Most 19-year-olds are just wrapping up their freshman year of college or working full-time as they get their first taste of the real world. Connor Zilisch could have gone down either one of those paths but instead, he chose to chart his own.
Zilisch decided to fully commit to chasing his dream of one day racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Saturday, that dream officially became a reality — Trackhouse Racing announced that Zilisch will drive full-time in Cup next season. In recounting his journey from go-kart racer to now soon to be Cup driver, Zilisch got emotional.
“Through every moment, the good and the bad, there were many times I questioned why I left school, I left my friends to make this commitment to go to the Cup Series and try to chase a dream of racing in motorsports. I never knew what was ahead of me,” Zilisch said, via Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “There were times five years ago where I thought I was just going to go to college and live the life of a normal kid. Kevin Harvick asked my dad, ‘What’s your plan with this kid?’ My dad was like, ‘Well, he’s going to race for another year or two and then he’s going to go to college.’ Kevin told my dad, ‘You can’t do that.’ So, first of all, thank you to Kevin.
“There’s a lot of people that have been a part of this journey with me. I have way too many people to thank. … Today is a really, really special day for me. I never thought this day would come, and it certainly feels good.”
Connor Zilisch made it to Cup quickly
While the announcement was hardly a surprise, as Trackhouse had already announced Daniel Suárez wouldn’t return to the team in 2026, it’s still notable in that Zilisch hasn’t even completed one full-time season in the Xfinity Series. But against Xfinity competition, Zilisch has been dominant.
He’s won a series-leading seven races, and he sits just three points behind JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier in the race for the regular season championship. Oh, and Zilisch has done that while missing nearly two full races due to injury.
Zilisch is special; Trackhouse knew that before Zilisch stepped into the NASCAR world, signing him to multi-year developmental deal in January 2024. Now, Trackhouse will head into 2026 at its strongest with Zilisch joining playoff drivers Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen.
“It’s going to be an incredible journey,” Zilisch said, via Zack Albert of NASCAR.com. “You know, I’m so excited for the next 10, 15, 20 years, hopefully in this world of NASCAR racing. I’ve enjoyed my time so far, but I really do hope there’s a long, long journey left ahead of me. I really am having a lot of fun.”
