Story By: LAZ DENES / SILVER HARE RACING – HIGH POINT, NC – Connor Mosack, the versatile 24-year-old driver from Charlotte, North Carolina, headlines the Silver Hare Racing lineup for the 2024 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series’ 12-race campaign.
He’ll be joined for the full season by 20-year-old Boris Said Jr., of Escondido, California, and at selected events with the return of Connor Zilisch and Silver Hare Racing co-owner Maurice Hull, the three-time TA2 Masters class champion.
Mosack has a pair of victories among his nine podium finishes and 15 top-fives in 31 career TA2 outings from 2020 to 2023, six of which he started from the pole position. He’ll look to add to those numbers driving for Silver Hare, 2023’s winningest TA2 team. With Zilisch behind the wheel, Silver Hare scored a series-high five victories last season, four of those coming in the final eight races.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to Trans Am,” said Mosack, who competed in just three TA2 events in 2023 as part of a busy schedule that included 24 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and six in the ARCA Menards Series. “Silver Hare won the most races last season and was especially dominant the second half of the season, so I feel like we can keep that momentum going into 2024 and get ourselves a championship, which is definitely the goal. I’m just thankful to (team owners) Laura and Maurice Hull for giving me this opportunity, and I’m excited to get going.”
All 31 of Mosack’s previous TA2 appearances came with TeamSLR, including full-season runs in 2021 and 2022 that resulted in finishes of third and fourth, respectively, in the championship and featured a victory each year at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Mosack qualified on the pole a series-high five times in 2022. He kicked off his three-race run in 2023 by qualifying on the pole and leading the opening 19 laps before finishing third at the Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway season opener.
“The series has done a lot for me with my development and has brought me to be the driver I am today – I don’t think I can say that without Trans Am,” said Mosack, who scored a best 2023 Xfinity Series finish of fifth at Watkins Glen in August, and won his sixth and final ARCA race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in September. “Obviously, the competition at the front of the TA2 field is really strong, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do with that this year. Every time I get back into a TA2 car, I always remember why I love driving them so much and how much fun they are to race.”
Said, the son of veteran NASCAR and sportscar racer Boris Said, embarks on his first full TA2 season after competing in 13 events the past two years. Ten of those 13 starts were with Peterson Racing, and Said’s best finish of seventh came in last year’s season finale at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
“I’m really excited to finally do a full season in TA2 and to get to do it with Silver Hare,” he said. “It’s been an awesome learning experience for me in TA2 so far. My goals this year are probably a little more general than a lot of people. I just want to make sure I get faster each race. Obviously the overall goal is to run up front and be in position to win. But that goal will come naturally as long as I keep getting faster and faster. It’s an awesome job what Laura and Maurice have done in building Silver Hare Racing. It’s what every race team should strive to be and I’m really excited to be on a team that operates at that level.”
Said began competing in dirt bikes and go-karts, then advanced through two seasons of Spec Miata super tours and major events before making his TA2 debut in October 2022 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, the home track for High Point, North Carolina-based Silver Hare Racing.
While the 17-year-old Zilisch has graduated to a mixed bag featuring NASCAR, ARCA and Late Model races this season, he plans on being back in Silver Hare Racing equipment as often as his schedule allows, beginning with next month’s season opener at Sebring.
“It’s unfortunate I can’t do a full season like I have the last two years, but I’m still grateful to be able to get back in the seat, and I think a lot of the opportunity that I’ve gotten this season has come from the success I’ve had in TA2 the past two years, and especially last year, with the wins that we had,” Zilisch said. “I’m just really grateful for Laura and Maurice Hull – they took a chance on me two seasons ago. We stuck to it and never gave up and that showed this past season with all the wins we had, and I’m just super excited to see where the team goes from here. Hopefully our success will continue with all the great crew guys and the drivers that we have coming in.”
Meanwhile, Maurice Hull looks to return to the cockpit for the first time since the 2022 season. His first race back will be announced at a later date.
“We are honored to welcome a driver of Connor Mosack’s ability, character and professionalism, and a young, up-and-coming driver with the racing pedigree of Boris Jr., to the Silver Hare Racing family for the 2024 season,” said Laura Hull, who serves as team manager in addition to her co-ownership role with her husband Maurice. “Connor is a proven winner and championship contender in this series who used what he learned here to help establish his presence in the Xfinity and ARCA series. We look forward to working with him and Boris, and we’re excited about the return of Connor Zilisch and Maurice for selected races. Our entire focus is on not just continuing but improving upon the success our team worked so very hard to achieve in 2023. We’re all about winning races and chasing our first TA2 championship.”
The 12-race TA2 Series campaign for 2024 kicks off Feb. 22-24 at the iconic 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. The traditional 27-lap, 75-minute season opener is set for 11:15 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Silver Hare Racing leverages its Trans Am effort to promote its arrive-and-drive program, where aspiring racers and even tenured professionals hone their road-racing skills on some of the most revered tracks in North America. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Daniel Suárez, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Harrison Burton have all wheeled Silver Hare Racing-prepared cars to burnish their road-racing abilities in top-flight equipment.
The team offers six, professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing for both competition and private testing. Silver Hare Racing has a dedicated, fulltime crew and operates out of a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. At the track, two 53-foot Featherlite transporters serve as the team’s base, each outfitted with a lounge and smart TVs for data and video review, as well as for hospitality.
To further Silver Hare Racing’s driver development capabilities, the team’s race shop in High Point is now equipped with a SHOCKWAVE Simulator, a tool specifically developed for drivers to accelerate racetrack familiarity, improve car control and confidence, and build stamina. SHOCKWAVE has been involved in racing since 1965 and is currently actively participating in NASCAR, ARCA, Trans Am, Late Models, and Sprint cars. Its Trans Am package replicates a Howe Racing TA2 chassis, complete with cockpit controls and sounds.
“With NASCAR having so many more road-course races, it’s our goal for Silver Hare Racing to be the preferred team for drivers to get that road-course experience,” Laura Hull said. “We want to be that important step in the ladder for the young, up-and-coming drivers like Connor. We want people to know we have an arrive-and-drive program, where for people who want to run this track or another, we provide the opportunity to do that and be successful.”