Connor Zilisch shares his remarkable journey from go-karting to becoming a NASCAR driver, reflecting on the surreal nature of his rapid rise in the sport. He discusses his non-traditional entry into racing, influenced by his family's passion for cars and his early successes in Europe. Zilisch highlights the importance of his parents in shaping his character and career, while also navigating the challenges of growing independence. The conversation touches on his aspirations, the competitive landscape of motorsports, and the friendships formed along the way.
Kevin Harvick sits down with rising NASCAR talent Connor Zilisch ahead of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season on this episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, diving into how Zilisch is preparing for the biggest opportunity of his young career. Zilisch reflects on his unconventional path to NASCAR, admitting he never expected to be racing stock cars, and discusses how Harvick’s mentorship helped guide key decisions along the way. The conversation explores his goals with Trackhouse Racing, what it means to represent Red Bull at the Cup level, and how he plans to handle expectations entering a new season. From career-defining advice to long-term aspirations, the interview offers insight into one of the sport’s most promising young drivers as he prepares to take the next step in 2026.
0:00 - Intro
0:34 - Connor Zilisch Joins The Show!
1:59 - Early Journey In Racing
12:19 - Racing For Justin Marks
14:28 - Transitioning To A Full-Time Cup Series Driver
16:20 - Expectations For This Season
20:36 - Biggest Critics
22:27 - Using Data
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"...my dad ended up buying himself and all three of us Go Karts, and we all went to the track together on the weekends."
Go Karts are tiny racing cars that people drive on special tracks. They're a fun way to learn about racing and driving fast.
Go Karts are small, lightweight vehicles designed for racing on tracks. They are often used for recreational racing and are a popular way for beginners to get into motorsports.
"...he had a Corvette. He would take to the track on the weekends, and that was something that he just enjoyed doing."
The Corvette is a fast sports car made by Chevrolet. It's popular for racing and has a cool design that many people love.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a high-performance sports car known for its powerful engines and sleek design. It has a long history in American automotive culture and is often associated with racing and performance driving.
"...this was before Trackhouse was even built, so this was Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina..."
Trackhouse is a NASCAR racing team that competes in car races. It's known for being modern and inclusive in the sport.
Trackhouse Racing is a professional NASCAR team founded by Justin Marks and Pitbull. The team competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and is known for its innovative approach and diverse representation in the sport.
"...this was Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina, and it started out as a hobby..."
Carolina Motorsports Park is a racetrack in South Carolina where people can race cars and go-karts. It has different types of tracks for various racing events.
Carolina Motorsports Park is a road course located in South Carolina that hosts various motorsport events, including car racing and driving schools. It is known for its challenging layout and is a popular venue for both amateur and professional racing.
"...I started racing in Europe in Go Karts, and, you know, I never expected to become a NASCAR driver one day. I never even had that idea in the back of my mind..."
NASCAR is a type of car racing that uses specially designed cars called stock cars. It's very popular in the U.S. and involves racing on circular tracks.
NASCAR, or the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is a popular motorsport organization in the United States known for its stock car racing series. It features a unique set of rules and a distinct racing culture, with events held on oval tracks and road courses.
"...to go race in the world championships in Italy, and there was 163 other kids in my class, and I ended up winning the world championship at 11 years old..."
A world championship is a big racing competition where drivers from different countries compete to see who is the best.
A world championship in racing refers to a prestigious competition where drivers from around the globe compete for the title, showcasing their skills and talent on an international stage.
"I think nowadays, honestly, I think it's easier as an American, especially with Cadillac coming into F1 and also just with Drive to Survive. I think that has completely changed the landscape of American drivers and how Americans kind of treat F1."
Formula 1 is a top-level car racing series where teams compete in fast cars on different tracks. It's popular worldwide and features some of the best drivers and advanced technology.
Formula 1 (F1) is the highest class of international auto racing for single-seater formula racing cars. It features a series of races known as Grands Prix, held on various circuits around the world, and is known for its high-speed competition and technological advancements in automotive engineering.
