Kevin Harvick gives strong take on Connor Zilisch signing with JR Motorsports for 2025

Connor Zilisch’s NASCAR journey will take a pivotal step in 2025, as he will pilot the No. 88 Chevrolet full-time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.

Just 18, Zilisch is one of the top prospects in the sport, and Kevin Harvick believes he has a great future ahead of him. Harvick, speaking on his “Happy Hour” podcast this week, called Zilisch a “great talent” that will soon be a “force to be reckoned with” in NASCAR.

“As we saw in the Truck race this week, it’s gonna get harder,” Harvick said. “But Connor is a great talent. Now, it’s gonna be that next step of competition which always comes with, ‘Alright, I can drive fast, but now how do I communicate with my team in order to let them understand what they need in the car to direct the car to be as fast as it can.’ So, I think with Trackhouse having Connor Zilisch, I mean they just have struck gold. I think for them, they have a talent that is something you can’t teach. He’s got this natural ability to go out there and drive.”

Connor Zilisch winning races at a young age

Zilisch, the defending Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona winner, has been competing in NASCAR events on a part-time basis in 2024. In six ARCA Menards Series East starts this season, Zilisch has secured four checkered flags. He made his Truck Series debut at COTA back in March, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. Zilisch finished an impressive P4. He made his second Truck Series start at Richmond this past Saturday, finishing 29th.

In addition to NASCAR, Zilisch has also picked up wins on several other circuits. Those include the CARS Tour, Carolina Pro Late Model Series, IMSA Sportscar Championship and the Mazda MX-5 Cup.

Harvick said he initially met Zilisch while his son, Keelan, was racing go-karts, and knew there was something special about him.

“I actually saw Connor Zilisch race when Keelan started racing go-karts. And I had a great conversation with his dad,” Harvick said. “And I said, ‘Hey what are your plans for Connor?’ And he said, ‘Well, I think I’m gonna send Connor off to college and I think we’ll go out and just have fun with the Spec Miata and just get him through school.’ And I said, ‘I think that is an utter mistake. I think that you should at least give him some time to give him a shot at going down a path.’

“We actually helped Connor book his first test with Silver Hair. And I actually put up the crash deposit for Connor to go out there and drive the car. His dad paid for it, and I vouched for the crash deposit for Connor to go drive the Trans-Am car for Silver Hair Racing as we have some mutual friends there.

Connor Zilisch to soon compete full-time in NASCAR

“And when we first called, they were like, ‘Ah, I don’t know about this. Kid seems pretty young.’ And I’m like, ‘Look, I told Fred who works for me, you have to tell Maurice [Hull] that this kid is something special and he needs to give him a shot in this car.’ Well, we went to VIR and William Byron had just tested the car the day before. Connor Zilisch ran one second faster than William Byron had run in the car on the very first day that he had gotten into that car. Obviously, the rest is history and he’s been out doing Connor Zilisch things and winning races.

“His dad wasn’t really familiar with the racing side of the world. And so, for Connor Zilisch and Brent Crews and some of these kids that were racing carts, our goal was to kind of push them down the NASCAR path. And they’ve done a great job to earn themselves a spot as they’ve gone in different vehicles to earn the opportunities. But Connor is gonna be a stud. He’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with in whatever he drives for a long time.”