Connor Zilisch – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Zilisch doubles up in Mazda MX-5 Cup at Road Atlanta

It was a day of repeats for the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires. Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) was a repeat winner at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) became the first repeat champion in Mazda MX-5 Cup history. Veteran racer Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports), finished second, with Max Opalski (No. 2 Copeland Motorsports) closing out a promising season with a run to third.

So consistent was Thomas this season, he only needed to finish the race to claim his second-consecutive Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship. While a fifth-place finish at Road Atlanta for Thomas certainly wasn’t his best race, it was more than enough to win the championship and the $250,000 prize on offer from Mazda.

“When you get the opportunity to come out here and race, you want to run as hard as you can,” Thomas said. “I learned from last year that you can’t be conservative at all. So as soon as I knew we were locked in, I kind of stepped it up a little bit, but I made a mistake in the race – though it was a good battle with Aaron [Jeansonne] there at the end. We were trying to catch the pack in front of us and we eventually did get there, but it was just a little too late. We were just hooked up right there pushing because we knew the only way to catch the pack in front of us was to push. It was a great run and all in all, a great year.”

With teammates Thomas and Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) one-two in the drivers’ championship, JTR Motorsports Engineering had no trouble securing the Team Championship.

“I’m so proud of this entire team,” Thomas said. “Everybody’s put in a lot of hard work, a lot of long hours – and it’s also cool to have a one-two for the championship. That’s pretty impressive, I’m happy with that.”

Early in the 45-minute race, the top half of the field broke into two trains. Thomas led the second one and in the first group six drivers were playing musical chairs with the lead.

Zilisch and Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) spent the most time in the lead, but Rollan, Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing), Tyler Gonzalez (No. 35 Saito Motorsports Group) and Opalski were always in the mix. With less than 10 minutes to go, Wagner started to pull away from the pack, but the others just needed to work together to draft right back to his bumper.

“When Gresham got himself a gap there, I knew we were going to be able to run him back down,” Zilisch said. “There was still enough time; in this series, those gaps don’t last for long. As long as you have a few guys towards the front that will work with you and push to get back up to the front, you’re usually able to catch up to a leader that’s kind of alone.”

Gonzalez was leading with three laps to go when Joe Rainey (No. 17 Robert Noaker Racing) made contact with the wall exiting Turn 12 and came to a stop near pit out. The leaders all had their teams communicating to them that a full-course yellow was about to come out. Knowing that if the safety car did come out, the race would end under yellow, the drivers sense of urgency escalated. Coming into Turn 10, Noaker, Gonzalez, Wagner and Zilisch went two-by-two. Contact was made, spinning Noaker around and forcing Gonzalez, Wagner and Zilisch to take evasive action.

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The incident allowed Rollan and Opalski to slip through and queue up behind Zilisch, who had taken the best escape route.

Race control determined the car was in a safe spot and did not issue a full-course yellow. With two laps to go, Zilisch led Rollan and Opalski and that’s how the race finished.

“When they started battling for a second, I had a little bit of stress so I’m just glad I could get back up to the lead and get myself a chance to win the race,” Zilisch said. It feels really good to get our second win of the weekend here at Road Atlanta and a one-two finish for Hixon Motor Sports with Selin Rollan. The team does such a good job setting up these cars and giving us the opportunity. We’ve got Andrew Carbonell coaching us now, making us better drivers. It really does take an army to come out here and do this kind of stuff and to have the success that we’ve had every time I’ve come out here and raced this series. It means a lot to me so I’m glad I could get the win for my team and end the year on a positive note.”

Teammates Zilisch and Rollan came across the finish line glued to each other, something that’s become fairly common for the two.

“This is great for Hixon Motor Sports,” Rollan said. “We did this last year, which was great. It’s another one-two for the team, I think this might be like our third or fourth. It’s a great feeling. Congrats to Connor – that kid is going places. Thanks, Hixon Motor Sports, thanks Austin Hatcher. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but I’m happy to end it on a high note. That was a crazy race, yesterday was a crazy race, but we brought home two good finishes so it’s a good way to end the year.”

Opalski was able to take advantage of the Turn 10 incident, but had to hold off Wagner and Gonzalez for two laps to take the final podium spot.