"...I think I'm just going to get the Miata, send him to college and we'll see where it goes from there. But that was dad's plan..."
The Mazda MX-5 Miata is a small sports car that's fun to drive and popular among racing enthusiasts. It's known for being light and easy to handle, making it a great choice for new drivers in racing.
The Mazda MX-5 Miata is a lightweight two-seater sports car known for its agile handling and fun driving experience. It has a long history in motorsports and is often used as an entry-level vehicle for aspiring racers.
"...at 24 hours a day Tona and all the sports car races used to be where all the NASCAR drivers, IndyCar drivers, sports car drivers gathered once a year. And obviously you get to experience that at a high level."
The 24 Hours of Daytona is a long car race that lasts a full day. Teams of drivers take turns racing their cars around a track, and it's a big event in the world of sports car racing.
The 24 Hours of Daytona is a prestigious endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. It features a variety of sports cars and is part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, attracting top drivers from various racing disciplines.
"...e's like, well, I think I'm just going to get the Miata, send him to college and we'll see where it goes ..."
The Mazda MX-5, or Miata, is a small sports car that seats two people and is known for being fun to drive. It's light and nimble, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts who enjoy taking it on winding roads.
The Mazda MX-5, commonly known as the Miata, is a lightweight two-seater sports car that has gained a cult following since its debut in 1989. Renowned for its exceptional handling and driving enjoyment, the Miata represents the essence of affordable sports cars and is often discussed for its fun-to-drive nature and reliability.
- Intro
- Connor Zilisch Joins The Show!
- Early Journey In Racing
- Racing For Justin Marks
- Transitioning To A Full-Time Cup Series Driver
- Expectations For This Season
- Biggest Critics
- Using Data
Select text to request an explanation
Whether your business has six floors or six employees, Walmart Business has everything you need to save time, money, and hassle.
You can restock your break room with bulk ordering or bulk up your ordering team with shared payments.
And you can get it all delivered straight to your business's door, whether that's on Wall Street or Main Street.
Walmart Business. It's the Walmart you love, now for your business.
Learn more at business.wallmart.com
The biggest loser, because all I do is drive a big, heavy stock car around.
Well, we're freezing cold in North Carolina, but to come back to Trackhouse Motorplex used to be GoPro Motorplex,
but to come back here, to me, it doesn't seem like that long ago.
I don't know how you feel about how recent the go-kart days have been,
but man, you have made just this crazy rise through the ranks, and it has to be a little bit surreal for you.
Yeah, it definitely is. And you're not wrong, it doesn't feel like long ago for me either.
I certainly, you know, every day I wake up and I question how it all happened so quickly,
and, you know, just all the people I met starting with you early on when I was helping Keelan and we were teammates,
and, you know, a lot has changed since then, but, you know, certainly a lot of things have definitely happened in my favor
to get me to where I am today, and I do miss the days at the go-kart track where, you know, we'd come out on the weekdays
and travel on the weekends and go everywhere together and, you know, always end up at the track at the same time,
but, yeah, it's pretty surreal to see what all has changed in the last four or five years.
When you look back at that time, when you started, I mean, how did you get started?
A lot of people that are hardcore race fans know who you are.
I think a lot of our cup audiences, there's a lot of new fans, especially for the Clash and the Daytona 500.
So, how did you get into racing? How did all this start for you?
Yeah, it's honestly, I didn't come from a racing background. My family never raced.
My dad was a car guy, but he grew up with a single mother who couldn't afford to have him start out in anything,
but when I was younger, I was playing for a soccer team, and my brother was playing soccer,
and my brother's soccer coach recommended that, you know, we should take our, or my dad should take me and my two brothers
to the Go Kart track on the weekends, and at this time, my dad was taking his street car to the track for fun.
Street car was what?
He had a Corvette. He would take to the track on the weekends, and that was something that he just enjoyed doing.
But then my mom had three under 12 boys at home that she got sick of, so my dad ended up buying himself
and all three of us Go Karts, and we all went to the track together on the weekends,
and it started out as, you know, we'd go to the track for fun on the weekends.
