Photography by Austin Cannon
If you’re a fan of American motorsports, the name Connor Zilisch has probably come across your radar at some point. But who is this young up-and-comer, and how did he ascend from a relative unknown to a highly touted development driver–and in just the last few years?
Connor started his racing career back in 2011, around the age of 5. Like most kids looking to be a race car driver, he got into karting. When did he get the feeling that racing was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life? “I think it was day one,” he says. “The first time I got into a go-kart, I fell in love with it. It’s been with me ever since I was a little kid. I think most racers can attest to the fact that they get it as soon as they start.”
For years he raced go-karts up and down America’s East Coast, but his big break came when he won a World Karting Association title in 2017, earning him a spot in the world championship race in Italy.
With an entry list of 164 drivers, Connor’s goal was just to make it into the feature event. After qualifying in the top 15, his heat race finish propelled him to a ninth-place starting spot in the feature. Most people would be content with meeting the goal they set at the beginning of the week, but now Connor had his sights set on the win.
He finished the race in second on track, but the winner was penalized for moving him on the last lap. (Connor said adjusting to NASCAR’s “have at it” approach has been quite the task.) It’s one thing to be the best in your country, but it’s another to show up and beat the best in the world.
He was offered a ride in Europe to race full time, but his father wanted 11-year-old Connor to stay in school. They came to a compromise, letting Connor race in Europe during the summers; during the school year, he could race in the U.S. on the weekends.
In 2020, Connor became the first American to win the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy (notable winners include Charles Leclerc, a name you’ve likely heard before). And he did it in dominating fashion, winning the first two races of the championship and locking it up a race early.
While Connor was karting, his father and older brother built a Spec Miata to do some SCCA events. When his brother left for college, the car sat until Connor was old enough to drive it in 2021. While he split time between the Miata and a kart, he wound up on a team with Keelan Harvick, son of NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick.
While the fathers watched their sons race, Kevin asked what plans Connor had for his future. Race for another year and then go to college, Connor’s dad figured.
Kevin stepped in: “We have to try and give him a chance to race in professional motorsports.” While Connor isn’t working with Kevin Harvick anymore, he credits Kevin with introducing him to a lot of people to help get the ball rolling on his career.
Connor soon found himself testing a Trans-Am Series TA2 car, and later that year, he had a chance to compete in the series, winning the pole before having to bow out of the race from the lead due to a mechanical failure.
Variety is the spice of life, they say, so in 2022 he ran the full season of TA2 and MX-5 Cup (winning rookie of the year) while also making his Pro Late Model debut, in which he won the pole and led flag to flag.
[Street circuit pros offer speed tips for any racer]
And 2023 was no different. He raced in multiple late-model series and made his NASCAR debut in an ARCA race at Watkins Glen. He qualified on the front row, leading all but eight laps before a broken front anti-roll bar caused him to lose the lead in the final corner of the race.
2024 is when Connor Zilisch really took the racing world by storm, signing a multiyear deal with Trackhouse Racing. He started off the year by winning the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring in an LMP2 car at just 17 years old. He won late-model races, almost took the ARCA Menards Series East championship, and secured the pole at Circuit of The Americas in his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
“I definitely think the more cars you can get behind the wheel of, the better you’re going to be,” he tells us, “especially at a young age while you’re still learning and your mind is growing. I think the more different positions you can put yourself in, the better. And, you know, that’s really what helped me as a young kid–just learn to be uncomfortable. I think that’s one of the biggest things, is you’ve got to get used to being uncomfortable and putting yourself in new positions.”
In August, it was announced that Connor would drive full time in the Xfinity series for the 2025 season, piloting the No. 88 car for JR Motorsports. The next month, he went back to Watkins Glen with the ARCA series and avenged his loss from the year before in dominating fashion.
“It definitely was a sense of relief coming back and winning my first time back there,” he tells us. “It was definitely revenge from the year before,” he adds with a smile. A day later, he made his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming the pole and the race win, holding off stars like AJ Allmendinger and Shane Van Gisbergen in the closing laps.
