"They’ve made me feel at home": Connor Zilisch on keeping ties with JR Motorsports despite being a Trackhouse driver

Connor Zilisch closed the 2025 Xfinity Series regular season exactly the way he has lived most of his rookie year, with a trophy in hand. After the race, he talked about staying associated with JR Motorsports despite moving to the Cup next year.

Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway, the 19-year-old survived a string of late restarts for his ninth win of the campaign and clinched the Regular Season Championship over Justin Allgaier. It was his fourth win on the trot, a record-breaking season that shows why Trackhouse Racing signed him.

Zilisch’s next chapter is set, yet his voice carried a sense of belonging that went beyond contracts. Asked post-race about being “on loan” from Trackhouse to JR Motorsports, he said (via Cup Scene):

"Being a Trackhouse-signed driver, but racing for JRM. Every time I walk in the JRM building, I’m not a Trackhouse driver. I’m a JRM driver. And they’ve made me feel at home and given me a place to grow and succeed in this series. I’ll be forever grateful for that."

Trackhouse Racing’s developmental plan put Connor Zilisch in four Xfinity starts in 2024 to build seat time while continuing late-model work. When the results came quickly, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and LW Miller opened the doors for a full-time 2025 campaign.

Connor Zilisch speaks to Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks at Watkins Glen. Source: Getty

Ten months later, he has tied the record for consecutive wins, secured 59 playoff points, and rewritten JR Motorsports’ single-season history book with the team’s 16th victory of the year. He will replace Daniel Suárez in the No. 99 seat, but Zilisch is open about wanting to keep an Xfinity presence even after the promotion.

"I don’t really treat it as a short-term home. I want to race for JRM in the future. I’ve really just fallen in love with all the people there – Dale, Kelley, LW – Hendrick engine shop gives us so much horsepower. There’s so much to it that I enjoy being part of. I don’t see it as a place where I’m going to leave and never talk to them again... They’ve truly made me feel like family in this short amount of time."

For a driver whose résumé already included IMSA and ARCA milestones before age twenty, JR Motorsports provided the space to learn how to win on NASCAR’s week-to-week grind.

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"We’re going to celebrate this": Connor Zilisch seals regular-season crown with Gateway domination

Connor Zilisch after winning the Nu Way 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Source: Imagn

The Nu Way 200 unfolded with the calm authority that has defined Connor Zilisch’s mid-summer run. Starting from the pole at Gateway, he wasted little time winning Stage 1 and leading 70 of the 78 laps in the race. The No. 88 Chevrolet responded to every adjustment while the pit crew hit clean stops.

The closing stretch tested nerves. Multiple cautions in the final 25 laps erased his advantage and stacked the field. Each restart, Zilisch held the bottom, cleared by Turn 2, and reset his pace. William Sawalich chased from second, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, and Jesse Love filled the top five, but no one could unsettle the teenager.

By the checkered flag, Zilisch had led 121 of 160 laps, securing both the race win and the 15-point playoff bonus attached to the Regular Season Championship.

"Four in a row, seven of the last eight, that’s awesome. We’re going to celebrate this — and the Regular Season Championship," he told NASCAR after the race.

Nine wins, seven of the last eight, four straight, 59 playoff points entering Bristol. Even the hiccup of a broken collarbone at Watkins Glen reads now like part of a lore-building rookie year.

Gateway’s win also nudged JR Motorsports into new territory: a single-season record 16 Xfinity victories. For Connor Zilisch, the milestone doubles as closure. His first full-time NASCAR campaign will be his last at this level for now, yet the door to JRM remains wide open by his choice.