BACKPANINI AMERICA SIGNS CONNOR ZILISCH TO EXCLUSIVE TRADING CARD PARTNERSHIP
Zilisch Enters His First Full Season in the NASCAR Cup Series
Irving, TX – February 11, 2026 – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company and the official trading card partner of NASCAR, announced today an exclusive, multi-year partnership with Connor Zilisch. The 19-year-old Zilisch is racing full-time this season in the NASCAR Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing in the No. 88 Chevrolet and will be making his Daytona 500 debut this weekend.
Zilisch will be featured across Panini’s suite of NASCAR trading cards, as well as on their Panini Instant platform, which will celebrate top performances throughout the 2026 NASCAR season. Panini will also include Zilisch in select marketing activations.
“Connor is a very promising young driver, who has already proven himself as a winner on the track,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations at Panini America. “He has a world of potential, and we look forward to working with him as he begins his full-time career on the NASCAR Cup Series, and to sharing his products with NASCAR fans.”
Last season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Zilisch won 10 races and finished second in the Championship standings, while also capturing Rookie of the Year honors. He also made three NASCAR Cup Series starts for Trackhouse Racing in 2025, with a high finish of 11th at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Panini is a great fit for me and I’m really excited to be partnering with them,” said Zilisch. “I can’t wait to see the Panini cards this season, and I hope fans really enjoy them.”
Panini has an extensive history with NASCAR and its drivers and teams, including an exclusive trading card agreement with three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano.
About Panini America
Panini America is a subsidiary of The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NFL, NFLPA, WNBA, WNBPA, NASCAR, FIFA, LIV Golf, the Professional Fighters League, College, Disney, and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11 and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.
Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or
http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
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CONTACTS:
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