Connor Zilisch medically cleared to return to racing after breaking collarbone in Victory Lane fall

Less than two weeks after a frightening incident in which he broke his collarbone after slipping and falling off his car celebrating a win, rising NASCAR star Connor Zilisch announced he has been medically cleared to return to racing following collarbone surgery last week. JR Motorsports announced that Zilisch will return to the seat of his No. 88 Chevrolet and start Friday night's Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, where he will have Parker Kligerman on standby as a relief driver if necessary.

After earning his sixth win of the season at Watkins Glen, recording his 11th-straight top-five finish and taking the Xfinity Series points lead in the process, Zilisch had climbed out of his car and was standing on his door to celebrate in Victory Lane when he appeared to slip on the window net, causing him to lose his balance and fall off his car head and shoulder first. Zilisch was briefly knocked out after the fall and was carted out of Victory Lane before being taken to a local hospital, where he was released and diagnosed with a broken collarbone before the end of the night.

Zilisch underwent surgery on Aug. 12 to have a plate and screws inserted into his collarbone to facilitate the healing process, with the goal of returning to racing as soon as possible. Thanks to the Xfinity Series having an off week following his Watkins Glen victory and incident, Zilisch will not miss a single race due to his injury.

In the event that Zilisch starts the race but is unable to continue due to pain or discomfort, JR Motorsports will have NASCAR veteran Parker Kligerman on standby as a relief driver to take over Zilisch's car if necessary. Zilisch will go down as the driver of record and be credited with all championship points as long as he starts the race, though he will not earn playoff points -- earned by winning stages and winning a race -- if Kligerman earns them while driving the No. 88 in Zilisch's stead.

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Kligerman, whose racing career has included experience at the Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series levels, had raced full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2023 and 2024 before stepping away to take a role as an analyst for The CW's coverage of the series. He continues to race part-time in the Truck Series, and won the season opener at Daytona in February before being disqualified after his truck failed post-race tech inspection.

"Not everyday you get a call from Dale Jr asking if you can lend a hand for his race team," Kligerman wrote on X. "Honored to help out & thanks to The CW for letting me do this. Most of all, I'm happy for Connor Zilisch to have such a speedy recovery. The kid is incredible."

Zilisch currently leads the Xfinity Series standings by seven points over teammate Justin Allgaier, putting him in position to win the regular season championship -- and earn a major playoff point bonus -- with just three races left before the playoffs begin. Since missing a race in May due to a back injury suffered in a crash at Talladega, Zilisch has not had a single finish outside the top five and has also earned five wins in that span.