NASCAR insiders react to Dale Earnhardt Jr. calling Connor Zilisch 'future Hall of Famer'

At 19 years old, Connor Zilisch is doing things drivers double his age and experience could only dream of. Zilisch, the Xfinity Series rookie, took the checkered flag in this past Saturday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his third consecutive victory.

Zilisch has been on an incredible run over the last nine races, compiling four wins, three runner-up finishes and two additional top 5s. It’s early, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. sees special things in Zilisch’s future: “He has the potential to do incredible, incredible Hall of Fame worthy things,” Earnhardt said after the race.

Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic touched on Earnhardt’s bold comments during Sunday’s “The Teardown” podcast. Bianchi called Zilisch the “real deal,” complimenting his patience inside the racecar.

“He’s legit, he’s the real deal,” Bianchi said. “He is the young guy who is coming in and showing it and it’s the maturity and the poise. We’ve seen young guys come in and do things — Joey Logano came in and blew everything up — but the way Connor does it, he doesn’t force things, particularly on ovals.

“He’s really smart, really patient and about putting himself in a position to be there at the end and then makes the move to capitalize. That, to me, is a guy whose race craft supersedes his age. He’s not racing like a 19-year-old.”

NASCAR insiders blown away by Connor Zilisch

What has stuck out the most to Gluck is Zilisch’s maturity. He labeled him the next generational prospect, following in the footsteps of Logano, Kyle Busch and others.

“He’s so mature,” Gluck said. “Like, when you listen to him talk and his mental approach, obviously he works with Josh Wise which is a big help, but still, he must have had great parenting growing up and all that. He’s the best prospect since blank — Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch.”

Next season, it could be Zilisch’s time to make the jump up to the Cup Series after Trackhouse Racing mutually agreed to part ways with Daniel Suárez. Bianchi sees instant success for Zilisch on road courses.

“It feels like he’s the next in line,” Bianchi said. “… I think the way the schedule sets up for Connor — let’s hypothetically say he’s going to Trackhouse — I don’t know if next year he’ll be super competitive on ovals. Think he’ll be OK and have some top 10s, but I think he’s good enough to win on a road course. It’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period for him, but he’s legit. He’s not going anywhere.”