After a tough loss at the Phoenix finale, Denny Hamlin is slowly coming back to normalcy. Last week, he visited his father’s hometown for some self-introspection near Amelia Motor Speedway, a place where his own journey began. But speaking about the finale loss, Hamlin wasn’t the only one on the receiving end.

Connor Zilisch, NASCAR’s current wonderboy, also faced a similar fate in the final race. After dominating a season with ten wins, he was the favorite to win it. Unfortunately, like Hamlin, his fate too changed near the final moments as his friend and rival Jesse Love took care of the title. Now, as both Hamlin and Zilisch are going through their respective heartbreaks, Hamlin recalled a recent encounter between the two of them.

Hamlin reminds Zilisch of NASCAR’s brutal reality

Despite Hamlin’s loss, he attended the end-of-season NASCAR awards. Considering his grief, he would not have been questioned even if he’d missed it. Nonetheless, over there, his paths crossed with Connor Zilisch, before Kyle Larson’s championship party.

On seeing Hamlin, Zilisch exclaimed, “Man! I just… God that sucked. I feel your pain.” But Hamlin’s response was a tough pill to swallow.

“Yeah? You do? Imagine going through that 20 times. You swung and missed on your first. Imagine doing it for 20 years in a row like that.”

In one sentence, Hamlin made the youngster realize the brutal reality of the motorsports world that he’s entered. Zilisch got reminded how unforgiving and emotionally painful NASCAR can be. Yes, it’s true that Zilisch’s pain is genuine. But multiply that 20 times, and that’s what Hamlin is feeling right now.

It reminded Zilisch how wins and losses might continue on this path that he’s chosen, but it’s the will that matters. The consistency to not give up. That’s the reality.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean at all that the #11 driver begrudged Jesse Love for winning. He congratulated both Corey Heim and Jesse Love for winning their respective titles.

He then advised Zilisch, “Listen, you got to play the game, and Jesse Love and his team, Danny Stockman, they brought the best car and the best driver on that day. They did it and are certainly deserving.”

Hamlin made him realize how success in NASCAR really comes down to performing when it matters the most. Maybe through Zilisch, he was advising his own conscience, too.

When he says “you got to play the game”, all of this is a part of it. Losing at the final minute, the season’s domination going in vain, all of it. Just play it, accept when someone else outperforms you, and focus on being your best version. Simple.

Interestingly, what Hamlin said for Love and his team could also be said about Kyle Larson and his team in the Cup race.

This one’s surely going to take a while for both of them to pass. For Zilisch, he has the Cup life ahead of him to help him move on. But will the journey be the same?

Will Zilisch dominate Cup Series like Xfinity?

The way Zilisch has performed this season, and previously too, it is the least of surprises that he got his full-time Cup gig. He’s set to drive the No. 88 for Trackhouse Racing next year onwards. But the question is, will he be able to transfer that same Xfinity dominance in the Cup Series, a place where even the best of the best struggle?

When Joey Logano entered the Series at 18, he won early, but he had to face slumps long before he finally won his titles. Similarly, Kyle Busch, another active legend, also faced a steep learning curve in the series before ruling it.

So one thing’s clear. Even the young superstars didn’t instantly dominate in the Cup Series. The transition is tough, and early success doesn’t mean that you will continue to dominate the same way all the time.

Zilisch himself knows this, as he says, “There are no breaks given whether you’re racing for the win, a top 10 or 32nd. It doesn’t matter; everyone is there to be in the next-best position, and everyone gets paid to finish as good as possible.

“In Xfinity, you get to the top five, and it gets tougher. But in Cup, it’s just ruthless. Those guys race for every spot like it’s the last lap of their lives.”

Nonetheless, it doesn’t rule out that Zilisch can’t do it the same way either. The possibility of that happening is very much alive too. Fan reactions are surely divided right now, but they are pretty optimistic, thanks to Zilisch’s quick learning habits over other rookies.