Connor Zilisch gives Dale Earnhardt Jr. his first NASCAR win as a crew chief
When the Xfinity Series garage opened Friday afternoon at at Pocono Raceway, he was there.
This was not a publicity stunt or a chance to add another line to his Hall of Fame resume. Earnhardt was committed to filling the role vacated by Mardy Lindley, who was serving a one-race suspension after Connor Zilisch's car had multiple lug nuts not secure earlier this month at Nashville.
It was Lindley who suggested that Earnhardt, co-owner of the JR Motorsports car, take the role of crew chief for Saturday's race. Earnhardt accepted, having never served in that role in a NASCAR national series race.
MORE: Pocono Xfinity results
Zilisch took the lead with five laps to go to score his third career Xfinity win (first on an oval) and give Earnhardt the win as crew chief.
'Certainly more of an adrenaline rush than being an owner,' Earnhardt said after becoming one of the few in NASCAR to have a win as a driver, owner and crew chief. 'I love owning race cars, and I love racking up statistics and championships, but it does not have the competitive sort of skin in the game, if you will, this specific day does.
'When you're the crew chief, you're under a ton of pressure. I understand that I did not come in here and handle all of the layers that Mardy usually handles or any given crew chief manages, They were certainly putting me in a position to do some light lifting. As the race went on, we got more comfortable and more aggressive and it was fun.
'Felt like I really had some involvement and input in the energy that the crew had ... keeping them pumped up and keeping everybody executing, keeping Connor aware of what our goals were, what our expectations were on these restarts. He wanted to deliver on all those expectations. I felt like in that aspect it was a good day.'
#NASCAR … Crew chief Dale Jr. welcomes Connor Zilisch to victory lane after the Pocono Xfinity race. pic.twitter.com/DcGbS8arUg
The hardest part of the day for Earnhardt?
Climbing down the pit box to stand behind the pit wall and roll a tire to the carrier during a pit stop.
'I think the one thing I was most nervous about was actually setting that left front tire. ... There's a tenth (of a second) or two or even half a second between how far you can get it out there to (the tire carrier). You need that stripe up so he knows where the lugs are and to place the tire quickly. All these things are very minute, but they're important that he grabs the tire from you in a certain way, and I didn't want to mess that up.'
#NASCAR … Crew chief Dale Jr helping on the tire duties behind the pit wall on Connor Zilisch's first pit stop in the Xfinity race at Pocono pic.twitter.com/V8o3lMr8rJ
Jesse Love finished second and was followed by Christian Eckes, Chase Elliott and Ryan Sieg.
Stage 1 winner: Brandon Jones
Stage 2 winner: Connor Zilisch
Next: The series races at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, June 27 at Atlanta.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
6 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Here's which Cup drivers also will compete in the Xfinity or Truck race at Watkins Glen
Multiple Cup drivers will do double duty this weekend at Watkins Glen International. Four Cup drivers will compete in Friday's Craftsman Truck Series race. Four Cup drivers will race in Saturday's Xfinity Series event. And one Xfinity driver will compete in all three national series races on the road course in New York. MORE: Cup entry list | Xfinity entry list | Truck entry list Chris Buescher will make his Truck Series debut Friday, driving the No. 66 for ThorSport Racing. Buescher won last year's Cup race at Watkins Glen. Christopher Bell will drive the No. 52 truck for Stewart Friesen, who suffered multiple injuries in a crash in a dirt modified race July 28. This is Bell's first Truck start of the season. Kyle Busch will drive the No. 07 for Spire Motorsports. It will be his fifth and final start of the season in the series. He won at Atlanta in February. Ross Chastain will drive the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports. It will be his fifth and final start of the season in the series. His best finish in the Trucks this year is second at Charlotte in May. Dustin Long, Shane van Gisbergen, who has won the last three Cup races on a a road course, also will compete in Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. He will drive the No. 9 car for JR Motorsports. He won the Chicago Street Race Xfinity event and was second at Sonoma this season. Riley Herbst will drive the No. 19 in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. This is his fourth series start of the year. Herbst placed fifth at Sonoma last month in his most recent Xfinity start. Josh Bilicki also is entered in the Cup race (for Garage 66) and the Xfinity race (DGM Racing). Kaulig Racing announced Monday that Michael McDowell will drive the No. 11 Xfinity car at Watkins Glen. This marks McDowell's first Xfinity start since 2016. He won at Road America in his last start in the series. Kaulig Racing recently announced that it had parted ways with Josh Williams, creating the opening with the No. 11 team. The organization will use multiple drivers in that car the rest of the season. Justin Haley will drive the car at Daytona. Connor Zilisch will compete in all three series at Watkins Glen. The Xfinity driver will be in the No. 88 for JR Motorsports and has added the Truck race and Cup race to his schedule this weekend. Zilisch will drive the No. 45 truck for Niece Motorsports, which announced Monday that it has released Kaden Honeycutt from the ride due to Honeycutt signing with a different team and manufacturer for next season. Zilisch will drive a fourth Cup entry for Trackhouse Racing. This will be his fourth Cup start of the season. He finished a season-best 11th in his most recent start, which was at Atlanta in June.
