Connor Zilisch Returns for Sophomore TA2 Season Joined by Newcomer Ben Maier

HIGH POINT, N.C. (Feb. 22, 2023) – It’s time to put the anticipation in the rearview mirror and get down to the business of racing again for everyone in the Silver Hare Racing camp as they head to iconic Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway for Saturday’s season-opening event on the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series tour.

Saturday’s Sebring SpeedTour, the first of 12 events of 2023, has been circled on the Silver Hare calendar for more than three months. Moments after the checkered flag waved on the 2022 season Nov. 6 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, in fact. That’s when 16-year-old Connor Zilisch was last seen hoisting the runner-up trophy after a race-long battle with series veteran Thomas Merrill and crossing the finish line a mere .881 of a second behind the 2022 series champion. It was the best performance of Zilisch’s rookie season as driver of the No. 5 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro and immediately set his sights on this weekend’s festivities in South Central Florida.

Zilisch, who hails from Mooresville, North Carolina, will be joined by another highly touted young driving phenom beginning this weekend, 14-year-old Ben Maier from Chester, Maryland, who will be making his TA2 debut behind the wheel of the No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

It was a rookie season of mixed results for Zilisch in 2022, first highlighted by a pair of solid top-five finishes on back-to-back weekends in the spring at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He added another pair of top-10 finishes – sixth at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on July 4 weekend, and 10th at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in early September – before arriving at COTA determined to put together his best race effort of the year and springboard his way into 2023 with some momentum.

Mission accomplished. That momentum helped fuel the team’s intense offseason work in the Silver Hare shop prepping the team’s stable of all-new Howe Racing chassis, as well as upgrading all the necessary parts and pieces and systems, as well as adjustments to the personnel lineup, all expected to set the stage for a laser-focused campaign to not only win races in 2023, but contend for the TA2 championship.

Meanwhile, the addition of Maier gives the Silver Racing driver lineup a youthful one-two punch as it sets sail on the new season. Maier comes to the team and the series as, like Zilisch, one of the most decorated American go-kart racers. He’s shown his penchant for wheeling all varieties of racing machinery during his most recent forays into the Stadium Super Trucks series, where he was 2022 Rookie of the Year, and in Travis Pastrana’s Nitro Rallycross series, among others.

Thus, it’s no surprise that confidence abounds in the Silver Hare camp as it heads to Sebring for Saturday’s 27-lap, 75-minute race around the grueling 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. Race time is 12:45 p.m. EST with live streaming video available via the Trans Am and SpeedTour channels on YouTube. And the series has a new television partner this season in MAVTV, which will rebroadcast each race in a 60-minute format on the Thursday that follows it.

Silver Hare Racing leverages its Trans Am effort to promote its arrive-and-drive program, where aspiring racers and even tenured professionals hone their road-racing skills on some of the most revered tracks in North America. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Daniel Suárez, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Harrison Burton have all wheeled Silver Hare Racing-prepared cars to burnish their road-racing abilities in top-flight equipment.

The team offers six, professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing for both competition and private testing. Silver Hare Racing has a dedicated, fulltime crew and operates out of a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. At the track, two 53-foot Featherlite transporters serve as the team’s base, each outfitted with a lounge and smart TVs for data and video review, as well as for hospitality.

“With NASCAR having so many more road-course races, it’s our goal for Silver Hare Racing to be the preferred team for drivers to get that road-course experience,” said Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing co-owner and team manager. “We want to be that important step in the ladder for the young, up-and-coming drivers like Connor and Ben. We want people to know we have an arrive-and-drive program, where for people who want to run this track or another, we provide the opportunity to do that and be successful.”

Connor Zilisch, driver, No. 5 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“Obviously, we ended the year well at COTA, so really we’re just trying to build on that momentum and move into this year with the same mindset we had at that race – keep it calm, smooth, finish the race and we’ll get ourselves a good finish. It’s more so about finishing than ever. As long as we finish and have a good car and I do everything I need to do, it will be a good finish if we can just stay up at the front.

“It’s going to be a good year. I’m excited for it. We have a new car. I’m just hoping for a good, clean weekend at Sebring and get out of there with some good points and move on to the next race at NOLA (Motorsports Park outside New Orleans), which is a new race on the schedule.

