Rookie Connor Zilisch’s transition from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts to the Cup Series has been far from smooth. This has raised a lot of concern in the NASCAR garage, and Kevin Harvick is one of those questioning what has gone wrong.

While analyzing the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing driver’s performance on his "Happy Hour" podcast, Harvick raised concerns over the lack of competent machinery under him.

"I think it's an interesting position that it's putting the whole Zilisch scenario in with the way that it's going at Trackhouse and whether he sticks around there or doesn't stick around there," said Harvick. "What happens with that whole scenario? I know he has another year on his contract, but it hasn't gone well."

The 2014 NASCAR Cup champion's words strike a chord, as there have been a plethora of issues plaguing Connor Zilisch's performances. The most recent problem came at Nashville during the Cracker Barrel 400. 

On Lap 71, the right-front brake rotor on Zilisch's No. 88 Chevrolet exploded as he entered the first turn, which resulted in him hitting the wall violently. Before the incident, he was steadily making his way up the grid after starting the race in 35th.

His teammate Ross Chastain, who is currently in 26th place in the driver's championship, suffered a similar fate. Just 10 laps later, he blew his right-front rotor, which resulted in him hitting the wall at turn 2. 

However, this is not the first time that concerns about Zilisch's performance have been raised. 

When Denny Hamlin Raised Concerns Over Connor Zilisch’s Performance

Connor Zilisch entered the 2026 Cup season with a huge amount of expectations on his shoulders, as he managed to win 10 races in the 2025 Xfinity (now O'Reilly) Series. 

However, that has not been the case. His best result in the points-rewarding races has been 16th place, which came in at Texas.  Denny Hamlin, while talking about Zilisch's performance on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast in mid-April, said:

"Connor is not performing as we thought. If Ross [Chastain] is my comp, I’d say Connor’s really running about the offset to Ross that you think he would run. The problem is Ross is 15 spots worse than what you would project. They have plenty of time to turn it around, which I’m sure they will."

Yet again, the common factor, as pointed out by both Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, remains Trackhouse Racing's volatile performance.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak