Connor Zilisch: The Future of American Racing

While everyone wonders who’s gonna be the future of automobile racing, it’s normal to think that it’s someone in F1 or F2. In the United States, a new kid on the block has shown what it takes to compete with the best.

(Image Credits to Sports Illustrated)

Connor Zilisch, born in 2006, has already shown what he’s capable of. In 2024, he signed with Trackhouse Racing, a NASCAR team, in a driver development deal. He had already made some rumblings after being competitive in the Trans Am road racing series and in the IMSA Mazda MX-5 Cup in 2023. In the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, driving an LMP2 for Era Motorsports, he won in class. He had an awesome battle for the lead as the sun came up. Then at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Era Motorsports car won again with Zilich behind the wheel. He then competed in a NASCAR Truck race at COTA, where he got pole position. Then he drove for JR Motorsports at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and won in his debut. His maturity and ability were undeniable. It then announced that he will drive for JR Motorsports full-time in 2025 in the Xfinity Series. It was also announced by Trackhouse Racing that he will do selected NASCAR Cup Series starts with Red Bull as sponsor.

(Image credits to NASCAR.com)

2025 started off solid after Trackhouse entered a Corvette at the Rolex 24 and was the most competitive out of his teammates: Shane Van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, and Ben Keating. 

Once the Xfinity series got underway, he began performing right out of the gate. So far, he has won 10 races and is the points leader. He’s been phenomenal and is only a rookie! At Watkins Glen, after winning, he got injured while celebrating on top of the car. He fell and broke his collarbone. After his recovery, he returned to the series to continue his success. He’s done three Cup Races and finished a respectable 11th at Atlanta. At COTA, he began the race towards the back of the grid and drove up almost to the top 10, but was involved in a crash. It was later announced that he will race full time for the Trackhouse Racing in the Cup series in 2026. In a few years, he has gone from being unknown to now demonstrating his talent to the world. Zilisch is a driver with a versatility similar to American icons, Dan Gurney and Mark Donohue. No matter what he drives, he possesses the ability to win and in racing, there’s no other measure of excellence.

Article written by Jeff Garcia