The upcoming generation of NASCAR drivers could very well be the most talented in history. One has to look no further than 18-year-old Connor Zilisch to understand this.
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The Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year contender has already made a name for himself in his brief time at the top levels. And this weekend, Charlotte will get to see his speed.
Zilisch sat out of his car for the past few weeks after sustaining an injury at the Talladega Superspeedway. He announced on his social media handles recently that he will be back to race in Charlotte, with appearances in both the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series.
Following the announcement, he spoke to Fox Sports to reveal a range of his thoughts. One of the most intriguing parts was about the difficulty that he has been facing in adjusting to NASCAR racing.
He said, “I feel like you make one mistake and it ends your day. I’ve never had that before in the racing I’ve done… Learning to minimize mistakes has been probably the toughest part for me, and understanding that one mistake can end your day.”
Zilisch has won a race this year and secured his Xfinity playoff spot. He also won at Watkins Glen last year. An argument can be made that the youngster has been pretty good at minimizing mistakes thus far. The only hope is that he continues doing it and gets more efficient at it. He is currently ranked 12th in the driver standings.
Zilisch does not believe in overthinking race strategies
Another important lesson that he has learnt is not to overthink how he must navigate the race. The less worried he has been about the technical aspects, the better his result has been.
He added, “I feel like coming into the year, I was so worried about how complicated the races were going to be, and going to new tracks and pit road and everything — and, honestly, the less I’ve tried to think about it, the better I’ve been.”
The hype around Zilisch had been unreal last year. From Kevin Harvick to Kyle Larson, many Cup Series icons stood behind him with huge words of praise. But the little mistakes that he made on the track caused him to be the subject of various criticisms on social media. This is but a challenge that every upcoming driver must get through.
Fortunately, he is mature enough to understand that. He emphasized he would race the same way regardless of the number of people watching him. “I feel like I’ve done a good job of just doing my deal and not really letting the outside noise affect me, good or bad,” he said. Good for him, because he has 400 crucial laps coming up ahead on Sunday in the Next Gen car.
