DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Connor Zilisch is set for his test debut in IMSA’s top class, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), as part of next week’s IMSA-sanctioned November test at Daytona International Speedway.
He’ll drive the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R campaigned by Action Express Racing at the test alongside the already confirmed trio of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti.
“Hopefully, we’re going to make the most of it and see if this can lead to more opportunities for me in the Cadillac because it would be super cool for me to be able to race at the highest levels of endurance racing,” said Zilisch, 19, of Mooresville, North Carolina. “That’s always been a dream of mine.”
Zilisch won 10 races in his debut season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in a JR Motorsports Chevrolet which featured WeatherTech support among others en route to winning rookie of the year honors, and is set to graduate into NASCAR Cup Series action with Trackhouse Racing in 2026.
However, his background has been in sports car racing through the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin with BSI Racing, where he was a regular race winner, and the WeatherTech Championship already, including six top-level WeatherTech Championship starts in 2024 and 2025.
The 2024 season saw the then-Silver-rated Zilisch as a key cog in Era Motorsport’s lineup, which won back-to-back races at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and scored additional podium finishes at the TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks and Motul Petit Le Mans. He made his lone WeatherTech Championship start this year this past January where, he co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for Trackhouse by TF Sport in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Zilisch and additional new Cadillac driver Colton Herta, who has experience with Wayne Taylor Racing but not with the Cadillac V-Series.R, will turn their first laps in the car during the November test. Herta will saddle up in the No. 40 WTR Cadillac next week.