Going into the final Xfinity Series race of the 2025 season at Phoenix, Connor Zilisch was the undisputed favorite for the title. However, despite dominating the entire year, when the race ended, it was Jesse Love who lifted the trophy before his eyes. Now, months later, the young driving sensation looked back at last year’s performance and confessed to what cost him the title.
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Connor Zilisch opens up on his costly mistake
Before the Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, Connor Zilisch spoke to the media, where he answered questions about his upcoming Cup Series journey. During the interview, he shed light on how complacency cost him dearly last year.
“I mean, we all have our struggles, right?” Zilisch said. “And nobody’s perfect, and obviously I feel like there’s things that I can work on. I feel like last year there’s a couple tracks I struggled at and I feel like I did let myself get a little bit too comfortable at points. I knew my cars were going to be good every week and that can lead to having that expectation that no matter what happens, I’m going to go out and contend for a win.”
Following this, Zilisch spoke about his mindset going into the 2026 season, as he sets out on a new journey. This year, he will drive in the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing under a full-time obligation.
“And I think that’s a bad mindset to have. So, obviously, that’s not going to be the case this year. I’m not going to have the expectations to go out and win every week. So, that’s going to change. But, I feel like just making sure that I stay hungry no matter what’s going on is important.”
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NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Nov 1, 2025 Avondale, Arizona, USA NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch 88 during the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Avondale Phoenix Raceway Arizona USA.
Connor Zilisch won 10 races last year in the Xfinity Series and was the hot favorite for the title. Given how brilliant his JR Motorsports car was the entire season, and the support he received from his team as well as the crew, one expected him to end the season with 11 wins and the Xfinity Series title.
However, the JRM star finished the Phoenix race in third place, behind race winner and eventual champion Jesse Love and veteran Aric Almirola. This not only ended Zilisch’s season in a bittersweet fashion but also gave birth to a huge controversy over the playoff format.
The fans were angry at NASCAR as Zilisch failed to win the title despite having a scintillating season with 10 wins and 18 consecutive top-five finishes. Whereas, title winner Love had only two wins and nine top-five finishes in the entire season.
As a result, the playoff system received enormous criticism, which ultimately led NASCAR to change it ahead of the 2026 season. Connor Zilisch, who had seen the rough side of the former playoff system, however, welcomed the changed format.
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Connor Zilisch welcomed the changed format with open arms
In January this year, NASCAR changed the existing playoff format and went back to the old Chase format. The stock car racing competition used this Chase format from 2004 to 2013. Under this format, the top 10 drivers based on points will qualify for the Chase after 26 regular-season races, striking off the previous ‘win-and-you’re-in’ system.
“I definitely think all drivers are pretty excited about this — just the legitimacy of crowning a champion,” Zilisch said. “I certainly think that, in the long run, this is for sure a better way to go, and I think it’s good for everybody, I think a lot of people are excited. The fans are excited, and it’s certainly going to help put us back in a spot where the champions that we crown are 100%.”
The Chase format will replace the old format across all three NASCAR national series, the Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and the Truck Series. With that said, it will be interesting to see how Connor Zilisch debuts in his full-time Cup season with a new format.
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