Joey Logano Makes Bold “Connor Zilisch Is Better Than me” Confession

Joey Logano openly admits that Connor Zilisch is much better than he ever was at just 19 years of age in NASCAR.

Joey Logano Makes Bold “Connor Zilisch Is Better Than me” Confession

Connor Zilisch (via Getty), Joey Logano (via NKP Images)

Joey Logano has endured a difficult campaign in the 2025 Cup Series season. The defending champion has amassed only one race win this year and barely made it into the playoffs. However, his debut back in 2009 was very successful as he became the youngest driver to win a Cup Series race back then. Despite being one of the winningest drivers on the current grid, Logano believes that Connor Zilisch is already much better than the former when he was at the same age.

Connor Zilisch has amassed over seven coveted race wins in the Xfinity Series in just his debut full-time season. The 19-year-old possessed great momentum and could’ve continued his winning pace if it weren’t for his freak incident at Watkins Glen. Regardless, Zilisch already has a Cup Series seat lined up with Trackhouse Racing in the 2026 season.

Joey Logano did not hesitate to applaud Connor Zilisch and place him above himself in terms of performance. Logano insisted that Zilisch remained much better than he was at the same age. The 35-year-old acknowledged that the young gun was also much more mature as compared to he was during the same time. The Penske star further warned the #88 driver not to get carried away by all the hype (“drinking the kool-aid”) while the 19-year-old was making strides in the pinnacle of stock car racing.

I think he’s [Zilisch] better than I was at that age, and he seems to be more mature than I was at that age,  I’d say that the biggest thing is it’s easy as an 18 or 19 year old to drink the Kool-Aid.

Joey Logano said, as reported by motorsport.com.

Joey Logano furthered his compliments and emphasized that Connor Zilisch was undoubtedly a great driver and had a very successful career ahead of him in the Xfinity Series. However, the three-time Cup Series champion warned Zilisch ahead of his promotion to the ultimate league. Logano emphasized that Cup Racing was different, as all drivers were great in their own sense. As such, the 19-year-old shouldn’t get carried away and fall on his own face following his promotion up the chain.

Yeah, he’s a great driver. There’s no doubt. He can win a lot of Xfinity races. Cup racing is different. Everybody is that great at this level. Everybody is fantastic, so you can’t drink your own Kool-Aid too much to where you think you’re the next thing and then you’re gonna get here and fall on your face.

Joey Logano added.

Joey Logano urges Connor Zilisch to ‘stay humble’ amid Cup Series promotion

Connor Zilisch has already suffered from an accident while celebrating too hard, as he wouldn’t dare to do such stunts for quite some time in the coming races. The 19-year-old scored an impressive victory at Watkins Glen and deserved all the praise for it. However, despite looking strong and having a promising career in the Cup Series ahead of him, Joey Logano offered some sage advice to the young driver.

Connor Zilisch (via The Tennessean)
Connor Zilisch (via The Tennessean)

Joey Logano recalled that he had been in the same place as Connor Zilisch, back when he was a youngster and exceeded everyone’s expectations of him. Logano reckoned that, as good as he believed Zilisch was, he still needed to be humble about his performances and not get carried away with the flow. The 35-year-old pointed out that the upcoming Trackhouse driver must not lose focus and always remember what is important in the Cup Series.

I lived it. I’ve been there. As good as I think that he is and will be, I also think that you’ve got to stay humble throughout it all and just remember what’s important.

Joey Logano noted.

Connor Zilisch heads into the playoffs as the favorite to win the Xfinity championship this year. The 19-year-old has showcased dominance on both short oval and road course circuits, and can go on to win his maiden championship. Now, time will tell if Zilisch manages to keep up with results in the round of 12 and so on until the championship 4 at Phoenix.

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