Connor Zilisch, one of NASCAR’s top prospects, moving to Cup Series full-time in 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Connor Zilisch, one of NASCAR’s top prospects, is moving full-time to the Cup Series in 2026 with Trackhouse Racing announcing Saturday the 19-year-old will replace Daniel Suarez on its driver roster.

Trackhouse elevating Zilisch comes as no surprise. Ever since Trackhouse signed Zilisch last year, the expectation was that he would soon be in NASCAR’s top division. While all involved preached patience, Zilisch’s unmistakable ability and resounding success in the second-tier Xfinity Series accelerated the timeline for his move upward.

“We’re here to shock the world with an announcement that nobody saw coming,” Trackhouse owner Justin Marks joked Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, site of this weekend’s Cup race. “It’s a thrilling moment, humbling and exciting moment for Trackhouse, Trackhouse Entertainment Group, to officially announce and welcome Connor Zilisch (as) our third driver next year in a multiyear deal in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

As a rookie this season in Xfinity, Zilisch leads the series in wins and is near the top of the leaderboard in several key statistical categories. He is considered one of the favorites to win the Xfinity championship.

Zilisch pursued racing in Formula One, even moving in his young teens from his Charlotte, N.C., area home to Europe, where he raced go-karts. A lack of funding stalled those aspirations, however, and Zillisch moved back to the United States and transitioned to sports cars before ending up racing stock cars. He eventually caught the eye of several teams, putting him on the path to NASCAR’s top level.

“I was sitting in the Dick’s parking lot across the street earlier today and just kind of reflecting on the last 15 years of my life and what’s led to this moment and got me to this point,” said Zilisch, fighting back tears. “I never thought I would make it anywhere in racing.”

One team that took immediate notice of Zilisch was Trackhouse. Marks competed as a teammate to Zilisch in a Trans-Am race in Virginia, where Marks was impressed by both Zilisch’s professionalism and maturity.

“It’s the level of maturity, the approach, the ability to deliver in big moments,” Marks said.

“I get asked sometimes by young people, ‘What can I do to get noticed or to get an opportunity in racing?’ And I tell them, ‘You have to just win. You have to just have the ability to just get it done. When you get a fast racecar and you have a winning opportunity, you have to be able to close the deal.’ And, Connor’s done it. Every car he’s gotten in, he’s figured out a way to win.”

Last fall, Zilisch won in his first Xfinity start, a sign of what was to come this season, where he competed full-time for a team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt. After he won in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt said the teenager was a generational talent, comparing him to multi-time Cup champions Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

“We’re all kind of on the front end of witnessing this really incredible career,” Earnhardt said. “It’s almost whatever he wants to do. He has the potential to do incredible, incredible Hall of Fame-worthy things.”

Trackhouse cleared a spot for Zilisch on its Cup roster by announcing in July that the team and Suarez were “mutually parting” at the conclusion of the 2025 season. There wasn’t room to keep Suarez, whose contract is up at the end of the season, because Trackhouse also has Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain under Cup contracts.

Van Gisbergen and Chastain have won a combined five races this season and are both locked into the playoffs, and by adding Zilisch, Trackhouse is well-positioned to have a formidable three-car lineup for the foreseeable future.

“The goal for this business is to be a championship-winning organization, and we’re making a lot of moves internally right now to get ourselves there,” Marks said. “Because we’re competitors, or racers, and we want to win every single week.”

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)