Connor Zilisch isn‘t afraid to be uncomfortable. In fact, he credits that willingness to get out of his comfort zone for much of his immediate racing success.
Early on in Zilisch‘s young racing career, he appeared to be on the path to Formula One. He moved out of his parents‘ house in suburban Charlotte and went across the pond to Europe. Upon returning to the United States, Zilisch began racing anything and everything. But his first oval race didn‘t come until June 2022.
“There are places where I have to go out and learn,” Zilisch told NASCAR.com. “But over time, I‘ve always felt like I can adapt to something and be comfortable after enough time with how much preparation that I do and the races where I feel like I need it.”
RELATED: Watkins Glen schedule | See Connor Zilisch’s career stats
In mid-January, Zilisch, then 17 years old, signed a multiyear contract with Trackhouse Racing as a developmental driver. It became Justin Marks‘ responsibility to point the young protege in the right direction. Later that month, Zilisch won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in his first attempt. He followed that up in March, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in his first try.
Zilisch also got his first proper stab at competing in the ARCA Menards Series across the 2024 season. In five starts this year, he’s won four times and finished second. And in the ARCA Menards Series East, he notched another four victories in seven tries.
Part of what makes Zilisch successful is that he asks plenty of questions. His primary mentor is former NASCAR driver Josh Wise, who spearheads Wise Optimization and assists Chevrolet drivers in their development to test their limits.
“We talk almost every day,” Wise said of his relationship with Zilisch. “I don‘t know that there are really any boundaries on that. We talk about life, girlfriends, school, goals, specifics of race craft, you name it. Maybe that‘s why there is a bigger influence there because we have a broad relationship.”
The Zilisch hype train will make its transition to the Xfinity Series this weekend at Watkins Glen International, as he will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the first of a four-race deal for 2024. Zilisch is known to win his first race out throughout multiple series and appeared to be on his way to doing so in the Craftsman Truck Series at Circuit of The Americas in March, setting a blistering pace in qualifying. When he overshot the hairpin Turn 1 on Lap 1, he had to reset.
Wise likes seeing Zilisch make errors. He believes that to optimize oneself, you must make mistakes.
“I would like to say (Zilisch) is ready for it, but it‘s hard,” Wise said. “I hope he makes a lot of mistakes — we need mistakes — because that‘s how we‘re going to learn. I don‘t expect these to be perfect outings for him; I don‘t want them to be perfect outings for him. He needs to go learn, explore, make mistakes that we can learn from quickly. The outcomes that surround that are what they are. It could be a win, it could be an 18th-place finish, but we‘re going to get a lot out of these early starts, I can guarantee that.”
Zilisch expects to be a contender for the checkered flag in Saturday‘s The Mission 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, NBC Sports App). The real foray starts in his next appearance at Kansas Speedway, where he will compete in the ARCA race the day prior. In October, he will compete at a challenging Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the preferred lane is an inch away from the wall. He will also race in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. That will give the youngster some experience before hopping into the No. 88 car full-time in 2025.
Connor Zilisch stands and looks on at night.
“With going full-time next year, the biggest thing for this year is going to be learning,” Zilisch said. “When I go to so many different styles of race tracks, it‘s going to be good to go out and run all the laps, learn and have the expectation going in that I‘m not going to compete in my first race at Homestead, I‘m not going to compete for a win in my first race at Kansas, and when everyone’s competing for a championship at Phoenix, I‘m going to be out there learning.
“It’s tough as a racer. You want to go out and compete for the win and you want to qualify on the pole. For me, I know that the long-term goal is to be competitive in 2025 and to do that, I need to run all the laps in 2024 and take as much from it as I can.”
Prior to all four Xfinity starts in 2024, Zilisch will receive time on the Chevrolet simulator. Already, he is leaning on veteran driver and regular season championship leader Justin Allgaier to get the latest scoop on this quartet of tracks.
This weekend, Zilisch knows he will have to outduel the likes of fellow Trackhouse driver and three-time Xfinity winner Shane van Gisbergen and road-course ace AJ Allmendinger. His ARCA debut also came at The Glen in 2023, losing out to Jesse Love on an overtime restart despite leading most of the race.
“I definitely think that being competitive at Watkins Glen is the goal,” Zilisch added. “That‘s a track that I know and where I can go out and compete at. Watkins Glen‘s goal is a little different from showing up at Kansas.
“Thankfully, all three of those later races, I‘m going to get some experience at those tracks before I go out and race in the Xfinity car and that‘s going to help out a lot. At the same time, racing an ARCA race at Kansas isn‘t the same thing as running an Xfinity car at Kansas. It‘s going to be a learning curve and one that I‘m looking forward to.”
One day ahead of Zilisch‘s Xfinity debut, Red Bull athletes van Gisbergen and Scott Speed surprised him with a helmet, naming him the newest Red Bull athlete.
“Words can‘t describe it,” Zilisch said. “I remember being 11 years old sending an email to Red Bull, trying to get them to sponsor me. Seven years later, now I‘m a Red Bull athlete. It‘s special to me. I will wear this helmet with honor.”
Once the 2024 racing season ends, Zilisch will shift his attention to his new job at JRM. It‘s an opportunity that team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marks are both excited for.
“There’s a lot of talent in stock car racing coming up through the ranks right now,” Marks said on episode 566 of the “Dale Jr Download. “There’s a lot of speed. And I think really the differentiator when you’re trying to think of the long-term vision and think of what’s going to be successful in years down the road is a lot of the stuff around the speed, it‘s maturity, it‘s authenticity, it’s a great story, a great work ethic, drive, all that. Connor demonstrated really quickly that a lot of those boxes were checked and, and, at the end of the day, he’s a winner.”
JR Motorsports has become a staple of seeing young drivers boost their resumes. Zilisch could be the next one as many industry veterans believe he‘s on the fast track to the Cup Series.
“I am excited to be able to be a part of your career,” Earnhardt told Zilisch on DJD. “I think a lot of people have you tabbed as one of the very top prospects in our sport. And you know, JR Motorsports can be a part of your ascension to the top level.”
Should Zilisch win in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen, he would become the seventh driver in series history to win in their debut race, with the last being Ty Gibbs at the Daytona International Speedway road course in 2021.
