The biggest promise in recent NASCAR history is set to join the top category starting in 2026. Connor Zilisch, after winning the Xfinity Series regular season championship this year, will move up to the NASCAR Cup Series.
With a height close to six feet and an impressive resume, Zilisch was signed as a Red Bull athlete at 18 years old. His innate talent behind the wheel is complemented by a contagious smile and a captivating personality. In a short time, he has accumulated victories in the United States and Europe, breaking records along the way.
Trackhouse Racing, which brought Zilisch to NASCAR for the first time in 2024, will put him behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet next year, with Red Bull and WeatherTech as his 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. 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, three-time Cup Series champion, highlights the importance of humility for Zilisch. Logano himself experienced what it means to be the “Next Big Thing” in the sport. Signed by Joe Gibbs Racing as a teenager, he had initial difficulties in the Cup Series before consolidating.
Kyle Busch is another example. Busch, also with high expectations, took time to find his place in the Cup Series. These cases demonstrate the demands of NASCAR’s premier category.Busch warns Zilisch about the realities of the Cup Series, pointing out the abysmal difference between the Xfinity Series and the top category. The lack of direct competition with Cup Series drivers before ascending, a situation limited by current NASCAR regulations, could affect Zilisch’s adaptation process.
Zilisch, with experience since the age of 5 in karting, including the triumph in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy, caught the attention of Kevin Harvick. Harvick guided him and introduced him to stock car racing, urging Zilisch not to abandon his career in motorsports.
Zilisch has achieved success in various disciplines, such as the Mazda MX-5 Cup and sports car racing, including victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, in addition to his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024.
In his three Cup Series starts in 2025, Zilisch experienced the learning curve and the time needed to adapt. He is aware that he will make mistakes, that the margin for error is minimal, and that he will have bad days.
No quarter is given, whether you’re fighting for victory, for the top 10, or for 32nd place. It doesn’t matter, everyone is there to be in the best possible position and everyone gets paid to finish as well as possible. There is no flexibility 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 defend someone for very long. But in the Cup, it’s ruthless. Those guys race for every position as if it were the last lap of their lives.
Connor Zilisch
Zilisch acknowledges the magnitude of the jump from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series. Patience and experience will be crucial, as demonstrated by the cases of Logano and Busch. Zilisch’s future in the Cup Series is uncertain, but his talent and determination are undeniable.
