My first start: NASCAR drivers reflect on their maiden Cup race

NBC Sports

28-02-2025

Eighteen-year-old Connor Zilisch will become the latest to make his Cup debut when he does so this weekend at Circuit of the Americas.
For current Cup drivers, their first starts were memorable for various reasons — from passing Jeff Gordon to wrecking with Jimmie Johnson to being collected in a fiery crash.
Nate Ryan,
Zilisch will look to make his own memories as he has in his Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series debuts.
Zilisch won the pole in his Craftsman Truck debut last year at COTA. Zilisch locked up his brakes and went off course in the first corner of the race and fell to 34th in the 35-truck field. He rebounded to finish fourth.
Zilisch became the second youngest driver to win in the Xfinity Series last September at Watkins Glen when he won in his series debut.
Here's a look at what other Cup drivers went through the first time they raced in NASCAR's premier series:
Ryan Blaney
First race: Kansas, May 10, 2014
Started: 21st
Finished: 27th
'I think the big thing that sticks out to me, I was running Trucks full-time that year with Brad (Keselowski's team), we were racing that same weekend, so I was doing double duty. I remember we just got done practicing trucks on Friday and then Cup cars go out and practice.
KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 09: Ryan Blaney(L), driver of the #12 SKF Ford, talks to his father Dave Blaney, driver of the #77 Ford, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2014 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Ryan Blaney with his father Dave at Kansas in 2014. Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images
'I just remember, trucks are pretty draggy, wide open around Kansas. I remember getting into that Cup car in 2014 and I'm going down the frontstretch and I'm like 'Holy crap, I'm going really fast right now.'
'The sensation of speed difference was just massive to me back then. It was a huge difference in speed. I just remember that overwhelming sensation. Not only were the straightaways fast, (but) the corners, you're ripping through the corners.'
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
First race: Coca-Cola 600, May 29, 2011
Started: 9th
Finished: 11th
Note: Stenhouse made his debut in place of Trevor Bayne, who was out due to a medical issue.
'I remember going to the shop that we're in now (at Hyak Motorsports) to get fitted in the seat in the Wood Brothers car back then. It was all kind of really wild.
"… I remember Jimmie Johnson qualified very early on and he came back out to pit road to almost see if I needed anything, which was super cool. Then we qualified. Obviously, going out late was always a benefit at Charlotte. We qualified ninth.
CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 26: Jimmie Johnson (R), driver of the #48 Lowe's Summer Salute Chevrolet, walks with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (L), driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by)
Jimmie Johnson with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. before Stenhouse qualified for his first Cup race in 2011.
'I hit the wall three times (in the race). We were way too tight. Finally, we got the car driving good and we were kind of running better. … We ended up finishing 11th. It was so cool.
'Now the Wood Brothers act like I drove for them for five, six years (instead of one race). They make you feel like family. I think that's the most special part. Obviously, getting to drive the iconic 21 and it was super last-minute. Definitely a start I will never forget. I've still got the picture of the check I got for that. That was sick, too.'
Chris Buescher
First race: California Speedway, March 22, 2015
Started: 33rd
Finished: 20th
Note: Buescher got this opportunity through a varied set of circumstances. It started in February when Kyle Busch was injured in the Xfinity race at Daytona and missed several weeks. David Ragan became his replacement, leaving the No. 34 car. Brett Moffitt moved into the No. 34. That weekend, Brian Vickers was ruled out of the No. 55 car due to the recurrence of blood clots and Moffitt moved to the No. 55. That opened the way for Buescher to drive the No. 34.
'I was sitting at IHOP that (Friday) morning eating and Robbie Reiser called and he said, 'I need you at the track yesterday.' I was like, 'Oh, why?' He said, 'You're driving the 34 car.' And it was just mass chaos.
'I remember that initial conversation, how do I get out of there as fast as possible, get to the track, trying to get a seat fit that was not poured for me. Had never been in a carbon seat before that day, so trying to get that to fit.
