Spire Motorsports has partnered with Connor Zilisch and Silver Hare Racing to add three additional NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) races to the 17-year-old racing phenom’s ambitious 2024 plans.
All totaled, Zilisch will compete in five NCTS races for Spire Motorsports as part of the organization’s all-star lineup led by veteran crew chief Brian Pattie.
The Mooresville, N.C., native made his debut for Spire Motorsports earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) where he qualified on the pole, subsequently setting a new track record. Despite an early race miscue, Zilisch was undeterred and raced his way to a spirited fourth-place finish in his first career NCTS start.
“It’s pretty hard not to be amped up when you get three more races with someone as talented as Connor Zilisch,” said Pattie. “He’s shaping to be up to be a generational talent and to say he was impressive at COTA would be an understatement, at best. He’s proven that he can drive anything on four wheels so we’re definitely looking forward to having him back in our truck at Richmond.”
It was previously announced Zilisch would drive the No. 7 Chevy Silverado at Talladega Superspeedway October 4 and that Spire Motorsports will coordinate a separate entry for him at the October 27 NCTS playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Since then, Spire Motorsports and Zilisch have agreed to races at Richmond Raceway (Aug. 10), Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 19) and Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 1). Silver Hare Racing will serve as Zilisch’s primary sponsor at Richmond, Bristol and Homestead and as an associate sponsor at Talladega and Martinsville.
The Austin Hatcher Foundation was originally scheduled to be Zilisch’s primary partner at Homestead but will now serve in that capacity at Martinsville.
Zilisch, 17, is an accomplished karting and road racer who, most notably, was part of Era Motorsport’s LMP2 class win at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, making him the second-youngest driver, ever, to win the iconic race. He is a six-time Trans-Am TA2 class race winner for Silver Hare Racing and a central component of Trackhouse Racing’s driver development program.
Spire Motorsports PR
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