Connor Zilisch, who missed the Bahrain Rookie Test, will drive the Cadillac GTP at Daytona.

A statement from the 19-year-old American driver last weekend in Phoenix had raised eyebrows. In contention for the title in NASCAR Xfinity Series (second division), Connor Zilisch explained that he would be driving a new car on another continent the following driver. According to information obtained by AUTOhebdo, this test was indeed planned for one of the Cadillacs entered in WEC, during the Rookie Test this Sunday in Bahrain.

However, it has since been confirmed that to participate in this practice session, Connor Zilisch first had to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. What would have been a mere formality with a season-based points system—Zilisch having won ten races and set a new championship record with 18 consecutive top-five finishes—became a stalemate due to the playoff system. Finishing third in the final race in Phoenix, the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet had to concede to the race winner, Jesse Love, who was ultimately crowned champion. Therefore, Connor Zilisch had not accumulated enough points.Automobile Competition Committee for the United States) on his license to be able to drive during the WEC Rookie Test.

The young phenomenon, who won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 hours from Sebring In 2024, at the age of 17, driving an LMP2 car, he will not, however, finish the year without having experienced Hypercar racing for the first time with Cadillac. Taking advantage of a different licensing system between the FIA ​​and the...IMSAThe American brand announced that Zilisch will be behind the wheel, as will Cadillac test driver Colton Herta. F1The two drivers will be testing on the Daytona road course on November 14th and 15th, in preparation for the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona.

“I hope we can make the most of this and see if it can open up new opportunities for me at Cadillac, because it would be really great for me to be able to race at the highest level in the races ofEndurance », Zilisch said. "That has always been my dream."

While the Mooresville, North Carolina native is now fully geared towards NASCAR (he will compete in his first full season in the Cup Series next year), it was through sports cars, and particularly the Mazda MX-5 Cup, that his career truly took off, before his LMP2 victories at Daytona and Sebring. It's therefore clear that even if a bright future awaits him in stock car racing, endurance racing will not be neglected for him, far from it…

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