Welcome Rookie: Can Connor Zilisch Match These Great Year 1 Cup Seasons?

Connor Zilisch knows that he won’t just be compared to the drivers he will race against in 2026.

The Trackhouse Racing driver won 10 races last year in NASCAR’s top developmental series. So there’s a reason for all the hype.

Could he have the best rookie season of all-time? 

The 19-year-old is trying not to look at it that way, especially in an era where there is virtually no testing except for an occasional test at a new track or a tire test. Prior to 2015, teams could test as much as they wanted at tracks that didn’t have Cup races. And NASCAR also has cut the amount of practice time drivers get at the race track substantially over the last 10 years.

How will Connor Zilisch fare in his rookie Cup season compared to some of the greats?

"It's going to take time to figure it out," Zilisch told me. "And there's no way to make up experience, especially today when we can't test. You're at a deficit. And the only way to make that up is to go out there and race and figure it out. 

"I'm looking forward to going out and doing that."

Zilisch won his debut in what is now the O’Reilly Series (formerly Xfinity) at Watkins Glen a couple years ago and road courses are his specialty. The thing is, his Trackhouse teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, won five of the Cup road-course races last year.

SVG, as he is commonly known, set the bar as far as number of wins for a rookie. No rookie had ever won more than three.

"Last year with Shane, five wins is pretty spectacular," Zilisch said. "There's guys Tony Stewart and way back in the day, a lot of guys that had successful years. But there have been a lot more who have taken time to learn and I know that's going to be the case at first."

Zilisch said he’s done everything he could to prepare for the year.

"You can only do so much," he said. "I feel like experience is going to be the biggest thing that I have to catch up on. I'm asking the questions that I feel like I need to ask, and doing as much with my teammates as I can."

Here are the eight rookie performances in the last 50 years that Zilisch likely could be compared to when looking at his rookie campaign.

8. Shane van Gisbergen (2025, Age 36 at end of season)

SVG won all five of his races on road courses and he finished 12th in the standings. But his average finish was 21st. And that was respectable for a driver who was in just his second year of NASCAR racing after winning three Supercar championships in Australia.

7. Dale Earnhardt (1979, Age 28)

Earnhardt won at Bristol and averaged a 10.7 finish in his rookie year driving for Rod Osterlund. He finished seventh in the standings but also missed four races after suffering injuries in a crash at Pocono. In his first two races back, he won the pole in each and totaled four poles in the season.

6. Davey Allison (1987, Age 26)

Allison won two races and averaged a finish of 14.2 for Ranier-Lundy Racing, and he put an unsponsored car on the front row for the Daytona 500. The team struggled for funding early and Allison competed in 22 of the 29 events, winning at Talladega and Dover.

5. Ryan Newman (2002, Age 24)

Newman finished sixth in the standings as a rookie at Team Penske, winning at New Hampshire. He earned six poles and finished with 14 top fives and 22 top 10s. He won one of the most debated Rookie of the Year titles against ... 

4. Jimmie Johnson (2002, Age 27)

Johnson won three races — Fontana and both Dover races — to finish fifth in the standings driving for Hendrick Motorsports. He had six top fives and 21 top 10s and four poles. Arguably, he was not as consistently fast as Newman, although Johnson’s average finish of 13.5 was better than Newman’s 14.5. What made Johnson’s performance so startling was that he had won just one race in two seasons in what is now the O’Reilly Series.

3. Kevin Harvick (2001, Age 25)

Harvick’s rookie year was one that came a year earlier than planned. Harvick was supposed to go full-time Cup racing in 2002 but was thrust into the spotlight after the death of Dale Earnhardt. Harvick won at Atlanta in his third career start and later that year at Atlanta. He finished ninth in the standings (despite not running the Daytona 500) and averaged a finish of 14.1.

2. Denny Hamlin (2006, Age 25)

Hamlin, with one winless O’Reilly season of experience, stepped into the Cup car at Joe Gibbs Racing. He won two races — both at Pocono — and finished third in the standings. He had an average finish of 12.5 with 20 top 10s and just one race where he didn’t finish. 

1. Tony Stewart (1999, Age 28)

Stewart had already won an INDYCAR title before coming to NASCAR, and he didn’t disappoint in his first full Cup season at Joe Gibbs Racing as he placed fourth in the standings. He won three races at Richmond, Phoenix and Homestead, all in the last 10 races of the year. He finished with 12 top fives and 21 top 10s. His average finish was 10.3. He only had one DNF.