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
England Are Part Of Big Three But Can't Beat India Or Australia
India's six-run victory over England at the Oval to square the five-match series was one of the most thrilling ends to a Test match on record. All the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and fortitude were there in full technicolor. This absorbing hour showed that the Test format can still offer a box set drama that the Hundred and T20 can only dream of. BBC Radio's Jonathan Agnew called it the most thrilling saga since the 2005 Ashes. "We're bitterly disappointed we couldn't get the series win, but myself being a massive advocate of the game of Test cricket, this series has been an unbelievable advert for it across the world," said England skipper Ben Stokes. That's true enough, but it was another opportunity spurned for Bazball to beat one of the other members of the Big Three. It's now seven years since England defeated India in a series, and a decade has come and gone since the 3-2 defeat of Australia in the home 2015 Ashes. Most of those barren years came before a current regime that has taken English cricket to new highs of attacking intent. One of the biggest pluses at the beginning of the Brendon McCullum and Stokes blitzkrieg was the actual statistics. England won 11 of the first 13 Tests by risk-taking as the roulette wheel was coming in red, white and blue. The entertainment factor was near enough ten out of ten too, even if the opponents were 'only' New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa. There was no need to dial down the pace or artillery as long as the results column was full of big, fat Ws. England are the great entertainers under Stokes, whose body took a well-earned break from the denouement of this gripping series against Shubman Gill's side. However, despite the new-found roar of the Three Lions, they still lack a killer instinct to punch the lights out of a team that was on the floor and limping. To truly be the best of the Test class takes more than a great stage performance. The rat-a-tat-tat of victory after victory has tailed off with this team. Pound for pound, England look as good as India and Australia at times as the latter are both going through some transition. The Ashes are three months away and there is something building with the return of Jofra Archer and Stokes bowling as well as ever. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were climbing into the Indian seamers in South London to set up a series win, but at 92-0 and 129-1, the freedom went into overdrive, skidded off the road and let the pursuers off the hook. Likewise, Harry Brook's hack in the second innings let the tourists back in when the white flag was about to be raised. Arguably, India could have won all three of the opening Tests. England's love of the chase got them out of a hole at Headingley. The glorious approach of the pedal to the metal can also be a free get out of jail pass for the opposition. When Bazball was at its peak during the 2023 Ashes opener, England had the chance to punish Pat Cummins' team at Edgbaston, but they chose to declare with centurion Joe Root still undefeated. They were cruising at Lord's with Australia a man down after Nathan Lyon's calf tear and then hobbled themselves with shot selection. The firepower was there; the cavalry charged too hard. If England wants to make a statement beyond the ability to grow the game and leave a legacy that will be remembered, it's time to be more selfish. There's nothing like winning big series. Lifting a trophy is cool, even if, as Scottie Scheffler says, it's a transient moment of joy. 'The one hurdle for this team is to make sure they win,' Michael Vaughan mused on BBC's Today at the Test. Results do matter in the elite world of competitive sport, even if England end up being the best team to watch.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Radioactive: Larson lets his temper flare in a fiery rant
Listen in as Kyle Larson and others vent frustrations over team radio as tempers reach a boiling point at Iowa Speedway.
