Zilisch, 19, beat van Gisbergen in a thrilling Xfinity Series race at Sonoma as part of his full-time schedule in the second-tier series with JR Motorsports.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is contracted to Trackhouse Racing and, already running a partial Cup program, is set to be elevated into a Cup Series seat alongside SVG next year.
Despite growing up in the heart of NASCAR country, Zilisch started his career in karts and spent time in Europe with the aim of getting to Formula 1.
“It’s always in the back of my mind,” said Zilisch on the Stacking Pennies Podcast of a possible F1 future.
“Growing up it was my dream, I wanted to race F1. I went to Europe when I was a kid racing go-karts, it’s what I wanted to do. It’s just when I was younger, I didn’t really have the chance.
“Now with an American team [Cadillac] being brought to F1, having connections with Red Bull and being kinda tied in there, I’d say the chances aren’t zero.”
Zilisch stressed such a switch would require a multi-year commitment and that he wants to establish himself in NASCAR first.
“If it were to happen, I’d have to go over there for at least a year, two years probably to even get enough Super Licence points to qualify,” he said.
“I’d run F3… I’d just run a bunch of ‘BS’ series to get Super Licence points. Middle East F3, random things that you can do to get the points.
“That’s why it would be such a big commitment. I’d want to get settled in here first and know that if I go over there for two years I could come back and still have a job.”
Zilisch started his karting career in the US but went back and forth to Europe for three years from 2018, winning the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy series in 2020.
He moved to cars in the US the following year, initially in Trans Am and Mazda MX-5s before embarking on a path to NASCAR through Late Model and ARCA divisions.
Zilisch’s time in Europe including racing against current Mercedes F1 rookie Kimi Antontelli and Red Bull F2 star Arvid Lindblad.
“I wouldn’t say I smoked them, but I was competitive, I could run with them. I think I could do it again and be competitive with those guys,” he said.
“I feel like I’m competitive enough on the road courses I could figure those tracks out.
“But it’s a completely different world. Everything changes when you go to Europe, the language, everything, it’s unreal. It’s just different and it would take getting used to.”
Whether or not he gets an F1 opportunity, Zilisch makes clear he wants to explore more than just the NASCAR world.
“I’m not the guy who cares to win 250 races in NASCAR like a Kyle Busch or care to go for a win record,” he added.
“I want to win a championship here and I want to be successful, but I want to experience different series and different cultures and what there is to explore in the world of motorsports.”
Zilisch’s road racing experience includes two starts in the 24 Hours of Daytona, tackling the race this year aboard a Corvette shared with van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.
For more of the latest NASCAR news stories, visit MotorRacing.com
Discussion about this post