Denny Hamlin compares Connor Zilisch to Shane van Gisbergen, 'worried' about future on ovals

Denny Hamlin was impressed with Connor Zilisch’s NASCAR Cup Series debut, even if it didn’t all go according to plan for the 18-year-old wunderkind. 

Zilisch was involved in a wreck after his teammate Daniel Suarez spun, and he ended up finishing in last place. However, the road course savant put down some impressive laps before his afternoon came to an end, and that has Hamlin wondering what the future holds for the Trackhouse Racing prospect. 

During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited Zilisch for his ability, believing he’s already among the best at road course racing, and predicting immense improvement on NASCAR’s more traditional intermediate tracks, similar to what Hamlin’s seen in fellow Trackhouse driver Shane van Gisbergen.

“You’ve got to give him great credit for his upbringing and all the training he’s done to get to this point,” Hamlin stated. “You know, he’s certainly somebody that is going to be tough to deal with on these road courses, no doubt about it, and he’s still learning the ovals, similar to SVG. You know, he’s got some learning to do on the ovals and got some improving to do there. But, you know, I actually had in my notes last week for Atlanta — I forgot to mention how impressed I was with SVG in the draft.

“I thought he just did a phenomenal job. I mean, just with the little experience that he has doing that, he was holding a pretty damn steady line. I was behind him quite a bit. I’m, self-admittedly — I’m a little worried. It’s like, ‘Oh gosh, he’s getting crammed on both sides.’ Like, that’s typically where people kind of panic and like, you know, make mistakes, you know, when you don’t — haven’t done this a long time.

“I just think that he’s rapidly gaining some really good experience, and really getting quite a bit better on ovals. Quicker than what I was anticipating.”

Alas, it’s evident that Zilisch and van Gisbergen are two of the top drivers to contend with when NASCAR heads to road courses, and if they can continue improving on ovals like Hamlin alluded to, Trackhouse Racing might have a top-tier duo on their hands in the future. They’ll certainly be tough to beat, regardless of where the race is each weekend.

Moving forward, Connor Zilisch will continue cutting his teeth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, while Shane van Gisbergen will be hoping to hold serve with the sport’s best at tracks like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Homestead. Denny Hamlin will have a keen eye on both of them, that’s for sure.