Connor Zilisch reveals the moment racing turned into a ‘dream’ for him after key discovery

Connor Zilisch revealed that racing went from a childhood hobby to a life-changing dream once he found out it could be a career. However, Trackhouse Racing's newest addition admitted that NASCAR was 'the last place' he expected to end up.

Earlier this year, Zilisch became the youngest driver in history to win three consecutive races in the Xfinity Series. Excluding his Daytona win with Parker Kligerman, the young prodigy has already won seven Xfinity Series races, six of which have come from this year alone.

His racecraft isn't limited to stock cars as well. Zilisch has run go-karts, sports cars, and Trans Am, and he mainly came up through open-wheel racing in road courses. His oval game also boasts an impressive record, as four of his five ARCA wins last year came on ovals, while three of his six wins this year come from Dover, Indianapolis, and Pocono.

With the 19-year-old slated for Cup racing next year, he sat down for an interview with Fox Sports analyst Bob Pockrass on Tuesday, August 26. Reflecting on his journey so far, he said,

"I'm just a kid who grew up racing go-karts, not knowing that there was even a career to be made in racing. And I did it as a hobby growing up. When I found out that I could make a living doing this stuff, it was always my dream."

"I didn't care if it was making $30,000 coaching guys on road courses or racing [sports cars in] IMSA or INDYCAR, whatever it may be. And this is the last place I thought I'd end up, but, man, it’s been a journey and a really fun one, and it's certainly changed my life," he added.

Connor Zilisch enters the playoffs as the top-seeded driver, followed by his JR Motorsports teammate and reigning champion, Justin Allgaier.

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Connor Zilisch changes his approach to victory lane celebrations

Connor Zilisch fell victim to a freak accident during his victory lane celebrations at Watkins Glen. He slipped while standing on his window and was left to rue a broken collarbone. The injury led to Parker Kligerman subbing in for him at Daytona International Speedway, but the biggest setback was missing out on a Cup Series start at The Glen.

Speaking about his injury, Zilisch stated that he had decided to change his approach to victory lance celebrations to avoid such incidents in the future:.

"I’ll keep the window stands to a minimum. Hopefully, I can get the opportunity to stand on the window next year and get to celebrate wins. But I’m not going to be doing that for this short future."

Connor Zilisch previously suffered a back injury at Talladega that forced him to skip a race at Texas Motor Speedway. He had to get a playoff waiver to continue his title bid.

Notably, he initially competed for 13 laps at Daytona before getting replaced by Kligerman during the first caution. The win still counts under Zilisch's name, while it marks the second instance this year where Kligerman's Daytona win hasn't made it into the record books.