NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch has gone from can’t-miss to can’t-finish.
Entering 2026 at age 19, Zilisch was the talk of the garage — NASCAR’s next young phenom. Instead, he has spun out time and again, recording just one top-10 showing while failing to complete nine of 25 races.
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But Zilisch pushes to prove he belongs in the sport’s top series, beginning at the Coke Zero Sugar Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway — where he made his long-awaited rookie debut in February.
“There’s been times where there’s been self-doubt,” he told the Orlando Sentinel Thursday. “But at the same time, I I know what I’m capable of deep down. I know that this isn’t gonna last forever.
“I just have to find a way to get through it, learn and get better.”
Zilisch’s exasperation reached a boiling point last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
He was deep in the pack when Riley Herbst hit the outside wall ahead of him. With spotter Stefan Parsons imploring his Zilisch to “stay low” several times, he instead pushed up the track and clipped the stalled-out car of Herbst to end his race on Lap 222 of the Dollar Tree 301.
Zilisch yelled into the radio: “I’m so (expletive) horrible! Gosh, what am I doing?”
The incident encapsulated a season where he sits 34th of 35 drives in the Cup Series standings.
“It’s definitely built-up frustration from a tough season,” he said. “The car audio, it’s right after the moment happens — it’s just raw emotions.”
Despite the rock-bottom moment, Zilisch began last week on a high note, signaling better days should be ahead.
Hendrick Motorsports announced that starting in 2028 he would replace Alex Bowman in the company’s iconic No. 48 Chevrolet — driver for two decades by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
On his Instagram account, Zilisch posted the announcement made by the Hall of Fame owner and Jeff Gordon, another of the team’s former legends and now the company’s vice chairman.
“It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to drive for Mr. Hendrick and be behind the wheel of the 48 car,” Zilisch said. “It’s a huge opportunity for me, and with that I expect myself to go there and contend and win races.”
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Yet, Zilisch said much work remains to be done in the No. 88 Trackhouse Chevrolet.
Team owner Justin Marks saw something special in Zilisch as a teenager and took a chance on him.
“Justin believed in me when I was 16,” he said.
Zilisch soon delivered.
As a 17-year-old, he captured five of eight ARCA Menards Series starts in 2024. That year he also drove for the winning teams in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in the LMP2 class during his first attempts.
Then, less than two months after his 18th birthday that July, he won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. The September victory at Watkins Glen spurred a 10-win 2025 season, highlighted by an Xfinity-record 18 consecutive top-five finishes.
Zilisch’s dominance led to comparisons with three-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who won on the series as a 19-year-old rookie, and two-time champion Kyle Busch, who won twice as a 20-year-old in his first full season.
Zilisch’s place among the sport’s best first-year drivers was far from his mind Thursday as he headed to the garage.
“I try not to listen too much to the good noise or the bad noise,” he said. “I I try to just stay to myself and focus on what I’m doing and my task at hand.”
To contend at this weekend’s race will require Zilisch’s focus and discipline for 160 laps on a 2.5-mile oval that produces three-wide racing at nearly 200 mph and memorable multi-car crashes.
“Daytona is a great test of patience and not putting yourself in bad spots too early in the race,” he said. “That’s something that I’ve been working on no matter where we go. That’ll really be put to the test.”
A strong run at Daytona could prove a reset Zilisch needs and validate Hendrick Motorsports’ faith that his growing pains are only temporary. But with 11 races remaining this season and another 36 in 2027, Zilisch is eager to first put Trackhouse Racing in victory lane.
“I definitely want to leave Trackhouse satisfied and happy with the way we ran and the things we accomplished,” he said. “Obviously, we need some work to get there. But I certainly don’t want to leave with either side having a sour taste in their mouth.
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“It’s important to me to run well and get back to where we belong.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]
Coke Zero Sugar 400
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Daytona International Speedway
TV: NBC
Tickets: Avaiable at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com