In May of 2023, Connor Zilisch formally announced his presence to the pavement Late Model world by winning the CARS Tour’s Pro Late Model 100-lap feature at Ace Speedway as a 16-year-old. Fast-forward less than a year and now Zilisch has formally announced his presence to the entire racing world by becoming a winner of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona at just 17 years old.

Zilisch was part of the winning Era Motorsport LMP2 team this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The team consisted of Christian Rasmussen and Ryan Dalziel. 

Zilisch’s Era Motorsport team finished ninth overall, and completed 767 laps across the 24-hour endurance race that kicks off the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. Rasumussen completed the race for the team, which finished 6.8 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in the LMP2 division.

Even before winning the Rolex 24, Zilisch had already burst onto the scene in a big way this past year.

Zilisch made five CARS Tour Pro Late Model starts with the Rackley/WAR team, finishing no worse than sixth with two third-place finishes and his lone victory at Ace Speedway in early May of 2023. He also started second and finished second in his debut ARCA Menards Series start at Watkins Glen International.

Beyond stock car racing, Zilisch has been a machine the last couple of years. Zilisch has seven victories in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship dating back to 2022. He also scored six Trans-Am victories in 2023 across two divisions.

Zilisch also made Trans-Am history in 2023 at Virginia International Raceway last October. Zilisch became the first driver to win races in two different classes in the same weekend. Zlisch won the TA2 race from the pole, leading every lap in the process. He also won the TA race from the pole as well that weekend.

The victory in this weekend’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona concludes what has been a life-changing month for the Mooresville, North Carolina native. Zilisch was just signed to a driver-development contract with Trackhouse Racing earlier in January.

Over the next two years, Zilisch will get plenty of seat time across multiple disciplines of racing between the CARS Tour (of which Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks is a co-owner), ARCA, Trans-Am, IMSA, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Race fans can watch Connor Zilisch in action on many occasions in 2024 on FloRacing in CARS Tour and ARCA Menards Series competition by clicking here.