Connor Zilisch will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday in the Circuit of the Americas (1:30 p.m. CT, FOX). Zilisch started racing go-karts when he was five. He moved up to the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series in 2024.

Connor Zilisch debuts in NASCAR Cup at COTA, aiming to compete, learn—and he hopes—become the series youngest winner with his road course success.

The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to the storied Austin track, Circuit of the Americas, this week. The road course has plenty of drama on its own, but changes to the track this year, some bubbling beef in the garage and an 18-year-old phenom’s debut make this Sunday’s race a must-see event.

Connor Zilisch cruised to winning the pole position for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas ahead of his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the track on Sunday.

NASCAR Xfinity Series' Connor Zilisch gets the pole position after Friday night’s qualifying session for Saturday's Focused Health 250 at COTA.

Rookie Connor Zilisch scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series pole position of the 2025 season for the fifth annual running of the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas,

Trackhouse Racing was planning for Connor Zilisch to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut later in the year. The 18-year-old, however, had other ideas and convinced the organization that Circuit of

Shane van Gisbergen emerged as NASCAR's new road-course beast, and now Connor Zilisch is favored to enter the scene dramatically this week at COTA.

On Saturday, the third race of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will take place at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Zilisch, 18, is doing double duty as he will be qualifying again on Saturday for his Cup Series debut with Trackhouse Racing. Earning the pole for Saturday’s race is just the first checkbox of the weekend for the Mooresville native.