NASCAR’s decision to expand practice sessions has received support from Trackhouse Racing rookie Connor Zilisch, who believes the additional track time will give younger drivers and developing teams a better opportunity to improve their cars before the green flag.
After a difficult start to his rookie Cup Series campaign, Zilisch sees the new format as a chance to close the gap to the front of the field.
Speaking on Actions Detrimental, Zilisch welcomed the change, saying, “Yeah, I definitely think it’s helpful for us.” He explained that the extra practice time allows teams to gather more information before qualifying and the race.
“Getting to make changes in practice and get two sets of tires and be able to run more laps and have more time on track is certainly helpful for me,” he said.
The No. 88 Trackhouse Racing driver believes the added practice time will have the biggest impact on teams that are still searching for speed, much more than on organizations that already unload competitive race cars every weekend.
While established teams can use the extra sessions to fine-tune their setups, the benefit is much greater for the rest of the field.
“It’s definitely going to help the other teams more than it will the big three,” he said. In fact, the 20-year-old believes that the expanded sessions will allow his team to experiment with different setups and recover from an off-balance car before the race begins.
Why the Cup Series has been a much bigger challenge than NOAPS for Connor Zilisch
For Zilisch, the extra practice matters because the jump from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to the Cup Series has been far greater than many people realize.
Last season, the 20-year-old enjoyed one of the strongest rookie campaigns in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, winning 10 races and establishing himself as one of the sport’s brightest young prospects.
But his first full Cup Series season has been a completely different challenge. Through 22 starts, Zilisch sits 34th in the standings with one top-10 finish, eight DNFs, an average starting position of 25.4 and an average finish of 28.13.
Explaining the difference between the two series, Zilisch said, “The thing that people don’t realize in Xfinity Racing is if you’re with Gibbs, JRM, Haas, like if you’re with those three teams, you’re going to run top 12. And if you don’t, then you’re not going to make it very long.”
He contrasted that with the Cup Series, where the competition is much deeper throughout the field. There is far less separation between teams once the race gets underway, making every position difficult to gain.
“The drivers are all very good. Everybody fights for every spot whether it’s for the lead or for 25th every lap,” he said.
Connor Zilisch also pointed to the Next Gen car as another reason the adjustment has been so demanding. “The cars are just way different, and it’s very difficult no matter what series to overcome a car that struggles, but especially when the drivers are so good it really makes it hard too,” he explained.
Despite the results, the rookie driver believes his team is moving in the right direction. “We’ve struggled a little bit this year as a team, but we’re making progress, and we’re better than when we started the year. So, yeah, hopefully we can continue to get better and figure this thing out.”
With NASCAR giving teams more practice time for the remainder of the season, the Trackhouse Racing driver seems hopeful that those extra laps could provide the opportunity his team needs to continue that progress.