“I’ve tried to get into his brain” - NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch once expressed his desire to run Rolex 24 at Daytona with Trackhouse Racing

Connor Zilisch spoke about talking to Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks about racing in Rolex 24, also known as the 24 Hours of Daytona. With the recent announcement that Trackhouse Racing will indeed be taking part in the race which takes place from January 23 to 26, it seems the young driver has succeeded in getting his idea through.

Zilisch, who started his career in go-karting with the hopes of going into Formula 1, changed the direction of his career when he decided to switch over to stock cars and NASCAR. In January, he signed with Trackhouse Racing as a development driver. He also currently races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team JR Motorsports. Zilisch went on to win the Mission 200 at the Glen, his debut for Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports.

In August 2024, as a guest on the sports podcast Above The Yellow Line with Taylor Kitchen, the 18-year-old mentioned:

"I've talked about wanting to run the 24 hours of Daytona, and you know, I'm trying to push [Justin Marks] to trying to run a team with me and my teammates at Trackhouse [Racing], I feel like that would be really cool." He added, "You know, that is one thing I've tried to get into [Justin Marks] brain but I don't know how much he's going to listen to me on that one."

2025 will not be the first time Zilisch will make his way around the Daytona track for this 24-hour endurance race. Earlier this year, racing for Era Motorsport, he won the race in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class of this historic competition.

With the announcement from Trackhouse Racing earlier today, Justin Marks has re-tweeted it adding:

"This one has special meaning. The final few years of my participation in this event, I couldn’t help but want to come back one day as a fan and just appreciate what I think is the greatest race in the world. Luckily thanks to @TeamChevy @OfficialTFSport and this amazing roster of drivers, I get to do just that."

Connor will join Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin and Ben Keating to make the Trackhouse Racing team that will take place in the Rolex 24.

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What is the Rolex 24 at Daytona?

The Rolex 24 or the 24 Hours at Daytona is a 24-hour endurance race where 59 cars across four classes will race for the prize: a steel & yellow gold Rolex that has been awarded as the top prize since 1992. Each of the winning team's drivers from each class will get to go home with this historic watch prize.

The four classes of cars that race in the 24 hours are the GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) which has a top speed of 202 miles per hour with 680 horsepower, the LMP2 which has a top speed of 186 mph with 510 hp, and the GTD/GTD Pro (Grad Touring Daytona) class which have a top speed of 175 mph with 540 hp.

A GTP Car at the 24 Hours at Daytona - Source: Imagn

Each team's car has three to four drivers who take turns driving the car over the 24 hours. Each driver must race, based on the class they are driving in, for at least 2 hours or 4-and-half hours. Any individual driver cannot race more than 13 hours.

In 2025, the 24 hours will begin on Saturday, January 25 and end on Sunday, January 26.