Connor Zilisch loses shot at WEC Hypercar test drive due to...

After a tearful loss in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race, plans to place Connor Zilisch in the upcoming World Endurance Championship (WEC) rookie test at Bahrain International Circuit have been tabled.

By finishing second in the championship in the one-race finale, Zilisch does not possess the ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States) license points needed to take part in the rookie test. He needed to win the title to reach that mark, but lost the lead to Jesse Love with 24 laps to go at Phoenix Raceway. The rookie driver had won ten races overall, including a historic summer stretch where he won seven out of eight events.

Following a report by Dailysportscar.com, Motorsport.com was able to independently confirm with a representative from Cadillac that Zilisch was aware of this going into the Phoenix title-decider.

Zilisch was not on the provisional WEC entry list submitted by Cadillac, but IMSA stars Jack Aitken and Ricky Taylor will pilot the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar in the upcoming test.

Zilisch is no stranger to sports car racing, earning an LMP2 class victory in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona when he was just 17 years old. Soon after, he also won the Sebring 12 Hours, both with Era Motorsport. Additionally, he secured a podium finish in Petit Le Mans that same year. This year, he competed in the Daytona 24 with Trackhouse Racing, driving a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R entry in the GTD Pro class.

It's expected that Zilisch will still make an appearance at the IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway, as he is eligible to drive a GTP car due to the variation in requirements between the IMSA and FIA license systems.

The full entry list for upcoming WEC rookie test, scheduled for November 9th, can be found HERE.