NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr has a keen eye for talent and Connor Zilisch has stood up to his expectations time and again. Zilisch roared onto the American motorsports scene when he emerged victorious at the 24 Hours of Dayton earlier this year, but a little-known fact about the teenager is that he proved his talents on European grounds as well.

He became the first American driver to win the Karting Academy Trophy. He had taken part in a karting race in Italy defeating 163 competitors and it would have set him up perfectly for Formula One. However, the financial aspect of it forced him to choose NASCAR instead.

F1’s age-old problem broke Connor Zilisch’s dream

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Zilisch spoke about his experience in that race in Italy and his regrets over not giving Formula One a chance. The truth is that the 17-year-old was so discouraged by the financial side of things that he did not even try out the idea of racing in the ‘pinnacle of motorsports’. But that does not mean he is unhappy in NASCAR. At the end of the day, F1 is what it is- the biggest motorsports competition in the world by far, and anyone would feel a bit of regret leaving it behind.

“I wouldn’t really say it’s disappointment; it’s maybe a little bit of regret for not chasing it harder. I just lost hope. I was like, “There’s no way I’m gonna make F1.” You need billions of dollars and it just almost isn’t even possible. But if I was over there right now, with the hype around F1 in America, I probably would have a different mindset about it,” Zilisch said.

Five years ago, F1 in America wasn’t really a thing. When “Drive to Survive” and all that came about, that really changed the view on F1. So I might have changed my mindset a little bit today. But honestly, I’m happy with where I’m at and with the dream I’m chasing. I get to live in America and be with my family. It feels like home. It’s still really cool to be chasing a professional racing career,” he added.

Some fans would argue what good winning one race would do for a driver if the dream is as big as chasing a seat in Formula One. Well, in that race, he beat several drivers. One of them is Italian racing prodigy Kimi Antonelli, who had finished P20.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr’s prodigy beat a Formula One wunderkind

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For those who do not know, Antonelli is being touted as the next big thing in the world of motorsports. He is a part of the Mercedes Junior Team and currently races in Formula 2 for Prema Racing. With Lewis Hamilton leaving the Silver Arrows for the Prancing Horse of Ferrari in 2025, reports have surfaced that Antonelli might be the man to replace the 7-time World Champion. And Connor Zilisch had beaten him by a pretty long way.

“It’s funny, because Kimi Antonelli, he’s a big name over there right now. And he finished probably 20th in that race. I went back and looked at the results of that race a few months ago and just looked through the names, and it’s crazy how many of those kids I beat are on the way to F1,” the part-time JR Motorsports driver said.

It has been a very long time since an American motorsports athlete has won races in Formula One and Connor Zilisch could have been the one to break that jinx. But at the end of the day, this is motorsport. If you don’t have the financial backing, you’re simply not gonna make it no matter how good you are. When it comes to F1, that cost is exponentially higher than other forms of motorsports.

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