NASCAR Cup
Connor Zilisch and crew chief Dale Earnhardt Jr. win Pocono NASCAR Xfinity race
18-year-old Connor Zilisch earned his first oval win Saturday at Pocono Raceway, and he did it with help from ‘rookie’ crew chief and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. atop the box. Zilisch made the pass for the win on Jesse Love with just a few laps to go before hanging on to capture the checkered flag.
“I’ve been dying for this one for a while now,” said Zilisch. “I know it hasn’t felt like that long but man, I’ve been so close on the ovals lately. I finished second at Charlotte, second at Nashville and yeah, Dale Jr.’s not so bad on the box. Pretty cool to have him up there. Thank you so much to the entire JR Motorsports team.
About working with Dale Jr., Zilisch added: “It’s pretty funny, he [Earnhardt] was kicking me in the ass on some of those restarts, giving me some advice. The advice from him is advice well taken from me so it’s really cool to have him and get him 1-1 with a win as a crew chief. That’s pretty awesome as well. But yeah, Marty did everything right to set this car up as well and I wish he could have been on the box today.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images
As for the winning crew chief, Earnhardt said of the experience: “(Regular crew chief Mardy Lindley) did a great job putting us in a position to succeed and we had a lot of things go our way, a lot of good luck and great strategy. Had a little help from [Steve] Letarte up here … he was a big help. But everybody on this team, just amazing all weekend long. And one great race car driver in Connor Zilisch. He’s going to be a big deal in this sport for a long time. A lot of fun for me today.”
Earnhardt continued: “I miss the thrill of competition. I love broadcasting, don’t get me wrong, but nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn’t really deliver like this. It was a lot of fun.”
Christian Eckes ended up with a career-best finish of third, pole-sitter Chase Elliott in fourth, and Ryan Sieg fifth. Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, and Justin Allgaier filled out the remainder of the top ten.
The run to the finish
The NASCAR Xfinity race at Pocono featured a record ten cautions with various incidents throughout the 100-lap event. The final stage of the race started the way things ended up finishing with Zilisch leading Love, but a lot happened in those final 45 laps.
As drivers worked to hit their fuel number, Zilisch stayed out until Elliott was about to run him down, diving to the pits. Earnhardt, who was already working as the crew chief, came down off the pit box to help as a tire catcher.
But before Elliott could respond, there was a caution for a single-car spin. That pushed Zilisch back to the lead and put Elliott on the second row for a restart with 25 laps to go. Elliott managed to get back to the race lead in time for the next restart, which came with 15 laps to go. But yet another incident forced the leaders to do it all over again.
While Elliott was strong on every restart, this one would not go his way. With 13 laps to go, he lined up alongside Allgaier. The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion got sideways as the field entered Turn 1. He hit Elliott’s door and while both drivers managed to avoid an incident, they also lost several spots as the cars slid up the track.
This cleared the way for Love, who now led the race with just six laps to go. Zilisch gave him a friendly push to get clear of Eckes on what would be the final restart before taking the lead for himself soon after.
While this is Zilisch’s first win on an oval, it is his third career win as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver. And according to reporter Seth Eggert, Dale Jr. is just the ninth person in history have won in NASCAR as a driver, owner, and crew chief.
