Connor Zilisch

Connor Jackson Zilisch was born on July 22, 2006 in North Carolina and grew up as a US-American racing driver in a region deeply rooted in motorsport. At just five years old, in 2011, he sat in a go-kart for the first time and spent the following decade establishing himself in international karting series. His talent emerged early: in 2017 he won the Mini ROK World Championship at South Garda in Italy against more than 160 competitors from 33 countries, and three years later became the first American ever to secure the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy.

In 2021, Zilisch made the leap from karts to cars, initially competing in the SCCA’s Spec-Miata program and the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, which he won that same year. In parallel, he debuted in the Trans-Am series in the TA2 class, where he immediately impressed with track records and pole positions. His path quickly led him toward endurance racing and stock cars: in 2024 he made his debut in the IMSA prototype LMP2 class with spectacular results, followed by his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that same year, which he crowned with an immediate victory.

The greatest successes of his still-young career came in rapid succession. In 2023 he clinched the Trans-Am TA2 title, in 2024 he won both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, each in the LMP2 class, both on his first attempt. That same year, in September at Watkins Glen, he achieved victory in his very first NASCAR Xfinity Series start, just weeks after his 18th birthday. In 2025 he ran the full season for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, winning ten races, set a series record with eighteen consecutive top-five finishes, and was named Rookie of the Year before finishing as runner-up in the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.

For the 2026 season, Zilisch joins Trackhouse Racing as an established full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he pilots the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Following his meteoric rise through the junior series, the young American is regarded as one of the greatest talents in US motorsport, and his first full season in the Cup field should reveal whether the exceptional pace from the lower categories can be maintained against the established competition of the premier series.