Chase Elliott Defends Future HMS Teammate Connor Zilisch from Criticism of Poor Rookie Season

Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch came to the 2026 season, his Cup rookie year, with a lot of hope and he has so far failed to deliver any solid runs. Despite that Hendrick Motorsport decided to sign him to replace Alex Bowman in the No:48 Chevy from the 2028 season. Many has criticized the driver and his team over the poor form.

Chase Elliott, the future teammate of the youngster, has recently came to the Chevy drivers’ defence. The No:9 Chevy driver highlighted the racer is going grow a lot before making his debut for NASCAR’s most successful team ever. The No:88 driver right now has more than 46 races left at Trackhouse to master the Cup game and he has the talent do exactly that.

I think Connor’s gonna change a lot before he gets there, or before he gets over here to run. I think that’s all really good, and he has time to continue to work on his craft. If you went and talked to him today, you’re gonna get a different version of him when it comes time to actually get to Daytona, and I think all that will be for the better. He has a lot of talent, obviously, that’s been shown at different points in his career.

Chase Elliott said in an interview recently.

“Having a fresh perspective can be really healthy for a company”@chaseelliott on @ConnorZilisch joining Hendrick Motorsports for 2028.

Chase also discussed his expectations for the race in Daytona next weekend. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/3K9CsJB1jK

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) August 22, 2026

Further talking about the point, Chase Elliott admitted that there are some mistakes that happen from Connor Zilisch side that has derailed his season, but not everything is his fault. Trackhouse as a team has massively underperformed this season. He is excited to see the racer making his debut driving the car draped with the iconic number like the majority in the garage.

I know this year hadn’t gone like he wanted it to, and some of that’s been his fault, some of it hasn’t, a lot of it hasn’t really. So I’m excited to see where it goes. Again, it’s a long way off, and what that will be or won’t be, nobody’s gonna know until we kinda get going and get working together and really see some of that first-hand.

Chase Elliott added via Frontstretch.

Kevin Harvick gives Connor Zilisch a blunt reality check ahead of HMS move

Talking about the same shocking driver move, Kevin Harvick had a big warning for Zilisch. He highlighted that the youngster must perform with his new team in 2028 and prove he is not one of the overhyped racers for the unwanted chapters of racing history books.

We will definitely find out if it was overhyped or hyped enough. We spoke to Alex Bowman about the 48. Now there’s just no way out, right? Like, there’s a way out right now for Connor with the Trackhouse situation and the way that the cars run with the results on the racetrack.

Kevin Harvick said.

The 2014 champion believes there is no excuse for the racer to not deliver race winning run by 2028, as till then the experiment era will be over. He would have to perform on a level closer to the 2025 second division campaign.

Those excuses don’t live at Hendrick. That expectation period is over. You’re going to have two years at Trackhouse, and when you get into the 48, the expectation is going to be when.

Kevin Harvick added.

The comments from the ex-racer are on point and shows how abandoning a long-term future with Trackhouse is a massive move for Zilisch, as it could make or break his legacy. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the star driver in the coming days.

Also Read: Jeff Gordon Gives Major Update on “Franchise Guy” Chase Elliott’s HMS Contract Extension Talks