This was before Trackhouse was even built, so this was Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina,
and it started out as a hobby, and then we started traveling to Florida, and, you know, the snowball continued to roll,
and one thing led to the next. I started racing in Europe in Go Karts, and, you know, I never expected to become a NASCAR driver one day.
I never even had that idea in the back of my mind. I always loved sports cars,
and, you know, just wanted to find a way to make a career racing, whether it was, you know, being a coach
and making, you know, livable money or, you know, whatever I could do.
So, yeah, to be sitting here today is definitely nothing I could have ever imagined,
but it surely has been a lot of fun.
When you went through that process, you mentioned going to Europe, you mentioned starting here.
Your parents were obviously pretty involved, and, you know, I think that your relationship with your family,
because you're pretty well-rounded for a kid for your age, and that's the thing that I always tell people,
is how well-rounded you are, how well you speak.
Is that a personality trait you got from mom, dad? Where did that come from? Because your personality is pretty fun.
Yeah, I would say both my parents. My mom, she was an Olympian, and she was a gymnast,
and, you know, she had the very competitive, you know, serious mindset, and I always learned that from her,
and my dad worked at Wells Fargo for over 25 years, and he had the business mindset that I've always kind of admired
and learned from, and as I've gotten older, I've learned to respect it more and more.
I didn't realize really how smart he was until I became 19 years old or 18,
and so I've got two great parents that both, you know, definitely allowed me to learn a lot from them,
and I definitely grew a lot as a human, and, you know, sometimes my dad would try to give me advice on the racetrack,
and that advice was maybe a little less well-taken, but certainly the people they are off the track
has helped mold me into who I am today and get me to where I am.
So how hard has that been for dad and mom to kind of have to separate going with you all the time?
They can go, but, you know, being less involved, how has the family conversation and dynamic of that worked with this transition?
I look at some of your dad's Facebook posts, and I feel his pain, you know, you have to let go of some of that stuff,
but how has that gone at home with that conversation? Because it could be hard to let go when you're that involved with the career of your child.
Yeah, yeah, my dad was everything at one point. He was my manager, my motor home driver, my mechanic at even one point early on,
and he thought he was my coach, but that was a long time ago.
Was he a good mechanic?
He did his job, and he quickly realized that he wasn't suited for the job and couldn't do it the right way,
so he learned to hire somebody quickly, but yeah, I think growing up it was, you know, my dad was around me the entire time,
and he was the one that made it all happen, and as I've grown up and started to kind of take on this professional role,
you know, I've needed him less and less and more so have just leaned on him for advice,
and there has definitely been arguments along the way of, you know, where the inclusion should stand and how it should work,
but at the end of the day, both my parents are just very proud of how far I've come and really just what my life has turned into over the last few years,
and it's hard for them at times to let me go into the world and be an adult, but at the same time they know I'm ready for it.
When you look back at all the traveling, all the go-kart racing, everything that you did, when did you think that,
man, I could make a career out of this or what your path was going to be, when did those thoughts that you can remember start to cross your mind?
I think the very first time I thought, man, maybe I am better at this than I thought I was, I was 11 years old and I was in Italy,
it was my first time ever traveling to Europe to race, and I had won a championship here in America that gave me a ticket,
quote unquote, to go race in the world championships in Italy, and there was 163 other kids in my class,
and I ended up winning the world championship at 11 years old, and after that, that's kind of the reason I continued to go back.
The team wanted to have me back and, you know, we were able to make it happen, and after I won that race,
I started to realize that, you know, this was a dream of mine and I wanted to do it for the rest of my life and that it wasn't just a hobby anymore.
So, yeah, I started taking things seriously then and, you know, I raced in Europe for summers and gave up school,
I switched to online school and started to really kind of go all in on it, and I think when I really realized that I could make it to where I am today,
it was honestly when I met you and you were able to point me in the right direction,
and, you know, obviously I met the people at Chevy at a young age, and when Kyle was racing the go-kart here, I met Josh Wise,
and, you know, he was able to get me with Dr. Warren at GM, and, you know, those people definitely made a lot of the early career endeavors come true
with the late models and everything I raced when I was 15 or 16 years old, and, yeah, that was really where it all started for me,
and what kind of led me down this path.
