After watching Connor Zilisch drive through the field multiple times en route to a 14th place finish in Sunday's DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, one thought immediately sprung to mind.
It was a quote from University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Dan Hurley, a few years before the Huskies won back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2023 and 2024.
"You'd better get us now," he'd said following a tough loss. "Because it's coming."
That's how it feels with Zilisch, particularly on the road courses. He's coming. He's coming even faster than we expected. And everybody else had better get their fun in before he arrives.
Connor Zilisch is already one of NASCAR's road racing elites, and he's only going to get better
It's a pretty scary thought to consider that the present-day version of Zilisch is the worst driver he'll be for the next 20 years. He's one of the most highly anticipated rookies in NASCAR history, but he's also exactly that: a rookie.
He qualified 25th in Austin, proving just how difficult the learning curve is for anybody at the Cup level, even on a track type that's considered his specialty.
His struggles didn't last long. By the start of stage two, he was in the top 10 when he got spun by Daniel Suarez. He then drove all the way back inside the top five, until he was turned a second time on the final restart in a multi-car pile-up. Even after that, he made his way back through most of the field without any assistance from cautions.
Ride onboard with Connor Zilisch as he drives all the way from 33rd to 14th, under green, after getting spun out on the final restart with 17 laps to go.
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 2, 2026
Some are saying I didn't speed this video up and Connor was actually driving that fast. https://t.co/Dbt7IZzsO1 pic.twitter.com/2UUiHLQCg8
Zilisch was the fastest driver on the track on six different laps on Sunday, which was more than anybody aside from race winner Tyler Reddick or Ryan Blaney. Had he not been wiped out the second time, he legitimately could have won.
He's 19 years old. This wasn't supposed to happen yet. And it's only a glimpse of what's to come. If you're fatigued by Shane van Gisbergen's road course dominance, you should start getting ready for what Zilisch is going to do during the 2030s. He might break the sport.
On ovals, he's probably going to require a bit more patience, especially with Trackhouse Racing's mid-pack equipment. Even then, he showed in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series a year ago that he's more than capable of finding success there too.
The storm that Zilisch is going to take the Cup Series field by is approaching. It's not "if'; it's "when". And "when" might be a lot sooner than we realize.