NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 11, 2026 |
Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes: | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
NASCAR CUP SERIESDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYDAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESFEBRUARY 11, 2026 |
Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – 2026 DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes: | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| I know you’re a rookie, but you’re not a rookie to racing. There’s no road course in the chase now. What are your feelings on that? Were you looking forward to something like that, or are you like, eh, it is what it is?“Yeah, I don’t really stress too much about… it is what it is. You know, the writing was on the wall that it was going to happen. It would be nice to have a road course, but I think there’s definitely better options to go to than the (Charlotte) Roval. I think there’s a lot of really great tracks in the United States and around the world that would be really cool to go to. I think a lot of the drivers want at least one in the Chase. I think I’m not alone saying that, but I think there’s better options than the Roval, just racing-wise. It’s a decent track, but the oval is definitely a better race.” What’s some of the best advice you’ve been given coming into the season overall?“Yeah, I mean, run all the laps is the biggest thing. I think if you make it to the end of this one, you can have a solid day. But, you know, there’s no crazy advice I’ve been given for this race in particular. It’s certainly different now with fuel saving and just being a unique race, but I’m excited for it. I think my biggest piece of advice that people have given me is just enjoy the experience.” No Mic… “Yeah, I’m so excited. I think the biggest thing for me coming into this weekend is just try and make the most of the weekend, obviously, and do everything I can on the track. But more importantly, just enjoy the experience and have fun no matter what happens. There’s a lot of things that can happen out of your control here. And I think for me, I’m just most excited to enjoy it all, whether it’s media day today. Usually I dread these things, but I came in with a positive mindset today that I’m going to have fun and I’m going to enjoy it, and I think that goes for the entire weekend.” What about the full circle moment of getting back here four years later?“Yeah, it’s really full circle for me. I think looking back at it, I first came to this race as a fan in 2022. I sat in the grandstands. I didn’t even know enough people to get a pit pass. I think it just shows how quickly life can change. You know, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s just crazy how things in life can happen. You just have to give it your all every day; don’t give up. I think it shows that anything’s possible.” Do you come in here happy that people have such high expectations for you, or do you almost feel like I want to calm it down? How do you kind of approach it because you are somebody that people do have these high expectations?“Yeah, I appreciate the excitement. You know, I think it’s really cool that there’s a lot of people excited to watch how I’m going to do this season, whether it’s fans or media. I do think it sometimes gets a little outlandish… a lot of people maybe expecting a lot of me in my first year. I don’t think people realize how big of a jump it is from Saturday to Sunday. But I try not to pay too much attention to it. I know what my personal goals are throughout the year. I know what I want to accomplish and my long-term goals. I find it cool most mostly.” How do you explain your ability to succeed in every step, so far?“I think it’s just adaptability. Growing up, I raced so many different kinds of cars and got to do so many different races. I just experienced a lot at a young age, and I was forced to challenge myself. I learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and I think that’s kind of why I never feel like I’m going into a new thing. I never get stressed. I always say, man, I’ve been in these shoes before and I’m going to go out and figure it out.” What kind of race do you expect to see on Sunday? What are you looking forward to the most? “I think just driver introductions and walking across the stage. And then obviously the race. I mean, the race is going to be really cool. Just the whole experience. I think there’s nothing I can really pinpoint and say, man, that’s going to be my favorite part. I think I’m just going to try and enjoy the entire day. But it’s going to be really cool to walk across the stage and hear my name introduced and get to race in the Daytona 500.” You’ve never raced in front of that many people before, have you, though? “I don’t think so. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever raced in a crowd this big, no.” When you got here in 2022, did you watch the race as a fan, or were you in that driver analytical mindset?“That was before I even had raced in oval, so that was very much so just coming as a fan and enjoying the spectacle of it. And, you know, I’d never been to the race. I was actually coaching a kid in Orlando in a go-kart and working, and his family said, hey, you want to go to the Daytona 500? And I thought, man, what a cool opportunity that would be. I traded my pay for a ticket to the race and a place to stay that night, and I got to go to the race for the first time and enjoy that experience. I definitely wasn’t in the driver mindset or I didn’t have the skill at that time to be able to critique what was going on on the track (laughs).” After Phoenix, how long did you hang on to those thoughts of what you should have, could have, would have to win that championship?“Yeah, I got past it pretty quick. It was probably a week or so, less than a week. I quickly realized I have a lot more to be excited about than I do to sit there and get upset about the fact that I didn’t win a championship. So, yeah, it’s just the fact. If I didn’t have anything going for me and that was my make-or-break moment, it would have been different. But I have a lot to look forward to and a lot to work on moving forward, and that needs to be my focus.” You have one shot this year at becoming the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history. I’m wondering, have you looked to Trevor Bayne’s win, either in studying it or even maybe talking to him to see how he executed that at such a younger age?“I mean, I don’t think age is the thing that I would need to talk to Trevor Bayne about. I feel like it’s really cool he won at 20 years old and won it at a young age. But no, I haven’t talked to him about his experience in the Daytona 500 or watched it back recently. You know, I do most of my studying on my own and there wouldn’t be a lot to look at from the cars back then to compare to today’s cars.” What would make you smile at the end of the race Sunday night? “I think if I could just make it to the end — I think a top-10, I’d be happy about. You know, I’m not saying if I finished 11th, I’d be mad. But I think I have low expectations for myself. I don’t expect to go out and win my first race. It’d be really cool to do that. Obviously, we show up to the track every week with the goal to win, but I don’t expect myself to. So I think, you know, making it to the end — as long as I can say I did everything I could and I made the right moves, I think that’s what I’d be satisfied with.” No Mic… “Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it just comes from respecting the guys and treating them the way you want to be treated. If they see you as a bratty kid, I think that’s when they won’t respect you and what you say. I try and treat everyone with respect, and I try not to act like a 19-year-old. I think that’s the biggest thing. I might be a young kid, but I just try to be more professional and mature, and I think that’s a lot of why people trust and believe in me and respect what I say. But, you know, I don’t think – there’s a lot of kids that, you know, have that respect. There’s a lot of people coming up through the sport that are really good and young. I think that’s just kind of the way the sport’s trending is kids are getting into cars when they’re 12 years old, and I think that’s going to become the new normal.” When you’re getting compared to guys like Jeff Gordon, what’s your reaction to that? “(Laughs) Yeah, it’s hard to comprehend, I would say. I think it’s – I don’t know why yet, right? I’ve run, obviously, a lot of races in the lower levels. But, you know, to be compared to Jeff Gordon, I feel like you’ve got to do something at this level and I’ve yet to do that. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that. That starts this year, and I’m hoping to make a name for myself. It’s certainly going to take time to get to the level of a guy like him.” What constitutes a successful rookie season for you?“I think the biggest thing for me is that if I can look back and say I got better each week and ended the year multiple steps ahead of where I start today, I think that’s what success looks like to me.” |