Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Although Trackhouse made no mention of Connor Zilisch in its news release about Daniel Suarez leaving after this season, Zilisch was definitely part of the message.
You can count on one finger the number of candidates in play to possibly replace Suarez.
Actually not candidates. Candidate.
Zilisch.
Connor Zilisch prepares to get in his car before the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 race at Atlanta
JR Motorsports has already considered who will replace Zilisch for next season, and that’s assuming that Zilisch doesn’t return full time to the Xfinity Series next year. He’s a full-time Trackhouse driver, and the teams did a deal for him to race for JRM this season.
The 18-year-old Zilisch, who turns 19 later this month, appears to be a future superstar.
When I talk to people in the industry regarding him racing Cup full time in 2026, most tell me he should, that the cars in Xfinity are too different (so what he learns about the race car in Xfinity doesn’t easily apply to a Cup car) and he is good enough to race on the next level.
The stats pretty much bear that out.
He has three wins with nine top fives in 20 career Xfinity Series races. He has top-five finishes in each of his last five starts on tracks that range from ovals 1.33 to 2.5 miles in length and a road course. That is staggering because he couldn’t race on an oval bigger than 1.25 miles until he turned 18 a year ago.
He sits fifth in the current Xfinity standings, despite missing a race because of a back injury.
Zilisch did throw away the win at Mexico City with an impatient move on a restart. But that’s going to happen. He has led laps in 12 of his 16 starts this year.
As far as Cup, he has made three Cup starts with a best of 11th at Atlanta last week.
The biggest question is whether he is mentally ready. Many feel he is. When he raced in Europe in his early teens, he would go on his bike to get food. He has a swagger but also a relaxed mentality where it appears the pressure doesn’t get to him.
The Xfinity Series is the best series for a driver to mentally prepare for Cup.
The 33-week season doesn’t allow much time to sulk when getting punched in the gut with bad breaks. A driver must put the past behind quickly and get ready for the next event.
Up until last month, it would have been easy to question Zilisch. He had just three top 10s in the first 11 races this year. He had crashed out of three events and had four finishes of 20th or worse.
The helmet of Connor Zilisch sits on top of his race car prior to the running of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250
But just look at his results in the last five weeks. He had a second at Charlotte, a second at Nashville, a fifth at Mexico City, a first at Pocono and a fourth at Atlanta. He came back from a three-week break (he missed Texas and then the series had back-to-back weekends off) and has finished strong every week.
Let’s be clear: There is absolutely no reason to really rush him. Another Xfinity Series season would probably do him good.
But to say he’s not ready? You can say it, but the results don’t back up that sentiment. Trackhouse believes he is ready. Sponsor Red Bull probably wants him in Cup.
The prudent approach would be concluding he should run Xfinity full time again next year. I personally felt that way in early May until this latest run. With every race, he makes it clear that he doesn’t need another Xfinity season.
There are plans for him to make more Cup starts this year. His recent results have been good. He’s got the demeanor. All this indicates that moving Zilisch to Cup won’t be a mistake and that he won’t be one of those drivers talked about as elevated too soon.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
