Dale Jr.’s NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch makes an honest admission after overcoming adversity for a stunning COTA win

JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch won Saturday’s (February 1) race at COTA, but it wasn't easy. The youngster shared his thoughts on the win during a post-race interview with CW Sports.

Zilisch was off to a good start. After running up front almost throughout the first stage, the Charlotte native pitted under caution. He didn’t make the light in time and was sent to the back of the field ahead of Stage 2.

As the race went on, Zilisch was able to gain positions. By lap 33, he was back inside the top-10. But in the final stage, Zilisch spun fellow racer Corey Heim, taking heavy damage to the right front. With nine laps to go, he took the lead and despite a right-front tire issue, the Chevy star went ahead and grabbed the checkered flag.

“That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” Connor Zilisch said of the race. “I did not drive a clean race at all. Sorry to everyone that I hit; I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race. Glad that we were able to fight back.”

Thanking his sponsors for their support, and the No. 88 JR Motorsports team for giving him a fast car, Zilisch continued:

“It's been such (a) fun weekend but we got a big race tomorrow. Looking forward to that as well.”

Connor Zilisch now eyes his NASCAR Cup Series debut, which is scheduled for Sunday, March 2. He will drive the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA.

Connor Zilisch comes clean on “setting expectations” for his Cup Series debut

Connor Zilisch will be the second youngest driver (after Joey Logano) to make their Cup Series debut on Sunday. If he somehow manages to win the race, he will become the youngest winner in the history of the series.

But Zilisch gets how hard it is to finish inside the top-10 let alone bagging a win. So he has no expectations.

"The car is new. I'm racing against probably 25 drivers I've never raced against before. Yeah, there's a lot of variables that I just don't know. So for me, setting expectations is really tough, right?” he said.

Although Zilisch hasn’t set a goal, finishing inside the top five would be nice. He knows that unforeseen events like a speeding penalty or even another tire issue might come his way and end his day early.

“The biggest thing is going to be execution on Sunday and making the most of the race and not making mistakes,” Zilisch added.

Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race will be televised on FOX with radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 3:30 pm ET onwards.