{"id":104102,"date":"2025-07-30T06:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104102\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T06:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:29:14","slug":"connor-zilisch-makes-surprising-indy-500-revelation-after-indy-nascar-xfinity-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104102\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor Zilisch makes surprising Indy 500 revelation after Indy NASCAR Xfinity victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Connor Zilisch<\/strong> is getting as hot as any other recent young superstar driver to make noise in NASCAR. He\u2019s won three straight races<\/strong><\/a>, bringing his total to five during this Xfinity Series season so far.<\/p>\n

His name is quickly becoming recognized as one of the best in the sport. And with that comes added scrutiny.<\/p>\n

One question that Zilisch has apparently faced recently is whether he\u2019d like to run the Indianapolis 500 at some point in his career. To that, he responded emphatically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to race in the Indianapolis 500,\u201d Connor Zilisch told the Indianapolis Star<\/a>. \u201cI grew up watching it on TV, and in my opinion, it\u2019s the biggest race in the world, and as a racecar driver, you want to win those races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zilisch certainly wouldn\u2019t be the first driver to cross disciplines and attempt to run the Indy 500. Kyle Larson<\/strong> has famously done it the last two years. But it\u2019s harder than he expected.<\/p>\n

Larson was unable to complete the double in his first attempt in 2024 due to weather. After finishing the Indy 500 in 18th place, he was unable to make it to Charlotte in time to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series race.<\/p>\n

This year he finished 24th in the Indy 500 after spinning out, then crashed out of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and finished 37th. After, Larson admitted he\u2019s less gung ho on attempting the double again in the future.<\/p>\n

But Connor Zilisch certainly has the talent to make it happen. In fact, his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.<\/strong> of JR Motorsports, believes the racing world is only just beginning to get to know Zilisch.<\/p>\n

Dale Earnhardt Jr. praises Connor Zilisch<\/p>\n

The veteran former NASCAR driver and current broadcaster was quick to point to Zilisch\u2019s growing success as a warning sign for NASCAR fans. They should know he\u2019s about to blow up big-time<\/strong><\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it\u2019s getting out there. He\u2019s in the conversation. But y\u2019all ain\u2019t seen nothing,\u201d Earnhardt said on the Dale Jr. Download<\/a>. \u201cLike if this kid keeps doing what he\u2019s doing and gets to the Cup level and starts replicating some of this success\u2026 they sky is the limit. Household name. Marketable. Oh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor Zilisch has already quickly become a favorite on the Xfinity Series circuit, with the JR Motorsports product producing on a weekly basis. He sits second in the standings in points, trailing Justin Allgaier<\/strong>\u2018s lead by only 21 points.<\/p>\n

His five wins are a high in the Xfinity Series so far this season. The momentum is building at an incredibly rapid pace.<\/p>\n

For the fans, Earnhardt suggested they\u2019re in for something special. And the ones that are watching now are going to remember it down the road. Because Connor Zilisch won\u2019t remain a secret for long.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess maybe part of it is wishful thinking because we\u2019re all like clamoring for that next NASCAR superstar that could take us to Saturday Night Live or get into the places where we don\u2019t get, right?\u201d Earnhardt said. \u201cAnd become that national superstar in all forms, right? Entertainment, music, start seeing him in music videos and all kinds of shit, right? We\u2019re all clamoring for that next person that drags us into the stratosphere with them. Takes the whole sport into the mainstream again. That brings the sport back to the level of attendance that we\u2019re expecting and hoping for.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, yes, a single driver can have that type of connection. And I hate to put the pressure on the kid, but I feel like he\u2019s got a shot at it. And I feel like right now we\u2019re all listening to his song going, \u2018Damn it\u2019s a good song, but the rest of the world ain\u2019t heard it yet.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connor Zilisch is getting as hot as any other recent young superstar driver to make noise in NASCAR.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":104103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-104102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114940776666377623","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}