Deep in the heart of Texas, 19-year-old rookie Connor Zilisch got to take a rodeo ride in his #88 Red Bull Chevrolet, going back and forth from the front to the rear in a tumultuous day that resulted in yet another disappointing outcome. 

This week, Around the Grid wanted to take a ride along with NASCARs hottest young prospect at a track that we know he has bad fast speed at. He certainly brought the speed, but unfortunately you can’t win races off of speed alone. 

Zilisch was expected to compete right off the bat, being a known specialist at road courses in some of the best equipment at the tracks. He spent Saturday in the O’Reilly’s race prepping along with his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen 

Qualifying wouldn’t go as planned for the 88 team, as he’d roll out 25th while his teammates stood out in the top 15. Zilisch noted some left side tightness in the car. 

Right as the green flag dropped, it was apparent that Zilisch’s race trim was much better, as the 88 rocketed through the pack and found itself within the top 15, not without some hiccups. 

“My SMT quit on me again” said Zilisch around lap 10.

Along with some handling stiffness, Zilisch commanded the Chevy through the issues up to the top 10. As the stage came to an end, he was poised to enter the dance at the start of stage two with a start in 7th place, unfortunately there’s a reason the number 7 is unlucky. 

Zilisch got tapped in the bumper by the #7 of Daniel Suarez, the same driver who ruined his run at this track a year ago, and spun out. 

“F**king Suarez, dude” said Zilisch. 

The 88 had to drive up from the back of the pack on flat spotted tires, which hindered the cars potential for the entire stage. 

“I have no drive,” Zilisch noted on lap 14 of stage two, along with pointing out some small damage on the nose 

Despite the setbacks, the 88 was still an absolute beast through the esses, consistently making ground up there against cars with better rubber. 

“If we could go around the esses every f**king time we’d win the race” said Zilisch in frustration. 

Wheeling around a car on corded and spotted tires, Zilisch brought it to pit lane ahead of the stage end. With plans to split the final stage in two, crew chief Randall Burnett reminded his driver of his consistent speed. 

Starting in 22nd, the 88s radios began to find silence as Zilisch locked in and charged up the field, determined to join his teammates inside of the top 10. With precision and assertion, the Red Bull Chevrolet played matador with the bumpers of the field. 

By lap 61, Zilisch put down the fastest laps of any car on the field, and could see his teammate Van Gisbergen at the peak of his late race run on fresher tires. 

It became clear, to his team, the rest of the field and the broadcast that Zilisch was the car to beat in terms of lap times. With laps that posted half a second faster than the likes of Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney, the only thing left that could boost his chances of an unprecedented win was a caution. 

Like a beautiful gift of fate after a day of frustration, teammate Chastain would fly into the sand and bring out the yellow. Zilisch lined up in 4th with 15 laps to go and so much pent up speed to release to the front. You could feel the momentum inside the car from the in-car camera. 

The field restarted around the bend toward the grandstands and like an angry bull, the 88 slightly took the corner wide and screamed down the front stretch.

 All he had to do was get around the first turn, but once again the car began to take a left turn inward with help from his competitors. This time there was congestion between various drivers fighting for position.

Mute and likely stunned on the radio, Zilisch simply got the car back in gear and chipped away at the field for the third time in the afternoon. Despite another clear and obvious example of his talent. lady luck didn’t wanna dance with the rookie. 

Eventually scavenging up a 14th place finish, Zilisch was tongue and cheek about the ordeal. 

“I feel like we passed every car four times”, remarked Zilisch. 

Many drivers before him would have reason to complain and pick fights post race, but Zilisch once again has a moment of veteran presence by finding humor in the situation and moving on. 

The maturity will pay dividends as his young career continues to progress. The record holder for most O’Reilly series wins in a season is due for a breakout sooner rather than later, and keeping tabs on him today showed me a new level of that which I already suspected. 

Connor Zilisch and the 88 team will look to find some low incident peace at Phoenix next week. In the meantime, stay tuned to who we look to put the spotlight on in Phoenix’s Around the Grid.