Connor Zilisch entered the NASCAR scene like very few teens before him. At 19, he’s already won ten races in his first full-time Xfinity Series season with JR Motorsports. Fans love his raw speed and confident character, which were honed from karting wins in Europe as a kid. But as he is about to enter the top NASCAR competition, not all fans see clear skies ahead.

His 2026 full-time Cup deal with the Trackhouse Racing team in the No. 88 Chevrolet has the garage buzzing. His Cup ride, which is backed by Red Bull, carries big hopes for this Charlotte native, who debuted in Cup in the third race of 2025. Yet, the fanbase splits sharply because of the Cup Series’ unforgiving nature, where even proven veterans hit walls.

Zilisch‘s talent shines bright with ten Xfinity wins and a runner-up points finish in 2025, which is enough to mark him special. But in the Cup Series, he’s not the first young talent who is eyeing Cup glory. Joey Logano jumped in at 18 in 2008, snagged a win early, but also endured slumps before he won his three titles.

Another one of the titans in the sport, Kyle Busch, arrived full-time in 2005. In that season, he got two wins alone, but later faced a steep learning curve against vets. Cup demands more than Xfinity speed. It tightly fields 36 cars of near-equal machinery, meaning everybody is running almost similarly, so winning and taking a pass comes down solely to a driver’s skill and grit, as to how he used that machinery.

[Crandall] The key to Zilisch becoming NASCAR’s next big star: ‘Learn to lose’ (via u/CNASFan1992) https://t.co/cmYhDz7fNV #NASCAR

— r/NASCAR on Reddit (@NASCARonReddit) November 15, 2025

Zilisch gets it, saying, “There are no breaks given whether you’re racing for the win, a top 10 or 32nd. It doesn’t matter; everyone is there to be in the next-best position, and everyone gets paid to finish as good as possible. In Xfinity, you get to the top five, and it gets tougher. But in Cup, it’s just ruthless. Those guys race for every spot like it’s the last lap of their lives.”

His words ring true from every angle. Drivers who jumped from the Xfinity to the Cup series often get overwhelmed by the speed and the competitiveness on the track. It’s like Zilisch’s own first run in the cup series at COTA, where he finished last because he could not even complete the race. But in the Xfinity, he led 1,013 laps and registered the most wins. This shows the difference in the level of competitive nature of the Cup and Xfinity series.

Zilisch shared one moment where his friends Zane Smith and Noah Gregson told him about the tough nature of the sports. He said, “Zane Smith and Noah Gragson and they told me, ‘Dude, just wait until you’re fighting for a lucky dog or you’re 25th and you’re cheering that you finished top 20.’ You don’t understand until you get there. Every guy in the Cup series was a champion or a winner or was dominating at certain points.”

Smith, the 2022 Truck champ, joined Front Row Motorsports in Cup this year and notched five top fives amid mostly top-25 hauls. Gragson, who joined the full-time Cup run in Legacy Motor Club, is often seen celebrating a top five here and there.

These tales from these drivers are not to demotivate Zilisch; they’re about showing the reality of the Cup Series. Drivers who dominate the lower tiers like Xfinity and Truck series often struggle in the Cup Series, and only one thing can help them in those phases: ‘learn from mistakes and prep hard.’

These insights are fueling split reactions from the fans.

Cheers, cautions, and chuckles for Zilisch

One supporter sees Zilisch lighting up a fading crowd, saying, “He’ll be the biggest star to the 1.2 million (and falling) who watch NASCAR because the brass can’t figure out how to right the ship and please the fans.” Viewership dipped to that average in 2024, down 5% from 2023 amid complaints over the Next Gen car and playoff format tweaks. Yet Zilisch’s Xfinity flair mirrors how young guns like Chase Elliott drew eyes back in 2018, boosting Sunday ratings.

Doubts creep in for some, but optimism holds firm for others. “Idk if unpopular or not, but he will be more than fine. He is an incredible talent in the making; they just got to be a bit patient, he is still 19.” At that age, Busch notched his first Cup win in 2005 after a Truck/Xfinity run. Zilisch’s edge? Experience of running a decade in global karts, including Europe’s FIA Trophy, which prepped him better than most teens.

“Adaptation to the Cup car might be the biggest hurdle. Seems like guys coming through xfinity are having more struggles than ever before because there’s almost nothing they can take from that car to the NextGen. Instead of a stepping stone, it’s becoming a hurdle.” The 2022 Next Gen equalized aero and also widened the Xfinity-to-Cup car gap. Which means Zilisch, on the tech side of his Xfinity runs, can’t take anything from those Xfinity cars to the next-gen Cup cars. So, entering an unknown next-gen car and learning his way around with it is seen as the biggest hurdle in his Cup run.

Adding to the above reaction, fans also bet on his smarts. “CZ is special. He learned ovals and the xfinity cars in ten races or so. He could adapt to Cup faster than most other drivers too.” That is true. His 2024 Xfinity debut win at Watkins Glen led 45 laps on ovals, which was new to him, and by 2025, he started sweeping road courses like Sonoma, which shows his learning and adapting curve. Shane van Gisbergen needed two years to get a top ten in an oval; Zilisch might halve that.

Laughter cuts the tension too, nodding to vet wisdom. Zane and Noah are telling him, “Get ready to fight for the free pass😂😂😭😭🙏.” That “lucky dog” scramble defined Gragson’s 2023 rookie laps, but for Zilisch, it’s a chuckle now; his ARCA oval wins at Dover in ’24 show he’s geared for the fight.