The current NASCAR landscape is flush with young talent, including Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love, each of whom arrives at the racetrack every weekend with the goal of one day reaching the Cup Series. However, as promising as they may be in the Craftsman Truck Series or even the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, matching the level of competition in the Cup Series is far from a simple task.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship twice, in 2011 and 2012, before being promoted to the Cup Series, recently spoke about how harsh a transition it is to take that ultimate step in an interview with NewsNation.
He said, “It’s very difficult, you know. I came out of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and thought I was going to win races right off the bat back in 2013.”
“I got humbled pretty quick. It’s like going from minor league to major league baseball. Everybody is good. Everybody is proven what they can do. And won races to get to that level. So, yeah, competition is tough.”
Zilisch is perhaps the brightest young star in the sport right now. He will compete full-time in the Cup Series for the first time in his career, driving for Trackhouse Racing. Having known him for some time, Stenhouse is confident that Zilisch can handle the competition and rise to the challenge.
Stenhouse also expressed his happiness at seeing more young drivers climb the ranks and help keep the sport healthy and thriving. His comments make it clear that the level of sophistication in the Cup Series has tested even some of the most accomplished and skilled drivers in the sport’s history.
How does the O’Reilly Series differ from the Cup Series?
Chase Briscoe is another Cup Series driver who went through the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before getting to the big stage with Joe Gibbs Racing. He detailed the differences between the two series very clearly in a 2024 interview.
He stated, “If you’re driving for one of the top teams in the Xfinity Series, you can have a bad day on pit road or even make mistakes on the racetrack and you’re still going to be able to recover for a top-10 day, or right around there.”
This isn’t the case in the Cup Series, mainly due to the higher level of parity in it.
The Cup Series is that much more difficult because it restricts the number of drivers who can win races greatly. Other drivers who have made the transition more recently, like Shane van Gisbergen, have similar outlooks.
