![\"NASCAR](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2227010580.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tConnor Zilisch drove for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Image: James Gilbert\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tConnor Zilisch drove for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Image: James Gilbert\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Zilisch was booked to fly to Bahrain for the rookie test on November 9 but had those plans scratched after losing the title race at Phoenix.<\/p>\n
He lost to Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Jesse Love in the winner-takes-all final, which meant Zilisch did not have enough ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States) licence points.<\/p>\n
The JR Motorsports driver won 10 races this year in the Xfinity Series \u2013 the most of any driver.<\/p>\n
He needed 14 points to qualify for an FIA A licence. Winning the title would have got him that, but second meant he fell short of the threshold.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of just a second shot in the heart after the weekend,\u201d said Zilisch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it going in. It\u2019s not like it caught me by surprise, but it doesn\u2019t make it any easier, losing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zilisch likened the issue to Colton Herta\u2019s repeated attempts to crack Formula 1, which have been blocked by the FIA Super Licence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way around it. It\u2019s kind of just the way it is,\u201d said Zilisch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s really anything I could do. I just had to go win on Saturday and because I didn\u2019t, I don\u2019t get to go run that.\u201d<\/p>\n
At just 19 years old, Zilisch is already an accomplished sports car racer, having won the LMP2 class on his Daytona 24 debut and the Sebring 12 Hour.<\/p>\n
Not all is lost for Zilisch, however. He is poised to test with Cadillac at Daytona in a few weeks.<\/p>\n
Zilisch would likely have tested with Team Jota at Bahrain, but will get his hands on the Action Express Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R prototype soon enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been cool to get to go over there, but you have to have an FIA A licence to run a Hypercar in WEC \u2013 whether it\u2019s a test or not \u2013 and I needed to win the championship to have enough points to do that,\u201d said Zilisch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t win the championship, so no Bahrain. I had flights and everything. I was ready to go. I\u2019ll be sitting at home now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out, I was definitely a little frustrated with it because it\u2019s silly. When I lost, I was more dejected I lost the championship and that was just another reason to be upset.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever. Can\u2019t control it. Can\u2019t change it. No reason to get upset about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zilisch foreshadowed a start with Cadillac at Daytona in 2026.<\/p>\n
That would mark his competitive LMDh debut after LMP2 and GTD Pro starts in 2024 and 2025 respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still do IMSA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just have a little less testing time before I get to Daytona in two weeks. Hopefully, if all goes well, I\u2019ll be able to go do the 24 in the top class.\u201d<\/p>\n