Connor Zilisch is upping the difficulty level to kick off January as he goes for the overall win in the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Videos by FanBuzz
The Trackhouse Racing driver, who moves up to the Cup Series in 2026, is no stranger to the endurance race that kicks off the IMSA season. He has competed in it two times before, albeit it in different classes.
Zilisch made his debut in the Rolex 24 in 2024 while co-driving the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class. He won his debut in the series alongside Kyle Tilley, Dwight Merriman, and Ryan Dalziel.
Last season, Zilisch co-drove the No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. He finished ninth alongside Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, and Ben Keating.
This season, however, Zilisch will co-drive the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in the GTP Class. He will work with teammates Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken, and Frederik Vesti while going for the overall win.
"I'm excited to be with Action Express Racing for the Rolex 24 At Daytona," Zilisch said in a press release. "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. This is such a cool opportunity. We had a solid test in November at Daytona. I really enjoyed working with all the guys on the Whelen team and can't wait to get back there for the race."
This prestigious race will not mark the first time that Zilisch has controlled the Cadillac GTP entry. He previously took part in a test session at Daytona International Speedway while preparing for the Rolex 24. He joined fellow NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger, who makes his return to the Rolex 24 with Meyer Shank Racing.
At the time of the test, Zilisch did not have confirmed plans for the endurance race. Yet, he did not want to give up an opportunity to test drive the high-powered race car, especially after narrowly losing out on the Xfinity Series championship.
"The first time I came to Daytona racing was in (Mazda) MX-5 Cup," Zilisch said in November. "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 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."
