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Sport

Zilisch focused on gaining respect and minimizing nerves in NASCAR Cup debut at COTA

Connor Zilisch NASCAR COTA Cup (Organization) TrackHouse Xfinity Cup Series (Organization) James Gilbert Ross Chastain Shane van Gisbergen

To say that there is some hype around Connor Zilisch would be quite the understatement. Considered one of if not the top prospects in NASCAR, he has a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations thrust upon him. These expectations didn't come from nowhere, as Zilisch has consistently reminded us of why we need to be paying attention to him.

For example, he earned a class victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sebring 12 Hours in his first attempt -- both before turning 18. He claimed pole position in his 2024 Truck debut at COTA and his 2024 Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen -- ultimately going on to win in his debut race as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver too.

Let’s not forget: this weekend has already been one to remember for the young phenom. He was third-quickest in the opening practice session for the Cup Series and qualified a respectable 14th. On the Xfinity side, he won from pole position despite a mid-race penalty that forced him to the rear of the field.

COTA will now serve as the launching pad for his Cup Series career, driving a fourth entry for Trackhouse with backing from Red Bull (which hasn't been seen as a primary sponsor in NASCAR for over 13 years) — a brand with a pretty good track record of noticing young talent behind the wheel.

Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

"I'm really bad with nerves"

In a truly truly candid look into the mentality of the young star in the making, Zilisch said this weekend how his nerves can and will hinder him if he doesn't keep a clear head.

"If you get too excited in the moment and you hype yourself up too much, that's when nerves start to become a thing, and I'm really bad with nerves," admitted Zilisch. "Like, when I'm nervous and, you know, I'm amped up, I just don't perform. I struggle."

The Xfinity win at COTA showed this, as Zilisch proved that he is actually human and capable of making mistakes. On a late-race restart, he blew Turn 1 while battling his teammate for the lead, costing both drivers. Soon after, he spun Corey Heim and damaged his right front fender after losing control in a late dive-bomb.

Frustrated by errors

To his credit, he was quick to own up to his mistakes despite going on to win the race anyway. Immediately after climbing from the car, Zilisch said that he "didn't drive a clean race at all," offering apologies to those he hit on track. The errors weighed heavy on his mind, even with the checkered flag in hand.

"I've already texted three people that I feel like I did wrong," he continued in the winner's press conference that followed. "That penalty hindered us and got my head spinning a little bit and put us in a bit of a bad spot, but to come back from that was really good. I just have to stay calmer from now on."

He compared it to last year's COTA Truck race, where he infamously blew the first corner on Lap 1 as the pole-sitter. Zilisch did claw back to finish fourth in that event, but it was still a bit messy. Now, he looks ahead to his Cup debut at the very same track, determined to not to let history repeat itself.

Gaining respect and avoiding the hype

Earlier in the weekend, Zilisch discussed how critical it is to make a good first impression on the titans of the sport. "It's really important to gain respect from those guys, you know, as early as possible," said Zilisch.

"You don't want to go out and make a fool of yourself because once you lose respect of all the veterans, it's really tough to get it back. So, you definitely want to race them the right way at first and, you know, show them that you're going to race them with respect. I think if you do that, they'll give it back to you.

"So, that's definitely the plan. I'll try and stick by it as best I can. But it can be tough for us sometimes, you know, with pressure and just everything involved. It's a lot tougher than people realize, but obviously the goal is to show those guys that I'm here to show them respect and, you know, not step outside my boundaries.”

Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

Trying not to dwell on the substantial nature of the 95-lap race ahead of him, Zilisch said how he aims to treat every race the same or he risks letting himself get too wrapped up in the hype. "The biggest thing for me is to just not let any moment be too big," he explained. "It's important to kind of just treat every race the same, whether it's a Cup Series race or whether it's a local late model race."

Speaking more on his mindset, Zilisch continued: "It's easy to get in your own head when you're thinking -- 'oh my gosh, this is such a big stage, this is crazy.' It's better to just kind of treat it like another race, and I think that's what works best for me. I think it's different for everybody, but it's easy for me to get in my own head if I try to tell myself -- 'oh my gosh, this moment's so big.' I'll tend to make more mistakes if I do that.”

There's been a lot of media attention on Zilisch this weekend and with his Xfinity win, that's only going to intensify on Sunday. So how does one treat it like any other race when no one around him is?

"You can't let outside noise affect the way you prepare; the way you compete and the way you think," explained Zilisch. "It's just kind of got to be the way you are, right? You got to show up to the track and understand that there's going to be a lot of noise around you, and there's going to be a lot of lights, and you know, it's going to be a big stage. But you kind of just got to let it, you know, not get to you and not affect you. Just treat it like any other race.”

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Ross Chastain, JR Motorsports Chevrolet (Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

The good news is that Zilisch also has three experienced teammates to lean on. All of his Trackhouse teammates have won on road/street courses and all three start the Cup race from inside the top-ten. If he can keep his nerves from getting the best of him and avoid more unforced errors, it's very possible we could see that No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet near the front before end. He certainly has the pace.

And not to get premature, but should he somehow pull off an astonishing Cup win in his debut race, it wouldn't be entirely unprecedented. Yes, it would mark just the second time in the last 60 years that it's happened, but the other time came just two years ago with none other than his Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen at the Chicago Street Course.

Success at COTA would also make him the youngest winner in Cup Series history. And between Van Gisbergen's 2023 Chicago victory, a miraculous 2022 wall-ride by Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez winning in the closest three-wide photo finish in NASCAR history just last year, Trackhouse is certainly a team that loves to make history.