keeps his season alive.Connor Zilisch explained his choice to switch before the raceBefore Daytona, Connor Zilisch explained his plan in an interview with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. He pointed out that he already had two major injuries this season, a back injury in May after a crash with Jesse Love at the BetMGM 300, and the collarbone injury at Watkins Glen in August. Zilisch said superspeedways like Daytona carry too much risk for someone still recovering.“Parker’s obviously going to be here, and we fitted him in the car, and he’s gonna be ready to go,” he told Pockrass. “Odds are that, just with the risk of having a wreck at Daytona, I don’t know if I’m gonna run the entire race or get out at a caution.”He added that how he felt inside the car didn’t matter compared to the risk of a crash. Connor Zilisch said,“If a wreck happens, things could get much worse, really quickly. So yeah, really looking at the risk versus the reward,” Zilisch said.On race night, that’s exactly what happened. Connor Zilisch started from the pole but dropped to the back to stay out of trouble. When the caution came, he got out, and Parker Kligerman drove the rest of the way. Having already secured six wins in his rookie season, Connor Zilisch remains in a strong position for the regular season title. By stepping aside at Daytona, he gave himself a chance to heal while still protecting his points lead.