Following his impressive debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025, Connor Zilisch is all set for his rookie campaign in the Cup Series this season. He missed out on the title, finishing second in the standings, but bagged 10 wins in the process. Still, the 19-year-old refuses to harbor sky-high expectations for himself.
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Although his peers, Shane van Gisbergen and his team owner, Justin Marks, have expressed confidence in Zilisch’s potential, the No. 88 Chevrolet Camry ZL1 driver stated he does not expect to win the Cup championship in his rookie season.
“I don’t have any expectations to go out and win a championship at all. But I definitely want to work towards that and one day be able to be in the position to go out and win one,” Zilisch said ahead of Bowman Gray.
For now, he remains excited for this season to learn and enjoy. It will prove a challenge competing against NASCAR’s elite, and it will be tougher than it was last year, but Zilisch is ready for that.
The Trackhouse Racing driver added, “No, I haven’t really set any goals for myself. I don’t really know what to expect coming into this year, so it’s hard to set expectations when there’s so much new for me and my team.”
Zilisch’s major goal is to come out as a better driver at season’s end than he is at the beginning. And he believes that if he can accomplish that, he will be satisfied.
Zilisch reflects on his last year’s performance and what he would like to refine this year
Last season, with JR Motorsports, Zilisch lost the Xfinity Championship narrowly, and it crushed him. Of the 33 starts he logged, Zilisch finished just nine races outside the top ten. He ranked among the finest Xfinity drivers last year. But, after finishing third at Phoenix Raceway in the finale, Zilisch could only claim second in the final standings.
Zilisch believes that last year, there were a couple of tracks he struggled with, and he allowed himself to get a bit too comfortable at points. He knew his cars were going to be competitive every week, and that bred the expectation that no matter what transpires, he is going to contend for a win, and probably turned out to be a dangerous mindset to have.
Zilisch intends to ensure that it won’t be the case this year. He won’t carry the expectation to win every week, so that will change, while making sure he stays hungry, no matter what’s transpiring, proves important. That will be more so the case this year, with the reality that he must catch up to the Cup competitors.