So, when you look back at the open-wheel side of things, you go to Europe and I've experienced some of that with Keelan,
and there's a lot of vultures over there looking for the next F1 star, and, well, Buxton and I talked about this,
you were probably the best prospect for an American F1 driver to actually be competitive and win and be in the right position.
Did any of that ever happen? Was there ever a time where it was like, hey, we want to sign you to be in Williams or Red Bull or whatever that is?
Was there ever a time when you thought you were headed down that path? Because everything that I experienced in go-karts,
every kid in this paddock wants to be an F1 driver, every kid in Europe wants to be an F1 driver.
Was there ever any talk about going down that path?
Yeah, that was always, I think every kid who comes to these track streams of being the next Max for Staff and racing an F1 and being that global superstar.
And that was, you know, I had the same dreams at one point in time as well, and I think for me, at a young age I quickly realized how difficult I wouldn't say,
I'm not going to say unrealistic.
A lot of politics, I'll say it.
I think nowadays, honestly, I think it's easier as an American, especially with Cadillac coming into F1 and also just with Drive to Survive.
I think that has completely changed the landscape of American drivers and how Americans kind of treat F1.
It's taken a lot more seriously in our country and that's why we're getting more races.
That's why there's, you know, 400,000 fans at F1 races.
And I think if I had that back in my day, it would have maybe been a little bit different.
But, you know, at this point, I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything.
You know, getting to live, I still live with my mom and dad.
You know, I get homeless people.
You live in a basement?
Yeah, I'm not in the basement.
I'm still upstairs.
I haven't graduated to the basement yet.
But I just, I love the kind of the at-home feeling I have here and getting to wake up and go downstairs and say hello to my parents each morning.
And at the end of the day, I'm still a kid, right?
I'm 19 years old and I kind of sometimes lose track of that.
And I have to remind myself often that, you know, at the end of the day, I might be a professional NASCAR driver.
I might have a career in my lap, but I still want to be a kid.
I want to go do things that kids do and have fun.
And, you know, that's what, you know, a balance that I deal with.
Do you keep in contact with any of the kids that you raced with during that time period from karting or over there that are in probably the same ranks as you are now in their perspective division?
Yeah, I have.
I've talked to some of them and obviously I raced against the guys like Kimmy Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad who, you know, are racing in F1 now.
And, you know, I've definitely kept track of them and followed them.
I can't say I've been able to see any of them much or anything like that, but it's really cool to be able to follow, you know, the friends you made.
I lived with some of those kids for months on end and went to dinner with them every night.
And, you know, I come back to America and I start chasing a different dream and you kind of lose sight of, you know, those people that became some of your closest friends at the time.
So I definitely still follow a lot of them from afar and get to kind of cheer them on in their own discipline, but it's cool to see how many of the kids I raced against are kind of making their way up to that level.
Yeah, you've got a great generation of drivers that you can follow along forever.
And you hope that it winds up being at 24 hours a day Tona and all the sports car races used to be where all the NASCAR drivers, IndyCar drivers, sports car drivers gathered once a year.
And obviously you get to experience that at a high level.
So as you look to now, you wind up with one of the brilliant marketing minds in the sport with Justin Marks.
I see you've got Red Bull on your hat.
There's not really probably anybody in the garage that can pull that off.
What's it been like with Justin?
I mean, he's out there as far as his ideas and thinking of not thinking like a normal NASCAR owner.
How has all that gone with the transition?
You had just an unbelievable year last year at Junior Motorsports, but that's really something that Justin and Chevy all put together and you got to experience it at a high level.
But what's it been like with Justin at Trackhouse?
Yeah, it's definitely been a life changing, Justin's been life changing for me.
The opportunities he's given me and just he signed me at the end of 2023.
This was before I had won my first Daytona 24.
This was before I even raced in ARCA full time.
This was early on in my career and we were teammates at a race one time and I ended up winning that race by 45 seconds, I think.
