Over the years, NASCAR has paved the way for numerous drivers to come up and establish themselves in the Cup Series, the toughest of the three. While some excelled in it with hard work, for others it came naturally. And when it comes to naturally talented drivers, Connor Zilisch’s name often comes to the forefront.

Zilisch, one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s star drivers, has taken the NASCAR world by storm last year with his stellar performance in the Xfinity Series. Coming into 2026, he bagged the Cup Series opportunity with Trackhouse Racing. Witnessing such a rise, Mark Martin could not help but endorse Dale Jr.’s star in his raw take.

Mark Martin’s bold claim on Zilisch

In the Mark Martin Archive podcast, Martin spoke about how a lot of drivers couldn’t make it to the Cup Series despite showing signs of brilliance. But according to him, 19-year-old Zilisch is the incredible exception.

“There’s a large crop of young drivers that aren’t quite in Cup yet. Of course, Connor Zilisch, that’s him, he may as well be viewed as a veteran. He’s so incredible, he’s so good. So he’s going to be a little quiet.”

We often forget how Zilisch is still a teenager, but he races with the polish of a veteran. Despite not even starting in the Cup Series yet, his craft, composure, and adaptability everything is at a very elite level.

And given his nature, Martin feels he won’t be too loud or flashy as a driver. He’ll simply let his work do the talking and will avoid the unnecessary drama. But the transition to Cup is not going to be an easy one. It has never been.

“Here for a while, moving up this next step, even though he crushed the Xfinity Series, Cup racing is the next step, and it’s going to be harder for him to shine. Usually, with a new team with Trackhouse’s level of where they stack on the performance side of it. You can’t expect to see him come and dominate.”

There have been many examples of past drivers who came from Xfinity but had to struggle their way into the Cup. Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, and Austin Cindric are a few of those. Denny Hamlin also gave a blunt reminder to Zilisch earlier, saying, “It’s not gonna be an easy road.”

Zilisch himself has been humble about it, putting all focus on what’s in his hands rather than making predictions. “I won’t be making any predictions for success next year. All I promise is to put in 100 percent effort, learn all that I can, plus have a little bit of fun along the way!”

Plus, it’s also not just Zilisch; it’s his team, too, as Martin says. Trackhouse Racing is good, but doesn’t always perform as consistently as a Hendrick Motorsports or a Joe Gibbs Racing. Nonetheless, Martin also stated that he would love to watch the young driver battle it out against the veterans.

“He’s going to be fun to watch and fun to see him develop.”

And after Martin, Zilisch’s mentor, Dale Jr., also has his own claim for the teen.

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When Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Connor Zilisch a generational talent

Last year, Connor Zilisch made his full-time debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (currently known as O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), where he won 10 races throughout the season. However, he lost out to Jesse Love in the playoffs and ended the season as runner-up.

As Zilisch delivered back-to-back monstrous performances, Dale Jr. could not help but call Zilisch a “generational talent.”

“Connor Zilisch is just a generational kind of talent. I feel like he’s got a real opportunity to be a big star in the sport. The sport needs personalities always, right? We’ve got great personalities in the sport now, but they move on, and you’ve got to have another group coming in and filling that void.”

For Zilisch, in 2026, it isn’t going to be all Cup driving. Even though he has left his full-time JR Motorsports ride in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Trackhouse Racing duty, he will still race for his former team under a part-time role.