Teenager Zilisch Continuing Rapid Rise To Prominence

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Road racing savant-turned-stock car young gun Connor Zilisch has gone from an unheralded talent to a rising superstar seemingly overnight.

In reality, it’s been a process over the past six months, but if you’d told the Mooresville, N.C., native going into the season that he’d add wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, CARS Tour, and ARCA Menards Series to his resume, he probably would have laughed at you.

“You hope [for a high level of success], right? But I could never … it’s been an unbelievable year already, and we’re not even close to done yet,” Zilisch told Motorsports Hotspot in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview.

Zilisch, who turned 18 Monday, cut his teeth in karting and Trans-Am Series TA2 class competition before even thinking about racing on ovals. In fact, he noted that his eyes were focused on a potential career in Formula One when he first left home at 10 years old to race full time in Europe.

“I would’ve called you crazy if you told me this is where I was going to be six or seven years ago,” he said. “You just don’t picture that kind of a path when you’re overseas running karts on road courses in Europe … that road has led so many people to F-1 that it’s just what you expect to be chasing, I feel like.”

And yet, Zilisch found his way back to the United States at 15, finding a home in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series before linking up with Maurice and Laura Hull’s Silver Hare Racing team in Trans-Am the next year.

All told, eight MX-5 Cup victories over a two-year span and five Trans-Am TA2 triumphs last season – as well as Zilisch’s quick learning in select late model starts – began to catch the eyes of NASCAR owners.

It culminated in January when Zilisch was announced as a development driver for Trackhouse Racing, putting him under the watchful eye of successful businessman and driver-turned-owner Justin Marks.

That was the moment, Zilisch explained, when he realized that things were beginning to change rapidly.

“For Justin to take a chance on me and believe in what I can do was huge. It still is,” he said. “People who know me know that I want to drive anything that I can get in … and I’ve kind of kept that same mindset with each series that I’ve grown into. [Signing with Trackhouse] just made it more real that, ‘Hey, this is the road I’m starting to head down.’

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, for sure.”

Zilisch’s Rolex 24 and Sebring victories with Era Motorsport in the LMP2 class followed in late January and early March, respectively, cementing him as a potential superstar at just 17 years old.

He joined NTT IndyCar Series star Pato O’Ward as just the second 17-year-old driver to win the Daytona and Sebring endurance races back-to-back, let alone at that young an age.

“It certainly was an unreal start to the season for me, and one that I promise I never would’ve expected,” Zilisch admitted. “Those are races that I had hoped when I was a kid to one day win … at the latter part of my career. But to have the opportunity and the chance to win them both at 17 is definitely not what I was expecting. It’s surreal, honestly.

“I’m very grateful that I had the opportunities that I’ve had [so far], and I’m definitely even surprising myself every weekend I go out and race at such a high level, whatever series I’m in.”

In the stock car realm, Zilisch’s Trackhouse development deal aligned him with Pinnacle Racing Group – the late model and ARCA Menards Series team owned by Connor Mosack’s step-father, Mark Webb – for a handful of late model appearances, a full ARCA East campaign, and select ARCA national starts.

The results of that program so far have been nothing short of remarkable.

Zilisch has won all three of his ARCA national starts this year, including a visit to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park over the weekend; he leads the ARCA East point standings by 17 over chief rival William Sawalich, and won his lone CARS Late Model Stock Tour start of the year in April at historic Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

He even added a pole and top-five finish in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, as well, making him one of the leading young prospects currently in the NASCAR garage.

Keep in mind, all of this has been prior to Zilisch turning 18.

That 18th birthday now opens the teenager up to competing on larger speedways in NASCAR, and he already has four Xfinity Series races planned with JR Motorsports this fall, as well as two more Truck Series starts on deck with Spire Motorsports.

It’s a time in his career that Zilisch has been eagerly awaiting.

“Now is when we really get to have some fun and learn,” he said. “These speedways and learning the air is going to be a whole new experience for me, but I’ve always said my goal is to go out, learn, and get better every time I’m on the racetrack. I feel that if I do that, the success will come along with it in time.

“I’m not really worried about going out and winning every race that I’m in. I just want to learn and continue to be a better driver.”

With that kind of wisdom beyond his years, how does Zilisch view the opportunities ahead of him?

“I feel like some people might be scared of a challenge, but for me, I’m still so young that I don’t really feel I have anything to prove, so to speak,” he said. “I’m always up for a challenge, and I feel like I’ve kind of got myself in a situation with a long-term contract where I just need to be prepared for whatever comes next and be smart about taking things one step at a time.

“I don’t really feel like I’ve rushed anything in my career so far, and whatever I do along the way, I want to make sure it’s the right move so that I can put myself in the best position to succeed.”

Due to his rapid success in stock cars, Zilisch admitted that he does see a road to racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in his future. However, he was quick to say that it’s not something he’s targeting immediately.

“Hopefully one day, if I do have that opportunity to get into a Cup car, I can be my best at that point. Everything between now and then is just preparing myself for that ultimate goal.”

As a teenager, most people have dreams that they hope to achieve later in life. For Zilisch, some of his dreams have already come true, and that’s something he’s making sure to soak in whenever he can.

“I’m so grateful for all the people that have put me in this position to have the opportunity to go race professionally, from my Silver Hare Racing family all the way up to everyone at Trackhouse,” Zilisch noted. “Particularly Maurice and Laura … without their support I can say almost for certain that I wouldn’t be in the position that I am now. It’s nice to look back and see how far I’ve already come.

“As bad as I may have wanted to go race open wheel or end up at the top level of IMSA [sports car racing] with a factory team, to get an opportunity to race in NASCAR is special. It’s definitely the pinnacle of motorsport in the United States and the biggest form of racing in our country. It really is a dream come true to even have the chance to have a long-term contract with a Cup Series team.

“Getting a chance is all I asked for when I was a kid. I thought I was going to end up going to college and maybe continue to race club races and sports cars … where you’re just kind of doing it for fun on the weekends. But now, my perspective has changed and I’m prepared for whatever may come my way next.”

What’s next is getting used to the label Connor Zilisch, race car driver, for what he hopes is a long career.

“Just getting to race professionally has been a lifelong dream of mine, and it’s already come true,” said Zilisch with a huge smile.