“That was super intense all race long,” Opalski said. “We made a little gap, which was nice, but I think my car started falling off and I made do with what I had and managed the best I could. So, I’m pretty happy with a P3 today. We were so close to a win all season; I hope I can come back and try again.

“The team told me there would most likely be a full-course caution, so I thought I was somewhat safe – they told me to just stay where I was and just make good laps, and we’d be good. But then the white flag came out and I had to lock in and finish the last lap.”

Wagner finished fourth on the track, but a post-race penalty for his involvement in the Turn 10 scuffle dropped him to 19th. That promoted Gonzalez to fourth and Thomas to fifth.

Rookie Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing) finished 10th, securing his Rookie of the Year Title and a nice $80,000 prize from Mazda.

All award winners will be honored Friday evening at the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship Banquet.

All races from the 2023 season are available to watch on the RACER and IMSA YouTube channels.

Zilisch makes history with Trans Am/TA2 sweep at VIR

17-year-old Connor Zilisch accomplished something at VIRginia International Raceway that no driver in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli has done before, winning two races in different classes in a single weekend. Zilisch started today’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race from the pole and dominated, leading every lap and holding off 2022 champion Thomas Merrill to earn his fifth TA2 win of the season. Zilisch did the same yesterday, winning the TA race from the pole in his very first start in the class.

Zilisch led the field to green in his No. 7 Silver Hare Racing/Carter Bank Chevrolet Camaro, getting a clean start and pulling ahead of second-place starter Jade Buford (No. 48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Ford Mustang) and third-place starter Brent Crews (No. 70 Franklin Road/Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang). After just seconds of competition, championship contender Rafa Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang experienced trouble, making contact with two competitors when they spun ahead of him in Turn 1. With severe damage to his vehicle, the Brazilian was forced to retire early, finishing 33rd. The drama continued on lap three when points leader Crews cut down a tire, sending him off the racing surface and hard into the tire barrier, bringing out the first full-course caution of the day. With crippling damage to his car, Crews was forced into the garage for nearly the entire race, but returned to the track one last time at the very end to gain a position over Matos, ultimately finishing 32nd.

Racing resumed on lap eight, and once again Zilisch took off with the lead, this time with Buford and Thomas Merrill (No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang) in tow. Almost immediately, Buford was tagged by another driver and spun off the track surface. He was able to continue, but lost several positions as a result. This allowed Nathan Herne (No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang) to take over the third position. Zilisch was able to work his way up to a 2.9s lead over Merrill by lap 11, but the double yellow was displayed once again for a crash, closing up the field.

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When competition resumed on lap 14, the race remained green for nine laps, and Zilisch again showed his speed by garnering a 6.8s advantage over Merrill. Merrill was being hunted by Herne, but the Australian was unable to get past Merrill before the full-course yellow. Racing resumed for the final time on lap 25, and a clean start by Zilisch allowed him to protect his lead. Merrill stalked him in the final five laps, getting closer to his Camaro’s bumper than he had all day, but it wasn’t enough. Zilisch crossed the finish line and claimed the victory, followed by Merrill and Herne. Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) and Dillon Machavern (No. 17 Heritage AG/UniFirst/SLR-M1 Ford Mustang) rounded out the top five. Connor Mosack (No. 8 SherryStrong/M1 Race Cars/Team SLR Chevrolet Camaro) returned to the series for the third time this season and started from the back of the field after missing yesterday’s qualifying while competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Taking the green from the 33rd position, he fought his way through the field to finish sixth, earning him the Cool Shirt Cool Move of the Race.

“Thank you to my whole entire team, Silver Hare Racing; they’ve worked so hard to give me fast cars every week that we come to the track, and it’s shown,” said Zilisch from atop the podium for the second time this weekend. “It means a lot to be able to race for this team. Maurice and Laura Hull gave me this opportunity to come out here and race. Thank you to my family for giving me this chance, and my mom and dad for always supporting me the most they can. Thank you to Carter Bank and Trust for coming on the car this weekend. They’re a local company helping us get to the track. It just means a lot to be standing here for the fifth time this year. It’s pretty special to have this good of a season and end the year the way we have. Now we go to COTA with a chance to win. We’re out of the championship hunt, but there is still a race to be won, so we will go there with that goal. I can’t ask for a much better weekend, winning both features and poles. Thank you to everyone, I’ll see you at COTA.”

