Connor Zilisch: NASCAR’s Next Superstar?
Connor Zilisch at Daytona during the Rolex 24— Photo Credit: Connor Zilisch, Facebook
What were you doing at seventeen years old? Going to high school, working a part-time job, playing high school sports, playing video games, the list goes on and on. Connor Zilisch on the other hand is seventeen years old and has already etched his name in motorsports history. Zilisch became the second-youngest winner in the history of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this past January. He showed masterful car control throughout the race, being one of the better drivers on his team despite his young age. Zilisch showed blistering pace and maturity that matched drivers with decades more experience than him and was one of the key components that led to his team taking the checkered flag in the LMP2 division.
Connor Zilisch driving in the Rolex 24— Photo Credit: Charlie Haywood
That is not all, however, Zilisch has racked up an impressive number of wins across all forms of motorsports. From TA2 to the Cars Tour Pro Late Model division, it seems like he can win no matter the car. Very few drivers have been given this credit, the likes of Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson, two all-time greats, have been given similar titles. At the age of seventeen, Zilisch is a seven-time karting champion, with one of those being a world championship, an eight time Whelen MX-5 Cup winner, the 2022 Whelen MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year award winner and championship runner-up, a five-time TA2 winner, 24 Hours of Daytona winner, and a 12 Hours of Sebring winner.
Connor Zilisch accepting the Omologato Young Gun Fast Lap award following a TA2 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
— Photo Credit: Charlie Haywood
It is not just road courses, he also won his first-ever Pro Late Model race at Orange County Speedway in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series. He followed that win up with a win at Ace Speedway in the Cars Tour Pro Late Model division driving for Rackley WAR. He also ran some Cars Tour Late Model Stock races in 2023 for Carroll Speedshop, recording a best finish of eighth in his series debut at Hickory Motor Speedway. He also made an ARCA Menards Series start in 2023 at Watkins Glen, having a near-perfect weekend at The Glen, qualifying second, only behind NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey Lajoie. He led thirty-four of the forty-two laps, with a broken front sway bar might I add, to bring it home in second place after a bump-and-run move on the final corner allowed Jesse Love to take home his eighth win of the season.
Connor Zilisch racing at Caraway Speedway in the Cars Tour Late Model Stock division— Photo Credit: Charlie Haywood
The young driver put the world on notice, catching the eye of a team that has a liking for producing viral moments, Trackhouse Racing. On January 11th, 2024, Zilisch and Trackhouse team owner, Justin Marks, announced that Connor Zilisch will be joining the team on a multi-year driver agreement across multiple racing series. Through this deal, Zilisch was set to run races across ARCA, IMSA, the Cars Tour, Trans Am, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series. He is driving for Era Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Series as a North American Endurance Cup driver, competing in the longer events on the schedule, such as Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, and Road Atlanta. A total of fifty-eight hours of racing across those five events. In the ARCA Menards Series, Zilisch has signed a deal with Pinnacle Racing Group to run the full ARCA East schedule and challenge the likes of William Sawalich and Gio Ruggiero for the championship. It is an eight-race schedule that starts at the historic Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida and ends at the Last Great Colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway. As for NASCAR, Zilisch will make his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports at Circuit of the Americas, plus starts at Talladega Superspeedway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Along with his truck starts, Zilisch will also run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the coveted JR Motorsports, driving the famous 88 at Watkins Glen International, Kansas Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway after he turns eighteen in July.
Connor Zilisch’s truck for Spire Motorsports Prior to his NASCAR debut— Photo Credit: Spire Motorsports, Twitter
Zilisch has a busy year in front of him. He has already won two historic events so far and looks to take on a challenging double this upcoming weekend. On Saturday, following his Truck Series debut at COTA, he will fly to Pensacola, Florida for the first race of the ARCA Menards Series East championship that same night. It will be challenging for the seventeen-year-old driver, but if anyone can do it, Zilisch can.
Connor Zilisch has a lot of expectations around him in 2024. Driving for teams such as Spire Motorsports and JR Motorsports on top of being tagged by Trackhouse puts a lot of expectations on the young man to perform whenever he gets into a race car. The cars he will be driving are expected to be contending for wins week in and week out. As an already proven winner, he will be expected to perform just as well as any of the other drivers for those teams. Zilisch has the potential to be one of the best drivers NASCAR has ever seen, a superstar even, all we have to do is wait and see what becomes of this seventeen-year-old prodigy.
