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Connor Zillisch blew the NASCAR world away on Saturday. The 18-year-old dominated an Xfinity Series race full of Cup Series regulars at Watkins Glen. This performance begs the question, how fast can Connor Zilisch make it to the Cup Series?
Connor’s 2024 has been a whirlwind, starting in February by being a part of the winning LMP2 team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
To surface-level NASCAR fans, Zilisch was relatively unknown prior to this year. Rather than the traditional developmental ladder, Zilisch cut his teeth in the Mazda Mx-5 Cup. Subsequently, his first race on the national Stock Car racing scene was last year’s ARCA Race at Watkins Glen.
His 2024 Schedule consists of Late Model Races and Part-time ARCA and Truck Starts. However inconsistent that schedule is, Zilisch has dominated:
The main concern for Zilisch’s this season was oval racing. Connor had limited oval racing experience beyond Late Models before signing a developmental contract with Trackhouse Racing earlier this year. However, his 2024 ARCA campaign proves that he can easily adapt his skills to oval racing.
Most importantly, the main story surrounding Zilisch this year is his ascension to the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season with JR Motorsports. Zilisch will skip the Truck Seris almost entirely and head straight to NASCAR’s Triple-A level.
So, what would next year look like if Zilisch were to ascend to the Cup Series as fast as possible?
In motorsports, a championship is a proving point for a driver’s development. However, in Zilisch’s case, NASCAR’s championship format typically does not reflect the driver with the statistically best season.
Statistics and speed will be Connor’s main proving grounds in 2025. For example, Ty Gibbs, who recently charged up the NASCAR developmental ladder in record time, posted seven wins, 16 top-fives, and 23 top-tens in his lone full-time Xfinity Series season.
If Zilisch wins seven races, surely Trackhouse has to consider a call-up for 2026. But, outside of statistics alone, if Zilisch shows he can race against NASCAR’s best on ovals next season, he could be due for a call-up as well.
Fortunately for Connor, Trackhouse didn’t seem to care about Shane Van Gisberegen’s oval racing record this season but rather how the Road Course ace managed to improve on his starting spots in those races. However, age may have played a factor in this call, as SVG is 35 years old.
Unfortunately, an early call-up may not be the best option for Zilisch, no matter what. Connor looks like a generational talent who could help secure Trackhouse Racing’s long-term future, and an early call-up could shake his confidence.
Suppose Zilisch dominates next season, which, in all likelihood, he might. A call to the Cup Series is not out of the question. Nevertheless, Trackhouse should consider a part-time Cup Series schedule, if not next year, then in 2026, to be sure he is ready.
Also, there are off-track factors that could hold Connor back from getting to the Cup Series in 2026.
A major problem with Zilisch’s developmental ladder is unquestionably the availability of an open ride. Trackhouse currently fields two full-time entries in the Cup Series, with plans to expand to three next season.
As far as Trackhouse itself, the future three-car team looks to have Ross Chastain and Shane Van Gisbergen locked down for the long term. That leaves an open option in the form of Daniel Suarez.
Suarez will return to Trackhouse next year. However, the team’s cornerstone driver doesn’t look to have a long-term future at the team just yet. The team could cut ties with Suarez. However, if he does have a breakout year in 2025, it could further complicate things.
So why not expand to four cars? The problem with Trackhouse expanding to four cars is twofold.
First, there are not enough NASCAR charters available. The current owners of the 36 NASCAR charters are competitive teams that want to compete week in and week out. Of course, this could change in the next year, and a team could lease or sell one of their charters.
Furthermore, the teams and NASCAR have undergone a new charter agreement. A rumored and yet-to-be-confirmed aspect of the deal is a new rule limiting teams to three charters each. If this rule is in effect, this option is entirely off the table for Trackhouse.
In this situation, Trackhouse could likely send Zilidch to fellow Chevrolet teams, Spire or Kaulig, but nothing is for sure until Connor’s time comes.
Unfortunately, the likelihood of Connor Zilisch being full-time in 2026 is full of difficult unknowns. If Zilisch dominates the Xfinity Series, Trackhouse may have to make a tough call. However, every move Trackhouse makes seems to be part of a detailed plan for the future.
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