Trackhouse Prodigy Connor Zilisch Reigns Supreme at Dover With His First Ever ARCA Series Career Win

Connor Zilisch just won his first ARCA Menards Series win at Dover Motor Speedway! This victory marks a double whammy, as it is only his second start in both the national and East series. Zilisch kicked off the 2024 racing season on a high note, taking home a win in the LMP2 class at IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona with Era Motorsport. He’s no stranger to the winner’s circle, having bagged the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship, a win at the CARS Tour in 2023 at Ace Speedway, a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen in the ARCA Menards Series, and six wins in two different divisions in the Trans-Am series in 2023.

The Trackhouse Racing developmental driver also snagged the pole at the Circuit of the Americas in the Craftsman Truck Series and celebrated another LMP2 class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Now, he has added yet another achievement by winning his first East Series start.

Connor Zilisch said that he was pretty intimidated in the beginning

The win at Dover came with its fair share of drama—the young star had to navigate a chaotic day at the Monster Mile, where many top contenders ran into trouble on the track. But Zilisch somehow managed to capitalize on contact between himself and William Sawalich to take the lead. Sawalich was heading for a win until he collided with Zilisch, sending him crashing into the wall and ending his race. Understandably, Sawalich was not too pleased with how Zilisch raced him.

For Zilisch, his first trip to the famed Monster Mile definitely lived up to its formidable reputation. In his post-race chat, Zilisch shared, “I can’t even lie, during those first 70 laps I was pretty intimidated. I was um you know I was saying oh the car’s free and then we were sitting under red on the back straight and I was like damn I just need to get on the gas.”

He also gave a big shout-out to his team for their stellar support, acknowledging that without them, he might have only managed maybe a sixth-place finish. “You know Derek Kneeland on the spotter’s stand and Shane Huffman on the pit box did a great job keeping me in it. I was down on myself running fifth or sixth and couldn’t make up any ground. I’m so thankful for this entire team and everyone at Chevrolet. Those restarts were hectic, but we kept it up front and got ourselves a win at the Monster Mile.”

And with that, Zilisch has notched more achievements in 2024 alone than many seasoned pros see in their entire careers.

2024 has been a standout year for the Trackhouse Racing hotshot

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Zilisch kicked off the year on a high note by steering Era Motorsport to an LMP2 class win at the 24 Hours of Daytona. He kept the good times rolling at the 12 Hours of Sebring, snagging another LMP2 win with the same team. Zilisch didn’t just shine in endurance races; he also made waves on the oval track.

In April, he nabbed his first CARS Tour win with Pinnacle Racing Group at Hickory Motor Speedway and rolled into Dover ready to keep that momentum going. However, his time at Dover wasn’t without its bumps. Initially, Zilisch struggled to secure a good spot on the track during the first half of the General Tire 150. But after some strategic tweaks during a race break, he found himself in the front row for a restart.

He might not have led the most laps, but powering through those challenges at Dover topped off an already impressive week for him. On top of that, he secured spots in three additional NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races with Spire Motorsports and is set to make some starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. It’s safe to say, that Zilisch’s schedule is jam-packed and exciting.