Connor Zilisch: The Key to Succeeding in NASCAR, Learning to Lose

The future of motorsports looks bright with the arrival of Connor Zilisch to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. After a historic season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he conquered the regular season championship with 10 victories, Zilisch is preparing to make the leap to the top category. This young driver, originally from North Carolina and with a height close to six feet, has built an impressive resume. His innate talent, added to a charismatic personality, earned him a contract with Red Bull at 18 years old. Since then, he has accumulated victories in both the United States and Europe, setting new records. Trackhouse Racing, the team that introduced him to NASCAR in 2024, will be in charge of putting Zilisch behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet, with the backing of Red Bull and WeatherTech as its main sponsors.

“I think he’s better than I was at his age, and he seems to be more mature than I was at his age,” commented Joey Logano, three-time Cup Series champion. “It’s easy, at 18 or 19, to drink the Kool-Aid. He’s a great driver, no doubt. He won a lot of Xfinity races. Cup racing is different. Everyone’s great at this level. Everyone’s fantastic.

Joey Logano

Logano, aware of the pressure that comes with being the “next big thing”, warns Zilisch about the importance of humility. Logano himself experienced the difficulties of adapting to the Cup Series, a process that required time and experience before achieving success. Kyle Busch, another driver who came to the Cup Series with high expectations, also serves as an example. Busch, who debuted in the national series at 16 years old, had a meteoric rise. However, the transition to the Cup Series was not easy, and required a process of adaptation.

Busch analyzes what Zilisch will have to expect in 2026:

It’s the same kind of thing: dominating the Xfinity Series, winning with one of the best teams out there, doing everything right and getting results, winning a championship and then getting to the Cup Series and just not understanding the level that’s needed at this level to be good or run up front, capitalize, win races and such. Again, that’s not a dig at Ty, it’s just a fact. So Zilisch is going to have the same thing. It’s a rude awakening.

Kyle Busch

Zilisch, who started competing at 5 years old and spent a decade in karting, where he won the FIA Karting Academy Trophy, has proven his worth in various motorsport disciplines. His talent caught the attention of Kevin Harvick, who guided him and urged him to pursue his dream in racing. In his three Cup Series starts in 2025, Zilisch experienced the learning curve firsthand. He is aware that he will make mistakes and that the competition is relentless. Adaptation will take time.

There are no breaks, whether you’re competing for the win, for the top 10, or for 32nd place,” said Zilisch. “It doesn’t matter; everyone is there to be in the next best position and everyone gets paid to finish as well as possible. There is no slack like in Xfinity. In Xfinity, you get to the top five, and it gets harder, but from tenth back, especially being in such a good car, people understand that you’re not going to be able to hold someone off for long. But in the Cup, it’s ruthless. Those guys compete for every position as if it were the last lap of their lives.

Connor Zilisch

Zilisch has shown his potential to succeed in the Cup Series, but time will tell how quickly he adapts to the demands of the top category.