Connor Zilisch will have to work his way forward in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen after qualifying 25th in the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.The 19-year-old, making just his fourth Cup Series start, clocked a 72.603-second lap (121.483 mph) in Saturday's session at Watkins Glen International - well off his lofty expectations. Ryan Blaney scored the pole with a 71.960 lap, narrowly edging Shane van Gisbergen (71.993). Zilisch's other Trackhouse teammates, Ross Chastain, will start fourth, and Daniel Suárez 19th.For Zilisch, who earned pole for Saturday's Xfinity Series race and already has five wins in that series this year, the result felt like a step backward. He wrote on X:"Struggled to get everything out of it today in qualifying in my @redbull Chevy. Got some work to do tomorrow, but I know we're plenty fast in race trim! Xfinity race time from the pole!"After taking poles by comfortable margins at the Xfinity level, including a blistering run earlier in the day for the Mission 200 at The Glen, qualifying mid-pack in the Cup car was a reminder of the steeper climb in NASCAR's top division.This will be Connor Zilisch's fourth Cup start after COTA, Charlotte, and Atlanta, and he's still chasing his first top-ten finish. The gap between his dominance in Xfinity and his still-gelling Cup performances remains clear heading into Sunday.Connor Zilisch chases another Watkins Glen Xfinity winConnor Zilisch with his crew during the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Iowa. Source: ImagnOne year ago, Connor Zilisch arrived at Watkins Glen as an unknown rookie and left as a first-time NASCAR winner. Now, he returns with six Xfinity Series victories, tied with JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier for the regular-season points title, even after missing a race due to injury.Zilisch's latest pole came with a 70.884-second lap (124.429 mph), topping Shane van Gisbergen by over half a second, with Taylor Gray starting third. The Zilisch-van Gisbergen road course rivalry has been one of the season's most compelling storylines.At Sonoma earlier this year, the pair started on the front row and traded the lead multiple times before Zilisch finally pulled clear for the win. SVG has dominated road racing across series in 2025, winning at Mexico City, Chicago (Xfinity and Cup), and Sonoma, but Zilisch remains one of the few drivers to consistently match his pace.Zilisch's weekend also included a Truck Series cameo for Niece Motorsports, filling in for Kaden Honeycutt. That run started with setbacks. NASCAR's pre-race inspection sent the No. 45 to the rear for two failures, cost the team pit selection for Richmond, and led to the ejection of the crew chief. Even so, Zilisch fought through to finish eighth, showing adaptability.With speed on his side, track familiarity, and last year's breakthrough still fresh in mind, Zilisch will try to turn Saturday's pole into another Watkins Glen win before shifting focus back to climbing from 25th in Sunday's Cup event.