After a 10 year break from behind the racing wheel, Reilly O'Connell began to miss the thrill. Now a Semi-Pro Legend Car driver, O'Connell has been taught by his brother, Devin, and is inspired to excel for his dad, he strives to earn every checkered flag and with an ultimate hope to win a national championship.

Hometown: Madison, Connecticut

Number: 34

Division: Semi-Pro

Team: 860 Motorsports

1. How did you get your start in racing?

My brother Devin started driving karts when I was four years old and it made me really want to do it. So, I did oval karts for a little bit and then went to Bandoleros. When I was 10 years old, I quit Bandoleros completely and didn't race for 10 years. When I was 20, I was like, “man I miss it” so I got a Legend Car. Now I've been running it for three years.

2. How did you pick the number 34?

My brother picked 43 so I just reversed it. When I first got my car, I had number seven. And my logic was three plus four equals seven and seven is the Irish lucky number.

3. Who is your biggest inspiration?

My dad. He inspires me to do well. He is the one who does the majority of the work on the cars. When we do well, he gets super excited and super happy because he put a good car together.

4. How do you get focused before a race?

I don’t really do anything that special. I just get in the car without thought and try not to stress out about anything. In the beginning I used to feel super nervous about it but my brother who is a coach used to tell me, “Just don’t think about it too much.”

5. What is your favorite track?

I love Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. I'm pretty good at it. It flows nicely and has a relatively fast track.  It has good overtake opportunities, the battles are good and people race at the track pretty clean. I also like GP3R (Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières) in Canada. It's pretty fun and it's cool to be a part of this big greater event with NASCAR Canada. It makes me love the track for the experience.

6. If you could race any road course in the world, in any race car what would it be?

Daytona International Speedway in a LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2). I would also like to try a hyper car but racing in the LMP2 in iRacing is so fun.

7. Where did the inspiration to pick up photography as a hobby come from?

My dad was a bit into photography growing up. I don’t remember exactly when I started to pick it up but I do remember when I started to take it a little more seriously. I've always wanted random stuff like cameras because my dad had them. When I was 13 years old, we went whale watching and I took photos with my phone and I edited them and they turned out decent.  I got interested in doing stuff with my phone. Around 15 years old my mom had a camera and I started messing around with it. I had fun doing it. Now racing is one of the more fun things I do. Walking around the tracks and getting into places you aren’t supposed to get better shots.

8. How did finishing second in the points in 2024 fuel you to win in 2025?

It stung a little bit but it showed me that I have the ability to be a championship winner. I just gotta put my head down and focus on the fundamentals of what I need to do to get better and hopefully use that to get the title this year.

9. Where and what do you hope to be racing in 10 years?

A sports car series in any kind of grand touring car prototype would be awesome.

10. What advice would you want to give someone wanting to be a Legend Car driver?

Don’t be scared. I was a little scared in the beginning. It kept me from getting the pacing I needed. I see a lot of new and old guys hop in and don’t push the car to its full extent. You gotta start throwing it around and being okay with that fact that you might slide if you do that. Get comfortable with it.

11. What advantages does having an older brother who races Legends Cars help with your development as a race car driver?

It gives you someone to strive to beat. Unfortunately, he's really good so beating him doesn’t happen much but it can be helpful too because he's a professional coach. It's fun having him there because it's another person to help with the car and push you down the straight-away.