Even if Connor Zilisch hadn't gotten injured during his fall after winning Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International, Trackhouse Racing had no plans to enter the No. 87 Chevrolet in this Saturday night's Cook Out 400 Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
Zilisch, who suffered a broken collarbone, obviously did not compete in Sunday's Cup race at Watkins Glen, and as of now, he has no further Cup Series starts planned this season.
He made his series debut at Circuit of the Americas in March, returned for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, and finished in a career-best 11th place at Atlanta Motor Speedway in June.
Connor Zilisch 2026 announcement looming?
With Daniel Suarez confirmed to be on his way out of the No. 99 Chevrolet at the Justin Marks-owned team at the end of the year, it still appears to be a matter of when, not if, Zilisch is confirmed as the team's third full-time driver next year, joining Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen.
A return timetable for Zilisch in the Xfinity Series has not yet been confirmed, but he is aiming to be back at least in time for the playoffs.
Even if that happens, it does not appear that Trackhouse Racing will be not forcing in a fourth Cup Series start for him before the season ends, as his focus would presumably shift strictly to competing for an Xfinity Series championship for JR Motorsports. He leads all drivers with six Xfinity Series victories this season and sits atop the point standings.
The one venue where that might change would be the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, given his road course strength, but at that point, you'd have to believe that Trackhouse Racing's focus will be on getting Chastain and van Gisbergen through as many rounds of the playoffs as possible.
Van Gisbergen has won four consecutive road or street course races.
Saturday's Richmond Raceway race is set to be shown live on USA Network beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss the Cook Out 400!