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Dale Earnhardt Jr. sets expectations for Connor Zilisch rookie NASCAR Cup Series season

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones09/10/25brianjones_93
Connor Zilisch (7)
Ayrton Breckenridge/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Connor Zilisch‘s rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series will be “rough.” On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt set the expectations for Zilisch when he joins the Cup Series in February.

“I think he will be mid-pack a lot,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “That will be due to two things. Trackhouse [Racing] has this sort of hot and cold vibe, right? They run the [Coca-Cola] 600, fastest car there, by far, and then disappear for a while. They obviously have good speed at the road courses, and I think that since [Shane van Gisbergen] is there, and kind of understands, and is getting better at making the NextGen car what it needs to be…

“He would get in the NextGen car in Year 1 and not really know what the car needed to be better, but he was just good enough to go out there and be quick because of his own pure ability. But now he’s drove the car long enough to go, ‘Yeah, this is what the car needs, and then I’ll be even better.'”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Connor Zilisch could have a ‘rough’ rookie season

Earnhardt continued: “Connor’s going to benefit from all of that knowledge coming in straight away. Then, he’ll have his own ability, plus a reasonably solid race car, and then Connor then too can start to improve on the car.”

Earnhardt then added that he wouldn’t be surprised if Connor Zilisch “battles for a win” at a road course next year. However, with Zilisch “learning an entirely new car,” Earnhardt believes that he will have a hard time having success at other tracks.

“You got to be ready for that first year to sort of be rough,” Earnhardt said. “He’ll be running 20th, and then we’ll see him on pit road fixing a tow link because we missed it. He hit the wall off of [Lap] 2 a couple of laps ago.”

Last month, Trackhouse Racing announced that Zilisch signed a multi-year deal to drive in the Cup Series full-time. He currently drives for JR Motorsports (co-owned by Earnhardt) in the Xfinity Series and won the regular season title after winning nine races this year. He enters the Xfinity Series Playoffs on top of the standings and 59 points above the cut line.