The re-broadcast of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series returns to the track for the season finale at Circuit of The Americas on November 2-5.

RESULTS

Zilisch sweeps poles at VIR with fastest time in TA2 after TA win

Practice and qualifying are complete for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series at VIRginia International Raceway. After earning the Motul Pole Award in TA Friday and winning the race Saturday in his first-career TA class start, Connor Zilisch backed up his speed by winning the TA2 pole, sweeping the weekend’s qualifying sessions. If he were to win the race tomorrow, he would be the first in Trans Am history to win both of the weekend’s races.

“This sport is a game of momentum, and when stuff starts going well, like it has been for this TA2 program the last five or six races, you build on that,” said Zilisch. “Bottom line is, we’ve had fast cars lately. To come to Silver Hare Racing’s home track, get the TA win and then back that up with a TA2 pole means a lot to me and all the guys as well. They supported me in my TA race, so to come back here to this TA2 car and give them my all in qualifying is important. Hopefully we’ll be able to seal the deal tomorrow, sweep the weekend and close off this home race on a positive note. We’ve got the best starting spot in the house, and all I have to do is execute from here.”

The race will be contested Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on MAVTV and can be streamed live here.

The re-broadcast of the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Zilisch again earns first career pole in first start – this time in TA at VIR

Connor Zilisch earned the Motul Pole Award in his first-career TA class start in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at VIRginia International Raceway, laying down a lap time of 1m41.692s in the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Zilisch achieved a similar feat two years ago, surprising the garage when he won the pole in his Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series debut at the same Virginia road course.

“[Running in TA] has been a super enjoyable experience,” said Zilisch. “I’m very fortunate that Maurice and Laura Hull, Ken Thwaits and GM got together to give me this opportunity to race this car at VIR. It’s one of my favorite tracks, and to come here and just kind of dominate so far this weekend is special. We were the fastest car in every session other than the first test. Every session, I’m getting more acclimated to the car, figuring it out and understanding what I need from the car. I feel like we’ve got a really good baseline going into the race tomorrow. We’re going to make a few adjustments to hopefully make it better on race runs and give me a little more confidence going into the race, but I think we have a really good piece going into tomorrow.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested on Saturday, October 7 at 11:45 a.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on MAVTV and streamed live here. The TV broadcast replay of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Dyson, Zilisch earn fourth Trans Am victories of 2023 at WWTR

Both Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang and Connor Zilisch in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro dominated their respective classes in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway, while a tight SGT battle showcased close racing and crowned a first-time winner in Trans Am’s first visit to the St. Louis area in 38 years, with Richard Forsythe taking home the SGT win in his No. 58 Sambuca Restaurant/GSpeed Chevrolet Corvette.

Dyson led from flag to flag in the TA race, but he was not without his challengers in the 63-lap shootout. After the wave of the green, third-place starter Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang passed second-place AJ Henriksen in the No. 79 ECC/Anchor Bolt & Screw Dodge Challenger, with Drissi defending his runner-up spot for the first 10 laps of the race. After that, Henriksen made his move on Drissi and homed in on Dyson. With Drissi behind him, Henriksen had no issue tailing Dyson, cutting Dyson’s lead to less than half a second. By lap 20, he and Dyson were nose-to-tail, with Henriksen making several pass attempts that he couldn’t quite complete.

The three ran in that order until a late-race caution bunched up the field, forcing a restart on lap 50. Just one lap later, Henriksen once again was hunting down the two-time champion, but Drissi made contact with Henriksen’s rear bumper, sending him spinning. While Drissi took over the second position and crossed the finish line behind Dyson, he was assessed an avoidable contact penalty, which reverted him back to third. Henriksen was credited with the second-place finish at his home track, while Dyson visited GYM WEED Winners Circle for the fourth time in 2023.

