“It’s Very Difficult!” Connor Zilisch Discusses Tough Reality Behind His Rookie Cup Struggle

Coming into the 2026 season, rookie Connor Zilisch was expected to have a strong season with multiple wins. But so far, the year has been a massive disappointment for the No:88 Chevy driver. He only earned just 216 points from 23 starts, placing him at P34, with just one top-10 finish and a heartbreaking 8 DNFs.

The youngster pointed out that, just like how it was back in the second division for him in 2025, if a racer is with the big-3 teams, he is guaranteed to run in the top-12 or closer. He pointed out how the championship chasers like Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick are consistently running upfront unlike the rest of garage.

It’s the thing that people don’t realize in Xfinity Racing is if you’re with Gibbs, JRM, Haas, like if you’re with those three teams, you’re going to run top 12. And if you don’t, then you’re not going to make it very long. But, you know, you don’t see guys like Denny [Hamlin] run outside the top 12 or [Tyler] Reddick or people who have been really good this year.

Connor Zilisch said on Denny Hamlin’s podcast.

But the difference in the Cup compared to the lower divisions is that the quality of the racers is elite making every position valuable. Everyone runs much closer and aggressive, making it difficult to make a mark in an average Trackhouse Racing car. All this combined with a drop in confidence in the car has made 2026 so far nightmare for Connor Zilisch.

It’s very difficult. I will say the drivers are all very good. Everybody fights for every spot whether it’s for the lead or for 25th every lap, and also the cars are just way different. And it’s very difficult no matter what series to overcome a car that struggles, but especially when the drivers are so good it really makes it hard to.

Connor Zilisch added via Actions Detrimental.

Connor Zilisch likes the idea of more practice in Cup races

One of the major changes coming to NASCAR is the change to practice schedule. The new session will see drivers running for 50 mins, with multiple tires instead of the two group 25 minutes runs. Zilisch loves the change as it would help the small team to make impactful changes to the car, but admitted that it might not benefit the big-3 cars as much.

Yeah, I definitely think it’s helpful for us. Getting to make changes in practice and get two sets of tires and be able to run more laps and have more time on track is certainly helpful for me…It’s definitely going to help the other teams more than it will the big three

Connor Zilisch said.

Later discussing his struggles, the racer pointed out that his driving skills itself wont help him make a massive difference in a Cup car, as his rivals are equally good or better than him. But he understands if the No:88 team continues to develop as they are doing right now, they would soon achieve the desired goals in the sport.

The cars are just way different, and it’s very difficult no matter what series to overcome a car that struggles, but especially when the drivers are so good it really makes it hard too…We’ve struggled a little bit this year as a team, but we’re making progress, and we’re better than when we started the year. So, yeah, hopefully we can continue to get better and figure this thing out.

Connor Zilisch admitted.

The comments from the Trackhouse Racing driver are on point and shows he is hopeful about making a strong comeback in the 2026 season. They can no longer make it into the last-16 as there are just three races left in the regular season, but could still make a mark by winning races, especially road courses where Trackhouse has the best shot.

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