“I’ve known Ben for a long time, ever since I was a kid karting. I’ve been fortunate to see him grow up as a person and as a driver up through the karting ranks, and even in amateur car racing. I see a lot of myself in him, and I’m super excited to have him join the team as he has a long history of winning. He’s young, so he is going to have a learning curve ahead of him, but I can’t wait to help guide him through it all and hopefully we can end up at the front together as teammates.

“Our goal this season is to run for a championship. So the mindset changes from just going out to and trying to win every single race to trying to get consistent finishes and not have DNFs or bad races because that’s what’ll take you out of a championship. We have new cars, I have a new teammate. A lot of stuff changing but a lot of stuff is the same, too. I’m excited to be back with Maurice and Laura (Hull, co-owners) and working with Gil (Martin) and Jeff (Holley) and all the same core people.

“I learned last year that you don’t need to take those big risks, just let the race come to you, and if I let the race come to me, the results will come. And as long as we have a good car that is capable of running at the front keeping me in the situations where I can stay at the front without having to overwork what the car is capable of, that’s what’ll lead to success for us. We’ve got to get everything dialed in and be good at all these races. As long as we’re able to do all that, I think we are definitely ones to watch for the championship. I feel like we had a lot of speed at COTA at the end of last year. If we’re able to carry that speed into this year, and I’m able to do my part, I think we’ll have a good chance to run at the front all year and contend for the championship.”

Ben Maier, driver, No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“I’m excited about the start of the season in TA2 with Silver Hare Racing. Hopefully I’m fast, and hopefully I avoid any trouble out there and everything goes well. I sat in the Silver Hare car and it feels like home. There are a lot more switches in there than all the other cars I’ve been in (laughs). But I’m pretty confident about it. I’m very familiar with Trans Am, being around it for a few years with my dad.

“On the power end, the Stadium Super Trucks, with 600 horsepower, are the closest thing I’ve driven to the TA2 car, and as far as road-course racing, my Spec Miata. We went to Sebring twice in the last month in the Miata, learning the track, and I’ve been doing iRacing a bunch, so I’m pretty confident about the track. I’m going to take it easy the first couple of laps to try and get used to the car and the track, to feel it out, then start ramping it up from there, go faster with more throttle.

“There are almost 50 TA2 cars in the race at Sebring, but traffic like that is something that happens a lot in karts. And in our last two Miata races, we had 60 and 90 cars all racing together at Sebring. It’s a cool track. I like turn one because it’s high speed and you’re so close to the wall. There’s more runoff than most of the rest of the track. The last turn, 17, that’s a cool turn. I also like the hairpin.

“Connor and I have known each other since go-karts, and Miatas, too. We weren’t in the same karting class, but on the same team. I’ll definitely get some pointers from him with the TA2 car. The cars have a lot of body roll. That’s something the supertruck has a ton of, so that’ll probably help. Nitro Rallycross is mostly about just racecraft, so that’ll be good if I go off track or get out of shape on the track. Overall, this is going to be amazing.”

About Silver Hare Racing:

Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the TA2 division of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. 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, please visit SilverHareRacing.com.

They’re Back!
Fresh Off Daytona Speedweek Outings, Connor Mosack and Jack Wood Return to M1 Racecars Equipment for TA2 Season Opener at Sebring

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2023) – It was a busy Daytona Speedweek for Connor Mosack and Jack Wood. But the young driving prodigies aren’t thinking twice about getting right back in the saddle just days later with a chance to continue honing their road-course race craft. They’ll strap themselves into a pair of M1 Racecars for this weekend’s Sebring SpeedTour at the iconic Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway circuit.

It’s the 2023 season opener for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series, where Mosack raced in M1 equipment fulltime in 2021 and 2022, netting a pair of wins, eight podium finishes and 14 top-10s in 24 starts, with finishes of third and fourth in the championship, respectively.

That level of consistency helped earn the 24-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, a slate of 23 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with Joe Gibbs Racing and Sam Hunt Racing in 2023, along with another six ARCA Menards Series outings with the Gibbs team.

Meanwhile Wood, the 22-year-old from Loomis, California, who began his second fulltime season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona, returns to M1 equipment for the seventh time in the last three seasons this weekend at Sebring.

Mosack will be behind the wheel of his familiar No. 28 Open Eyes/SLR-M1 Racecars entry while Wood will be strapped into the No. 8 SLR-M1 Racecars entry for Saturday’s 27-lap, 75-minute race around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring layout. Race time is 12:45 p.m. EST. As with all races this season, it will be streamed live on the Trans Am and SpeedTour channels on YouTube. And Trans Am has a new TV partner this year, MAVTV, which will broadcast TA2 events in a one-hour package set for 8 p.m. ET on the Thursday following each race.

