On a steamy Saturday in the Finger Lakes, it’s race day at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l.
Thirty-eight NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers are preparing to take on the challenging 2.45-mile road course, and for many, playoff implications are on the line.
But not for 18-year-old Connor Zilisch.
Sitting beside the JR Motorsports haulers, he takes in the sound of Cup Series practice happening just a few hundred feet away. His legs are crossed; he’s relaxed and seemingly without a worry.
Earlier that day — sitting in an Xfinity Series car for the first time — Zilisch put his No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro on the pole after pacing the preceding practice session. He bested not just some of the best in Xfinity, but Cup Series stars such as William Byron and Ty Gibbs.
Zilisch was preparing for his highly anticipated series debut, kicking off a four-race slate before taking over the seat full-time next season.
He dominated the ARCA race the day before and Red Bull announced a partnership with the Trackhouse Racing development driver earlier in the weekend.
So theoretically, there had to be some nerves, right?
“Ah, nerves. I try not to be nervous,” Zilisch told SPEED SPORT before the race. “Just enjoy it … No pressure on myself. Just go out and do what I know I can do.”
And what he knows how to do is dominate.
Zilisch led 45 laps, came back from a penalty and survived two overtimes to score the victory, becoming the first driver since Gibbs in 2021 to win in his series debut.
That certainly sets a high standard of what’s ahead for the Mooresville, N.C., native. But he’s not expecting them to all come that easy.
Zilisch grew up racing go-karts, starting at age 5. Six years later in 2017, he began racing overseas, competing in Italy before running under the FIA sanctioning body in 2018. Zilisch became the first American to win the CIK-FIA Karting Academy trophy just two years later.
“He was good. I think Connor went a couple of times to Europe — Europe is a different animal,” said Juan Pablo Montoya before his one-off Cup Series drive at Watkins Glen. “The kid is good. You see what he’s done. If he would have stayed in Europe, he probably would have had the progression to where Sebastian (Montoya, Juan Pablo’s son) is. I think he is managed by (Kevin) Harvick, so they decided to come this route, and you see how good he is.”
In 2021, Zilisch shifted his focus back toward America.
And if it had wheels, he’d drive it.
From Trans-Am, to the Mazda MX-5 Cup, all the way to the CARS Tour, Zilisch spread himself wide with the ultimate goal of ending up in NASCAR.
“I think the biggest thing is just adaptability — being able to jump in a new car and be competitive right off the bat,” Zilisch said. “But as we get into next year, I just feel like having that background of driving so many different cars and on so many different kinds of tracks — just being able to kind of adjust to whatever it is. I’m going to go to a lot of new tracks and it’s going to be tough to learn really quickly, but I feel like with my background, it’ll make it a little easier.”
But ultimately, it’s been the ARCA car that’s helped him the most.
Making his series debut last season – ironically at Watkins Glen – Zilisch has won five of his seven ARCA Menards Series starts in 2024, plus an ARCA Menards Series East victory at Flat Rock. He was on track for the East Series championship at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last week before he got caught in a crash sparked by a lapped car.
And though he’s found his way to victory lane often, Zilisch hasn’t felt any pressure to do so.
“Just learning on ovals on a smaller stage is really important for me,” he said. “Not a lot of pressure to go out and win every ARCA race. Even though this year has been really good, I feel like the biggest thing is I’m able to go out and just run laps and learn and prepare myself for the next level.
“I think the biggest thing is just me managing the throttle. I feel like in the ARCA car, you can kind of just use the throttle however you want and not really hurt the rear tires, whereas in the Xfinity car, you got a little bit more power, so you’re managing a little bit more. That’s going to be the biggest thing for me.”
In early 2024, months before his important 18th birthday — Zilisch inked a multi-year deal with Trackhouse Racing to continue his development.
The organization, which will field three full-time Cup cars next season, helped Zilisch piece together another versatile schedule outside of ARCA. He’s run four IMSA WeatherTech Championship races so far for Ezra Motorsport, winning the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2. He added eight more CARS Tour races, winning for the first time at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
But outside of the race car, the experience has been invaluable.
He’s been able to lean on all of the Trackhouse wheelmen, including Daniel Suárez and Shane van Gisbergen, along with owner Justin Marks — a former driver himself.
But it’s been Ross Chastain who’s helped him the most.
“I bike with him every week almost and I talk to him a lot,” Zilisch explained. “He’s just so open and wants the best for everyone and that’s one thing I appreciate about him and something I try to take away from him and kind of apply to myself.
“Everyone is so open and willing to help, and that’s just one thing that I think kind of differentiates those guys from a lot of other guys in the sport.
“[Trackhouse is] so unique as a team and so futuristic compared to a lot of the normal NASCAR teams that have been around for a while. It’s cool to have that fresh blood in the sport and it’s been really cool to be a part of it.”
Enter JR Motorsports.
With Trackhouse not fielding an Xfinity Series team, the organization needed to find a place for Zilisch in one of NASCAR’s top three series.
While Zilisch has made sporadic Craftsman Truck Series starts for Spire Motorsports, landing in the Xfinity Series was a priority. After few calls to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and company, Trackhouse secured a deal to put him in the No. 88 car next season.
“I feel like the Xfinity Series, just at the highest level, there’s more competitive guys to learn from,” Zilisch said. “I might not be as competitive right away as I may have been in the Truck Series, but I’m able to learn so much from all those guys and that’s really important to me.
“JR Motorsports, so many Cup guys have been through that building. Just very proven and a place that you know I want to race at. I’m looking forward to next year. Obviously, Trackhouse is still going to be supporting me, but it’s going to be good to be racing with JR Motorsports as well in the meantime.”
Before he races for a championship, Zilisch will have three more opportunities to familiarize himself with the Xfinity Series, including this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
No doubt — he’s got road courses down to a science. But he’s new to racing at big tracks.
“Having no pressure to go out and race for a championship or anything this year, I’m just going to be able to go out and learn,” he said. “The biggest one for me is going to be using the simulator to kind of just prepare myself. I’ve already been running a lot of laps at Kansas and Homestead preparing for the next two races. Just trying to do the most that I can to be ready when I show up.
“Obviously when I show up to Daytona next year, it’s going to be a whole different ball game. But just going to try and soak in these four races and make the most of them.”
And while his Xfinity Series career has been successful — albeit brief to this point — he already has the respect of his competitors.
“His car control is phenomenal,” said A.J. Allmendinger. “He had so much lateral grip [at Watkins Glen], and as a driver when you have that, you have confidence. That allowed him to flow so much speed in … his talent — he’s, as we’ve all seen, he’s going to be the next superstar.”
For Zilisch, it’s just the beginning. He’ll run the final IMSA endurance event at Road Atlanta along with several more NASCAR races before he fully prioritizes the Xfinity Series title in 2025.
But one thing is clear: he’s got a bright future.