For a driver with just one NASCAR national series start, Connor Zilisch is moving up the ladder quickly.
Trackhouse Racing announced Wednesday that Zilisch, the 18-year-old American racing prodigy, will drive full time for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity Series team in 2025. Zilisch is a development driver for Trackhouse, which races in the NASCAR Cup Series, but will drive the No. 88 car for JR Motorsports.
The news isn’t surprising because Zilisch arrived on the NASCAR scene with some of the most hype for any young driver in the last decade. But that’s what happens when a 17-year-old wins prestigious sports car races like the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in the same year, along with three oval races in the lower-tier ARCA series, which has shown an impressive adaptability to different types of circuits.
2025 starts now.
JR Motorsports is proud to welcome @ConnorZilisch to the No. 88 Chevrolet full time in 2025. pic.twitter.com/eI6HvWutGm
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) August 7, 2024
When Zilisch made his highly-anticipated NASCAR Truck Series debut at the Circuit of the Americas road course in March, he won the pole position and set a new track record before finishing fourth.
After turning 18 last month, Zilisch now meets the minimum age requirement to race in the Xfinity Series. He will make his series debut at Watkins Glen in September and race three ovals in Xfinity before the season ends.
Zilisch once appeared to be on the Formula One path and moved to Europe to race karts — beating some of the top current F1 prospects (such as Kimi Antonelli) in the process.
But he told The Athletic earlier this year his path unfolded more naturally closer to his North Carolina home.
“I just lost hope,” he said of F1. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m gonna make F1.’ You need billions of dollars and it just almost isn’t even possible. But if I was over there right now, with the hype around F1 in America, I probably would have a different mindset about it.
“But honestly, I’m happy with where I’m at and with the dream I’m chasing. I get to live in America and be with my family. It feels like home. It’s still really cool to be chasing a professional racing career.”
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(Photo: Aaron E. Martinez /American-Statesman / USA Today)
