Dale Jr.’s NASCAR prodigy hopeful of “a fun one” at Rockingham
Connor Zilisch, Dale Jr.'s prodigy and Red Bull athlete, reflected on his qualifying performance for the Xfinity Series race at Rockingham. As of this writing, the talented driver finds himself in eighth place in the race.
Zilisch secured pole position for the NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway. He posted the fastest lap with a time of 22.630 seconds and a speed of 149.536 mph. In the 2025 season, he has already qualified on pole thrice, which shows his strong qualifying performance this year.
However, during his qualifying run, Zilisch suffered from a flat tire, which required him to make an unapproved adjustment to his car, resulting in him starting the race at the back of the field. The front row was then filled by Parker Retzlaff coming in at pole, along with Nick Sanchez and Kasey Kahne (on his return to NASCAR).
The Trackhouse Racing Development driver tweeted:
"Drove the wheels off it. Starting last with the fastest car today at Rockingham due to a flat right rear in Q! Gonna be a fun one"
Connor Zilisch started his racing journey in kindergarten when he was racing in karting competitions. After a decade of doing it, Zilisch moved to car racing in 2021. His breakthrough came in 2024 when he won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, both in his first attempts. He also made an impressive debut in the Xfinity Series by winning at Watkins Glen after turning 18. In 2025, he is contracted full-time with Dale Jr.’s JR Motorsports (driving the #88) and also as a developmental driver for Trackhouse Racing.
Dale Jr.'s prodigy made his ambitions clear on next Cup Series start
Connor Zilisch is prioritizing learning over immediate wins in the Cup Series for 2025. While he made his Cup debut at COTA in March, driving the No. 87 for Trackhouse Racing, he feels he can gain more by focusing on oval tracks where he has less experience. Zilisch believes competing against top Cup drivers on ovals will provide more valuable lessons than returning to road courses, where he already excels. To SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in March 2025, he said:
"We haven't really talked about it at this point, you know, obviously it takes a lot of money and it's a fourth car, you know, that Trackhouse doesn't run very often so it's tough on the team and and you know they obviously have three cars that they want to go and show up to the track with and compete with every week and and put full focus towards those so, and I have an Xfinity schedule to run too. I've got a championship to race for here, so I don't want to get too ahead of myself...," Zilisch said during the interaction.
He added:
"As much as I'd love to run another road course, I don't feel like I have a ton to really learn on road courses, and obviously racing on Sunday I learned a lot against some of the best and racing against those guys, but I would learn a lot more on an oval, and I kind of gave myself my one shot to go out there and win. But from now on I want to learn more, and I really want to focus on winning Cup races. I have a long time to get to that point and win races on Sunday,"
The driver for Dale Jr.'s team acknowledged that his primary focus is on the Xfinity Series championship and that racing in the Cup Series requires significant funding and resources, particularly for a fourth Trackhouse Racing car. He wants to use the 2025 season to improve his overall skillset and gain a deeper understanding of oval racing, which will benefit him in the long run.