Incident ends Connor Zilisch's eventful NASCAR Cup debut at COTA
Yesterday at 06:03 PM
Eighteen-year-old Connor Zilisch's Cup debut was eventful but ended before the checkered flag flew Sunday at Circuit of the Americas.
Zilisch finished last in the 37-car field after he slammed into Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez's spinning car.
"I couldn't see anything," Zilisch radioed his team after the contact. "All I saw was smoke."
Crew chief Darian Grubb told Zilisch on the team's radio: "You did amazing buddy. You did nothing wrong today. You did an incredible job driving way up through there."
Zilisch's debut came a day after he won the Xfinity race at COTA — his second career series win.
He started Sunday's Cup race 14th.
Zilisch's car was hit on the first turn of the first lap and his right front tire went down, forcing him to pit. He briefly held the fastest lap of the race after he returned to the track.
Zilisch was 25th on Lap 27, just after the start of the second stage. He worked his way up to 14th on Lap 40 and was 10th a lap later when four cars ahead pitted.
His race ended on Lap 50 when Suarez spun in Turn 20. Zilisch tried to avoid him but couldn't. The contact ended the race for Zilisch and Suarez.
Zilisch is a development driver for Trackhouse Racing. The team has not announced what his next Cup race will be.
