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Former NASCAR Cup Series champion and a veteran of the sport, Kyle Busch has a ripple effect in the sport the Richard Childress Racing driver might not even be aware of. The #8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver has been termed as one of stock car racing's greatest in terms of his progression through the junior ranks of racing, all the way up to the big leagues.
One such effect Busch has had on the sport comes in the form of young prodigy Conor Zilisch's appearance, or the lack thereof in the Cup Series. The young 17-year-old has made his nationwide series debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and eyes his debut in the Xfinity Series later this season.
The reason why he has not been able to drive in the Cup Series despite being Trackhouse Racing's development driver was the topic of discussion on the popular Door Bumper Clear podcast, with host and veteran spotter Brett Griffin giving his views on the same:
"I'm mad at Kyle Busch right now because he is the reason that Connor (Zilisch) can't race NASCAR. Kyle Busch came in and they were like 'Whoa, whoa, whoa we gotta slow this phenom down' and Kyle Busch is and was a phenom. They were like 'We gotta make a rule how old you gotta be to run races'"
For a driver to be able to compete in the highest echelon of the sport, he/she has to be above 18 years of age according to the NASCAR rulebook. It remains to be seen whether this rule will be changed going forward.
Conor Zilisch reacts to him not being able to race in NASCAR because of Kyle Busch as stated by Bret Griffin
The young Spire Motorsports driver, delving into conversation with Brett Griffin, spoke about how he thinks the rule of the minimum age limit to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series does not need to change now.
Conor Zilisch explained the impact on his career of the rule changing now and said:
"That's one thing. I don't want it (the rule) to change now because I've already been hurt enough by it. If it changes now, all it's going to do is help the kids coming up behind me."
Conor Zilisch will be seen making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International this season, running back-to-back road course races in the sport.