Scott Lagasse Jr., who co-owns TeamSLR, an exclusive supplier of M1 Racecars chassis worldwide, welcomes Mosack and Wood back to the fold for their first cameo appearances of 2023 after feeling particularly proud of their performance in last Saturday’s ARCA season opener at Daytona. Mosack finished second in his Gibbs Toyota while Wood rallied for an eighth-place finish after having to start in the back of the pack. There were stretches during the race that the two were seen working together as drafting partners.

“I was pretty happy to see those two work together,” Lagasse said. “That’s the kind of thing you hope to end up with out of a deal like this, the culture of your drivers coming through your system being about helping each other and making each other better. Really, all the guys who have come through our system have a pretty decent relationship and work together. It’s fun to watch. When you still hear from a Sam Mayer and still hear from a Sammie Smith, and you ask a favor of one of them to help the next young guy coming through and have a conversation with them, and then you see Connor and Jack working together and you know how that relationship grew, for me, it’s pretty neat. And when Connor and Jack want to come back and stay fresh and keep evolving, that’s a huge honor. It’s fun to be a part of and I’m enjoying it.”

With some 40 race weekends on his calendar between his Xfinity Series, ARCA and Late Model commitments, Mosack believes it’s a no-brainer to fill in the available gaps with opportunities to improve.

“Scott Sr., and Jr., both have really invested in me and have really helped me develop as a driver,” said Mosack, whose recent Speedweek also included six nights of racing Late Models at nearby Volusia Speedway. “I certainly wouldn’t be the driver I am today without either one of them, not just from race craft, but off-the-track stuff, as well, and I think that’s really paid off. I’m happy to race with them. They’re a fun group to run with, and obviously it’s paid off in some of the road-course races I’ve done in Xfinity, so far. Hopefully we can continue to build off that for this year.”

Without a TA2 championship on the line, Mosack’s goal for this weekend has become quite simple.

“Our goal going into it is definitely to win – that’s the only reason we’re showing up this time,” he said. “Sebring hasn’t been a great place for us, luck-wise. We blew a tire the first year while running third, and blew an engine last year running third, as well. We’ve had good speed, so hopefully we’ll have good luck and finish the race. And if we do, I know we’ll have a really good shot at it.”

For Wood, who moved to the powerhouse Kyle Busch Motorsports team in the Truck Series this season, this weekend marks his first return trip to a track he’s raced on previously in TA2 in M1 equipment, which he expects will be a huge benefit. He’s also looking forward to his latest opportunity to work with the Lagasse organization.

“The cool thing for me is they’re heavily involved in road racing, but both of them also have heavy NASCAR backgrounds, so they might understand my feedback better than they would a pure road-course guy,” he said. “Racing in TA2 is fun for me because with all the Truck Series stuff being so high-intensity, to go down to a place like Sebring with two guys who just love racing, it makes it fun for me. Everybody has the same goal – you still want to go down there and win and be fast, but it’s just a little bit more laid-back of an environment and definitely not as much pressure, so it’s good for me to have that seat time and that experience. It makes me fall back in love with racing, for sure. And it’s a good confidence-booster to get in a car like that and to be able to find the speed I need to be close to Connor, or as fast as Connor, and I think the Lagasses do a good job of building my confidence behind the wheel, which then goes on and applies to the Truck Series side.”

About M1 Racecars:

M1 is an Official Chassis Supplier to the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. M1 Racecars are professionally engineered for the Big Machine Spiked Vodka Coolers TA2 Series, SCCA Competition, and Track Day events. We offer chassis only, rolling chassis and complete race-ready builds in Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger body styles. We utilize only the highest quality materials and our race winning technology to produce the most stable and predictable racecar on the track today. The proprietary chassis design by M1 has been CAD-perfected by our engineering staff to ensure that each completed chassis is identical and performs as expected. Our chassis materials are CNC Mandrel bent and cut to our exacting standards, which results in the most precise and cost-effective build. M1 has selected Scott Lagasse Racing to be the exclusive distributor for M1 Racecars worldwide. The race team also provides M1 with vital technical assistance and on-track feedback to support our performance development efforts. This combination is a powerful asset to M1 and to every M1 customer.