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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 04: NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Connor Zilisch speaks to the media during NASCAR Champions week at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on November 04, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Rolex 24 at Daytona<\/a> is a renowned 24-hour endurance race that demands patience, focus, and respect for time. For Connor Zilisch, that lesson defined his first start in a top-level prototype. At 19, Zilisch entered one of racing\u2019s hardest events with a clear plan. He aimed to learn, stay clean, and finish his work.<\/p>\n He already had experience at Daytona, with a win in LMP2 and laps in a GTD car. This step raised the pressure and the pace. Traffic came faster. Margins closed quickly. Mistakes carried real costs. Zilisch did not chase attention or fast headlines.<\/p>\n He focused on rhythm, clean stints, and calm decisions. After his time in the car, his words reflected discipline and patience. Those traits often decide endurance races at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.<\/p>\n Connor Zilisch on making it last and managing challenges<\/p>\n Explaining how he settled into the race early, Zilisch demonstrated a comfort that first-time prototype drivers rarely reach quickly. In a post shared by NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass<\/a>, Zilisch described the car\u2019s feel.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit different than your fast car on track, but it\u2019s kind of the same rhythm. You get into autopilot, and it\u2019s pretty relaxing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Zilisch placed greater value on clean handoffs than on raw speed. That view fits endurance racing at Daytona. The race rewards control and patience.<\/p>\n \u201cYou try to make it last because it goes by pretty quickly, and you\u2019re just trying to get the car off to the next guy without any damage. That was my goal. Once I got settled in, I focused on running consistent laps, avoiding risks, and completing my two stints. The cars are a lot of fun to drive, but they\u2019re tough on full tires pretty quickly, and restarts are challenging. It\u2019s definitely a little bit unique, but it was a lot of fun figuring it out and racing here.\u201d<\/p>\n Those points define the event: tires lose grip fast, restarts bunch the field, and traffic is constant. Zilisch treated each factor as something to manage. He did not push limits early, focusing on steady lap times and completing both stints without damage. That execution mattered in a race where mistakes compound quickly.<\/p>\n Balancing NASCAR ambitions with F1 dreams<\/p>\n When asked by NBC Sports reporter Leigh Diffey<\/a>, Zilisch sounded measured. He seemed less like a driver chasing the next big leap. He sounded more like one fully aware of where his feet are planted right now.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something I dreamed of as a kid. If I have a very successful first few years in NASCAR, I wouldn\u2019t say no to it. I love F1 racing<\/a>, but honestly, I love what I\u2019m doing in NASCAR. It\u2019s so much fun to race on the biggest stage in America. I\u2019m certainly excited and involved in everything I\u2019m doing in the NASCAR world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s got my attention with 38 weekends. You never know. One day, if that opportunity comes about, and I feel I\u2019ve done everything I need to do on this side of the pond, I would definitely think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Image PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 04: NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Connor Zilisch speaks to the media during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-432493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}