While it was hardly a surprise, the Trackhouse Racing announcement that Connor Zilisch is joining the team for his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season in 2026—as part of a multi-year contract—certainly confirmed a high-profile placement for the 19-year-old prodigy.
The Mooresville, N.C., driver was emotional during the formal announcement as he explained how much the opportunity means to him. He recalled his earliest days in the sport racing go-karts and wondering where he might settle in the sport.
Zilisch was successful in the Trans Am Series and won major IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Series races such as the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring—as a young teenager.
“I’m not going to let the fact everybody knows (about the Trackhouse signing) take away from the moment,” a smiling Zilisch allowed.
In fact, Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks said it was a meeting with the Zilisch years ago during a Trans Am race weekend that first put the young driver on his radar. And impressed him mightily.
This season, Zilisch is not only competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but setting the standard challenging for the championship with a series-best seven wins. That included one Friday night even after Zilisch, who broke his collarbone celebrating a win at Watkins Glen, N.Y. two weeks ago, surrendered his car to relief driver Parker Kligerman, who went on to win at Daytona.
“He’s going to be going to a lot of race tracks he’s never seen in a Cup car before,” Marks said. “And with such limited practice he’s going to have to figure out how to go fast really quickly. But he’s demonstrated the ability to do that so much in his career.
“I think the other part is, just maturity, emotional maturity, approach, organizational approach, paying attention to the things that are important to success in his career. All of those things together he’s demonstrated in a way that I’ve not ever seen a teenager be able to do before.
“When you recognize you’ve got that in a package, you have to run with it,” Marks said.
Marks said Zilisch’s car number will be revealed at a later date.
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