NASCAR fans breathed a collective sigh of relief after learning that JR Motorsports' Connor Zilisch did not suffer any sort of a head injury when he fell from his car during his victory lane celebration at Watkins Glen International two weekends ago.
However, he did still suffer a broken collarbone, which required surgery, and that led to questions about just how long he might be sidelined from Xfinity Series competition.
As it turns out, it doesn't look like he'll actually miss any races, which is somewhat of a miracle considering the fact that an aggressive healing timeline for broken collarbones is between three and four weeks (for children; Zilisch is 19).
Connor Zilisch to return, but with replacement on standby
The Xfinity Series had off while the Cup Series and Truck Series were both in action at Richmond Raceway this past weekend, and action is scheduled to resume this Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, just 13 days after Zilisch's fall.
Zilisch has been cleared to compete in Friday's 100-lap Wawa 250 around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona International Speedway oval, but JR Motorsports do have a driver on standby in case he starts the race but is unable to finish.
Parker Kligerman would be in line to take over behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet in Daytona Beach, Florida on Friday night should he be called upon. Because Zilisch is slated to start the race, he would earn the points no matter where the car finishes.
So when you think about it, Kligerman, who has never won at the Xfinity level, could technically win a race and not get credit for winning.
Kligerman owns finishes of fourth and third place in the two most recent summer Xfinity Series races at Daytona, both with Big Machine Racing when he was a full-time driver.
Driving for Henderson Motorsports, he won the Truck Series opener at the track back in February but was later disqualified. Two of his three official Truck Series wins have come in superspeedway races, both at Talladega Superspeedway.
Zilisch, who crashed out of the Daytona Xfinity Series season opener, is the Xfinity Series points leader, despite missing the race at Texas Motor Speedway in May after suffering a back injury the previous weekend at Talladega.
Since returning, he has recorded 11 top five finishes in 11 starts, and he has won five times, including four times in the five most recent races. His average finish during that stretch is a scorching 2.18. He leads the series with six wins and 36 playoff points overall this season.
Tune in to the CW Network this evening at 7:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Wawa 250 from Daytona International Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!