Connor Zilisch still smarting from NASCAR Xfinity Championship loss – Speedway Digest

The good news is that Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch are still friends.

Zilisch’s remarkable rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ended on a sour note on Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway.

Love won his second race of the year and the series championship to stymie Zilisch’s attempt to cap his 10-victory season with a title.

Despondent over the loss, Zilisch, who finished third on Saturday, still managed to celebrate his good friend’s success.

“I went up to him in Victory Lane,” Zilisch said. “At the end of the day, he did nothing wrong. He asked me, ‘Are you mad at me?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t have any reason to be mad at you, dude. You’re not the one who created this situation. You just executed when you needed to.’

“I have no reason to be upset about that. Yeah, I celebrated with him, and we had fun. It’s part of it. I had no reason to be upset with him and hold it against him.”

Zilisch, 19, will move to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026 with Trackhouse Racing, and he’s realistic about his prospects.

“I just want to go out and learn,” Zilisch said. “I don’t really have expectations for where I’m going to finish or what’s going to happen. I just want to be a better driver in (Homestead) in November than I was in Daytona in February, and if I can do that, I’d be pretty happy.

“The Cup Series is tough. It’s a whole different ballgame. Everybody’s really talented. All the teams are really good. It’s just a different level. It’s going to take a little bit of time to figure it out and get used to it, but I’m just really excited for the opportunity.

“It’s really cool for me to be able to do this at my age and get the opportunity to go race in the highest level of our sport. I’m just going to go do my best and try and learn as much as possible and grow with my team. Hopefully, at the end of the year, I feel like I’m in a pretty comfortable spot.”