“Sweet St. Louis, man,” said Dyson in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “I’ve got to tell you, I grew up a Cardinals fan and it’s amazing to come back here to see all the folks here with St. Louis Cardinals hats on. It brings back lots of great memories. Racing today was just thrilling. We were expecting this race to be really hard and physical, but I knew from following AJ [Henriksen] yesterday that he was really good and on his marks here. I didn’t realize this is his home track, but he was driving like a real champ there. I was good in clean air with the GYM WEED car, we could run great when we had a clear track ahead of us, but you get that for about 30s around here. Every time I looked back, he was all over me. He drove great.

“We’ve had a season to remember here,” continued Dyson. “We’ve had amazing race results and we’ve scored a lot of points and a lot of wins, but it’s been a lot of work along the way. I want to take my hat off to everybody here on the CD Racing team for making sure we had not just one, but two great race cars all the time. It’s been a hustle between switching cars and jumping around, and these guys have stepped up to every challenge we’ve given them. I’m excited about what’s coming at VIR. I’m hoping that we can take it down to the wire there.

“I’ve got to dedicate this win to my son Nicholas. He and I put in a lot of work on the simulator over the last couple weeks. I’m not going to say which one of us was faster, but he knows, and he taught me a lot out here,” Dyson concluded.

Connor Zilisch in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro dominated the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway, earning the Motul Pole Award in qualifying and leading every lap before securing his fourth win of the 2023 season.

Once the green flag waved, Zilisch immediately opened up a gap in front of second place and maintained it the entire race while the competitors behind him jockeyed for position. Taylor Gray in the No. 60 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang made an early run at Zilisch, advancing up to second from his third-place starting spot. By lap nine, Austin Green in the No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang reclaimed his second-place starting position, attempting to hunt down Zilisch, but on lap 25, Brent Crews in the No. 70 Franklin Road Apparel/Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang took over the runner-up spot. Crews and Green remained second and third, respectively, until the checkered flag waved, leading to an all-Young Gun podium.

Behind the podium-finishers, Thad Moffitt in the No. 43 Safety-Kleen/SLR-M1 Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro had an impressive run, moving up from 11th to fifth by taking fresh tires during the late-race caution. Championship contender Rafa Matos was forced to retire due to mechanical issues on lap 10, resulting in a disappointing 27th-place finish. Thomas Merrill, however, rebounded from issues at Watkins Glen by finishing fourth in his No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang, keeping his championship hopes alive and earning the COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race. Gray, who held the fourth position for much of the race, ultimately finished 19th due to a suspension issue.

“This feels really good,” said Zilisch. “We’ve been through some adversity lately and we had to overcome some issues on our side, so to get this win is really special to me. It’s really exciting to come to a place that this series hasn’t raced at in 38 years, get the win and just dominate the race. We led every lap. When I was out front there in the early stages, I was just begging every lap, ‘tell me the gap, tell me the gap.’ I wanted to know how much I had to save tires in the beginning stages and just wanted to manage at around a five-second gap, and I was able to do that. I had a really good Chevrolet Camaro. Silver Hare Racing has worked hard to give me a really good car the last few races and it shows. We’ve been fast everywhere we’ve gone. To come here and capitalize on it and get ourselves our fourth win of the year is really cool. I’m looking forward to moving on to the last two races of the year. Hopefully, we can make that six wins and keep up this momentum.”

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The SGT battle was an exciting one between 2022 champion Milton Grant in the No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup and Richard Forsythe in the No. 58 Sambuca Restaurant/GSpeed Chevrolet Corvette. For the first two-thirds of the race, Grant paced the class, but Forsythe was never far behind, staying within a second of the leader. Unfortunately, following the late-race caution, Grant experienced multiple mechanical issues, forcing him to retire early. Forsythe brought home his first-career Trans Am victory in his first start of the 2023 season.

“I had a great team behind me with the Sambuca Restaurant/GSpeed Corvette,” said Forsythe. “I’d like to thank all of those guys for all the hard work that they did. This car was just unshakable; it was just so reliable, so consistent. It was constantly doing the same laps over and over. We had some scary moments with all the rubber all over the track, and I was trying to stay out of the way of the TA and TA2 cars, but I think we held our own pretty well. We were on Milton [Grant]’s butt throughout the whole day, and we were definitely having a respectable race. I’m sorry for his troubles, but not sorry that we went out and won our first race in SGT. It’s just amazing that we got here. I want to thank all the guys at GSpeed who worked so hard, day after day.”