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C. ZilischJR Motorsports
88
Chevrolet
100
2:24’36.899
4
58
2
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing
2
Chevrolet
100
+0.437
2:24’37.336
0.437
5
42
3
C. EckesKaulig Racing
16
Chevrolet
100
+1.132
2:24’38.031
0.695
5
46
4
C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports
17
Chevrolet
100
+1.364
2:24’38.263
0.232
6
5
R. SiegRSS Racing
39
Ford
100
+1.596
2:24’38.495
0.232
6
44
6
C. KvapilJR Motorsports
1
Chevrolet
100
+2.083
2:24’38.982
0.487
6
33
7
S. MayerHaas Factory Team
41
Ford
100
+3.861
2:24’40.760
1.778
6
30
8
S. SmithJR Motorsports
8
Chevrolet
100
+4.266
2:24’41.165
0.405
6
37
9
T. GrayJoe Gibbs Racing
54
Toyota
100
+4.862
2:24’41.761
0.596
6
37
10
J. AllgaierJR Motorsports
7
Chevrolet
100
+5.059
2:24’41.958
0.197
6
31
11
J. BurtonJordan Anderson Racing
27
Chevrolet
100
+7.422
2:24’44.321
2.363
6
27
12
J. ClementsJeremy Clements Racing
51
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100
+8.408
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0.986
6
27
13
A. AlfredoYoung’s Motorsports
42
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100
+8.432
2:24’45.331
0.024
6
24
14
H. BurtonAM Racing
25
Ford
100
+8.762
2:24’45.661
0.330
7
23
15
J. WilliamsKaulig Racing
11
Chevrolet
100
+9.100
2:24’45.999
0.338
6
22
16
B. PooleAlpha Prime Racing
44
Chevrolet
100
+9.243
2:24’46.142
0.143
6
21
17
D. ThompsonSam Hunt Racing
26
Toyota
100
+9.349
2:24’46.248
0.106
6
20
18
B. JonesJoe Gibbs Racing
20
Toyota
100
+9.452
2:24’46.351
0.103
6
29
19
M. DiBenedettoViking Motorsports
99
Chevrolet
100
+9.650
2:24’46.549
0.198
6
18
20
M. MasseyAlpha Prime Racing
45
Chevrolet
100
+9.933
2:24’46.832
0.283
6
17
21
W. SawalichJoe Gibbs Racing
18
Toyota
100
+10.138
2:24’47.037
0.205
10
20
22
P. RetzlaffAlpha Prime Racing
4
Chevrolet
100
+11.362
2:24’48.261
1.224
7
15
23
J. BilickiDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
91
Chevrolet
100
+11.493
2:24’48.392
0.131
7
14
24
L. Honeyman Jr.Cope Family Racing
70
Chevrolet
100
+12.027
2:24’48.926
0.534
6
13
25
K. SiegRSS Racing
28
Ford
100
+13.371
2:24’50.270
1.344
10
12
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G. SmithleySS-Green Light Racing
14
Chevrolet
100
+13.870
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0.499
8
11
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L. BeardenJoey Gase Motorsports
53
Chevrolet
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+14.216
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0.346
7
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N. SanchezBig Machine Racing Team
48
Chevrolet
100
+14.968
2:24’51.867
0.752
8
26
29
B. PerkinsJordan Anderson Racing
31
Chevrolet
100
+16.374
2:24’53.273
1.406
6
8
30
E. PatrickSS-Green Light Racing
07
Chevrolet
100
+22.200
2:24’59.099
5.826
14
31
D. DyeKaulig Racing
10
Chevrolet
100
+23.874
2:25’00.773
1.674
14
6
32
R. EllisDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
71
Chevrolet
100
+30.150
2:25’07.049
6.276
9
5
33
D. CramMike Harmon Racing
74
Chevrolet
99
+1 Lap
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14
4
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C. WareJoey Gase Motorsports
35
Chevrolet
99
+1 Lap
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45.303
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3
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A. HillRichard Childress Racing
21
Chevrolet
96
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2:25’08.036
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11
3
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S. CreedHaas Factory Team
00
Ford
88
+12 Laps
2:12’56.438
8 Laps
11
4
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K. WrightOur Motorsports
5
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69
+31 Laps
1:38’13.748
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Toyota
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1
In this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR XFINITY
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Connor Zilisch
JR Motorsports
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
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18-year-old Connor Zilisch earned his first oval win Saturday at Pocono Raceway, and he did it with help from ‘rookie’ crew chief and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. atop the box. Zilisch made the pass for the win on Jesse Love with just a few laps to go before hanging on to capture the checkered flag.
“I’ve been dying for this one for a while now,” said Zilisch. “I know it hasn’t felt like that long but man, I’ve been so close on the ovals lately. I finished second at Charlotte, second at Nashville and yeah, Dale Jr.’s not so bad on the box. Pretty cool to have him up there. Thank you so much to the entire JR Motorsports team.
