NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch broke his collarbone after suffering a nasty fall as he celebrated winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series.
The 19-year-old was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after the freak accident at Watkins Glen.
Zilisch was released from the hospital Saturday evening.
“Thank you everybody for reaching out today. I’m out of the hospital and getting better already. Thankfully, CT scans for my head are clear, I just have a broken collarbone,” Zilisch wrote in a post on X late Saturday. “Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.”
The nasty fall was captured on video as the cameras were filming Zilisch’s celebration.
The driver was enjoying his win and put his right foot on the roof of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, with his left foot on the window. He appeared to lose his balance and his left foot got caught inside the car.
He twisted and fell hard to the floor head-first, where he did not immediately move.
Medical teams arrived immediately to tend to him and transported him on a backboard to the trackside medical center, NASCAR said.
“Connor Zilisch has been transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following today’s Xfinity Series race. He is awake and alert,” NASCAR said.
A couple of hours later, JR Motorsports confirmed he had been released from the hospital.
“Wishing @ConnorZilisch nothing but a safe and speedy recovery,” Xfinity Racing said in a post on X.
The teenager led 60 laps out of 82 to clinch the victory in Saturday’s race.
