Connor Zilisch was the man to beat in the 2025 Xfinity Series. He won 10 races and was the Rookie of the Year. But moving up to the Cup Series in 2026 has been very hard. Right now, he is ranked 34th in the standings. He has had six races where he did not finish (DNFs). Joey Logano says the sport should not give up on this young driver just yet.

“Connor’s an amazing talent. He’s great. Um, but a diamond in the rough at the moment, right? Like, he just needs to be around long enough. And I think that’s the big thing for young talent coming in these days is that they have to give them a chance, right? Like, I almost lost my chance. I mean, I technically did, right? Until Team Penske gave me a second chance.”

Joey Logano sees a familiar story unfolding with Connor Zilisch

Joey Logano knows better than most how quickly NASCAR can turn on a young prospect. He was considered the sport’s future superstar long before he won three Cup Series titles. Although there were high hopes, the outcomes took some time to materialize.

Logano faced huge pressure at the start of his Cup career. Fans had high hopes for him, but they also watched his every move. He became a star at 18 when he took over Tony Stewart’s No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009, right after he crushed the competition in lower NASCAR series. There were moments of greatness, but consistency never followed. Logano only won twice in his four full seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing, at Pocono in 2012 and New Hampshire in 2009.

The teammates he had made the task much more difficult. Among the top drivers in the series, teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch frequently contested for victories and titles. Joey Logano’s performance frequently seemed lackluster in comparison to others. Thus, Joe Gibbs Racing made the decision to move on before the conclusion of 2012.

That would have been the end for a lot of drivers. Rather, starting in 2013, Team Penske gave Logano a lifeline by putting him in the No. 22 Ford. Logano took full advantage of what he has called a “second chance.” He has won three Cup Series titles and solidified his status as one of NASCAR’s top drivers more than ten years later. That history is why Logano sees similarities in Connor Zilisch’s current situation.

It is common for rookies to struggle when they move up to the Cup Series because the demands are much higher than in the lower series. One of the biggest challenges is car setup. Cup cars need very precise adjustments, and drivers must be skilled at telling their team exactly what the car needs to handle better. This requires a level of detailed feedback that many young drivers are still developing.

The intensity of the competition also makes the Cup Series a much steeper climb. In the lower series, drivers might get away with small errors, but in the Cup Series, the field is so talented that even a tiny mistake costs you many positions.

Zilisch has had a rough rookie season, but the Sonoma race proved he is finally finding his way, as he finally finished in the top 10.

To Joey Logano, those growing pains are not evidence that Zilisch is overhyped. They are proof that he is inexperienced. Logano, who experienced something similar himself, thinks patience is the key. If teams, sponsors, and fans give Zilisch enough time to develop, the driver who won 10 Xfinity races a year ago may still become exactly what many believe he can be – a future NASCAR Cup superstar.

Zilisch finally has something to build on

“I can stop getting Twitter notifications about people telling me I haven’t finished inside the top 10 yet,” Zilisch said Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s just all the little things that I feel like are good for me. Something I can be proud of and not leave the track banging my head against the wall.”

These comments show how frustrated Connor Zilisch has been this season. He entered the Cup Series with high hopes after his record-breaking 2025 Xfinity year, but good results were hard to find. That is why his seventh-place finish at Sonoma felt like such a huge breakthrough.

Sonoma provided Zilisch with something he had been looking for all season: confirmation that he truly belonged at the Cup level, in addition to ending his top-10 drought. The strong run also capped off an impressive weekend overall. Zilisch had two top-10 finishes in two separate series at the same location after finishing second in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Sonoma the day before.

Sonoma was a great step forward, but the schedule is about to get much harder. Road courses like Sonoma have been his best tracks. Now, he faces 18 races in a row on ovals, starting at Chicagoland.

If Zilisch does not start getting better results, he faces real risks. Sponsors might lose interest, or the team could lose patience. The next few months are the true test of his career. If he can keep his momentum going, he might prove he is the superstar everyone thought he was.