Silver Hare Weathers Tough Day at Mid-Ohio

June 26, 2023

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 Racing
 
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 well, 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 in 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.
 
About Silver Hare Racing:         
Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series. The multicar team has won the TA2 Masters class championship three times (2018, 2019 and 2020) with driver and team co-owner Maurice Hull. Under the leadership of Hull’s wife, co-owner and team manager Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing provides a variety of services that includes private testing and arrive-and-drive programs. The team offers six professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing and operates from a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. For more information, visit SilverHareRacing.com.