The replay of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, September 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series returns to the track in two weeks for the penultimate race of the season at VIRginia International Raceway, October 5-8.

RESULTS

Zilisch on TA2 pole at Watkins Glen after weather cancels qualifying

Trans Am presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series qualifying at Watkins Glen International has been canceled due to heavy rain and fog. Competitors will line up by practice times from Saturday morning’s session. Connor Zilisch in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro will lead the field to green next to front-row starter Brent Crews in the No. 70 Franklin Road/Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang.

The race will be contested Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on MAVTV and can be streamed live here.

The re-broadcast of the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

PRACTICE RESULTS

Zilisch goes last to first again en route to TA2 win in Nashville

Connor Zilisch once again drove his No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro from last to first, rebounding from a technical infraction to win in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race on the streets of Nashville. For the second time this season, the young gun started last on a street course and passed every single car on the track to ultimately stand on the top step of the podium.

\While Zilisch experienced the best possible outcome in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, points leaders Brent Crews and Thomas Merrill faced disappointment when an early crash took both out of contention, opening the door for Zilisch and Rafa Matos to make gains in the championship fight.

Following a record-breaking lap in Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Crews led the field to green in his No. 70 Franklin Road/Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang, with Nathan Herne beside him on the front row in his No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang and Merrill behind him in the No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang. Both Crews and Merrill got off to a great start, with Merrill immediately passing Herne after the wave of the green flag. The championship contenders dominated the first two positions, with Crews leading the first 10 laps, and Merrill taking over the point position on lap 11.

Unfortunately, disaster struck for the two leaders on lap 17 when a competitor at the back of the pack spun and came to a stop just past a blind corner. That driver was hit by another competitor behind him, and the two stopped cars blocked a majority of the track. Merrill and Crews turned the corner at full speed without warning and made heavy contact with the stationary vehicles and each other, with both sustaining major damage to their race cars.

Merrill’s Mike Cope Race Cars team managed to keep him on the racetrack and just one lap down, and he ultimately finished 21st. Crews was off the racing surface for 10 laps, relegating him to a 27th-place finish.

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Herne was fortunate enough to miss the melee and took the green flag as the leader when racing resumed on lap 23, followed by Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang. Meanwhile, Zilisch had been impressively picking his way through the field behind them, and was scored fifth at the restart. The 17-year-old broke into the third position in only three laps, and after hard battles with Matos and Herne, he took over the lead on lap 31.

Once Zilisch was at the front of the pack, he checked out, leading the final seven laps and crossing the finish line first, followed by Herne and Matos. Behind them, Adam Andretti in the No. 6 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro and Adrian Wlostowski in the No. 3 Hawk Performance/AMT Motorsport Ford Mustang passionately contended for fourth place. After swapping positions repeatedly, Wlostowski was able to make the pass stick on the final lap, coming home fourth with Andretti behind him.

“That was wild, to say the least,” said Zilisch from the podium. “I can’t say enough about my team. They believe in me, they trust me, and they work so hard for me. I couldn’t be more grateful for Silver Hare Racing; they do such a good job. Maurice and Laura Hull gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to come out here and race cars and fulfill my dream.

“This is one of the events I’ve always wanted to win. To come out here and get that win is super special to me, and I’m sure it’s special to my team as well. They invest a lot, being away from their families. It feels so good to be up here and get this win for my team. Also, each and every fan here is awesome. We are nothing without the fans. I’m proud to put on a show for you guys and I hope your hearts were beating as fast as mine.”

Jordan Bupp in the No. 27 Nacarato Truck Center/Averitt Express/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro, who finished sixth and earned the COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race, was making his first Trans Am start in two years. Bupp has been fighting cancer for the last nine months and was recently declared cancer free. His last time on the track was at the 2021 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, where he finished 10th.

“I am so happy to be here and happy to be healthy, thank God,” said Bupp after the race. “It just feels like home being back with all my friends here. I miss my wife and kids back at home, but they’ll be excited to see this on TV. I got a top-six out of this race this year, so we keep making progress. We’ll come here next year and try to do top three. There isn’t much I can complain about on a day like this.”