About working with Dale Jr., Zilisch added: “It’s pretty funny, he [Earnhardt] was kicking me in the ass on some of those restarts, giving me some advice. The advice from him is advice well taken from me so it’s really cool to have him and get him 1-1 with a win as a crew chief. That’s pretty awesome as well. But yeah, Marty did everything right to set this car up as well and I wish he could have been on the box today.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images
As for the winning crew chief, Earnhardt said of the experience: “(Regular crew chief Mardy Lindley) did a great job putting us in a position to succeed and we had a lot of things go our way, a lot of good luck and great strategy. Had a little help from [Steve] Letarte up here … he was a big help. But everybody on this team, just amazing all weekend long. And one great race car driver in Connor Zilisch. He’s going to be a big deal in this sport for a long time. A lot of fun for me today.”
Earnhardt continued: “I miss the thrill of competition. I love broadcasting, don’t get me wrong, but nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn’t really deliver like this. It was a lot of fun.”
Christian Eckes ended up with a career-best finish of third, pole-sitter Chase Elliott in fourth, and Ryan Sieg fifth. Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, and Justin Allgaier filled out the remainder of the top ten.
The run to the finish
The NASCAR Xfinity race at Pocono featured a record ten cautions with various incidents throughout the 100-lap event. The final stage of the race started the way things ended up finishing with Zilisch leading Love, but a lot happened in those final 45 laps.
As drivers worked to hit their fuel number, Zilisch stayed out until Elliott was about to run him down, diving to the pits. Earnhardt, who was already working as the crew chief, came down off the pit box to help as a tire catcher.
But before Elliott could respond, there was a caution for a single-car spin. That pushed Zilisch back to the lead and put Elliott on the second row for a restart with 25 laps to go. Elliott managed to get back to the race lead in time for the next restart, which came with 15 laps to go. But yet another incident forced the leaders to do it all over again.
While Elliott was strong on every restart, this one would not go his way. With 13 laps to go, he lined up alongside Allgaier. The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion got sideways as the field entered Turn 1. He hit Elliott’s door and while both drivers managed to avoid an incident, they also lost several spots as the cars slid up the track.
This cleared the way for Love, who now led the race with just six laps to go. Zilisch gave him a friendly push to get clear of Eckes on what would be the final restart before taking the lead for himself soon after.
While this is Zilisch’s first win on an oval, it is his third career win as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver. And according to reporter Seth Eggert, Dale Jr. is just the ninth person in history have won in NASCAR as a driver, owner, and crew chief.
| 1 |
C. ZilischJR Motorsports |
88 | Chevrolet | 100 |
2:24’36.899 |
4 | 58 | ||
| 2 |
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing |
2 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+0.437 2:24’37.336 |
0.437 | 5 | 42 | |
| 3 | C. EckesKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+1.132 2:24’38.031 |
0.695 | 5 | 46 | |
| 4 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 17 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+1.364 2:24’38.263 |
0.232 | 6 | ||
| 5 | R. SiegRSS Racing | 39 | Ford | 100 |
+1.596 2:24’38.495 |
0.232 | 6 | 44 | |
| 6 |
C. KvapilJR Motorsports |
1 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+2.083 2:24’38.982 |
0.487 | 6 | 33 | |
| 7 |
S. MayerHaas Factory Team |
41 | Ford | 100 |
+3.861 2:24’40.760 |
1.778 | 6 | 30 | |
| 8 |
S. SmithJR Motorsports |