FONTANA, CA - MARCH 20: Chris Buescher, driver of the #60 Fastenal Ford, stands in the garage area prior to practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive4Clots.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2015 in Fontana, California. (Photo by)
Chris Buescher at Fontana, California in 2015.
'I remember getting pulled out of Xfinity practice because I had to be there for the rookie meeting in Cup. That did not go over well on the Xfinity (team) side, obviously, but it was mandatory to be able to make laps. It was chaos.
' ... I'm not one to get starstruck or don't get big ups or downs, (but) I do remember at one point on one of the restarts passing Jeff Gordon down the frontstretch. I was like, 'Huh, that is Jeff Gordon we just rolled by. That's kind of cool.' My one moment of being starstruck at our sport, I think we had new tires and he came rolling back by pretty quickly.'
Carson Hocevar
First race: WWT Raceway, June 4, 2023
Started: 26th
Finished: 36th
Note: Hocevar's first start came unexpectedly. NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott one race for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600. Corey LaJoie was tapped to drive Elliott's car that weekend at WWT Raceway and Hocevar was put in LaJoie's car for the race. Hocevar was running 16th when a brake failure led to him crashing.
MADISON, IL - JUNE 03: Pit crew members push a car driven by Carson Hocevar (#7 Spire Motorsports Schulter Systems Chevrolet) into place for qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 on June 03, 2023, at World Wide Technology Raceway, in Madison, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Carson Hocevar drove Corey LaJoie's car with LaJoie driving Chase Elliott's car at WWT Raceway. Photo: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
'(That first start) was a blur. It couldn't have happened at a better time. It couldn't have happened at a more perfect time for me in my career. It's literally the reason I'm … here. It was … three days of notice, a bit of chaos before the race and so much information that I just kind of sat back and said I'm just going to drive a race car.
'You have all this SMT (data), you have all this (in-car) footage. The only thing I really looked at and digested was I watched some in-car footage and went racing. I ran those 70 laps (before brake issues sent him into the wall) and you're there with Cup owners you've never seen before and they're standing on top of their hauler. I remember walking from the infield care center and getting head nods from owners that I've never even met or been face-to-face with yet.
' … I remember someone I'm pretty close with now, brought me to their hauler pre-race and told me how to get out of the way when I'm getting lapped. Funny enough, I was right behind him when we broke. I haven't even mentioned it to him. I might laugh about it with him.'
Chase Elliott
First race: Martinsville, March 29, 2015
Started: 27th
Finished: 38th
'Yeah, it's just honestly crazy that it's been that long, to be honest. It's just gone by so fast. Every year has felt so different to me. I think people look at careers and they think of just this one big storybook, with every year being a different chapter. And to me, it's almost like every year is its own book. That's how different the seasons feel to me.
'Just so much changes. I mean, I was 20 or 21 years old my first year, and now I'm almost 30 and just like — for everyone standing here that is almost 30 years old or older than 30, how much did your life change from 20 to 30? How much different did you look at things from 20 to 30? That's just a huge chunk of your life that just makes things feel different, you know?
'Every year has its own story and it's own feel. I've enjoyed that ride. Some of its been really good ... some of it's not been so good. But there's a lot of experiences in all of that that I think can help shape you and mold you to be better, and the only thing you can control is today moving forward.'
MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 27: Chase Elliott, driver of the #25 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, stands in the garage area prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on March 27, 2015 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by)
Getty Images
Bubba Wallace
First race: Pocono, June 11, 2017
Started: 16th
Finished: 26th
Note: Wallace made his Cup debut in the No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports in place of Aric Almirola, who suffered a T5 compression fracture in a crash at Kansas Speedway.
LONG POND, PA - JUNE 11: (L-R) Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the #43 Smithfield Ford, NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner Richard Petty, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, pose for a photo opportunity prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 11, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Wallace will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut today at Pocono Raceway. (Photo by)
Bubba Wallace with team owner Richard Petty and Ryan Blaney ahead of Wallace's first Cup start.
