Corey LaJoie brands Connor Zilisch a “STUD” ahead of his Coke 600 debut

NASCAR veteran Corey LaJoie praised Connor Zilisch for their impressive performance and skill ahead of his Coke 600 debut.

Corey LaJoie brands Connor Zilisch a “STUD” ahead of his Coke 600 debut

Corey LaJoie and Connor Zilisch (Via IMAGO)

Trackhouse Racing and JR Racing star driver Connor Zilisch is set to make his Cup Series return, with second ever career start at Coca-Cola 600. It will be his maiden crown jewel race entry, as his debut came this year with Trackhouse at COTA. Part-racer and Prime broadcaster Corey LaJoie analyzed the situation and capabilities of veteran ahead of the qualifying.

Ahead of the qualifying Corey LaJoie talked about the youngster who is racing in the Cup, after his Xfinity duties with JR Motorsports. The ex-Spire Motorsports full-time racer asserted that Connor Zilisch is stud, who got the tools, poise and maturity to succeed on Sunday. The only concern he had though was the fact the racer was going out early to qualify. It turned out to be a valid concern as he was just the 33 best of the 40 racers entered the event.  

Just a stud. Hometown kid as well from Mooresville. He’s got all the tools, he’s got the poise, he’s got the maturity. But he’s got a long night tomorrow night ahead of him. What I don’t love about it right now is that metric draw. Not a full-time car at Trackhouse, it’s his second Cup Series start, first on an oval, goes out first to qualify. That’s a big disadvantage with this car.

Corey LaJoie explained during Cup practice today on Prime Video.

Why the timing was a disadvantage? Well earlier in the race the track wont as clean as the rest and that means the drivers that comes in late for their qualifying lap will get better conditions. This in term will cost him good pit-road position, which eventually might hurt him in the race. But since it’s 600 miles event, there is enough time for the youngster to get over the mistake, with the right execution.

That track continues to get cleaned up every car that goes on it, and he’s got a big disadvantage, which then perpetuates a tough pit road selection. So, I hope he can overcome it, and if anybody can do it, I think it’s Connor.

Corey LaJoie added.

How Connor Zilisch feels about NASCAR return after injury

The race weekend also marked the Xfinity series return of the star driver, after he missed out on two weeks owing to a back injury. He had a crash at Talladega causing a back injury, forcing JRM to sideline him for one race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Conor Zilisch
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Conor Zilisch (Via @ConnorZilisch/X)

On his return on Saturday at Charlotte, he was solid from the start of the race and ended P2 behind Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, who made a part-time appearance that day. Talking about the outing, he admitted that he feels good and proud about the result. This gives him more confidence going into the upcoming weekends race at Nashville.

I felt really good. Sometimes, it’s good to get a few weeks off and reset. Really proud of this group. We had a really good car today. Just came up a little bit short, but we’ll go get them next week at Nashville and see what we can do there.

Connor Zilisch said.

At the moment, Zilisch 100% locked on his Cup outing with Trackhouse and will hoping to have a solid day that proves his worth on his maiden oval Cup race. A good finish will inspire the Chevy team to give the prodigy an extended Cup schedule if a full-time seat isn’t available in the 2026 Cup series season.

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