The re-broadcast of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, August 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series next heads to Watkins Glen International on September 7-10.

RESULTS

Zilisch adds second MX-5 Cup win of 2023 at Laguna Seca

Current Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires points leader Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) battled to the front from fifth on the grid to win Saturday’s round five at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He was followed across the line less than a half-second ahead of reigning series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering), with now-local driver Aaron Jeansonne coming home third to continue his strong start to the 2023 season.

The racing was as hot as the track surface for the latest Mazda MX-5 Cup event. Polesitter Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) was immediately feeling the pressure from Thomas, who had a great start.

It was ultimately Zilisch who would be Wagner’s undoing, though. The 2022 MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year went from fifth to second in four laps and by lap six, he was around Wagner and into the lead.

A full-course caution to get a car out of the Turn 11 gravel trap bunched the field back up, but nobody could beat Zilisch on the restart. From there, Zilisch was able to pull out a comfortable lead as the battle for the other two podium spots raged on. A long green-flag run developed and Thomas eventually got clear of the pack and comfortably on his own in second.

In typical MX-5 Cup fashion, it was impossible to keep up with the position changes happening for third through fifth. Wagner, Jeansonne and Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) pounced on every opportunity to get by each other.

While pushing their cars to the limit, and occasionally over the track limits, the trio frequently kicked up gravel onto the track lap after lap. At the height of this battle, Wagner ran wide and into the gravel in Turn 6, forcing him to let off the throttle to avoid a spin. When he had all four wheels back on the pavement, he was down to eighth.

Around the same time, Zilisch nearly had a similar incident on his own. He’d built himself a gap of more than a second over Thomas, but with 10 minutes to go, that gap was down to 0.2s.

“That was just me asking for too much out of the car,” Zilisch explained. “It got really tough there toward the end. It was hotter than it’s been all weekend. I was staring in my rearview mirror, honestly, and it got the better of me – I overdrove the Corkscrew and missed the corner, then overdrove Turn 9 as well and almost spun out. I was full sideways. I put my head down, calmed down, and was able to pull out enough of a gap so that I didn’t have to defend on the last lap.”

Thomas now filled the mirrors on Zilisch’s MX-5, but the 16-year-old wasn’t going to make another mistake and held Thomas off to the finish.

“I felt really confident with my car at the start of the race,” Zilisch said. “I knew that if I could get to the lead, I could pull a gap, and that’s what I did. I like controlling the race, same thing at St. Pete. When I’m in the lead, I can make a mistake and fall back, and still hold the lead – if you’re in second and you make a mistake, you have to catch back up. It worked out well today. I’m thankful to the entire Hixon Motor Sports team. They work hard to give me a fast car and give me the opportunity to race at all these cool tracks – and to the series as well — it’s an amazing show. I can’t wait for race two tomorrow.”

Despite closing the gap to Zilisch in the closing laps, Thomas had to settle for second but was pleased to return to the podium as he looks to bank points with an eye toward a strong championship defense.

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“It may not have looked exciting, but inside the race car, this place is a handful,” Thomas said. “I was pacing him (Zilisch) and I could get a tenth here or there. I was just waiting – this track is very unique in the way that it falls off throughout the race, so I was hanging out, saving it for the end. We were pretty equal, but he made a mistake near the end and I was able to close the gap on him. That’s the nature of the (track) surface here, it’s all about tire degradation. But it’s a lot of fun, I like the old surface, it makes the lower horsepower car feel like a lot. That’s a different experience than we get at other tracks. We’re pretty happy to come out of here with a second – we’ll go back to work and race it tomorrow.”

The fight for third was a nail-biter to the end with Rollan and Jeansonne trading positions while dealing with a track that was getting more and more slippery. Jeansonne made the move that stuck with four laps to go and took the final podium spot at his home track.

“Man that was a really tough battle with Selin Rollan,” Jeansonne said. “He’s an excellent competitor. Obviously, he’s won a lot of races in this series and knocking on the door for the championship every year. He was better in some spots. I was better in some spots. And I just drove really hard at the end there to try to get him for that podium spot and I really had to knock out some good laps there at the end, coming to the white flag, so I could get a gap and try to get third place.”

