Electrical Issue Keeps No. 2 Qualifier Connor Zilisch from Reaching Starting Grid; Ben Maier Caught Up in Early Incident, Soldiers to a 22nd-Place Finish

Overview

Date: June 25, 2023

Event: 3-Dimensional Services Group Classic (Round 7 of 13)

Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli

Division: Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series

Location: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington

Layout: 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course

Format: 45 laps or 70 minutes

Weather: Partly cloudy, low 80s

Winner: Rafa Matos of Peterson Raciung

Silver Hare Racing:

  • Ben Maier – Started 18th, Finished 22nd (Running, completed 41/45 laps)
  • Connor Zilisch – Started 2nd, Finished 32nd (Electrical, completed 0/45 laps)

Noteworthy: Zilisch qualified second for Sunday’s race but did not make it to the starting grid as the team was troubleshooting an electronic issue. He joined the race on lap five but immediately came back to the pits as the problem persisted and the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Camaro was retired.

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

“I was running good, it was looking like I was going to be able to get pretty far up there. I was running fast times in the beginning of the race and making up positions. But stuff doesn’t always go your way and I got caught up in a guy who spun out. I got a flat and lost a little bit of power and a bunch of positions. After the pit stop, I was able to finish the race in 22nd. It could’ve been better. We’ll see what we can do at Road America.”

Connor Zilisch, Driver, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:

“That was really a really unfortunate way to end our race before it even started. But stuff like that happens and you really can’t blame anybody. It’s most unfortunate because we had a really fast racecar and I was really looking forward to the possibilities that presented for today’s race. But these things happen and we’ll just have to get ready for Road America knowing that we have a fast racecar. The guys have been doing such a great job all season long, and Road America is probably my favorite track of all the places we go, so we have that to look forward to.”

Maurice Hull, Co-Owner, Silver Hare Racing:

“We had a superfast car, a superfast driver, and we had an unfortunate electrical problem with the ECU, which was not of our doing, and we couldn’t get it fixed it time to make the grid. But our young driver Ben was wonderful. He did an excellent job. He got hit in the rear by a car spinning ahead of him. He had a little incident there that he took care of and finished the race – and without a door, for that matter, which is pretty disconcerting as a driver because you’ve got so much air coming into the car. He did a great job and we’re proud of him. We’ll be back.”

Next Up

Round eight of the 2023 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series takes Silver Hare Racing to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, July 7-9, for the 3-Dimensional Services Group 100. A pair of TA2 test sessions kick off the weekend on the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit Friday, July 7. TA2 practice takes place Saturday morning, July 8, with qualifying set for that afternoon. The 25-lap, 75-minute TA2 race is set for 12:30 p.m. Sunday with live streaming provided by the Trans Am Series and SpeedTourTV channels on YouTube, with a delayed re-broadcast on MAVTV set for 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 13.

-Silver Hare Racing-