Just a year ago, Connor Zilisch was the star of the O’Reilly series. He was winning races left and right and gathering hype towards an eventual Cup debut. But today, he is left behind in the dust of the veterans with meager finishes to support his claim in the Cup Series championship. But what if we told you that Connor Zilisch knew that he had it coming in the Cup?

While discussing his current season’s struggles on Dale Jr. Download, Zilisch did not shy away from admitting that he knew where his career was headed when he decided to join Trackhouse Racing.

“I knew coming to this year that it should be tough, especially after the first three races I did last year. I was like, ‘Okay, this stuff is no joke,’ and I mean it’s just a whole different level,” Zilisch confessed. “The teams, the drivers—everything is times 10 and way more challenging. So, I appreciate how good all the teams and drivers are. And it just makes me better as a driver and pushes me as a human to be better.”

There’s a difference between being optimistic about an approaching disaster and preparing oneself for the same. Zilisch did the latter. Competing in three races with Trackhouse Racing last year in the Cup Series, Zilisch had a rough idea of the performance of his future ride.

It looks like, from his perspective, he did not rush the Cup Series but just made a decision to pick up an available opportunity.

And it wouldn’t really matter if he waited a long time and kept practicing in the O’Reilly Series, anyway. Sure, the additional experience would help him, but it wouldn’t save him from what was coming. The only top ride in the Chevrolet camp right now is Hendrick Motorsports. And in HMS, the only way Zilisch could get in was by replacing Alex Bowman.

Banking on such minute circumstances would only delay his entry to the Cup. Also, it didn’t matter how long he raced in O’Reilly for. After all, his fellow driver Ty Gibbs advised him, “The kids that just went to races and not really gained anything outside are just going to get their a–es kicked.”

This is coming from a driver who won the O’Reilly championship in his debut year with seven wins to his name and immediately graduated to the Cup Series with a top ride like Joe Gibbs Racing. He took three years to find his footing before eventually becoming a likely championship contender in 2026 with a victory to his name.

Zilisch would have to follow the same path in his rise to the front row of the Cup Series. Trackhouse Racing is merely a rite of passage for him. Through his talents and sustained performance, he could eventually move up to the better teams. But for now, he needs to compete at the same level as his teammates and prove himself worth the hype.

While there are plenty of areas from his current season that Zilisch needs to worry about, he has a warning for his fellow drivers ahead of the upcoming race at San Diego.

Connor Zilisch warns NASCAR drivers about San Diego

Connor Zilisch had a heads-up for his fellow drivers ahead of the Anduril 250 race at Naval Base Coronado: “It’s technical; it’s got places where it’s really wide and tightens up. That can always be a place for chaos, especially in restarts. Those spots can be scary.”

Many NASCAR drivers have been excited about the prospect of racing at San Diego’s very street race. Some, like Ty Gibbs, have immense confidence in their chances of securing a victory at the same. Although the track is a new road course, and just like any other road course, it brings its own set of troubles.

The NASCAR officials had already warned the drivers about the quality of the asphalt and the issues that might come up during the race, owing to the track being a part of a naval base. Zilisch’s warning leans heavily into the technical aspect of the racetrack and the design of the track for the race.

And as a road course ace, he has every right to claim the perils of racing at such a track. After all, he has more experience tackling turns and chicanes than a lot of NASCAR drivers on the grid currently.