Rick Hendrick catches lightning in a bottle again with Zilisch signing

Rick Hendrick found himself in a familiar spot when it came to signing Connor Zilisch.

“It was just like Jeff Gordon when I saw [him] in Atlanta,” Hendrick said Tuesday.

Gordon’s story, of course, goes that Hendrick saw the talented young driver making laps and was confident there was something there. However, Hendrick was under the impression that Ford and Bill Davis Racing had Gordon locked down. Gordon’s roommate informed Hendrick otherwise.

“He had a contract with me the next day,” Hendrick said. “I’ve mentioned that to Connor several times.”

Hendrick Motorsports signed Gordon in the beginning of 1993, and the rest is history. Zilisch is now going through the same thing on his way into the Hendrick fold. The championship and Hall of Fame team was watching him closely over the last few seasons, particularly Zilisch’s success in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with JR Motorsports.

“He has so much talent, and the thing that I’ve admired about him is how mature he is when you talk to him,” Hendrick said. “I told him when he was at JRM that, ‘One day, I’ll get a shot at you.’”

Fortunately for Hendrick, things aligned far quicker – and better – than he could have expected. Zilisch was set to become a free agent after the 2027 season, and when he was free to begin exploring his options and having discussions with other race teams, it didn’t take long for Hendrick to tune in.

“We knew if Connor was going out and exploring opportunities, we wanted to be the team,” said Hendrick. “It actually worked out really well.”

It all started to unfold back in the spring. Alex Bowman helped make things easier by agreeing to one more year behind the wheel of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet around the same time that Hendrick became aware of Zilisch looking around and conversations taking place.

Bowman will make the ’27 season his last. The 33-year-old is ready for a normal life, one away from racing, dabble in other interests and have time for things he enjoys.

“It really wasn’t a big broad search,” Gordon said. “He’d been at the top of the list if he was available. Rick saw him at JRM and the success he was having at the time, and I remember Rick saying to me, ‘Boy, that guy is so talented. I’d love to have him in a Hendrick car one day.’

“We knew that he had a contract at the time, so we weren’t really pursuing it until we found out that ’28 was an opportunity.”

Zilisch expressed that the opportunity was a dream come true, as many drivers grow up wanting to race for Hendrick Motorsports. It will be the second team that he drives for in the Cup Series after leaving Trackhouse Racing, and it’s a multiyear agreement.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun carrying on the tradition and legacy of the 48 car," said Zilisch. "Continuing to create my own story and path with Hendrick Motorsports is really exciting.”

The car number will remain the same with Zilisch behind the wheel. Ally will remain a full-season sponsor.