Not just by a little bit.
It was a lot.
Shortly thereafter, that's when he came to me and wanted to sign me as a development driver and I didn't really know what that entailed at the time.
Obviously, it was more than anything I had at that moment, so it was an opportunity for me to get to go race more often and get to go sit in faster race cars when I did go to the track.
And for me, that's what I needed.
That's all I needed was a chance to go prove myself and Justin gave me that and it's so cool three years after that to not even three, two and a half years after that to be sitting in one of his cup cars as a driver in the cup series.
So, yeah, I definitely have to give a lot of props to Justin.
One, for having the, you know, just willingness to sign a at the time 17 year old who hadn't done much and two, for allowing me to learn and grow at my own pace and give me these opportunities to go out and do what I do.
Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the void?
But with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers, a network of 130 million of them.
In fact, you can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority skills and did I say job title?
See how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads.
Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a free $250 credit for the next one.
Get started at LinkedIn.com slash campaign terms and conditions apply.
When you look at where you're at on the cup side, hardest transition in racing going from O'Reilly series to the cup series and how much of that have you started to realize?
You hadn't even been on the racetrack for a full season yet, but you got a little bit of a taste of it for a couple races and now you're getting ready to jump in all the way full season.
What's been your assessment of how things are going to go so far?
The on track stuff is we'll get into that in a second, but just with time and attention and it's at a high level.
So it's not something that everybody deals with well.
Yeah, that's definitely something that has become new to me is just the amount of time and the amount of commitments that I have being a cup series driver and it certainly is different than anything I've ever done.
I only spent one year in the O'Reilly series.
I came up quick and didn't have a bunch of time to get my feet set and now I'm going into my first cup season.
Things are different than they've ever been for me and having to deal with so many different sponsors and having to deal with the commitments of being a cup driver in the meetings and the people that are on my team
and having to know everybody and deal with it on a daily basis is certainly a bigger commitment than I ever could have imagined.
I don't know how you would travel to the track on weekends and go visit Keelan at the Go-Kart track and then...
I had a jet.
Yeah, I'm not there yet.
But yeah, you don't realize how much of a commitment it is, right?
The fans, they see these people, they go to the track, they fly in on a jet on Friday and they leave on Sunday night and they're like, man, these people live the life and we do live the life.
It is awesome.
But there is so much that goes on behind the scenes that not everybody sees that I didn't even know about 12 months ago.
When you talk about your team, Randall Burnett, obviously your crew chief, new relationship has had some success in the past.
What are the expectations that you guys have?
Have you set goals?
I wouldn't.
I'm not a big goal setter, right?
I struggle with the idea of...
And I was the same way last year.
I think, especially this year, I think goals are just a tough subject because for me, I don't really know what to expect.
One, because it's a completely different series, right?
The Cup Series is a whole new ballgame compared to what Saturdays is and every driver that I've talked to that races on Sundays will tell you that and they will tell you straight up.
And that's why you see every time a Cup driver comes down and races in the O'Reilly series, they are always contending for wins and they're always among the best.
And it's just because the talent level is so much higher.
And also, you know, I feel like racing for me, I've always struggled to set expectations.
At a young age, I always had expectations for myself and I'd show up to the track and maybe my motor wasn't good that weekend and I couldn't live up to the expectations.
And at the end of the day, I would blame it on myself and it would only dig me down this deeper hole of just beating myself up for something I didn't have control of.
And that's the same thing no matter what team you race for.
You're going to have weeks where things just aren't going to go your way, your car might not be right, someone else takes you out.
There's so many different variables in racing and I think that expectations are just tough to manage at times.
Especially when you don't know.
Yeah, there's so many unknowns for me.
I don't even know what to expect and I wish I had a better answer but that's just the way it is for me.
And I just want to go have fun honestly.
I'm so young, there's a lot of guys that talk about getting burned out and not enjoying it anymore and I don't want that to be me, especially at my age.
I want to be able to go to the track and say that I'm having fun and truly mean it.
And I think to do that you've got to have fun, you have to enjoy it.
