Connor Zilisch reveals the ‘toughest part’ of his ordeal after a high-stakes collision with teammate Daniel Suarez

Connor Zilisch opened up on his lackluster Cup Series debut at COTA in an episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. The race ended early for Zilisch as well as his Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez, which means that both had to settle for DNFs.

On that note, the Xfinity Series full-timer shared what he found to be the most uncomfortable aspect of driving the NextGen Cup car. Finding the perfect balance between running low and making speed was the biggest challenge for Zilisch.

“The only thing that is weird about the Cup car is how low you run the rear,” Connor Zilisch explained (8:50). “You gotta do it to make speed, but it's so uncomfortable, especially on low air; that's how Daniel (Suarez) ended his race.”

Daniel Suarez, the driver of the No. 99 Chevy Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, has never finished higher than 24th at COTA. This time around, he spun out on Lap 50 during the final stage and caught Zilisch in the mess.

“We're out on low air and you hit a pothole or a dip in the track and the car bangs the ground and you kind of lose control of it,” Zilisch continued. “That's the toughest part for me; finding the balance of how low you can run it and make speed without it being too uncomfortable to drive.”

Despite his failed Cup Series outing, Zilisch will find perhaps solace in the fact that he had won the Xfinity Series race just the day prior. Safe to say that COTA is not the issue for the 18-year-old Charlotte native; it’s the Cup car that he needs to gain more experience with.

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Will Connor Zilisch return to the Cup Series in 2025?

Despite all adversities, Connor Zilisch drew several eyeballs as he recorded some of the fastest laps during his Cup debut. Needless to say, he is talented, young, and has what it takes to be a successful race car driver. So one might wonder if Zilisch will return to the series in 2025.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks shed light on the team’s plans with Connor Zilisch at the Cup level. Marks knows that driving a Cup car full-time is Zilisch’s ultimate goal, but right now, he wants him to focus on winning an Xfinity Series championship.

“We certainly want to give him as much opportunity as possible to get time in the Cup car. But it’s also a little bit of balance for a couple reasons,” Marks explained. “One, we want him to stay focused on trying to win the Xfinity Series championship.”

“This is a guy that’s raced so many different types of cars and different types of races the last couple of years and hasn’t really had an opportunity to be singularly focused on one championship run like he does this year. So, we want to kind of eliminate distractions and make sure he’s in a position where he can focus on that,” Marks added.

Thanks to his win Xfinity at COTA, Connor Zilisch is now in the playoffs. His next race is scheduled for Saturday, March 8. Named GOVX 200, the 200-lap event will be televised on CW with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.