Jeansonne is still searching for his first MX-5 Cup win in his third season of competition. If he could get it at his home track, it would make it extra special.

“It’s always awesome, racing at home,” Jeansonne said. “I really wish we could have raced for the win there. But there’s always tomorrow. I think we’re starting on pole tomorrow. You know, I just want to stay up there and drive consistent laps and just be there in the front running group until the end and try to make my move.”

Jeansonne is provisionally on the pole for Sunday’s round six.

Rollan finished fourth behind Jeansonne.

Rookie Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing), the latest winner of the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, scored his best finish of the season so far in fifth.

Taking an extra $2,000 home is Hanna Zellers (No. 74 Hixon Motor Sports) who was the highest finishing female driver in the race.

Sunday’s round six at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is slated to begin at 11:35am ET. Live streaming is available on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

Zilisch breaks through to first TA2 win at Road Atlanta

Connor Zilisch has been close to victory before in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series, but he finally broke through and scored his first win at the Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour. The 16-year-old Young Gun fought his way past two champions and earned the top step on the podium with a winning pass on the penultimate lap in the Bennett/BridgeHaul 100 at Road Atlanta.

Two-time Trans Am champion Rafa Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang started the race from the pole alongside Evan Slater in the No. 6 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro. The two were immediately challenged by Australian Nathan Herne in the No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang, who took over the lead by the completion of the first lap. Herne’s lead was short-lived though, as he dropped back to fourth on lap three after he went off course in the Bennett/BridgeHaul esses and received front-end damage. Matos and Slater once again paced the field, but the complexion of the race changed on a lap eight restart following a brief caution period.

Thomas Merrill in the No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang had a great restart, and by lap 10 he was leading the field. Meanwhile, Herne’s damage forced retirement from the race. Matos and Slater followed Merrill around the 2.54-mile circuit, but Zilisch in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Camaro picked off Slater on lap 16, and made his way past Matos on lap 22, just as Brent Crews in the No. 70 Franklin Road Apparel Mustang passed Slater. A double yellow on lap 23 and subsequent black flag tightened up the field for a lap-29 restart. With limited time remaining on the race clock, drivers would only have five more laps of green-flag competition. Merrill was able to hold off Zilisch until the penultimate lap, when the young driver was able to muscle past the reigning champion. Zilisch closed the door on Merrill and crossed the finish line for the win as the skies opened up with rain. Matos, Crews and Slater followed to round out the top five.

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“What an awesome race, this is amazing,” said Zilisch in Victory Lane. “We’ve been working at this for over a year now and we’ve been through the ups and downs of this sport, trying to get our first win. We finally got the job done here at Road Atlanta. I’m just so thankful for my crew and everything that they’ve done for me. Thank you to Maurice and Laura (Hull); they’ve taken a chance on me and given me the opportunity to come out here and prove my talent. The first three races of the year, we’ve been really fast. To finally put it all together and get on top of the box is really special to me and to all these guys as well. It’s all paid off, we’re officially winners. I’m thankful and ready for the rest of the season. We’re going to keep working hard and keep getting better.”

This was the first win for Silver Hare Racing since 2020 at Circuit of The Americas with Rafa Matos.

Two of the first three TA2 races of the 2023 season have been won by Young Gun drivers age 16 or younger.

Misha Goikhberg in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Ford Mustang finished sixth, his best finish since his sixth-place finish at Road Atlanta last year.

TA2 Masters Award:
Doug Peterson, No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang

TA2 Pro/Am Winner:
Steven Lustig, No. 05 The Autosport Group Chevrolet Camaro

COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race:
Connor Zilisch, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro

Omologato Watches Fastest Lap of the Race:
Connor Zilisch, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro

Serck Precision Clean Up:
Thomas Merrill, No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang

Bassett Hard Charger:
Caleb Bacon, No. 18 Cortex Racing/Bacon Development Ford Mustang

The broadcast of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series has a two-month hiatus before returning to the track May 26-29 at Lime Rock Park for the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic.

RESULTS