Zilisch was in control of the event, leading 34 out of the 42 laps. However, a late-race caution due to a crash resulted in an unpredictable conclusion as rain started to fall.
Teams in ARCA were given permission to make pit stops for wet weather tires before a one-lap overtime. The majority of teams took advantage of this opportunity, however, three drivers chose to remain on slick tires. As a result, Kris Wright was able to gain the lead during the restart in overtime.
Zilisch, who had a damaged sway bar, swiftly surged ahead after the restart. However, as he approached the last turn, Love managed to get on the inside of Zilisch. The two cars collided, with their fenders making contact, and Love narrowly beat Zilisch by a margin of 0.195 seconds to claim victory.
The victory is Love’s eighth of the 2023 season and 10th of his career but first on a road course.
Love expressed feeling disoriented and compared their appearance to that of a visually impaired canine enjoying a blended beverage while navigating a track. They admitted to experiencing a sense of relief once they dropped to fourth place.
“Hats off to Connor Zilisch. I hope he doesn’t think it was dirty. It was borderline – obviously I had to do something. But I felt like he left the door open for me to do something. Connor was the class of the field tonight.
“I had an intense desire for it.”
Zilisch ended up as runner-up in his first series start. The 17-year-old native of Mooresville, N.C., has competed most recently in the Trans Am2 and Mazda MX-5 series.
Brent Crews achieved third place, William Sawalich secured fourth position, and Dale Quarterley completed the top five.
Zilisch demonstrated his superiority from the beginning. He initially began in second place but was overtaken by Love at the start. However, Zilisch quickly caught up and regained his position.
After returning to second place, Zilisch managed to gain over three seconds to overtake the former leader Corey LaJoie. He then extended his lead to more than five seconds before a caution was issued due to debris, causing the field to regroup.
With approximately 10 laps left, it seemed like Zilisch had encountered some sort of issue with the sway bar on his No. 28 Chevrolet. This problem caused occasional sparks to be emitted as he maneuvered through the turns.
While driving for Rev Racing, Jack Wood spun his No. 6 Chevrolet around as he exited Turn 1 on lap 36. This caused him to collide with the retaining wall, prompting a caution flag to be raised, coinciding with the onset of light rain.
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