There were huge expectations on Connor Zilisch heading into the 2026 season. The teenager had just won 10 races in the O’Reilly Series before joining Trackhouse Racing full-time. But the move hasn’t gone to plan, and Zilisch has struggled. He’s had the benefit of the doubt as a rookie driving for a team that has also struggled. At Hendrick Motorsports, however, he won’t have that same luxury.

Zilisch will take over the No. 48 from Alex Bowman when he retires at the end of 2027. It’s still a while away, but once again, the pressure is already piling up on the 20-year-old to deliver when the time comes. And Kevin Harvick feels that Zilisch’s experience at Trackhouse will leave him with few excuses in case he gets off to a slow start.

“We will definitely find out if it was overhyped or hyped enough. We spoke to Alex Bowman about the 48. Now there’s just no way out, right? Like, there’s a way out right now for Connor with the Trackhouse situation and the way that the cars run with the results on the racetrack. Those excuses don’t live at Hendrick,” the former Cup Series driver said on his Happy Hour podcast.

Harvick made an important distinction between Hendrick Motorsports and Trackhouse. Hendrick is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR, holding the records for 15 Cup championships and 322 Cup wins, among other achievements across NASCAR’s divisions.

Zilisch will join a company that has four full-time Cup teams operating under one roof, championship-winning staff, and a wealth of technological resources.

Trackhouse, meanwhile, has struggled for consistency in 2026. The lack of pace has made it harder to judge Zilisch purely on his results. The rookie has still endured a difficult introduction to Cup racing. He has recorded only one top-10 finish (a seventh-place result at Sonoma) while suffering eight DNFs. As a result, he currently sits 34th among 35 full-time drivers in the standings.

That is a sharp contrast to the resume that made him one of the sport’s most highly regarded prospects. Zilisch has 13 NASCAR O’Reilly Series victories. This includes 10 during his 2025 campaign. He also won on his O’Reilly Series debut at Watkins Glen in 2024 before earning his Cup promotion with Trackhouse in 2026.

Harvick’s argues that Zilisch will not arrive at Hendrick as an inexperienced prospect. By 2028, he will have two full-time Cup seasons under his belt, along with his 2025 part-time experience. The adjustment period that accompanies a rookie entering the sport will largely be behind him.

That’s why Harvick believes the pressure will change dramatically. Hendrick has repeatedly shown what its resources can produce. Kyle Larson has won two championships with the team, while Chase Elliott won the Cup Series title in 2020. William Byron, meanwhile, has also emerged as a strong championship contender in recent years.

For Zilisch, that means the question will eventually become much simpler. It won’t be whether he belongs in Cup, but rather, when he’s going to win.

“I don’t think so. That expectation period is over. You’re going to have two years at Trackhouse, and when you get into the 48, the expectation is going to be when,” Harvick summarized.

Despite the warning, Harvick is hardly writing Zilisch off. He believes that the youngster will win races and a championship in his career at some point.

Harvick had previously called Zilisch the “most polished and most well-rounded young driver” to enter the Cup Series in a long time, even comparing his arrival to Jeff Gordon’s. Now, Zilisch has two seasons to prove that assessment was justified.