Connor Zilisch has given an update on his fitness ahead of the 2026 NASCAR season.
The teenager will race full-time in the Cup Series for the first time this year after an historic Xfinity Series campaign in 2025, in which he won ten races and broke the series' record for consecutive top-five finishes.
Zilisch infamously fell from his car while celebrating a win at Watkins Glen last year, breaking his collarbone and necessitating surgery to install a metal plate for stability.
Speaking at a practice session for the upcoming 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Zilisch confirmed that he still has the plate and has no plans to have it removed, but insisted that he's healthy, fired up and ready to go for his maiden Cup season.
Zilisch: Metal plate was annoying at first
"It probably took two months of PT [physical therapy], and I haven't had any worries about it since,” he said. “I didn't get the plate out. I don't plan on getting the plate out. So, everything's been really good. It certainly was a headache at first, but I'm glad everything's fine now."
Back when his seat at Trackhouse Racing was announced during the 2025 season, he said: “It's cool. I knew the whole world knew already, but still to be able to say it and have my name next to the word ‘Cup Series' is really cool.
"So, I wasn't going to try and hide from it, but it's just a day that I've been dreaming of for a long time and I'm not going to let that kind of the idea that everybody already knows take away from the moment.”
Zilisch will join Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain at Trackhouse this year, having replaced Daniel Suarez following the Mexican driver's sub-par run with the team.
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