Denny Hamlin made his feelings known on Connor Zilisch’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series. Last week, it was announced that Zilisch would move to Hendrick Motorsports to pilot the No. 48 Chevrolet.
Zilisch will replace Alex Bowman, who is set to retire at the end of the 2027 season. Until then, Zilisch will continue driving the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, where he is currently in his rookie campaign in the Cup Series.
Denny Hamlin on Zilisch announcement: ‘Best career move’
During the most recent episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin spoke about the struggles Zilisch has faced in his rookie season.
Fortunately for HMS, the driver of the No. 11 said they will be bringing the 20-year-old into their organization after he gets some more experience under his belt.
On the short end of the stick is Trackhouse Racing, Hamlin said, who invested a lot in Zilisch’s Cup future.
“The great news for Rick Hendrick is he’s going to get him years in. Trackhouse did all the development, paid all the money and he’s [Hendrick] going to get the best of him,” Hamlin said.
However, Hamlin acknowledged that it was probably the best move Zilisch could make. Between his struggles with Trackhouse and the opportunity to race for an established team, Hamlin knows why Zilisch made the decision.
“I think it’s the best career move for Connor. You’re talking about one of the top three to four organizations in the sport and you’re clearly struggling where you’re at. I don’t put all of his struggles on Trackhouse. … I think he’s responsible for at least half of the struggles just due to inexperience,” Hamlin said.
Even with the growing pains Zilisch has endured, Hamlin believes it was a great opportunity for Hendrick Motorsports to pick up a young, up-and-coming driver.
“It’s a great, buy-low opportunity for Hendrick and they took advantage. No question about it,” Hamlin said.
A look at Zilisch’s trying NASCAR Cup rookie season
After tearing up the competition in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025, Zilisch took his career to the next level when he signed full-time with Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series.
Based on his performance in the NOAPS, where he recorded 10 wins and finished runner-up in the championship in 2025, there were high expectations for the young driver.
Unfortunately for Zilisch, the 2026 campaign has been one to forget. The North Carolina native ranks 34th in the points standings, which is next-to-last among active Cup drivers. Zilisch has suffered a series-high nine DNFs and has only scored one top-10 finish.
The lack of performance did not hinder Zilisch’s opportunity at driving for a high-level team as HMS made the announcement last week. Zilisch will remain the driver of the No. 88 car through the rest of 2026 and 2027.
On the O’Reilly Series side, Zilisch has notched 13 career victories. That included a win in his series debut in 2024 at Watkins Glen.
With his future beyond 2027 set in stone, it will be interesting to see how much Zilisch can develop over the next year-and-a-half.
Denny Hamlin Gets Honest About Connor Zilisch’s Career Move