He’s compared to Jeff Gordon, helped change NASCAR’s postseason. Oh, and he’s 19
Survey the drivers ahead of the Daytona 500, and they’ll all have something new to say:
Ask Christopher Bell, and he’ll admit it would be “tough to relate” to the position Connor Zilisch finds himself in.
Ask Ross Chastain, and he’ll say that “it’s not fair” how mature Zilisch is.
Ask Jimmie Johnson, the 50-year-old seven-time Cup Series champion, and he’ll explain that he’s come to terms with the fact that he’s so much older than the rest of the driver field now — and has found peace knowing that he could be the same age (or older) than Zilisch’s father.
“That Band-Aid’s been pulled off before,” Johnson told reporters at the Daytona International Speedway infield on Wednesday, smiling. “But it really does impress me when you have someone like Connor at his age, and all the hype, and he’s able to perform. He has his head on his shoulders.
“There’s still a lot that’s going to test him. But he is a true racer at heart. And I’m certainly pulling for him.”
It’s fitting that Johnson used the word “hype” when describing Zilisch. Because at 19 years old, and already being dubbed NASCAR’s nascent star, that’s exactly what Zilisch is being confronted with. And really, it’s what Zilisch is trying to fend off.
Spend one media day session with him, and you’ll see what he’s fighting.
The problem with resisting? It’s too late for all that. The hype is here, and isn’t leaving.
Connor Zilisch on Jeff Gordon talk: ‘It’s hard to comprehend’
First, consider the comparisons Zilisch is confronted with:
Zilisch was directly asked about his comparisons to Jeff Gordon on Wednesday. No one, drivers across the garage have said, has received more hype than Zilisch since Gordon, the four-time Cup Series champion and 93-time Cup race winner whose rookie season came in 1992 — 24 years before Zilisch was born. That includes Joey Logano, who Mark Martin once proclaimed would be the “best thing since sliced bread.” That includes Kyle Busch, who was a rookie at age 18 and got his seal of approval from his eventual Hall of Fame brother, Kurt.
How did Zilisch answer to such a comparison?
He laughed.
“It’s hard to comprehend, I would say,” Zilisch said. “I think it’s — I don’t know why yet, right? I’ve run, obviously, a lot of races in the lower levels. But to be compared to Jeff Gordon, I feel like you’ve got to do something at this level, and I’ve yet to do that.”
Of course, he hasn’t had the opportunity yet. He is running in his first full-time Cup Series season in 2026 piloting the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. He’s the only full-time rookie in the Cup Series this year.
“That starts this year, and I’m hoping to make a name for myself,” Zilisch said. “It’s certainly going to take time to get to the level of a guy like him.”
Next, there’s the acknowledgement of the impact he’s already had:
Zilisch, after all, played a not-insignificant role in having NASCAR return to The Chase as its postseason format. Yes, the ball got rolling with some veteran drivers speaking up in meetings. And yes, the fact that Denny Hamlin’s championship hopes were controlled and ultimately foiled by the winner-take-all race in Phoenix was quite persuasive, too.
But ask anyone, and Zilisch’s season in the Xfinity Series (now called O’Reilly Series) last year was compelling proof to change the system, too. Zilisch dominated the series last year only to lose the championship in the winner-take-all finale. How could a driver win 10 races — the most over the rest of the field (by six!) — and not win the title?
That was a question NASCAR couldn’t answer, and it was something regularly brought up by drivers when they were asked to pinpoint why The Chase was superior to the old format. The Chase features a 10-race postseason that values consistency over 10 races as opposed to three-race “rounds” as in the previous playoff system.
So, Connor, can you at least take partial credit for this?
Predictably ... no, he said.
“I think it was going to change with or without me,” Zilisch said, stating the safe thing even if it’s only half-true. He finished it with charm. “I’m glad that maybe my pain would be a help to the rest of the sport, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
Connor Zilisch and NASCAR history
Zilisch has the chance to be the youngest winner of the Daytona 500 in NASCAR history. That moniker is still owned by Trevor Bayne, who was 20 years and 1 day old when he claimed the Harley J. Earl Trophy in 2011.
Winning the Daytona 500 as a rookie isn’t out of the question. Austin Cindric did so as recently as 2022. And Cindric didn’t have nearly as much success as Zilisch has had in a stock car; Zilisch won twice at IMSA before dominating the ARCA circuits and getting his first chance in NASCAR’s national series in the Xfinity Series last year. (Zilisch, for what it’s worth, said he’ll leave the track smiling with a Top 10 finish at Daytona on Sunday — his goals are quite reasonable.)
Zilisch also answered to so much more in his media session. So much more “hype.” Reporters asked about whether younger drivers in the Cup Series are something of the future — to which he said yes, that “kids are getting into cars when they’re 12 years old, and I think that’s going to become the new normal.”
When asked about his age for what felt like the 30th time, Zilisch answered like he was a seasoned pro. In one answer, in fact, he sounded like he was embracing and believing what everyone was saying about him.
“I think a lot of (the respect I get) just comes from respecting the guys and treating them the way you want to be treated,” Zilisch said. “If they see you as a bratty kid, I think that’s when they won’t respect you. ... I try and treat everyone with respect, and I try not to act like a 19-year-old. I think that’s the biggest thing. I might be a young kid, but I just try to be more professional and mature, and I think that’s a lot of why people trust and believe in me and respect what I say.”
But that spell — of appearing to believe his own hype — didn’t last long. Soon, the Trackhouse Racing driver went back to politely equivocating, to quietly fending off projections.
“Then again, there are a lot of kids who, you know, have that respect,” he said. “There are a lot of people coming up through the sport who are really good and young.”
Fair enough.
Then again, those young drivers don’t have Zilisch-high expectations.
The kind of expectations NASCAR has only seen a few times before.
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "He’s compared to Jeff Gordon, helped change NASCAR’s postseason. Oh, and he’s 19."
