At the age when Denny Hamlin was only a couple of years out from working shifts at Subway, 19-year-old Connor Zilisch now stands on the brink of stepping into Cup cars next season.
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With nine wins already in his rookie full-time Xfinity campaign across 25 starts, and a commanding lead over seasoned veterans in the standings, Zilisch is setting the world on fire. Hamlin believes the teenager is more than ready for the top tier, though the No. 11 driver is equally intrigued to watch Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen square off in the same series.
Fresh off his Gateway victory, Hamlin joined the latest episode of NASCAR: The Day After with Shannon Spake and spoke about the sport’s newest sensation.
The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver said, “Well, he’s certainly ready (to compete in the Cup Series). I don’t think he has anything more to prove in the Xfinity series, which is why he’s getting the call up to Cup, but it’s a tall fence.”
Hamlin emphasized that the climb may be steep, but Zilisch is already ahead of the curve. “He’s far ahead of where I was at that point. So yeah, I think that he’s certainly ready. He’s going to be competitive. Certainly, a playoff contender,” he added.
“I’m interested to see what he does on the ovals in Cup. That’s going to be what’s going to be very, very interesting to me. Because SVG has made a progression and he’s gotten better on the ovals. There’s no question about it.
“I want to see in Connor’s rookie season, where does he run relative to Shane on the ovals in Shane’s second year? Like, are they comparable, or is Connor ahead?”
Hamlin noted that if Zilisch proves to be ahead of SVG, then within a couple of years, fans may well be talking about a driver capable of racking up wins in bunches.
Still, he cautioned that performance will hinge on the team as well. Trackhouse Racing must give him cars fast enough to run at the sharp end, and only then can Zilisch show the full measure of his potential.
Joey Logano warns Zilisch of early fame
When success comes early, young drivers often get caught chasing the spotlight instead of honing their skills. Given the parallels between Joey Logano’s rise and Connor Zilisch’s path, with both breaking into Cup at nearly the same age, the three-time champion offered a word to the wise.
He said, “I’d say that the biggest thing is it’s easy as an 18- or 19-year-old to drink the Kool-Aid. Yeah, he’s a great driver. There’s no doubt. He can win a lot of Xfinity races. Cup racing is different.
“Everybody is great at this level. Everybody is fantastic, so you can’t drink your own Kool-Aid too much to where you think you’re the next thing, and then you’re gonna get here and fall on your face. I lived it. I’ve been there.”
For now, Zilisch keeps his eyes on the prize of clinching the regular season crown in the second-tier series before shifting gears to a full-time ride in the Next Gen car next season, perhaps the time when NASCAR settles on both the playoff format and the new horsepower package.
