Connor Zilisch Dominates from the Pole To Win for the Fourth Time This Season;
Cut Tire, Then Late Incident Mar Watkins Glen Debut for Rookie Ben Maier
Overview:
Date: Sept. 10, 2023
Event: Watkins Glen SpeedTour (Round 10 of 13)
Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
Division: Big Machine Vodka Spiked CoolersTA2 Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
Layout: 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course
Format: 30 laps or 75 minutes
Weather: Cloudy, mid-60s
Winner: Connor Zilisch of Silver Hare Racing
Silver Hare Racing:
● Connor Zilisch – Started 1st, Finished 1st (Running, completed 28/28 laps)
● Ben Maier – Started 14th, Finished 21st (Accident, completed 25/28 laps)
Noteworthy:
● Today’s victory was Connor Zilisch’s second in a row, his fourth of the season and the fourth of his career. He started from the pole on a grid that was set by Saturday’s practice times after weather forced officials to abort that afternoon’s qualifying session. Zilisch won the previous round on the streets of downtown Nashville on Aug. 5, and also scored the victory June 4 on the downtown Detroit circuit and March 26 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
● Zilisch’s lap of 1 minute, 52.082 seconds earned the 17-year-old the Omalagato Fastest Lap of the Race Award for the second race in a row.
Connor Zilisch, Driver, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:
“I had a really good car. Silver Hare Racing has worked really hard the last several months to put us in this position to give me this car to go out here and win races. Today’s was a tougher one, for sure. As easy as it might have looked, the first 20 minutes of the race were really, really tough as a driver, just understanding the limit when you’re on slick tires in the rain, driving 20 seconds off the pace. Thank you to Silver Hare Racing for giving me an awesome car. Maurice and Laura Hull, they’ve taken a chance on me and have given me this opportunity to come out here and drive these cars. Thank you to them, and thank you to the entire team, they’ve worked so hard for me. I had a bad-fast Chevy that made my job easy. I’m so thankful to drive these racecars and just hope to finish out the year strong and, hopefully, make a run for the championship.”
Ben Maier, Driver, No. 75 Silver Hare Racing/Gel Blaster Chevrolet Camaro:
“It was pretty slick in the beginning and I just found that dry line, eventually, as the race went on. I got a flat tire about halfway through the race that really set us back. Then I got dumped by another driver on the white-flag lap, just chopped. That really hurt our racecar and that is just unfortunate. I like the track here. It wasn’t the best first experience, but it’s pretty fun, and I really liked it in the rain, as well. It’s on to the last three races of the season. Hopefully we can have strong finishes and build up some momentum for next season.”
Maurice Hull, Co-Owner, Silver Hare Racing:
“That’s as it should be, from the pole to first place. It’s always great to win, but it’s much less stressful from the team owner’s standpoint to do it that way as opposed to starting from the back. It was an awesome job. The crew worked their tails off to get Connor’s car ready because it was in pieces before the race. Gil (Martin, competition director), Jeff (Holley, No. 7 crew chief) and Jeff (Cessna, No. 75 crew chief) made great calls to put slicks on the car at the start because that way we didn’t have to pit. It was doubly unfortunate for Ben. One, he had a cut tire that put him a lap down. He came in and the crew did a super job changing tires quickly and almost kept him on the lead lap. And then he got hit at the end and wrecked in the last corner. But he drove a great race. I’m very proud of both drivers. I’m very proud of our crew.”
Next Up:
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli returns to the outskirts of St. Louis for the first time since 1985 for the SpeedTour Grand Prix Festival Sept. 22-24 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. For the competitors of the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series, the weekend marks the 11th round on the 2023 calendar, beginning Friday, Sept. 22, with a pair of early morning test sessions, followed by official practice that afternoon. TA2 qualifying on the 2-mile, 12-turn road course takes place Saturday morning, Sept. 23, followed by the 63-lap, 75-minute TA2 race at 1 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. EDT. Live television coverage will be provided by MAVTV, augmented by live-streaming video coverage by the Trans Am Series and SpeedTourTV channels on YouTube.
About Silver Hare Racing:
Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series. The multicar team has won the TA2 Masters class championship three times (2018, 2019 and 2020) with driver and team co-owner Maurice Hull. Under the leadership of Hull’s wife, co-owner and team manager Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing provides a variety of services that includes private testing and arrive-and-drive programs. The team offers six professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing and operates from a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. For more information, visit SilverHareRacing.com.
