CUP: First of a series of catastrophic brake failures hand Connor Zilisch back-to-back last-place finishes
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR on PRIME
Connor Zilisch picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 at the Nashville Superspeedway when his #88 Red Bull Chevrolet crashed after 71 of 300 laps
The finish, which came in Zilisch’s 17th series start, was his second of the season and second in a row. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 34th for the #88, the 708th from a crash, and the 888th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 59th for the #88, the 1,461st from a crash, and the 2,045th for Chevrolet.
Zilisch now leads the 2026 LASTCAR Cup Series standings, prevailing on a bottom-five tiebreaker with Chase Briscoe, the only other two-time last-placer, with a score of 4-2.
Last Sunday, Zilisch cut to the apron in Turn 2 to try and avoid a crashing Austin Cindric, only to lose control and collide with Cindric’s Ford, ending the night for both. He’d run virtually the same Red Bull paint scheme with associate backing from Circle K, the only change being the “600 Miles of Remembrance” windshield banner specifically for the Charlotte race, his bearing the name of Sergeant First Class Eugene Ashley, Jr. of the United States Army. Zilisch ranked 14th in opening practice with a best lap of 30.032 seconds (159.472mph), but rain again wreaked havoc with the schedule. He was to be the first driver on track in qualifying, but the metric favored his last-place finish to put him 38th and last on the starting grid.
After further rain pushed the start into the night, no drivers incurred tail-ed penalties, so Zilisch started on the outside of the final row alongside Chad Finchum in the #66 Garrison Homes Ford. When the green flag dropped, Zilisch inched ahead of Finchum by the stripe, moving Finchum to last, 4.010 seconds back of the lead to Zilisch’s 3.895. Zilisch charged into Turn 1, looking to the outside of Austin Cindric’s #2 Menard / Richmond Water Heaters Ford who now found himself in the middle with Ross Chastain’s #1 Busch Light Country Chevrolet to the inside. By the entrance to Turn 3, Finchum trailed that trio by open track, and Cindric fell to 37th entering Turn 1 on Lap 2.
On the backstretch, Finchum was warned that polesitter Denny Hamlin would be black-flagged for jumping the start for the first time in his career. Hamlin’s #11 Progressive Toyota accelerated several hundred feet before he reached the Restart Zone, then crossed the stripe 0.449 seconds ahead of 2nd-place Tyler Reddick. NASCAR credited Reddick for leading these laps, not crediting Hamlin, who was under penalty seconds later. On Lap 3, Hamlin served his pass-through penalty as the field rushed past. Finchum cleared Hamlin just short of the stripe, Finchum showing 7.043 seconds back of the lead to Hamlin’s 10.173 scored on pit road. By Lap 6, Hamlin was up to speed 23.668 seconds back of the lead, with now 37th-place Finchum 7.043 behind, a difference of 16.625 seconds.
Still on the lead lap, Hamlin set after Finchum, knowing there would also be a competition caution coming at Lap 35. On Lap 7, the gap was already down by three seconds to 13.428, then 13.048 on Lap 8, 12.141 on Lap 9, 10.372 on Lap 11, 9.647 on Lap 13, 6.34 on Lap 15, and 2.998 by Lap 19, by which point Hamlin could see Finchum around two corners ahead of him. Hamlin gobbled up the last of the deficit in the next two laps, and on Lap 21 got under Finchum though Turns 1 and 2, dropping Finchum to last place once again. By then, Finchum was more than 24 seconds back of the leader, so on Lap 23, race leader Reddick got under Finchum entering Turns 1 and 2, followed by 2nd-place running Christopher Bell coming off Turn 4.
On Lap 29, Cody Ware had fallen to 37th in the #51 Jacob Construction Chevrolet as Hamlin had climbed past him into 36th, and Reddick now lapped Ware, taking the Lucky Dog spot from Finchum. The order remained the same on Lap 36, when the competition caution came out, handing Ware his lap back. Finchum radioed to his team that his car felt tighter than it had on Saturday, but didn’t want to risk loosening it up as the track was picking up rubber. Carl Long reported they would make only a slight air pressure adjustment to keep up with the track. “Hopefully they make a good adjustment for Cody (Ware) so he won't fall a lap down again,” said Long just before the Lap 42 restart.
