18-Year-Old NASCAR Driver Connor Zilisch Poised To Make History (Again) This Weekend At COTA
This Sunday all of NASCAR will be watching as 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch makes his highly anticipated Cup Series debut.
Zilisch has already made massive waves in the sport and cemented himself in the history books. With backing on the Xfinity level by Dale Earnhardt Jr and JR Motorsports, and in the Cup Series with a car prepared by Team Trackhouse, Zilisch has all the talent and support to win on any level.
He’ll be driving the #87 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing with Red Bull as his primary sponsor, a brand that has been out of NASCAR since 2011. However, between the hype of Zilisch and his Kiwi teammate Shane Van Gisbergen, the energy brand is back in the sport and primed for greener pastures than years past.
Zilisch made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas in March 2024, where he set a track record in qualifying and recorded a 4th place finish despite early setbacks.
In September of 2024, Zilisch turned heads in the racing world again by winning his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen. He lead half of the 90 laps and outlasted the field in a 2 overtime thriller. At just 18 years and 54 days old, he became the second-youngest winner in Xfinity Series history, only bested by Joey Logano who won in Xfinity at Kentucky Speedway in 2008 at the age of 18 years and 21 days old.
Now this Sunday, the 18-year-old has the potential to become the youngest driver to ever win a Cup Series should he win at COTA. It was interesting to hear Zilisch compare his driving style to 3 time Cup Series Champion Joey Logano in the interview below, who currently holds the record, being 19 years old at the time of his first Cup Series win in June of 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
At the time of writing this, DraftKings has Zilisch at +750 to win this Sunday on the Cup level, and a whopping -160 to win on Saturday in his Xfinity appearance.
Don't miss the first road course race of the year this Sunday March 2nd at 3:30pm EST on FOX.
Subscribe to Rubbin' is Racing for more NASCAR coverage and check out our interview with Connor Zilisch below.
