Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks interested in having Connor Zilisch attempt Indy-Charlotte Double

To this day, Tony Stewart is the only driver to have completed the Indy-Charlotte Double, running the full 1,100 miles in the same day. Connor Zilisch could be the next driver to give it a try.

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks previously said he had ambitions to enter a Trackhouse entry into the Indy 500. He doubled down on that this past Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.

“It’s not a secret that I would like our company to race the Indy 500,” Marks told Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. “It’s got to be done the right way. I would like to do The Double.”

Zilisch would be Marks’ pick to attempt The Double, something Kyle Larson tried to pull off in 2024 and again in 2025. Weather impacted his 2024 bid, resulting in him missing the Coca-Cola 600 entirely. Larson crashed out of both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 this season.

This coming season will be Zilisch’s first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series. Marks said a Double attempt won’t come in Zilisch’s rookie season.

“Watching Larson go through that — it’s dramatic and it’s risky and it can be a little uncomfortable with the timing and all that kind of stuff, so if we decide to do something like that, Connor would certainly be at the top of our list,” Zilisch said. “But to do that we have to do it the right way, and I certainly don’t want to do it his rookie year.”

Connor Zilisch wrapped up dominant Xfinity season without championship to show for it

Zilisch, 19, just wrapped up his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, a season which saw him win 10 races and set a record with 18 consecutive top five finishes. Zilisch finished third in the championship race at Phoenix, coming up short of winning the championship. Jesse Love took the checkered flag, making him the 2025 champion.

Zilisch was the dominant driver throughout the season. But under the current playoff format where the champion is decided in a one-race finale, Love was better. Zilisch was emotional after the race.

“We fought all day long and threw everything we had at it,” Zilisch said. “Unfortunately, our WeatherTech Chevrolet, we just didn’t quite have what we needed. But that doesn’t take away from anything we’ve done this year.

“But I guess the lights were too bright. You work all year long, and you bust your ass for 33 weeks, and I feel like we’ve done the best job we could all year long, and we just didn’t have it today. I’m so proud of this team. We have nothing to hang our heads about, but, yeah, this one’s going to sting.”