What a year it’s been for Connor Zilisch! The 18-year-old entered the recent ARCA race at Bristol after winning his Xfinity Series debut at the Watkins Glen track. The racing prodigy was eyeing an ARCA East Championship before ending his campaign as next year he’ll race a full Xfinity season with JR Motorsports.

Zilisch set the stage, got the pole position, and led the race. However, a battle between Logan Misuraca and Amber Balcaen for the 10th position ended his championship chances. Post the race, Zilisch was frustrated about losing out but is looking forward to bigger things that await in his NASCAR career.

Connor Zilisch misses out on ARCA championship

The #28 entered the Bush’s Best 200 as the points leader of the ARCA Menards Series East. He comfortably stood 16 points above William Sawalich, hence the task for Zilisch was simple, finish 11th place or higher and the championship was his. However, he was denied that by no fault of his own. What happened was, on lap 65, Amber Balcaen had contact with Logan Misucara, leading to Misucara spinning and his car stalling in the middle of the track. Zilisch lapping was coming in fast and did not have enough reaction time to avoid the car and scrapped it, ending his ARCA season with a DNF.

This is exactly what Sawalich was hoping for as he bagged his second ARCA East championship in a row. Post the race, Zilisch, although young, was mature about the incident. He said, “That’s the story of ARCA racing. I knew if I lost this championship, it would be because of a lap car. Hate to end the season like that, it’s frustrating. Frustrating way to go out but looking forward to moving on and racing the Xfinity Series. It going to be a lot of fun to go out there.” 

Zilisch found the on-track battle that took him out a bit petty, as did Misucara. “I heard Logan was crying incare center and screaming about how the 22 was racing her. I mean it’s for 10th in an ARCA race, you really gotta wreck someone for 10th in a ARCA race? But that’s how it goes sometimes. Nothing to hang out heads on just gotta keep our heads up,” Zilisch added.

The #28 was the favorite going into the race. After all, he’s had a dominant ARCA season. He won five out of his six race starts this year, the most recent being the Watkins Glen race. A championship would have been the perfect way to end his campaign before he joined the big leagues. Although Zilisch is disappointed and frustrated, he’s grown enough to put it behind him and focus on the bright future ahead of him. First up is the Truck Series race on the Bristol track. He took to X where shared his excitement, he wrote, “Lot of things I want to say right now that I’ll bite my lip on, but more important than anything I’m so proud of @RacePRG. This year has been an absolute blast and 1 race doesn’t define us. Still have a truck race tonight to look forward to.”

The youngster is eager to race back-to-back at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Zilisch is pumped about the Truck Series race

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The second playoff race of the Truck season will be commencing on the Bristol track and Zilisch yet again has managed to get the pole position in qualifying. The newly formed rivalry between him and Sawalich will come into the Truck race as the #1 has qualified 4th in the race behind Corey Heim in P2 and Rajah Caruth in P3. After being frustrated by the ARCA race result, Zilisch is looking for some redemption in the Truck race.

Ahead of the race, he was asked about his plans to maintain track position, to which he said, “Go fast. Get the lead and stay out front. Just stay out front and learn from those guys. There’s a lot of talent guys, Corey’s gonna be one that I wanna get behind and learn from. He’s won a lot of truck races and a bright future ahead of him. Looking forward to racing those guys.”

After his recent ARCA race, he knows the nuances of the Bristol track and is positive of a good finish. Speaking about what he learned about the track, he said, “Everything happens fast they don’t lie when they say that. You just gotta keep it in one piece. I want to run 400 laps tonight but looks like I’m gonna run 250, hopefully.” Hopefully, he won’t be part of such unfortunate incidents in the Truck race. Are you excited to see him race? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.