A new racing prodigy is quickly climbing the NASCAR ranks. Connor Zilisch has just crossed the threshold of adulthood and is already making a lot of noise in the racing community. His Craftsman Truck debut at the Circuit of the Americas was dazzling: he won the pole and moved his car from the back of the field to 4. Zilisch is now preparing to join the Xfinity team under Dale Earnhardt Jr.
However, Dale Jr. you will have to drive diligently. Xfinity is currently welcoming another hot driver who is already excelling in his first year. This Kiwi racer can be a fireball on road courses, as he showed in his Cup Series debut last year. Naturally, Zilisch grimaced at the thought of competing with this talent.
The young prodigy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. do you see thorns too?
Shane van Gisbergen was already a motorsport icon before his time in NASCAR. He has won 80 races and is a three-time Australian Supercars series champion. SVG broke several records when entering the NASCAR Cup Series with a win in its first Chicago Street Race. And he has continued to prove himself since then, holding three wins this year in Xfinity: Sonoma, Portland and Chicago again. So Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s rookie. he clearly knows what kind of threat he has to face.
Connor Zilisch has been confirmed as the driver no. 88 for JR Motorsports recently, as fans were sad to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. drop off. Today, the 18-year-old sprinter enters a new phase of his career, as Corey LaJoie told him on the Stacking Pennies episode. “I want to be able to get out there and learn, right? The only way to improve and learn is to do it – by doing repetitions and spending time on the bike. Racing full time next year would allow me to do that and I to do a lot of reps…Hopefully I can go out there and…win a road course, win two road courses and hopefully be competitive on the oval,” Zilisch said. But SVG’s presence could be enough to slow Zilisch’s progress, as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s mentee said. Zilisch offered innocent congratulations, saying, “Hopefully SVG won’t be racing full-time in Xfinity next year, so I won’t have to worry about that… I don’t want to have to race against him, though I want to learn from him, praising SVG’s stellar record, Corey LaJoie also echoed Zilisch’s sentiments “This guy is a cheat code.”
However, Connor Zilisch may be underestimating his talents. The young star is truly a miracle in the making. His mentors saw the spark in him before introducing him to NASCAR.
Zilisch’s resume speaks for itself
When Justin Marks recruited Connor Zilisch to develop Trackhouse Racing, he knew what he was doing. Zilisch has two LMP2 wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and the Twelve Hours of Sebring. This year, he has three ARCA Menards wins and four ARCA Menards Series East Division trophies. And then we saw how he did at COTA. Maybe that’s what Dale Earnhardt Jr. did. he proudly says, “Connor is such an impressive driver at his young age.” »
Additionally, by joining JR Motorsports for Xfinity, Connor Zilisch will be part of an organization that has launched the careers of NASCAR stars such as William Byron, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Tyler Reddick. Marks recently told Dale Jr. that Zilisch is consistent with his “objective of having a Cup Championship contender in our car in the future”.
He also praised the brand: “When you try to think long term and think about what will be successful in the coming years, a lot of things revolve around speed. It’s maturity, authenticity, a great story, a great work ethic , motivation and everything. Connor quickly proved that many of these boxes were checked. In the end, he is a winner.” It’s clear that Connor Zilisch already carries the weight of respect at such a young age. We’re pretty sure he’ll prove to be a top-tier driver in the Xfinity Series whether SVG is present or not.
