Connor Zilisch sends a four-word message after conceding to SVG’s Sonoma dominance

Connor Zilisch shared a bold message aimed at Shane Van Gisbergen after the latter trumped him in qualifying for Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Sonoma. The JR Motorsports teammates locked out the front row for yet another go of their ongoing rivalry.

During last weekend's The Loop 110, Zilisch lost out to an aggressive SVG in the final laps at Chicago. Zilisch even remarked that he didn't expect such bold manuevers from his teammate.

Fresh off his loss, the 18-year-old prodigy entered this weekend with a point to prove and did just that by setting the pace in practice. However, he yet again fell short to SVG's road course prowess, qualifying two tenths from pole.

On Friday, July 11, Zilisch took to X and shared a pointed message following his qualifying loss.

"Comin for ya mate @shanevg97"

Here's the full starting line-up shared by NASCAR reporter Jonathan Howard.

Connor Zilisch has earned the reputation of a road course ace himself, starting with his first win this season at The Circuit of The Americas. He's now vying for his third win in a rookie season filled with seven top-5s and four poles.

Fans can watch the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 on Saturday, July 12 at 4:30 PM ET. The 79-lap affair will be broadcasted on CW network.

---

Connor Zilisch looks back at his duel with SVG at Chicago

Connor Zilisch recently broke down his battle with Shane Van Gisbergen at the Chicago Street Course, noting how he would've 'protected' his position more had he anticipated the hard racing from his teammate. With two laps left to go, SVG ran him wide off turn 1 and emerged the leader, while Zilisch tagged the wall and failed to make up lost ground.

"I would have done it differently. You know, just before the braking zone, I was called clear, and I didn't take it because I wanted to be on the inside for Turn 2, expecting we'd exit Turn 1 side by side. If I had known he wasn't going to leave that space and was going to clear himself, I would've blocked and protected the inside line more aggressively," he said via X/Bob Pockrass "Now that I know his plan, I would have approached it differently. But that's racing. It wasn't dirty—just aggressive. I'll take note of that. I had never raced Shane before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was trying to run him with as much respect as possible," he added.

Connor Zilisch currently ranks fifth in the driver's standings and 75 points adrift of season leader and JRM teammate, Justin Allgaier. Notably, four cars of the JRM stable have qualified within the top-8, while Allagaier rounds out the top-10.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Pratham K Sharma