AllRacing

Zilisch relishing jumping back on the horse at Daytona with Whelen Cadillac

Connor Zilisch got back in a race car on Saturday for the first time since the crushing defeat he suffered in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (as it’s now known) finale at Phoenix Raceway.

He would have driven a Cadillac V-Series.R at Bahrain International Raceway a week ago if he’d won the championship race in Phoenix. Instead, his first laps in it had to come a week later at the Daytona road course in the November IMSA sanctioned test.

Aboard the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac run by Action Express Racing, Zilisch completed 33 laps, mostly on used sets of Michelin tires, during the 3.5h morning session on Saturday.

“It was awesome,” Zilisch said before going back out for the afternoon session. He described the V8/hybrid-powered V-Series.R as “very different, but at the same time, very similar to things I’ve driven in the past; it’s kind of a mixture between the (LM)P2 car and the GT3 that I drove this year. 

“A little heavier than the P2, more power. Really cool. A lot of new controls and things that I have to learn.

“It was a lot of fun getting to feel it out and just run a lot of laps.”

When speaking with the assorted media members from the worlds of NASCAR and IMSA, one could see the smile on Zilisch’s face – once wiped away in the moments after the flag fell at Phoenix – had come back. 

Not only had Zilisch lost the championship after the most statistically dominant season in the history of NASCAR’s second-level nati onal touring series – due to the controversial winner-take-all format of the NASCAR playoff finale – he also lost a chance to participate in the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain. 

By missing out on the championship, he missed out on the required points needed to attain the FIA A License he needed to run last week. Never mind drivers with fewer credentials were able to not only test, but race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the same Hypercar class…

From total heartbreak to ripping around Daytona in a V Series.R with countless people in your corner – what a difference a couple weeks make for a generational talent. James Gilbert/Getty Images

Concerning credentials in endurance racing, Zilisch has two big ones on his resume already: 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class wins as a 17-year-old rookie coming straight out of Mazda MX-5 Cup and late model stock cars.

When the revelation of Zilisch’s testing opportunity that never was came to light, he was awestruck by the support he received from fans and other drivers. 

“It made me feel a little bit better about what happened in Phoenix. Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, and I didn’t win the championship, which ended up not giving me enough FIA license points to go do the test in Bahrain … but it was nice to see a bunch of people backing me up and giving me some motivation. It’ll all work out, and although it was a little upsetting that I didn’t get to go over there and drive with JOTA, it’s all part of it,” he reflected.

“This is still a perfect place to get my first laps in the car. Daytona is a relatively simple track when it comes to all the tracks that there are in the world. This one’s one of the easier ones, so a pretty chill first session.”

As one of the youngest-ever class winners of the Rolex 24, Zilisch knows the Daytona road course well – currently he’s been focused on understanding the unique challenges of the Cadillac V-Series.R, particularly the braking and steering.

“It’s definitely heavier steering than [in] NASCAR; I felt it for about five or six laps, and then I kind of got used to it,” he said.

“The GTP cars have a lot of controls that you have to know. It’s a hefty, hefty machine to control and understand, but the team’s helped me get up to speed well, the laps in the simulator helped a lot. It’s been all learning today and figuring things out, but certainly it’s cool to get to drive something so unique.”

Zilisch’s third Daytona 24 Hour start isn’t a foregone conclusion. He’ll know by 9 p.m. at the end of the final session of the night if he’s done enough to guarantee a seat in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac machine alongside Cadillac factory drivers Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber, and Mercedes-AMG Formula One reserve driver Frederik Vesti, who’s also driving for Cadillac in the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

He’ll do everything he can to get back on the Rolex 24 grid with a chance to fight for the outright victory in January, with the entire worldwide sports car racing supporters’ collective watching.

“The first time I came to Daytona racing on this weekend was in MX-5 Cup in 2022, I think. I’ve loved it ever since, and just being able to race in the 24 Hour is something that I dreamed of as a kid, and that’s why I always come back and keep doing it,” he said.

“My third time doing it in my third different car that I’ve done it in. Actually, I don’t know if I’m doing it…but if I do get to end up doing it, if I do well enough today, then that would be cool.”

“I’m just excited for the opportunity to be here today and get this chance to test the car. It’s been such a dream of mine to get to drive in the highest class of IMSA, and doing that today has been really cool.”