Before the 2025 season has even started, Connor has already announced that he’ll be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut in March at COTA. What else would he like to drive? “I want to do a practice in F1, like an FP1 session, and try to race an F1 car. I want to do the Indy 500 as well, so those two are at the top of my list right now.”
One of the last questions we had for him: Does he feel like he’s made it yet? “I wouldn’t say I’ve gotten to that point yet,” he replies. “I want to race in the Cup Series, at the highest level. But when I won that first Xfinity race, that was just a moment of like, man, I’m here. I have an opportunity to fulfill my dream of racing at the highest level of the sport.” Don’t be surprised if more wins are to come.
I had the chance to visit with Connor at the airport following the Rolex 24 in Daytona. Beyond being wildly talented he is a super nice young man.
Also present was Shane Van Gisbergen. Listening to them visit would make you think the two of them were the same age. Connor speaks with maturity beyond his years.
He is absolutely the next phenom to hit Nascar and I predict he's in a Cup car within a few years. What I'm curious about is whether he chooses to stay.
Also had a chance to talk to him at the Rolex. The kid, only because of his age, is the best racer to come from the US in a very long time and maybe forever. His father did him a favor by not letting him get burned out by the European grind although I wish he stayed on the sports car path. He was the fastest in the Trackhouse Corvette at the Rolex with McLaughlin, Van Ginsberg, and Keating also in the car. He should be a F1 prospect. Won't be long before Indycar brings him in for a test
This kid is really good for his age and it looks very likely that he would have a great racing career.
Eager as well to see where his career goes. NASCAR Cup? Factory IMSA? Open-wheel? He’s just 18....
KrankyKoot said:His father did him a favor by not letting him get burned out by the European grind although I wish he stayed on the sports car path.
Yeah I kind of feel the same way but I also get that if you're going to make a living being an American racer and you aren't already filthy rich you have to specialize in the disciplines that get the most juice.
Still, I'd love to see the kid get a factory gig with Porsche/BMW/AMG where they'd ship him overseas a bit. It would be rad to have an American racer—especially one that came out of MX-5 Cup—competing at the pointy end of WEC and ELMS and at some of the bigtime 24s in the EU and Asia.
Loweguy5 said:and I predict he's in a Cup car within a few years.
He's in one on Sunday at COTA.
I listened to him a year or so ago on one of the Dirty Mo podcasts. DBC, maybe. Might have been the Jr Download. He seemed like he hadn't really aimed at Nascar, but when he got the chance to drive some ARCA, I think, and kicked everyone's asses, well that probably opened some eyes.
Anyway, I think he will go wherever he wants to... He is on the fast track to a full time Cup ride, surely. If it were me, and I was young, and talented, and well supported, I'd do a Kyle Larson situation. Run Cup for the dough, run whatever the hell else I wanted to as a side hustle.
Is F1 worth the stress of getting a top tier ride?
Is Indycar going to re-evolve into a proper series again, now that it has some proper TV coverage?
Can you make a living driving sports cars?
Seeing Connor go from the back of the field to the front of the field during the two Trans Am street races (Detroit and Nashville) was impressive. That's no easy feat. And he did it twice. Amazing.
Streetwiseguy said:Is F1 worth the stress of getting a top tier ride?
Yes, but no. 
In all honesty, I'd love to see more American drivers on the grid, especially now that we'll have two American teams competing in within the next few years.
I think it's just really difficult for American drivers to break into F1 because it's so European-focused.
I mean, I get it, it's primarily a European sport, but I'm still going to complain the whole time.
I'd love to see Indycar become an equal to F1, and not as some kind of feeder series.
AT ANY RATE,
It sounds like I'll need to wear some sunglasses because Connor's future is looking bright. 
It will be interesting to see how Connor does at COTA this weekend in the Cup Series. The Cup drivers have become good road racers, unlike decades past, but Connor does have a good team (Trackhouse Racing) with a good crew chief (Darian Grubb). Looking forward to watching.
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