Connor Zilisch is believed to be the next big superstar of NASCAR. A teenager who proved his mettle in Europe and almost clinched the O’Reilly Series title last year with 10 wins, he’s got to do well in the Cup Series, right? But his run with the Trackhouse Racing No. 88 team has been mediocre, to say the least. And this, in turn, forced him to look for other options.
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Now, wait a minute, Zilisch isn’t changing teams just yet, but he had to take a trip back to the O’Reilly Series, just to remind himself that he’s still got it.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts race at Bristol looked like another usual event where Kyle Larson would just leave everybody in his wake to bag a victory. Yet, despite leading 230 of 300 laps, he could only manage a runner-up finish, while Zilisch took home the checkered flag. And this was an emotional victory for the young driver.
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“It’s been a tough past few weeks for me in the Cup Series. Feels good to come back down here into the O’Reilly Series and remember that I could still do it. It’s tough. You finish in the back every week and you forget who you are. This feels good,” Zilisch said after the race. But this win was a team effort, and had it not been for Rodney Childers, we might have seen Larson clinch the race.
The consequential decision came on lap 273, when a late caution reset the field. A majority of frontrunners, including a lot of the top five, dove to pit road for fresh tires. Zilisch stayed out. That call vaulted him to the lead, but also placed him directly in the crosshairs of Larson, who restarted just behind him with fresher rubber and the fastest car of the night.
The decision to stay out, however, was not blind aggression, not at all. In fact, it was very calculated. Tire wear had been minimal throughout the night, and clean air had consistently outweighed the benefit of fresh rubber. Despite the win, Zilisch tipped his hat to his rival, Larson, and acknowledged the efforts of his crew chief.
“It’s great to come down here in to the O’Reilly Series and remember that I can still do it.”
Post-race comments from an elated @ConnorZilisch. pic.twitter.com/b3jlG3xCLQ
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) April 12, 2026
“We played strategy. Rodney made a great call to keep us out. The tires weren’t wearing much all night and we were able to get the track position we needed to go out and win the race. Really cool to be able to race against Kyle and learn from him. He’s so talented and such a fast race car driver. It’s good to be back with JRM and back in Victory Lane,” he added. One can only imagine the mental boost Zilisch had from this win, and he surely needed reassurance after his start to the 2026 Cup season.
With 2 DNFs and an average finish of 26, the Trackhouse Racing star has been struggling to find his feet, but he’s not at fault. Trackhouse has lost its mojo and has fallen to mid-tier status. Compare them to Spire Motorsports to understand the slump they are experiencing. Luckily, it’s been only 7 races so far in the season, so they have time to turn things around.
It may seem that the above is a good summary of the race, yet ending it here would be traitorous to true race fans without addressing the second biggest elephant in the room, Brent Crews.
Brent Crews came within nine laps of stealing Bristol from Zilisch
Brent Crews’ third-place finish cannot just be looked at in singularity; the entire purpose must be understood. The Joe Gibbs Racing rookie started at 17th place, which was the highest for a rookie, and not only that, he drove to a career-best O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finish in just his first Bristol start.
Even though Larson dominated the race, Crews was not far behind. By lap 125, he had reached fifth as the lead JGR car. On lap 262, he executed a decisive slide job on Justin Allgaier for fourth, positioning himself 4.5 seconds behind the lead and firmly in contention.
The pivotal point in the race came with 31 laps to go, when a caution for Gray Gaulding forced everyone to quickly change their strategy. Crews made the ultimate decision to stay out alongside Connor Zilisch, gaining track position while Larson pitted for fresh tires. On the restart, Crews immediately became a primary threat. With just nine laps remaining, on lap 291, he surged around the outside to take the lead from Zilisch, briefly putting himself in position to win.
However, this same aggression turned out to be more sour than sweet for the rookie. On lap 293, while he was still pushing the outside line, he unfortunately got sideways off turn 2 and made contact with the wall, allowing both Zilisch and Larson to pass. This led him to finish third. Having shown what he can deliver, it will be interesting to see how Crews fares in the upcoming races.
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Edited by
Godwin Issac Mathew