AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 01: Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 01, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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If anyone needed a reset at the end of 2025, it was Connor Zilisch. The 19-year-old seem like a man possessed this past season winning 10 races for JR Motorsports in NASCAR’s middle tier Xfinity series with the sort of calm efficiency that makes veterans uncomfortable. Along the way he was labeled as the next big thing, a future superstar, and in August named as Trackhouse Racing’s newest full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2026.
He delivered everything, except the one thing that matters most in NASCAR. A championship. Zilisch lost the NASCAR Xfinity crown in the final race of the season to Jesse Love. The closing images from the track in 2025 showed a broken young man with tears in his eyes and the realization that even the best aren’t always untouchable.
A few weeks removed, the trophies have been put on shelves, families have been reintroduced, and engines have cooled. All the points earned in 2025 are now at zero. For most drivers it’s a chance to take a breath, reset, relax.
AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 01: Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, reacts after the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 01, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
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Connor Zilisch has other plans.
Only weeks after the bitter disappointment of that final race, he was at Daytona International Speedway testing. Not in a NASCAR stock car, but an endurance car. And that testing seems to have paid off.
This week, the teenager was officially confirmed as part of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona, joining an accomplished lineup that includes Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti. The entry, run by Action Express Racing, places Zilisch in the top class of IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to open the 2026 season.
It is not a consolation prize. Cadillac does not hand out factory-backed GTP seats to drivers in need of a morale boost.
“I’m excited to be with Action Express Racing for the Rolex 24 At Daytona,” Zilisch said. “The Rolex 24 is one of my favorite races and I’m thrilled to be with one of the best teams in the IMSA paddock. I’m very thankful to everyone at GM and Cadillac Racing for their help in making this happen.”
The opportunity marks Zilisch’s third straight Rolex 24 appearance, and his third in as many classes. In 2024, he debuted in the LMP2 category and won on his first attempt. Last January, he competed in GTD PRO with Trackhouse by TF Sport. In 2026, he moves to the summit in a Cadillac GTP.
That progression speaks to more than ambition. It speaks to adaptability.
Zilisch tested the Cadillac prototype during IMSA’s November test at Daytona International Speedway.
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Zilisch tested the Cadillac prototype during IMSA’s November test at Daytona International Speedway, describing a machine that blended familiarity with challenge. “Very different, but at the same time similar to things I’ve driven in the past,” he said. “It’s kind of a mixture between the LMP2 car and the Corvette GT3. More power, a little heavier, a lot of new controls. It was a lot of fun getting to feel it out.”
Daytona, too, is no stranger. Zilisch’s relationship with the road course began years earlier in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, a detail that underscores how methodically his career has been built. “Racing the 24 hours is something I dreamed of as a kid,” he said. “Getting to drive in the highest class of IMSA has been really cool.”
The timing matters. In 2026, Zilisch will graduate full-time into the NASCAR Cup Series, where managing chaos, traffic, fatigue and pressure are daily requirements. Endurance racing offers a crash course in all four.
If 2025 taught Zilisch how to win, Daytona is teaching him how to endure. Championships may slip away. Careers, however, are shaped by what drivers do next.
