AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 28, 2025) – The rapid rise of Connor Zilisch continued Friday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Less than six months after winning his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut at Watkins Glen, and just two days before he makes his first NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start, the 18-year-old captured the pole for Saturday’s Focused Health 250 NXS race (1:30 p.m. CT, TV: CW, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM) on the National Course with a lap time of 97.262 seconds at 88.832 miles per hour.
The Mooresville, N.C. native paced a stellar qualifying performance by JR Motorsports, which earned four of the top five qualifying positions. NCS full-time driver Ross Chastain, driving for JR Motorsports, will join Zilisch on the front row. Teammates Justin Allgaier took fourth and Carson Kvapil was fifth.
Cup Series regular William Byron, driving a Hendrick Motorsports entry, was the only driver to break through the JR Motorsports stranglehold by qualifying third.
“I think we’re going to have a really good car here,” Zilisch told media after qualifying. “It’s fun to have Ross here to push me to my limits. I’ve just got to go out and do my job. At the end of the day, it’s executing that’s going to win the race.”
After posting the fastest lap in Friday’s practice, the young hot shoe backed up his performance by outpacing the field by 0.184 seconds on the 17-turn, 2.4-mile circuit in qualifying.
“It’s a really good start to the weekend. It’s been a really rough start to the year, so getting some momentum is much-needed,” said Zilisch, who makes his NCS debut with Trackhouse Racing with practice and qualifying Saturday.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a little tougher… first time in a Cup car, the people around me, the noise. I’m just going to have to keep doing my thing. I’m excited to see what the Cup car is like tomorrow, but it’s going to be tough to stay calm.”
With a strong showing in EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix NCS qualifying Saturday, Zilisch is looking to become the youngest driver to make a NCS start since Joey Logano in 2008.
Three drivers, Parker Retlzaff and Brad Perez both driving for Alpha Prime Racing failed to qualify for Saturday afternoon’s race.
Thomas Annunziata, driving for the new Cope Family Racing team, encountered a mechanical failure during time trials without posting a lap. Despite showcasing speed fast enough to make the race, the team did not have enough owner points from 2024 to make the 38-car field.
