JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch will attempt to race Friday, less than two weeks after breaking his collarbone in a fall in victory lane at Watkins Glen.

The Xfinity Series points leader posted on social media Thursday that he would try to run all the laps of the 100-lap race at Daytona International Speedway, a race 10 days after Zilisch had surgery for a plate and more than 10 screws to stabilize and heal his collarbone.

Zilisch, a 19-year-old who is expected to compete in the Cup Series next year for Trackhouse Racing, will have Parker Kligerman on standby at Daytona and said Thursday afternoon he “most likely” will drop to the rear at the start of the race and be replaced by Kligerman at the time of the first caution.

He seemed conflicted about wanting to race while also knowing the prudent decision was not to risk additional injury. 

“Looking at it now, I most likely am going to just pull out of line before the race starts and ride around till the caution comes out, and then do whatever needs to happen,” Zilisch told me Thursday afternoon at Daytona. “But if I wake up tomorrow and I’m feeling really good, then who knows.

“But that’s very probably unlikely, and the risk isn’t worth fighting for so and I don’t want to see what the risk is either … just with the fact that the bone isn’t fully healed. Obviously, the plate is providing a lot of support, and I’m feeling much better. It’s sometimes not worth it to find out.”

Just by starting the race, Zilisch would earn the points for where Kligerman finishes if Kligerman gets in the car. He would not earn any playoff points for stages won or race won with Kligerman in the car.

With three races left in the regular season, Zilisch has a seven-point lead on Justin Allgaier. The regular-season champion earns 15 playoff points while the runner-up earns 10. Playoff points help a driver advance in the playoffs if they don’t win in the three-race playoff rounds.

Zilisch could get a waiver to miss Daytona entirely and remain eligible for the playoffs, despite not competing in all the races. He received one earlier this year when he missed a race for a back injury suffered at Talladega.

After Daytona, the series heads to the Portland International Raceway road course, and Zilisch said he plans to compete in that entire event.

He feels lucky that his injury wasn’t worse. He thought his leg was going to break as he got twisted as he fell out of the car, which occurred when he had one foot on the roof and one foot on the driver’s window sill. He had forgotten to put the window net inside the car, and with his foot on the webbing, he slipped as the team doused him with water in celebration.

Zilisch said he had no symptoms but was re-evaluated by a spine doctor as well as had a neurological exam to confirm he had no concussion earlier this week. He said his shoulder is feeling much better than it was following surgery a week ago. 

“I’m already feeling much better and have full range of motion and moving around,” Zilisch said. “It was probably the best outcome of what could have happened in that incident.”

In the meantime, he has heard from friends he hasn’t been in touch with for years. He’s been trying to respond to the hundreds of texts he has received. The video was shown on news and on talk shows worldwide.

“Those are the things that go viral in the world we live in,” Zilisch said. “So as much as I hate that that’s what our sports getting eyeballs for, and that’s why I’m on the ABC World News, and that’s why I’m on Jimmy Kimmel, that’s part of it.  … I hate that I got the wrong eyeballs on NASCAR, but glad that it wasn’t any worse. Glad my leg is OK … my head from the hit I took.

“It could have been much worse. I can laugh at it now, but I definitely will remember that race forever — for probably the wrong reason.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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