CONCORD, N.C. — Seventeen-year-old rising star Connor Zilisch has signed a multi-year agreement with Trackhouse Racing.
The Mooresville, N.C., native begins a developmental program with the team that will include select CARS Tour, ARCA, Trans-Am and IMSA races as well as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series events in 2024 and 2025.
Zilisch, who turns 18 in July, will also race in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events, including the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I have watched Connor grow from a youngster racing go-karts at the Trackhouse Motorplex to an up-close seat as he beat all of us in the Trans-Am race at VIR a few months ago,” said Trackhouse founder and owner Justin Marks, who races against Zilisch in the Trans-Am Series.
“This kid is an amazing talent who we wanted to be a part of the Trackhouse family,” Marks added. “We are going to go slow with Connor and make sure he’s fully prepared as he advances in what we believe will be a long racing career.”
Ten years of competitive kart racing including a stint in Europe as an 11-year-old racer, gave Zilisch the tools to adapt quickly when he moved to compete professionally on road courses in early 2021.
That quick start resulted in Zilisch competing for and winning the top prize in the Mazda MX-5 Cup scholarship in 2021. In his first entire season of MX-5 Cup racing in 2022, he finished second in standings while also claiming rookie-of-the-year honors. In 2023 he earned four victories in 10 races.
In 2023, he won five of the 13 Trans-Am Series TA2 races he entered with Silver Hare Racing, as well as dominated the Trans-Am Series TA class race at Virginia International Raceway on Oct. 7.
Zilisch led from start to finish in the all-green-flag race and crossed the line with a 46-second advantage over second place. He became the youngest driver to win a TA race in his first career start in the class and the first to win races in two different classes in a single weekend.
He’s won a CARS Pro Late Model Tour at Ace (N.C.) Speedway in May for Rackley W.A.R. Racing. The Chevrolet Junior Drivers’ program protégé made his ARCA debut on the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l on Aug. 18 when he led 34 of the race’s 42 laps before finishing second.
“This is a dream come true,” said Zilisch. “I can’t thank Justin (Marks) and everyone at Trackhouse Racing enough for giving me this opportunity. It has been a pleasure to spend the last two years racing with Chevrolet and I am thrilled to extend that relationship. I have a lot to learn, but I don’t think there is a better place for me to learn than with Trackhouse Racing.”