CONCORD, N.C. - Connor Zilisch has not yet made his debut in the Cup Series, but he has a big goal as he heads to Circuit of the Americas to take on NASCAR's top series.
"I want to try to become the youngest Cup Series winner," Zilisch told a select group of media members at the NASCAR Production Facility.
Joey Logano is currently the record-holder in the NASCAR Cup Series. The three-time Cup champion won his first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he was 19 years and 35 days old. Zilisch turns 19 in July.
This is a lofty goal, but yet it doesn't seem unattainable for Zilisch. The North Carolina native has already won the prestigious Rolex 24. He also won his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen International last season.
The level of competition is much higher in the Cup Series, but Zilisch says he is more comfortable with the Gen 7 car than he was with the Xfinity Series car when he made his debut last season. It's closer to what he grew up racing in multiple sports car series.
Plus, he's just comfortable on NASCAR's road courses. This includes COTA, where he won the pole for his Truck Series debut last season while setting a track record.
"Honestly, I don't feel like there's anything that tells me that I'm not ready to race on a road course on Sunday," Zilisch said. "Obviously, when I go to race on an oval at some point, it's going to be a little different.
"I think for racing on road courses on Sundays, I feel like I can go out and compete and perform. And I wouldn't want to go do a race that I don't think I can compete and perform and race against those guys."
The Cup Series schedule features numerous road courses, any of which could have served as a location for Zilisch's debut. So why did he and Trackhouse Racing choose COTA, which falls on the third week of the season?
Sponsors certainly play a role in these decisions, but Zilisch had a far more specific reason - there was no time to waste if he wanted to beat Logano's record.
"To do that, I have to race as soon as possible and get it in before I turn 19," Zilisch said. "So, you know, I wanted to at least give myself a shot at that (record)."
Even if Zilisch doesn't achieve his goal and set the NASCAR record as the youngest Cup Series race winner, he will still gain crucial experience at Circuit of the Americas as he pursues his larger goal of racing on Sundays.
When will this move happen? Does Zilisch have a set number of wins before making the leap? This is a common benchmark for NASCAR's drivers in the Xfinity and Truck Series.
The short answer is no. The long answer is that he is looking at other factors. As he explained, a driver can have a race-winning performance for the majority of the event but still lose due to an issue on pit road or something else unexpected happening.
"I think it's over just an overall readiness and comfort level," Zilisch said. "I feel like that's more so of a benchmark.
"I can say, 'Oh, you have to win on Saturday before you can go to Sunday,' but at the end of the day, (you have) guys like Daniel Hemric who didn't really win a ton but won a championship. He was ready to race on Sunday.
"You know when you're ready as a driver."