With two cars in the playoffs last year and multiple victories to their name since 2020, Trackhouse Racing was looking like the next big thing. Yet in the 2026 Cup Series season, their performance doesn’t justify the championship runner-up title they received with Ross Chastain in 2022. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is yet another example of the downfall, narrated through the desperate cries of frustration by Connor Zilisch.

Connor Zilisch exposes Trackhouse Racing’s weaknesses

When Zilisch stepped into the NASCAR Cup Series, many warned him. Almost everyone wanted him to realize that he wasn’t racing for a top team anymore. But his experience in the past four weekends has been the biggest proof of the same. That’s why when his crew chief tried to work with him about his pace during Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, Connor Zilisch was unable to hold back his words.

“Just f****** slow. I don’t know, dude. This is embarrassing… Dude, this thing does not fire off worth a f*** man… This is f****** horrible. Awful. I’m so bad.”

It is quite clear that things are becoming painfully difficult for Zilisch in his new ride. There were multiple instances where it looked like he would finish well, but he got spun out by other drivers. Take COTA, for example.

A track, which is supposed to be his specialty. Zilisch got tagged by drivers, and even after driving one of his best races, he was still unable to break into the top 10.

If you think that Zilisch being a rookie is facing such hurdles, well, even the veterans are unable to keep up with the Trackhouse Racing car. Shane van Gisbergen had similar complaints from his team during the race at Las Vegas.

When his crew chief asked him about the difficulty he was facing during the stage, SVG shut him down with a poignant remark.

“I can’t help you, mate. It’s f****** terrible. I just have no grip. I don’t know how to give you good feedback. Sorry.”

SVG’s situation feels even worse compared to Zilisch. While Zilisch is still coming to terms with the competition and type of racing in the Cup Series, SVG is already established. His P6 finish at Atlanta and P11 finish at Phoenix are living proof of his proficiency with the ovals.

Yet, even he was unable to bring his newfound magic back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Not only that, Circuit of the Americas was by far one of his most heartbreaking races. On Saturday, SVG conquered the race easily and was set for a win. But Sunday proved far too difficult for him.

While racing Tyler Reddick and chasing him for the victory, he was consistently falling behind the 23XI Racing Toyota. It was quite obvious that his Chevy did not have enough power to give him the breakthrough and help him snatch the lead. The same is visible during these other races at the ovals.

Although their troubles are still on track compared to their teammate’s.

Ross Chastain defends himself after Daniel Suarez drama

Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain were in the spotlight for the wrong reasons a few days ago. After the race, their confrontation went viral, and Chastain was heard commenting about Suarez’s exit from Trackhouse Racing. After that, Suarez came clean about his relationship with Chastain, but the latter refused to comment.

Now that he has finally spoken about the matter, Chastain doesn’t look too keen on defending against Suarez. He has no intentions of repairing their relationship, which Suarez said broke considerably after the fight.

“I just was over the conversation that he was trying to have, wanted him to leave, asked him to leave, and he didn’t leave and wanted him to back up. Was too close and just didn’t want to hear anything else he was saying because he wasn’t taking any accountability, and I wanted him to.

“I’ve known Daniel now for a long time and have lived inside of our four walls, and there’s, in my opinion, not enough accountability, and there wasn’t post-race… It’s so unfair in the grand scheme of things to react that way, though, and not right.”

It seems like the two drivers have openly put out their animosity against each other. With the way things ended in Las Vegas, there is still a lot left to settle between them.

Suarez did not hit him, but there’s no one stopping him from spinning Chastain out the next weekend if their cars meet on track. The question is, will he do so?