The young phenom we have all waited for in 2026 is off to a slow start. Connor Zilisch has kicked off his full-time campaign on NASCAR’s premier level, but has yet to taste success. What’s more, he could not get it done even on the track he is most formidable at – a road course. Multiple mishaps peppered his runs, but at the same time, Zilisch took notes and geared up for the next chance. This approach elicited admiration from his crew chief.

Connor Zilisch knows how to handle failure

“After all the adversity in the race, I was really impressed with his maturity level of it and how he was able to handle it,” Randall Burnett, crew chief of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing team, told Sirius XM NASCAR. “He had his head down all day and drove that thing back up to get a 14th-place finish. You know it was looking really bad. Hats off to him, I thought he handled the weekend with all the adversity that we faced. I thought he handled it really well.”

These words of commendation were for Connor Zilisch after a trying COTA weekend. The 19-year-old Trackhouse Racing driver had a doubleheader in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Cup Series races. On Saturday, he faced brake issues and lengthy pit stops, and even after overcoming them and running in the top five, a Hendrick Motorsports rival got in his way. On Sunday, Zilisch faced two spins before rebounding to finish in 14th place. However, he faced all of that adversity bravely.

“Overall, it was an eventful weekend from the time we unloaded to the time we loaded up,” Burnett continued. “The balance of the car wasn’t very good. So we had a lot of work to do. And it took a lot of his communication, a lot of his feedback, you know, describing what he needed in the car, us going to work, and trying to get that form. So, kind of overcame that in the race, got the car in a good spot, a form that had a lot of speed.”

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After all, Connor Zilisch has faced deep heartbreaks before. In 2025, a ten-win Xfinity Series season ended bitterly as the championship slipped through Zilisch’s fingers due to the former title format. The first two races of 2026 were no better for the No. 88 team. After starting the Daytona 500 from 23rd, a multi-car wreck on Lap 85 ended his debut early and left him 33rd. In Atlanta, another pileup on Lap 223 limited him to 30th.

Nevertheless, as Randall Burnett said, Connor Zilisch is focused. And an unlikely teamwork is necessary to add to that focus.

Rivals, but working together

The primary reason for Connor Zilisch’s frustration lay with Corey Day. The 20-year-old fresh recruit in Rick Hendrick‘s fold prevented Zilisch’s possible victory with JR Motorsports in COTA. The reckless moves of the NASCAR OAPS No. 17 driver not only caught Zilisch, but also other drivers like Ryan Seig. Yet as Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently explained, both drivers work with collaborating teams.

“That 17 car coming out of the Hendrick shop, we share all of our notes with them, everything that we do well, they have,” Dale Jr. explained. “They know this information. They’re a fifth team of ours. Their crew chief, Adam, used to work here as a crew chief; they’re in our meetings. Corey Day was in our comp meeting yesterday.”

“They’re a fifth team. They just happen to race out of the Hendrick building. And that’s the way it has to work. That’s the way Mr. Hendrick wants it to work, Jeff Gordon, everybody, that we all want that 17 car as a teammate to us. And we all, everybody except for the drivers, seem to get that idea.”

However, all that is needed is for Connor Zilisch and Corey Day to see each other as teammates. Let’s see how Zilisch handles the rest of the season.