Connor Zilisch kept his perfect Watkins Glen International record alive Saturday, but it came at the expense of one of his closest friends.

Zilisch chased down Jesse Love over the final 25 laps and completed a dramatic last-corner pass to win the Mission 200 at The Glen. Driving a damaged No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Zilisch slipped underneath Love exiting Turn 7 on the final lap and won the drag race to the finish line by 0.262 seconds.

The victory marked Zilisch’s third straight NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win at Watkins Glen in as many starts. It was also his second victory in just five starts this season and the 13th win of his career.

With the win, Zilisch joined Terry Labonte and Marcos Ambrose as the only drivers to win three consecutive O’Reilly Series races at Watkins Glen.

JR Motorsports also continued its incredible consistency streak, placing at least one car inside the top 10 for the 70th straight race. The organization is now just nine races shy of RFK Racing’s all-time record from 2008 to 2010. Saturday’s victory also gave JR Motorsports its 11th straight road course win.

The race turned into a thrilling strategy battle between Zilisch and Love. Love pitted on Lap 48 of the 72-lap event and spent the rest of the race saving fuel while leading. At one point, Zilisch trailed by 18 seconds, but he steadily erased the gap by turning laps nearly a full second faster.

The comeback nearly unraveled with six laps remaining when Zilisch cut through the grass in the Bus Stop chicane and damaged the underside of his Chevrolet. Even with the handling issues, he kept charging toward Love.

On the final lap, Love overshot the final corner just enough for Zilisch to capitalize.

“That was driving as hard as I could for all 30 of those laps,” Zilisch said. “I wasn’t going to move Jesse in the last corner there, but he got in deep, and I was able to get by.

“It’s so cool to come back and get my third win at Watkins Glen in a row with JRM. Cool to get it with Rodney Childers. He’s my third different crew chief here.”

The battle added another chapter to the growing rivalry between Zilisch and Love. Last November at Phoenix Raceway, Love defeated Zilisch for the series championship. This time, Zilisch got his revenge.

Love was visibly disappointed after climbing from his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“At the end of the day, the glaring piece of it is I had a bad corner,” Love said. “It was definitely a challenging but good experience for me. I’ve never saved fuel on a road course. What a good mental challenge for me.

“All I want to do is beat Connor here on a road course, right? We’re best friends, and we’ve caused each other a lot of pain. I didn’t execute when I needed to. I think the reason I’m so quiet is I’m just embarrassed. As a driver, you just can’t make those mistakes.”

One of the more emotional moments after the race came when Zilisch’s mother walked over to Love’s car and gave him a hug following the heartbreaking loss.

Taylor Gray finished third, while Ross Chastain crossed the line fourth. Brandon Jones completed the top five, followed by Brent Crews, Parker Retzlaff, Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Green, and Justin Allgaier.

Allgaier’s 10th-place finish allowed him to extend his series points lead to 155 points over Sheldon Creed, who finished 29th.

van Gisbergen was also a contender for the victory before contact with Zilisch on pit road damaged the left-front fender of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The incident forced van Gisbergen to pit again for repairs and ended his shot at the win.

Crews led a race-high 32 laps, while Zilisch led 20 and Love led 18.

After the race, Zilisch carefully climbed from his car, joking about last year’s Watkins Glen celebration mishap that resulted in a broken collarbone.

“It really means a lot to get another one here and get out of the car safely and get onto the ground without killing myself,” Zilisch joked.

Zilisch and van Gisbergen will return to action Sunday as teammates for Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen.