NASCAR Silly Season: Insider provides update on Trackhouse Racing 2026 lineup, Connor Zilisch future

Soon, it will be NASCAR Silly Season. While this year’s Silly Season might be less eventful than what we saw in 2024, one team, Trackhouse Racing, has some interesting decisions to make.

The team currently has four drivers under contract: Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch. The former three make up Trackhouse’s three-driver Cup Series lineup. Zilisch pilots the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Chastain still has multiple years on his contract and will continue on in the No. 1 car. How Trackhouse owner Justin Marks will handle the other three drivers is the big question.

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic has taken a look at Trackhouse’s situation and how Marks might handle the conundrum. Suárez’s contract is up after the 2025 season and if Marks wants Zilisch to take the next step, the No. 99 ride could be the move.

“Both van Gisbergen and Zilisch have terms remaining on their respective contracts, with Suárez’s contract up at the end of the season,” Bianchi wrote Friday. “And, it may come down to just this factor — letting pending free agent Suárez, who sits 30th in points, walk to promote Zilisch.”

Bianchi did point out that Suárez is well-liked within Trackhouse and has sponsorship. He’s also proven to be more competitive on ovals than van Gisbergen, the road course ace in his rookie season in Cup. But does Trackhouse feel Zilisch is ready for Cup? Marks has to figure that out.

Will Trackhouse Racing call up Connor Zilisch to Cup Series in 2026?

Zilisch, 18, is in his first full-time season in Xfinity. He took the checkered flag at COTA and sits sixth in the points standings. Zilisch has made two Cup starts this season for Trackhouse, finishing 37th at COTA and 23rd this past Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Right now, Marks is focused on using its fourth part-time Cup entry to give Zilisch reps at NASCAR’s highest level.

“We’ll see what his future holds, but right now we have a mechanism in the company to put that extra car out,” Marks said. “We just want him to get that experience. No expectations for results or anything like that.

“We have the opportunity to give him the learning experience, and we’ll continue to do that. The Cup Series is a different sport than the Xfinity Series. It is just so, so difficult. The only way to learn is to go out there and do it.”

Marks told Bianchi that no decisions have been made about the 2026 lineup. It might be in Marks’ best interest to see how the next month or so plays out. Three of the next seven regular season races are at road courses. That gives van Gisbergen, who won the 2023 Chicago Street Race in his Cup debut, a favorable opportunity to find Victory Lane and clinch a spot in the playoffs.

“[Road courses] are where everyone expects us to perform,” van Gisbergen said. “… It’s been a big learning process the last couple of months. It’ll be nice to have a break and turn right.”