“He has something that cannot be taught”: Connor Zilisch deemed a rare breed of racers by former F1 driver Max Papis

Former F1 driver Max Papis has praised NASCAR's rising star Connor Zilisch's racing intellect. According to Papis, the 18-year-old boasts a talent that's rarely seen and that "cannot be taught."

Zilisch stepped into the NASCAR Truck Series on a part-time basis as Trackhouse Racing's development driver. At 17 years old until July this year, the North Carolina native was barred from running a full-time schedule in the high-octane motorsport.

Still, Zilisch showcased his racing prowess in his part-time debut at the Circuit of The Americas. Not only did the Spire Motorsports driver set the fastest qualifying time in his maiden NASCAR run, he bagged a fourth-place finish in his #7 Chevy. Moreover, the teenage driver has risen through the ranks with his five ARCA wins, as well as wins in the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring victory on the first attempt.

Thus, soon after Connor Zilisch turned 18 on July 22, JR Motorsports announced Wednesday (August 7) about signing him full-time for the 2025 Xfinity Series.

Speaking on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s latest hiring, Max Papis deemed Zilisch a rare breed of racers. Papis is a former F1 driver, a two-time 24 Hours of Daytona winner, an IMSA Champion, and has several other achievements. He opined that the 18-year-old has a "racing intellect," something that's not common and "cannot be taught."

"Connor has something that cannot be taught, that is a racing intellect. Speed comes from god, what makes a real champion is the ability of using the processor, that is up here [brain]. 40% [is] for driving and 60% for everything else. I've seen that in Connor," Papis said via Dirty Mo Media on X (0:10).

While Zilisch will embark on his rookie Xfinity season in 2025, he will get a taste of racing in the same by this year. As announced in March, the racing prodigy will run four NXS races for JRM this season- at the Watkins Glen International, Kansas Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway.

Also, his second Truck Series race is scheduled for this weekend at the Richmond Raceway.

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"He is on a path to sure success"- Dale Earnhardt Jr. after signing Connor Zilisch for the 2025 Xfinity Series season

Connor Zilisch's dominance in motorsports has been getting praise from the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr. from as early as March this year. While sharing his views on COTA track and race, Junior opined on the teenager's "insane" prowess and said that he "has the runway to become a multi-time NASCAR Cup champion."

Fast forward to Wednesday, the co-owner of JR Motorsports expressed his excitement about having Zilisch behind the #88 Chevy's wheel full-time.

"Connor is such an impressive driver at this young age. We’re excited for him to get behind the wheel full-time next season. He is on a path to sure success with support from Chevrolet, Silver Hare Racing, Trackhouse, and now JR Motorsports,” Earnhardt Jr. said via NASCAR.

Since the 18-year-old entered the 2024 season, he has savored success in NASCAR and other motorsports. After signing the full-time deal with JRM, Zilisch said his "goal" was to go to Earnhardt Jr.'s team as he believes "they've had the most success."

“I think our goal was to go to JR Motorsports. It wasn’t guaranteed, and we looked at other options. There’s a lot of good Chevrolet-affiliated teams with Kaulig and RCR, but at the end of the day, when you look at the Cup Series and the guys who have come through JR Motorsports and gone to the Cup Series, I feel like they’ve had the most success," the future JRM driver said.

Even though Connor Zilisch is set to kick off his full-time NXS season next year, details about his sponsors are yet to surface at a later date.