As far as 37th (last) place NASCAR Cup Series debuts go, Connor Zilisch's was by far and away the greatest of all-time.
Zilisch signed with Trackhouse Racing as a development driver last year, and the 18-year-old phenom, who now competes full-time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, made his Cup Series debut on Sunday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in a fourth Trackhouse Racing entry.
Zilisch was unfortunately on the receiving end of a mind-boggling move by teammate Ross Chastain in turn one on the opening lap.
The move spun out Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott and sent him to the back of the pack, and Zilisch was caught up in the melee as well. The No. 87 Chevrolet sustained minor damage that mired him back in the pack after he had qualified in a respectable 14th.
But before long, he was able to rally from 30th back up to his 14th place starting position. To put it in perspective, he was carving his way back through the field about as effectively as Elliott. And Elliott, a seven-time road course winner, drove back from 37th to fourth place by the time the race concluded.
After all the talk in qualifying about Zilisch having never gone up against drivers of this caliber before, he was proving the naysayers wrong with every car he picked off. He demonstrated that he belongs.
And with a last place finish, Zilisch ironically boosted his Trackhouse Racing value.
Later in the race, another one of his teammates, Daniel Suarez, spun out directly in front of him, giving him absolutely nowhere to go. The hard crash that ensued ended both of their races, and they were scored in the bottom two spots of the finishing order, with Suarez in 36th and Zilisch in 37th.
The fact that two Trackhouse Racing drivers made mistakes that soured Zilisch's day should only help his case at a full-time Cup Series ride with the team eventually, possibly even as early as next year.
Zilisch's extraordinary Xfinity Series success, which includes a win at COTA on Saturday afternoon, has made it clear that he is poised for a Cup Series promotion at some point in the near future.
And with teams not named Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing limited to three chartered entries, this means that Trackhouse Racing risk losing the talented Charlotte, North Carolina native if they don't find a place for him as soon as possible.
It makes Chastain's move and Suarez's move look that much worse in the grand scheme of things.
Admittedly, it's hard to imagine Chastain losing his ride, not only because he has won in all three of his seasons with Trackhouse Racing thus far but because he landed Busch Light as a primary sponsor last year. He and Justin Marks' team are a natural fit, and it would be silly to let him walk.
Having said that, if he wants to leave Chevrolet to avoid the wrath of Rick Hendrick for doing things like dive-bombing Elliott in the opening corner of a 95-lap road course race, you can't rule anything out. His contract status beyond 2025 is unclear.
For Suarez, it's a little bit more interesting.
He has won twice at Trackhouse Racing, once in 2022 and once in 2024, but he would not have been a playoff driver in either year had he not found victory lane, and he hasn't made the playoffs otherwise. Though Chastain actually missed the 2024 playoffs, he has outperformed Suarez overall by a long shot.
If the team make a driver change, Suarez, who has been there since they entered the Cup Series in 2021, is probably the man on the hot seat. He is set to become a free agent after 2025, as things currently stand.
And it's not far-fetched to think that Zilisch could be the driver who takes his place, with his case ironically bolstered by a last place finish in his Cup debut.
Zilisch doesn't have any other starts planned for the remainder of the 2025 Cup Series season, but that will likely change. What could be interesting to monitor is if he competes exclusively in road/street course races. If Trackhouse Racing add him to their oval roster, perhaps that's a sign that a full-time change is a lot more imminent.