'My first Cup start? (What stands out are) the restarts, where I thought I was good at restarts and I was not in the Cup car.
'Speeding on pit road (three times). That was my first time doing a digital dash. I sped through sections, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and then coming back and serving that penalty, I sped that time again. I don't think I've made that many mistakes since 2017, but just a cool day.
'I remember sitting in the car the first time and how different everything felt. The visual standpoint of being in the Cup car, I felt like I was in a limousine. It was a weird feeling, but a lot of fun.'
Austin Cindric
First race: Daytona 500, Feb. 14, 2021
Started: 39th
Finished 15th
'I think of three things. One, trying to make the race as an open car, which was very, very close to not happening. I would say the second, a ... planned effort on a restart to take the lead with Joey Logano pushing me tandem draft (style). Was the coolest thing ever. Had a smile on my face. Very cool experience. And the last one … I got to use (Ryan Blaney's) spotter (after Blaney wrecked out).
'I'd say the negative memory was leading the Fords down pit road on the correct strategy and we fumbled the pit stop one way or the other. I think all of us are to kind of blame for that and then pretty much coming out, losing the draft and being irrelevant until we got into the big fireball wreck (on the last lap triggered by teammates Logano and Brad Keselowski).'
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 14: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, Austin Cindric, driver of the #33 Verizon 5G Ford, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, are involved in an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series 63rd Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2021 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by)
Austin Cindric's car (5G on the hood) is surrounded by fire in the last-lap crash. He was uninjured.
Daniel Suarez
First race: Daytona 500, Feb. 26, 2017
Started: 19th
Finished: 29th
'My very first Cup Series race ever was the Daytona 500 in 2017. Things got a little bit crazy that offseason (Carl Edwards' sudden retirement led to Suarez taking his ride), and I ended up racing the Cup Series in 2017 when things were not planned that way.
'I had never had a start in any Cup race before. It was very overwhelming. A lot of things were going on. It was good. I felt that it was a good start. Like I always say, the best is yet to come.'
Feb 24, 2017; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suarez (19) during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Daniel Suarez at Daytona in 2017. Photo: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Alex Bowman
First race: Daytona 500, Feb. 23, 2014
Started: 29th
Finished: 23rd
'My first Daytona 500 was 2014. It was my first Cup race. Really stressful weekend. Went down there not locked into the show, didn't qualify with enough speed to lock in, so had to race our way into (through) the Duel.
'At the time you had to finish in the top 15 in the Duel to lock in and we finished 14th, so it was really close. Glad to be able to be in that race.
'I just remember walking out on the driver intro stage on Sunday and seeing so many people, more people than I had ever seen in my life.'
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Alex Bowman, driver of the #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Alex Bowman at Daytona in 2014. Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images
William Byron
First race: Daytona 500, Feb. 18, 2018
'It's kind of a blur. I feel like I wrecked a lot. I think I crashed in the Duel and then we had a pretty good start to the race and then I had a few incidents in the race.
'I remember finishing the race and was kind of just happy about that, happy to finish the race, happy to see the checkered flag.
'The experience was just crazy, just the excitement around driver intros was really cool.'
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: William Byron, driver of the #24 AXALTA Chevrolet, stands in the garage during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by)
William Byron at Daytona in 2018.
Tyler Reddick
First race: Daytona 500, Feb. 17, 2019
Finished 27th:
'What stands out about it? Wrecking into Jimmie Johnson coming to pit road, that's pretty much it.
'I remember coming to pit road and someone behind didn't check up or didn't mean to get down there behind us and did and ran me over, lifted my rear tires off the ground. Sliding into Jimmie, we crashed on pit road before we make our first green flag stop.
'Not how you want to start your Cup career.'
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #31 Symbicort Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, are involved in an on-track incident during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by)
Tyler Reddick (31) and Jimmie Johnson (48) make contact on pit road during the Daytona 500.