Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Connor Zilisch Outpaces Field for Pole in Truck Debut at COTA

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner, Getty Images

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

Connor Zilisch is a wheelman.

At 17 years old, the Mooresville, North Carolina native is on the pole for his first-ever start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, blowing away the field in Friday’s time trial session at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.

When qualifying began, Zilisch had made less than 10 laps around the 3.41-mile road course, but still managed to obliterate the NASCAR Truck Series field in both rounds of qualifying, with no driver coming within seven-tenths of a second in either round.

A development driver for Trackhouse Racing, Zilisch was able to outdo one of the series’ strongest drivers, Corey Heim, by posting a time of 131.983 seconds (93.012mph), a new track record at the Austin, Texas road course.

Heim was second quickest in the final round of qualifying but posted a lap 0.714 seconds slower than the 2024 Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring winner, but still managed to have a three-tenth of a second gap over his teammate Taylor Gray, who was third fastest.

Nick Sanchez earned a fourth-place starting spot, while NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain completed the top-five for Niece Motorsports. Jack Hawksworth, Tanner Gray, Layne Riggs, Christian Eckes, and Ty Majeski round out the top-10.

Zilisch, who will not only be running the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Circuit of The Americas, but also the ARCA Menards Series East event in Pensacola, Florida on Saturday, becomes the seventh driver in series history to win pole on debut.

Other notable drivers starting outside the top-10 for Saturday’s 225-mile contest include Rajah Caruth (11th), Tyler Ankrum (12th), Grant Enfinger (13th), Ty Dillon (20th), Matt Crafton (24th), Jake Garcia (28th).

Carter Fartuch (30th) and Vicente Salas (32nd) will also make their NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuts in Saturday’s event, driving for Reaume Brothers Racing and Young’s Motorsports, respectively.

Ben Rhodes and Thad Moffitt were the only two drivers that failed to post a lap in qualifying for Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at COTA, but will start the race from 33rd and 35th, as they both participated in Group B.

Zilisch will look to make history in Saturday’s event at Circuit of The Americas, a track that he’s gotten the hang of, after making a grand total of nine laps.

Qualifying Results: NCTS XPEL 225 at COTA

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

NASCAR 25 had some notable snubs and overratings contained within the official driver ratings on launch day
Biggest Driver Rating Snubs and Overratings in iRacing's NASCAR 25 Console Game
ryan preece son child nascar cup series driver rfk racing ryan preece bentley ryan
Ryan Preece, Wife Heather Welcome Second Child, Bentley Ryan 
mm_darlington_cup_race_alexbowman2
Spoiler Alert: 5 Drivers Who Could Interfere With Hopes of Locking Into Championship Race
TG_TRUCK_NASH_Race_BHolmes_Pits
Bret Holmes Looking for Talladega Redemption with TRICON Garage
unnamed (9)
Women in Motorsports North America Partnering with McDowell at Martinsville
Harrison Burton will depart AM Racing at the conclusion of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series to pursue another opportunity in 2026
Harrison Burton to Officially Depart AM Racing at End of 2025 Season

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article