In a challenging weekend on and off the track, Connor Zilisch sent a message to a young racer: Brexton Busch.

"Tough end to the day for us, but today was bigger than racing. Brexton, you have a fan and supporter for life, buddy. Sending love to the Busch family," Zilisch wrote on X.

Zilisch's concern about Brexton Busch comes after the 11-year-old driver lost his father, Kyle Busch, this week.

Busch, the two-time Cup Series champion and an active driver for Richard Childress Racing, passed away on Thursday, May 21, after suffering from acute pneumonia, which rapidly progressed into sepsis.

Young Brexton was at the Coca-Cola 600 with his family, as the NASCAR community banded together to mourn one of the greatest drivers of all time.

And for Zilisch, it meant the loss of a mentor who helped him come out of the toughest moments in his career.

"He texted me after I lost the (O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) championship last year and just told me how proud he was of me, and how far I’d come, and that meant a lot… He didn’t have to reach out and do that, and he wrote a few paragraphs and just kind of gave me some confidence after what was a really tough day for me. So, that one meant a lot," Zilisch had once revealed.

In 2025, Connor Zilisch lost out on the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship to Jesse Love in the very last lap after the former suffered from a tire issue. As a result, Zilisch was heartbroken as his fairytale season, where he won 11 races, did not have a sweet ending.

Fast-forward to the Coca-Cola 600, and it was another day to forget.

Zilisch Opens Up About Charlotte Frustrations

Connor Zilisch experienced a day to forget in the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, after the Trackhouse Racing driver had to call his day off after a multi-car wreck.

"I tried my best to check her up, and as soon as I hit the apron, I was just going too fast to really be able to maneuver the car and got loose," Zilisch said after the wreck. "Yeah, I ended up getting clipped in the right rear. So, really unfortunate. We just need to get our car to a standstill. We're moving into the right section, so we just got to keep our heads down, and it'll turn around."

Having started the race from 25th place, Zilisch was looking to improve on the race standings. But his day and efforts did not last long as the No. 88 driver experienced a hard, multi-car crash during Stage 1 of the race.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar