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.

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.

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 87 NASCAR Chevy, is favored to win COTA on March 2nd, 2025, which would make him the youngest Cup Series winner.

The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old phenom who will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Circuit of the Americas while driving for Trackhouse Racing.

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

Connor Zilisch is quickly climbing the NASCAR national series ranks, and he will knock off another milestone as he makes his NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET,

Connor Zilisch made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with a 27th-place finish at the United Rentals 300 in Daytona. Now, he is set to make his Cup Series debut next month under the label of Trackhouse Racing.