Overview
- Zilisch made the main event at Bowman Gray Stadium and finished 18th in a caution-filled preseason Clash impacted by rain, sleet and a record 17 yellows.
- Driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse, he noted the race’s unusual flow with non-counting caution laps and said track position proved pivotal on the drying one-groove surface.
- Trackhouse confirmed Zilisch as a full-time Cup driver for 2026 alongside Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen, with additional part-time starts for JR Motorsports in the O’Reilly Series.
- Hype around the teenager grew as AJ Allmendinger likened him to Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. endorsed the comparison, while Chastain publicly backed his new teammate.
- Zilisch arrives off a 10-win 2025 O’Reilly season and a narrow title loss to Jesse Love, has acknowledged past complacency, and supports NASCAR’s return to a Chase-style format across all three national series.