It’s been a good year to be Connor Zilisch.
Zilisch started the 2024 racing season with an LMP2 class win in IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona for Era Motorsport. His background of success also includes the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship, a CARS Tour win in 2023 at Ace Speedway, a second-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series at Watkins Glen, and six wins across two divisions in Trans-Am in 2023. The Trackhouse Racing developmental driver also won the pole at Circuit of the Americas in the Craftsman Truck Series and taken another LMP2 class win in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Frontstretch caught up with Connor Zilisch ahead of his CARS Tour race at Hickory Motor Speedway in early April. The 17-year-old sensation would go on to win the event later that night, adding to his resume of early 2024 success..
The conversation reflected on his success to that point, took a visit to his past karting in Europe with aspirations to race in Formula 1 and when he knew that path wouldn’t work. As an outsider to stock car racing, Zilisch also touched on what can be done for those on the outside to be drawn into the sport.
Trenton Worsham, Frontstretch: We are at Hickory Motor Speedway before the TuffShed 250 CARS Tour event. Before tonight, I want to talk to you about your 2024 so far. You’ve been a busy guy for a 17-year-old, so how would you sum up the first three and a half months of your year?
Zilisch: Yeah it’s been beyond my imagination for sure, winning some of the biggest sports car races, qualifying on pole in my truck race. There are a lot of good things that have happened but there’s still a long way to go this year and a lot of races left in front of me so I just got to keep my head down, keep focusing, and not really let all the headlines and the good stuff that people have been saying get to me. I still have to stay true to myself and continue to do what needs to be done to continue to stay successful.
Worsham: Speaking of headlines, something I wanted to touch on was you were on DBC [Door Bumper Clear], and y’all were kind of making jokes about social media, and your comments were taken out of context a bit there. So just going from joking around about social media and then being involved in sort of like a funny little controversy, how was that?
Zilisch: I mean, it’s going to happen, right? I probably said something I shouldn’t have said, but when you give the press the stuff they can…
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