The good days, there's going to be a lot of bad days but through it all, that's kind of my main goal is just to enjoy it and not let the pressure be too much.
What about your teammates?
Obviously, I would put you in the category that's coming quickly of going to be one of the best road racers in due time.
But you're teamed up with one of the best road racers in the world that we've ever seen and then you've got Ross who has been at the bottom, worked his way to the top.
How have those guys been in just what you've been through so far from the team standpoint and who have you utilized with trying to figure out what it's like going forward?
Yeah, I've got two really, really good teammates to lean on.
One was Shane who has been racing for a very long time and obviously is kind of new to all of the NASCAR world and certainly set the world on fire last year on the road courses and won five races.
And then Ross who has worked his tail off to get to where he is today and his work ethic is certainly among the best.
Nobody works harder.
He is a hard worker and I respect the heck out of him for what he does to make everything he does possible.
He's a go-get-em kind of guy and I certainly have learned a lot from just watching him work and show up to the track each weekend and the things he does to prepare.
He's been a guy that I've leaned on not only just coming into this season as a cup driver but in the past as an ARCA driver, as an O'Reilly driver.
He's just a guy that I feel like always has a different set of advice than I may think or get from other people and I think to have the two of those guys, we all get along really well, it's going to be very helpful.
And I'm certainly glad I'm teammates with Shane because if I lose to him, I can't say, well, it was my car.
When you get away from your teammates and your team, you have a great relationship with Jesse.
Who's your biggest critic outside of on what you did during the race?
Who would you say that the biggest critic is for you that you're like, man, that was dumb?
Is there somebody that you have that gives you that advice straight up?
Yeah, I would say there's two people. I think Josh Wise, obviously, I've been with Josh and he's been kind of my mentor for the last four years, I think.
And also Scott Speed, they work together and I can win a race and I'll come in into the gym on Monday and I'll think, man, they're going to give me some props for what I did this past weekend.
I hear more about what I did wrong than what I did right and that's what I need.
I don't like and I've always been this way whenever somebody has asked me what kind of crew chief I want or anybody a part of my team, I don't want cheerleaders.
That's never been me. I've always said that I want someone who's going to tell me straight up what I'm doing wrong.
For me, it's so hard to learn when you have someone on the radio telling you you're doing great when you're running 30th because I'm not doing great.
I'm doing something wrong and I want to know that.
So yeah, I've been able to learn from them a lot and they've been honest with me every step of the way when I do good things and when I do wrong.
And those are the people that I think younger kids don't realize they need as much as they do.
So one thing I always thought you were really good at in the carding was critiquing yourself.
So you pretty much said that when you look at, I mean you had some of the data last year.
You were always buried in the data with the go-kart stuff and really good at it.
How far into that are you? I mean, are you going to be a deep dive guy or are you going to be the guy that has the SMT up and running or whatever they call it now?
Are you diving into that yourself?
Yeah, I've always been big into the data and I think that's one of the things carding teaches you that a lot of other forms of racing growing up can't.
And whether I'm in the simulator and you've got the little tablet next to you, every time I get on the straightaway I look over and see what I did the last corner that was right or wrong.
I certainly am very much into analytics and data and the facts because data doesn't lie and I've known that since I was seven or eight years old.
You've got a self-critique. Yeah, I mean at the end of the day what you did wrong is what you did wrong and you've got to know that as soon as you do it.
So I'm not going to bore myself with SMT. I'm not going to dive so deep into it that I get sick of it.
But when I'm slow I'm going to want to know why I'm slow and that's certainly the best way to look at it is to see what I can do as a driver that will help me go faster.
And if I'm not doing my job to the best of my ability I need to know what I can do differently.
When you look at everything that you've been able to go through with Red Bull, I mean it's not very often that we talk about a sponsor brand and things that happen on that side of the world as a specific subject.
But they're heavily involved in all the crazy sports and stunts and things like that.
When you look at representing that brand, what does that mean to you and is there anything that has been fun to do so far with them?
