There’s now a clear favorite for the victory in the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL on Friday, October 3.
Spire Motorsports announced on Thursday that 19-year-old rising star Connor Zilisch will be entering the series’ first event at the infield road course in Concord, North Carolina, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST.
A 10-time race winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and a confirmed member of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year (ROTY) class, Zilisch will have sponsorship from team backer Delaware Life.
Zilisch will look to dethrone the likes of Corey Heim, who, after winning at Watkins Glen International in August, became the winningest road course racer in the history of the NASCAR Truck Series, with four wins.
In entering the event, Zilisch will also look to join an elite list of road course racers who have won on road courses in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — which currently includes Boris Said, Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Ron Fellows.
The Mooresville, North Carolina-naitve has had a mind-boggling, record-breaking season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, collecting nine victories and currently being on a streak of 15 consecutive top-five results — which matches a record set by Sam Ard in the early days of the second-tier series being recognized by NASCAR.
Zilisch has made a total of seven starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to date, earning a single top-five result, two top-10s, and two pole positions. The 19-year-old driver ran Watkins Glen in August, serving in an interim role for Niece Motorsports, where he brought the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado RST home eighth.
Spire Motorsports has been to Victory Lane a total of nine times since joining the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (albeit on a part-time basis) in 2022. The organization has been to Victory Lane four times this season with drivers Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Kyle Larson (Homestead), Carson Hocevar (Kansas), and Rajah Caruth (Nashville).
Brian Pattie, who will serve as the crew chief for Zilisch on the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST at the Charlotte ROVAL, has been to Victory Lane a total of seven times in the NASCAR Truck Series, as well as 11 times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and six times in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at the Charlotte ROVAL will take place on Friday, October 3 at 3:30 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, NASCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
