Rising NASCAR star Connor Zilisch has returned to a race car once again just weeks after his playoff heartbreak at Phoenix.
Despite a dominant and record-breaking season in the Xfinity Series, Zilisch was not crowned champion in Arizona last month, with Jesse Love winning the championship race and consequently denying him the title.
Instead, Zilisch's third place in Phoenix meant he had to make do with plaudits rather than silverware for his fine performances in 2025, although he did receive NASCAR's Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year Award.
Zilisch takes part in IMSA test
Despite experiencing such bitter disappointment just weeks ago, Zilisch has now gotten himself back behind the wheel of a race car in a recent IMSA test at the Daytona road course.
The 19-year-old was piloting one of the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars that race in the IMSA endurance series, with hopes of driving one in January's Rolex 24.
The Rolex 24 is an annual 24-hour endurance race held at the iconic Daytona International Speedway, with Zilisch having raced in and won the event previously, albeit in the LMP2 category - one step down in terms of class compared to the GTP cars he was testing this time around.
“The first time I came to Daytona racing was in MX5 Cup,” Zilisch said. “And I’ve loved it ever since, and just being able to race in the 24 hours is something that I dreamed of as a kid, and that’s why I always come back and keep doing it.
“It’s my third time doing it, and my third different car that I’ve done it in. So, I don’t know if I’m doing it, but if I do get to end up doing it, then that would be cool.
"I’m just excited for the opportunity to even 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.”
Zilisch has the talent
Despite stepping up to a new class of car he has not driven before, the test went well for Zilisch, according to former Formula 1 and current endurance racer Jack Aitken.
Aitken was Zilisch's co-driver during his GTP test and said: "It’s been good. Connor’s obviously got plenty on his CV [resume] already.
"He’s already won two of the biggest races on the endurance calendar over here, so I’m not really concerned about the driving side of things, it’s really just more about getting him up to speed on the technical side of these cars...honestly, just the boring stuff.
“Today has gone well. He had a couple of pretty long runs just getting laps and getting miles, and he seems comfortable and happy. He’s done a good job. But of course, he would.”
Zilisch was also joined at the test by fellow NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger, who is also eyeing racing at next month's Rolex 24, which would mark his first appearance in the race since 2021.
