This felt like a momentous occasion.
There was Connor Zilisch standing in Victory Lane after winning in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen and being greeted from all corners of the NASCAR industry as a result. There were multiple team owners, Cup Series drivers and industry executives, all who wanted to make sure they congratulated the 18-year-old in person.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has him under load from Trackhouse Racing through at least next season, called him during his post-race press conference.
Holistically, this felt like a big deal, not just because everyone is under the conviction that Zilisch is the next big thing in NASCAR but also because everyone downright likes him.
Zane Smith refers to Zilisch as ‘his son,’ and Noah Gragson is his de facto brother. Zilisch says he’s learned so much from fellow Trackhouse drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez.
“Noah, he’s like six or seven years older than me but treats me so great,” Zilisch said. “He’s like a brother. Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland; all those guys.
“It’s great to have these guys, who have had success and are where I want to be take me under their wing. I dont take that for granted. And Noah, he’s been through the ups and downs and I just respect the hell out of him and how he’s grown from his experiences.”
Gragson watched the box from the JR Motorsports 88 pit box.
Shane Van Gisbergen said Zilisch belonged on the Cup Series grid on Sunday at Watkins Glen if nowhere. Zilisch is again just 18-years-old and already the apple of the discipline’s eyes.
And why not? He’s a Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 winner. He’s started to win in ARCA and has CARS Tour wins alongside road course victories in Trans-Am and Mazda MX-5 Cup.
He’s a prodigy, not that it’s getting to his head at all.
“Everybody out here has talent and everyone out here can, can win races,” Zilisch said. “It’s just a matter of, you know, who can be the mentally strongest in these races. I’ve got a lot of great people that are supporting me and help make that a lot easier for me.”
Earnhardt told him, because everyone could hear him on the phone from the podium microphone, to really celebrate this one because there’s only one first.
He told his young driver, who will race full-time next year in the JR Motorsports 88, ‘thank you for letting us be a chapter in your journey.”
Zilish can play it cool, that interaction and all the people who visited him in Victory Lane, but that’s a reflection of the big expectations that will be thrust upon him next season.
And despite winning the race in his debut, from the pole, it wasn’t a perfectly executed race nor was it a effortless exercise. He was penalized near the middle stages of the race as leaders Ty Gibbs, Sam Mayer and Zilisch all cut the carousel after a caution immediately waved.
It sent him to the back, which fortuitously put him in his fuel window and allowed him to save gas the rest of the way and even have enough for overtime.
“I thought they just knew better than me and I should have known better,” Zilisch said. “I thought those guys who’ve been racing in this series for a few years would’ve been doing the right thing. So I was like, ‘okay, I’ll just follow them and try to act cool’ and then I was at the tail of the field.
“But honestly it was a blessing in disguise beause it put us in our window and got us to the end of the race.”
Zilisch also knows, reputation aside, that mistakes like that are harder to overcome on Sundays. It was the same when he won the pole in March for his Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas and then proceeded to overshoot Turn 1 on Lap 1.
He’s not buying his own hype and the self awareness over his capacity for growth.
“It’s cool to have people tell me all that but the biggest thing is I have to stay true to myself and understand that I’m not at the highest level yet and I’m not winning at the highest level yet'” he said. “So until I’m doing that, I’m not gonna label myself a superstar.
“I’ve got a long road ahead of me and, and a lot of races ahead of me. So, I try not to let what people say good or bad get to me and affect how I prepare for races and how I show up to the racetrack and race.
“It’s great having all those people behind me saying good things but at the same time, I still have to show up and do my job every week. No matter how many people say you’re good, if you don’t, you know, go win races, you’re not that good.”
For now at least, a 100 percent win rate in the second highest level is pretty darn good.