Connor Zilisch is certainly one of the best racers around at his age and his achievements have made motor sports fans question their achievements in life. At just 17 years of age, Zilisch signed a multi-year development contract with Trackhouse Racing on January 11, 2024. This contract includes races in competitions like the ARCA Menards Series, CARS Tour, IMSA, Trans-Am, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series. His schedule in the Xfinity and Truck Series for 2024 is yet to be confirmed, but fans will be eager to get a look at the teenage prodigy who is making a lot of noise in the racing industry.
Trackhouse Racing’s developmental driver stole the show at Rolex 24
Connor Zilisch’s achievements make him look like a seasoned veteran. The 17-year-old has won accolades much older drivers would be envious of. His most recent achievement came this past weekend in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Trackhouse Racing driver was a class winner in the event on his very first try, something that a lot of veterans are yet to achieve. But that’s not all.
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He almost won a race in ARCA with a broken front sway bar. He has 8 MX-5 Cup wins in under 2 full-time seasons and at 17, and is already a coach to younger drivers in karting. Zilisch has also won races in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour and Carolina Pro Late Model Series. The 17-year-old became the first American to win the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2020 and was named rookie of the year in the 2022 MX-5 Cup.
Zilisch took part in several races in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour in 2023 with Carroll Speedshop. Anyone who follows the competition knows that the CARS Tour has some of the best races across the country and it’s not an easy series to be competitive in. The 17-year-old finished inside the top 15 in every single race he ran barring one. It just shows the immense potential the teenager has.
Connor Zilisch at age 17:
Rolex 24 class winner at the first time of asking.
Nearly won his first Arca race with a broken front sway bar.
8 Mx5 cup victories in less than two full-time seasons.
Trackhouse dev driver and coach to other young karting drivers.The future. pic.twitter.com/VhJ7XvYIXq
— db 🖨️ (@kensethology) January 28, 2024
While his accolades are acknowledged and applauded by everyone in the NASCAR community, they have sent fans into a bit of an existential crisis. After all, seeing a teenager achieve far more than someone much older can be unnerving and NASCAR fans did not shy away from expressing that emotion on X.
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Racing fans left in crisis as teenager’s achievements come to the front
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One user wrote that watching Connor Zilisch achieve as much as he had before even turning 18 made them feel like a disappointment. “Making me feel like a disappointment,” they wrote. Another user commented that the 17-year-old was living the dream at the moment. “Bro is living the dream,” they commented.
One fan, who claims to have been following the teenager for years, did not realize that he was a teenager. Or at least that he was 17 years old. “I’ve been watching him race for what feels like years now didn’t know he was so young,” they commented.
Some fans downright questioned what they had achieved in life after learning about Zilisch’s achievements. “He was born in 2006… what am I doing with my life,” one user quipped. “What am I doing with my life, where did it all go wrong,” commented another.
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Fans might feel a tad disappointed with themselves when they look at Connor Zilisch, but one thing is for certain; there’s no reason why one day he won’t become a star in the world of American motor sports. It will be interesting to see how he performs in select races for Trackhouse Racing in the near future.
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