Connor Zilisch will be making a well-deserved jump to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026. The 19-year-old is in the middle of his maiden Xfinity Series season with JR Motorsports and already has seven wins in the bag. By every account, he is the favorite to win the championship. Trackhouse Racing announced the news of his promotion to the premier tier this weekend at Daytona.
Advertisement
The youngster had to fight back tears when addressing the press during the release event. Sitting alongside Justin Marks (team owner) and Dr. Eric Warren (Global Motorsports Competition vice president), Zilisch expressed his gratitude to a host of people who helped him climb through the racing ranks and put him in his current position as a confirmed Cup Series driver.
Zilisch said, “First of all, thank you to Eric and Justin. I was sitting in the Dix parking lot across the street earlier today and just kind of reflecting on the last 15 years of my life and what’s led to this moment and got me to this point. I never thought I would make it anywhere in racing. My parents have been behind me since day one, through every moment, the good, the bad.”
The initial plan that his father had drawn up for him was to send him to college after a couple of years of racing. But the intervention of the iconic Kevin Harvick is what stopped that. Zilisch recalled, “My dad was like, ‘Well, he’s going to race for another year or two and then he’s going to go to college.’ And Kevin told my dad, ‘You can’t do that.’ So, first of all, thank you to Kevin.”
Zilisch went on to thank Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt for giving him his current seat with JR Motorsports, before doing the same for his ARCA Menards Series team owners and his Trans Am team.
The Charlotte-born prodigy made a special mention of Gary Willis, who was his coach back during his karting days. “He was basically my father for a good portion of my life,” he said. “So, today is a really, really special day for me.”
I did not expect Connor Zilisch to have to fight back tears during his Cup announcement today: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/GC1SBLaCR6
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 23, 2025
But before he packs his bags to join Trackhouse Racing as their third driver alongside Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen, Zilisch has a job to do: win the Xfinity Series Championship.
On Friday, Parker Kligerman filled in for him mid-race and reached Victory Lane in the Wawa 250 at Daytona. Hopefully, Zilisch will fully recover from his collarbone injury before the playoffs begin at Bristol on September 12.
