Connor Zilisch hit the ground running in NASCAR as he won in his Xfinity Series debut last year. Now in his first full season this year, he has collected six wins and stands atop the standings.

The 19-year-old’s future seems bright, and according to an IndyCar star and F1 TV pundit, he is good enough to claim an F1 seat with Cadillac.

Could Connor Zilisch’s NASCAR Rise Lead to an F1 Switch with Cadillac?

After seeing him race in the Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series, motorsports analyst James Hinchcliffe is convinced that Zilisch has the makings of a motorsports superstar. In a recent article on F1’s official website, he named Zilisch one of five American drivers Cadillac should consider for their team.

IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe names five US-based drivers Cadillac should consider for their F1 arrival 🇺🇸#F1 https://t.co/dquh1owtzq

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 11, 2025

“Zilisch had a promising road racing career going, winning in everything from Trans-Am cars to prototypes to stock cars,” Hinchcliffe wrote for F1. He added, “Without the financial freedom to simply choose the route he wanted to go, opportunities came up in stock cars before anyone in the open wheel world took notice, and that is our loss.”

“Competing full-time in the Xfinity Championship in 2025, he already has (six) wins in the season, including his first oval victory,” the FOX Commentator continued. “Given his road racing background, it is incredibly impressive that he is now competitive on the types of track that a lot of the drivers he’s racing against trained on exclusively on their rise to this level,” he added.

Hinchcliffe described Zilisch as ‘one of the most adaptable drivers I’ve ever seen’ and believes he has what it takes to succeed in F1. The real question is whether Zilisch wants to pursue that path or stay the course and make his mark in NASCAR’s Cup Series.

Right now, however, Zilisch’s main priority is recovery. After his win at Watkins Glen last weekend, he fell off his car and broke his collarbone. During a recent “Door Bumper Clear” podcast appearance, the JR Motorsports driver revealed he might need surgery to recover fully.

“I think it might be something that I might have to get surgery for,” Zilisch said. “But in this case, I think surgery is something that speeds up the process, so you can get plates and screws and get it reconstructed back together.”

He added, “Shane (van Gisbergen) talked about it — he had an injury in 2021 and broke his collarbone — he had plates, screws, everything done, and he was racing back the next weekend. Thankfully, the collarbone is a relatively quick bone to fix and heal.”

Zilisch was set to race in Sunday’s Cup Series event at Watkins Glen, but Trackhouse Racing pulled the No. 87 car from the field due to his injury. There is no timetable for Zilisch’s return. The series takes a break next weekend before resuming on August 22 at Daytona International Speedway for the Wawa 250.

Notably, he’s already missed one race this year with a back injury. Zilisch will not be happy to miss another race, but it does appear that Daytona might come too soon for him.