Yeah, I've done a lot of very, very cool things whether it's going to the F1 races or I went to Austria this past summer and got to put on a show with Max Verstappen and Mark Matteschitz.
The owner was there and there was Dakar rally cars and the F1 car and we brought a NASCAR over there and we got to do donuts in front of a bunch of people and drive down an airway and there's just so many cool things that you get to do as a Red Bull athlete.
Whenever I meet a new athlete I always feel like the biggest loser because all I do is drive a big heavy stock car around and these people are jumping off cliffs and jumping out of planes and doing crazy, crazy life threatening things.
But every single person that you meet who is sponsored by Red Bull and is a Red Bull athlete is at the very, very top of their game in whatever sport or event they do and I think that's the coolest part about it is just getting to hear the stories of the people that you are surrounding yourself with and are in the same kind of club with.
It's very cool to have them back in the sport. Red Bull is a very unique sponsor and the fact of how they market themselves and the things they do and I think the fans enjoy it too.
So what else does a 19 year old do outside of racing, outside of cool sponsors? Do you have a hobby? Do you have anything else that you like to do?
I sometimes try to hit a golf ball with a stick but I'm horrible at that. I love watching sports. In the summers I live on a lake so I go out on the lake and wake surf a lot and in the winters I like to ski.
But yeah, at the end of the day I'm still a kid and I like to hang out with my friends and we go to dinner together all the time and whether it's Jesse or Brent or whoever it is, we have our group and we always end up around each other.
When we go to the track on the weekends we're there to be serious and we're there to do our jobs and when we come home on Monday or Tuesday the last thing we want to talk about is racing. We just want to be kids.
I'm glad I have a group of friends that is so similar minded as me and we can all just get away from it when we need to.
I'd say I'm not very different from your average.
Are you a book reader?
I read books.
Is there something that you like to...I'm interested in that. Do you like aliens?
I'm not an alien seeker. I'll read books. I love TV shows.
What's your favorite TV show?
Stranger Things.
That was a good one.
I read books every now and then my dad will tell you I'm lying if I say that but he doesn't see it.
I love working out. I'm always trying to better myself and try and make myself as good as possible.
How fast do you think you could run around the track at Bowman Gray?
It's a quarter mile.
What's your mile average pace right now? Are you a jogger?
My fastest mile is 538.
What? 538?
I played soccer growing up so I'm a natural runner.
I think I could do a lap at Bowman Gray in a minute and four seconds.
One lap? That's only a quarter mile.
What you're saying is you probably...
No, a minute ten.
A minute ten.
Alright, so you think you could make two laps faster than Boyer can run one?
How long did he take?
I don't know but I want to find out. That's my point. I want to find out if you can run two laps.
I don't know if I can do two in the time he can do one.
He'd probably kill himself trying.
So I guess the last thing that I'll ask is I guess not going to college was a good decision.
Have you told the story?
Well, I guess I can tell the story.
So his dad came to me right here one day. We were standing in the tent and his dad...
I went to his dad and I said, hey, you know, I really think that you should give Connor the opportunity to kind of pursue the racing career.
What are your plans? He's like, well, I think I'm just going to get the Miata, send him to college and we'll see where it goes from there.
But that was dad's plan and at that point I think anybody who knew anything about racing realized that you had a good chance at having a great career at this.
So I'd say it all worked out pretty good.
Yeah. And I'd say I wouldn't be sitting here without you either.
Well, thank you.
Your talent is what gave you the opportunities to get to the next step.
So it's been fun to watch. Obviously I take a little bit of sense of pride because of the fact of just those core group of kids.
The go-kart kids are way more prepared than most of the kids that do it at a high level and you've been around the world and seen all that.
So it's been fun to watch. I can't wait to hear this story and talk to you in about July when we're done with the summer because you're going to get burned out at some point.
You're going to be tired, burned out, frustrated, mad, but that's what makes cup racing great.
So it's a great challenge and you're going to do a great job at it.
Thank you. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be fun most of the time and sometimes it's going to suck.
It's not going to be fun all the time. That's right.
.
Request an explanation for:
2 cars
2 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars
More from Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX
