Connor Zilisch just became a fan-favorite, despite Hendrick move criticism

When Connor Zilisch was announced as the replacement for Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports, beginning in the 2028 NASCAR Cup Series season, the criticism that followed was expected.

The reason why was simple: he hasn't done anything yet at the Cup level. It has, in fact, been all hype. "Potential" can only matter so much when you don't do anything with it. He's ahead of Cody Ware and...Cody Ware – that's it – in the point standings, with just one top 10 finish to his name, despite entering his rookie year as one of the championship favorites.

So the fact that hype, rather than on-track production, could translate to a Hendrick ride so soon was justifiably called into question, even if he is believed to have high upside. We've seen nothing yet to suggest that he can be the star everybody says he can be, because even for as much as Trackhouse Racing has struggled, he's been miles behind his teammates all year.

That said, Zilisch earned himself some goodwill with the NASCAR fanbase on Sunday when he spun out Dale Earnh...sorry, Carson Hocevar. Force of habit.

Connor Zilisch turns Carson Hocevar, and it wasn't even his fault

Hocevar is viewed as NASCAR's latest villain due to his unapologetic driving style and brash attitude about it off the race track. He was compared to Dale Earnhardt before he ever won a race.

Of course, we've already documented how his most notable achievement is passing Danica Patrick on the all-time wins list with a superspeedway win, a win that generally earns the "fluke" label for any other driver with zero wins elsewhere, and especially over the summer, the fanbase is starting to see that he is nowhere near the level of "villain" who can actually move the needle and bring fans back to the sport.

The mere suggestion is ridiculous, and as we've also said on multiple occasions before, this is more about the media's obsession with Hocevar, rather than Hocevar himself. He's clearly a skilled race car driver.

But the reality about Hocevar was never clearer than it was when the media obsessed over his ninth place finish in the Brickyard 400 in July, and race winner Corey Heim called them out on it. If you really want to talk about hype over on-track production, look no further than the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

So on Sunday, when Hocevar cut across the front of Zilisch for no apparent reason, Hocevar went for a much-needed spin.

It was indeed Hocevar's fault, but give credit to Zilisch for not lifting, because for as much as Hocevar's rivals talk about his on-track antics, we rarely, if ever, see anybody actually do anything about it. Zilisch, on the other hand, stood his ground.

Predictably, Hocevar ran into Zilisch when the two got back together on the race track. Who could have seen that coming?

For as much as he talks about someone needing to take it to him, he clearly couldn't take even an ounce of it back when somebody actually did.

Even, ironically, when it's his own fault to begin with.

We do have to give him credit for admitting after the race that the initial contact was his fault, noting that he wrecked himself.

But how much does that kind of an admission matter after he ran into Zilisch after the fact anyway? We get it, heat of the moment, but there was never any reason for that heat to begin with. And perhaps if more drivers do what Zilisch did, Hocevar should start to realize that, as he seemingly did post-race on Sunday. For now, though, kudos to Zilisch for not rolling over.

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