Back under green, Finchum watched as 37th-place Ware went door-to-door for 36th to the inside of Cole Custer in the #41 HaasTooling.com Chevrolet. Ware inched ahead of Custer by Lap 59, putting the #41 a full 15.732 seconds back of the leader. On Lap 68, new leader Kyle Larson led Bell to the inside of Finchum entering Turn 3, speeding into the corner to put Finchum a second lap down. Finchum was still two laps down when the caution fell on Lap 72.
Zilisch slow on the backstretch after his brake failure. (PHOTO: No Tires Just Gas on YouTube)
Just as the Prime broadcast went to commercial, the right-front brake rotor on Zilisch’s 24th-place car exploded without warning, the driver reporting his brake pedal didn’t even feel soft before it happened. With bright yellow sparks shooting from his locked-up right-front wheel, Zilisch slid up the track and into the outside wall at Turn 1, drawing the first caution of the night. The team expressed their surprise, saying their car had more openings on the right-front brake ducts than most others in the field. Zilisch drove behind the wall and into the garage area, warning everyone he had no brakes. He climbed out by Lap 74, when he took the last spot from Finchum, who was now one lap down. Zilisch was checked and released from the infield care center by Lap 85, just after his teammate Chastain suffered an identical failure, then pulled his car to the right of Zilisch’s in the garage. This caution gave Finchum his second lap back, allowing him to climb to 33rd as others pitted during the yellow. On Lap 100, NASCAR declared both Chastain and Zilisch out due to their separate accidents.
By that point, Ryan Preece had pulled his #60 Kroger / Celsius Ford behind the garage building, his car overheating from debris that pierced his radiator. When the team said they’d attempt repairs to try and learn more about setting up their car, Preece asked for his phone to watch the race. But soon after, Preece was declared out of the race, taking the 36th spot. Still another brake issue sent A.J. Allmendinger’s #16 spire Academy powered by VensureHR Chevrolet hard into the Turn 1 wall. This ended a strong run for Allmendinger, who during a one-lap restart at the end of Stage 1 muscled his way to a stage victory. The points softened the blow of a 35th-place finish. Rounding out the group was Brad Keselowski, who after contact on the frontstretch from Austin Dillon sent him spinning into Austin Cindric, then the outside wall, ending the night for his #6 Trimble Ford. Keselowski, Allmendinger, and Preece were each left with their first bottom-five finishes of 2026.
Several impressive runs among Nashville’s Top 15
After a long night of mechanical failures, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. drove a Kyle Busch tribute paint scheme on his #47 NOS Energy Chevrolet to a 4th-place finish, marking his bet run since his runner-up performance in this year’s Daytona 500. He came home one spot ahead of the #97 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet of Shane Van Gisbergen, who led 12 laps and earned his first Top Five on an oval, backing up his promising run in last week’s Coca-Cola 600. Zane Smith also earned back-to-back Top Tens in his #38 Speedy Cash Ford, even leading in the closing stages before he slipped to 9th on the final restarts. Erik Jones’ 11th-place run in the #43 Dollar Tree Toyota was his best run since his 10th in Darlington and his fourth straight finish of 20th or better. And Ty Dillon’s 12th-place showing in the #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet was his new season-best, improving on his 13th in Talladega.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Zilisch is the second driver to score back-to-back last-place finishes in 2026, following Chase Briscoe’s transaxle issue at Circuit of the Americas on March 1st, then his crash after 131 laps at Phoenix on March 8th.
*This marked the first last-place run for the #88 in a Cup race at Nashville, and the first time in Cup history the #88 finished last in consecutive points-paying Cup races.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #88-Connor Zilisch / 71 laps / crash
37) #1-Ross Chastain / 81 laps / crash
36) #60-Ryan Preece / 90 laps / radiator
35) #16-A.J. Allmendinger / 172 laps / crash / led 7 laps / won stage 1
34) #6-Brad Keselowski / 192 laps / crash
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Trackhouse Racing (3)
2nd) Hendrick Motorsports (2)
3rd) Garage 66, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (3)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