8 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+4.266 2:24’41.165 |
0.405 | 6 | 37 | |
| 9 |
T. GrayJoe Gibbs Racing |
54 | Toyota | 100 |
+4.862 2:24’41.761 |
0.596 | 6 | 37 | |
| 10 | J. AllgaierJR Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+5.059 2:24’41.958 |
0.197 | 6 | 31 | |
| 11 | J. BurtonJordan Anderson Racing | 27 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+7.422 2:24’44.321 |
2.363 | 6 | 27 | |
| 12 | J. ClementsJeremy Clements Racing | 51 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+8.408 2:24’45.307 |
0.986 | 6 | 27 | |
| 13 |
A. AlfredoYoung’s Motorsports |
42 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+8.432 2:24’45.331 |
0.024 | 6 | 24 | |
| 14 | H. BurtonAM Racing | 25 | Ford | 100 |
+8.762 2:24’45.661 |
0.330 | 7 | 23 | |
| 15 | J. WilliamsKaulig Racing | 11 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+9.100 2:24’45.999 |
0.338 | 6 | 22 | |
| 16 | B. PooleAlpha Prime Racing | 44 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+9.243 2:24’46.142 |
0.143 | 6 | 21 | |
| 17 |
D. ThompsonSam Hunt Racing |
26 | Toyota | 100 |
+9.349 2:24’46.248 |
0.106 | 6 | 20 | |
| 18 | B. JonesJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 100 |
+9.452 2:24’46.351 |
0.103 | 6 | 29 | |
| 19 | M. DiBenedettoViking Motorsports | 99 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+9.650 2:24’46.549 |
0.198 | 6 | 18 | |
| 20 |
M. MasseyAlpha Prime Racing |
45 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+9.933 2:24’46.832 |
0.283 | 6 | 17 | |
| 21 |
W. SawalichJoe Gibbs Racing |
18 | Toyota | 100 |
+10.138 2:24’47.037 |
0.205 | 10 | 20 | |
| 22 |
P. RetzlaffAlpha Prime Racing |
4 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+11.362 2:24’48.261 |
1.224 | 7 | 15 | |
| 23 | J. BilickiDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | 91 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+11.493 2:24’48.392 |
0.131 | 7 | 14 | |
| 24 |
L. Honeyman Jr.Cope Family Racing |
70 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+12.027 2:24’48.926 |
0.534 | 6 | 13 | |
| 25 |
K. SiegRSS Racing |
28 | Ford | 100 |
+13.371 2:24’50.270 |
1.344 | 10 | 12 | |
| 26 | G. SmithleySS-Green Light Racing | 14 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+13.870 2:24’50.769 |
0.499 | 8 | 11 | |
| 27 |
L. BeardenJoey Gase Motorsports |
53 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+14.216 2:24’51.115 |
0.346 | 7 | 10 | |
| 28 |
N. SanchezBig Machine Racing Team |
48 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+14.968 2:24’51.867 |
0.752 | 8 | 26 | |
| 29 |
B. PerkinsJordan Anderson Racing |
31 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+16.374 2:24’53.273 |
1.406 | 6 | 8 | |
| 30 |
E. PatrickSS-Green Light Racing |
07 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+22.200 2:24’59.099 |
5.826 | 14 | ||
| 31 |
D. DyeKaulig Racing |
10 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+23.874 2:25’00.773 |
1.674 | 14 | 6 | |
| 32 | R. EllisDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 100 |
+30.150 2:25’07.049 |
6.276 | 9 | 5 | |
| 33 |
D. CramMike Harmon Racing |
74 | Chevrolet | 99 |
+1 Lap 2:24’29.750 |
1 Lap | 14 | 4 | |
| 34 |
C. WareJoey Gase Motorsports |
35 | Chevrolet | 99 |
+1 Lap 2:25’15.053 |
45.303 | 9 | 3 | |
| 35 | A. HillRichard Childress Racing | 21 | Chevrolet | 96 |
+4 Laps 2:25’08.036 |
3 Laps | 11 | 3 | |
| 36 | S. CreedHaas Factory Team | 00 | Ford | 88 |
+12 Laps 2:12’56.438 |
8 Laps | 11 | 4 | |
| 37 | K. WrightOur Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 69 |
+31 Laps 1:38’13.748 |
19 Laps | 8 | 1 | |
| 38 |
J. BonsignoreJoe Gibbs Racing |
19 | Toyota | 7 |
+93 Laps 10’45.821 |
62 Laps | 2 | 1 |
In this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR XFINITY
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Connor Zilisch
JR Motorsports
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Source: Motorsport.com
