With NASCAR legend and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. making his crew chief debut on top of the No. 88 Chevrolet’s pit box, Connor Zilisch brought home the win as he passed Jesse Love in the waning laps on Sunday (June 21).
It was a long day at Pocono Raceway as a NASCAR Xfinity Series track record for cautions was set at 10. While many drivers had their day end in an accident, Zilisch triumphed as he captured the stage two win and the victory.
Love finished runner-up to Zilisch after losing the lead with five laps remaining. Christian Eckes finished third in an impressive showing for the Kaulig Racing driver.
Polesitter and NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott, followed by Ryan Sieg, rounded out the top five.
The Winners
Zilisch further established himself as one of the top prospects in NASCAR currently by winning on an oval. He’s no doubt talented, but with this oval win he can escape any future claims of him being a one-trick pony for road courses.
Eckes finished third and even threatened for the win in the final laps. He raced inside the top 10 all day in what was a much-needed run in an otherwise disappointing season. It was his second straight top 5 after a fourth-place run in Mexico City last weekend. If the team can keep this momentum going, it will help erase some of the damage five DNFs in 16 races has brought to his rookie Xfinity season.
Meanwhile, series veteran Ryan Sieg finished fifth while also earning 12 stage points with finishes of fourth and sixth in the first two stages, respectively. Every year Sieg has a few races where he excels and can even be considered a contender for the race win, and Pocono was a reminder that he’s definitely capable.
From being wrecked out of a win at Martinsville Speedway to being caught up in multiple unfortunate incidents, Taylor Gray has seen his fair share of struggles during the 2025 season. However, Pocono was a good showing for the rookie as he finished a solid ninth just a week after a runner-up result in Mexico City. He now sits 12th in the standings and holds the final playoff spot.
The Losers
Stage one winner Brandon Jones ran strong early and looked like he’d be a contender later in the day. But everything came crashing down on lap 33 when he spun underneath Carson Kvapil in turn 2. Jones was able to continue on and finish 18th, but the crash effectively ended his day as a competitive driver.
While the crash was unfortunate for Jones, his teammate William Sawalich was also caught up in the incident and will suffer more. Sawalich does not have the luxury of being locked into the Xfinity Series playoffs like teammate Jones. Sawalich has struggled in his rookie season of 2025, sitting 22nd in the playoff standings, and today did him no favors as he finished 21st.
Sheldon Creed was one of the many drivers who did not escape involvement in at least one of the cautions. Creed’s misfortune started on a lap 38 restart, when his No. 00 car bounced off the turn one wall and hit the No. 25 of Harrison Burton.
Creed suffered a tire rub from the contact and headed down pit road. The No. 2 lingered around for the rest of the race until lap 84, when he tagged the wall on a late crash while trying to avoid a spinning Nick Sanchez and ended his day.
This all contributed to a less-than-ideal weekend for Creed, who now sits 10th in Xfinity Series playoff standings following a drop in the points. Creed is yet to win in the Xfinity Series in his career, and while he puts up consistent runs, the narrative of being winless is a burden that he will look to eventually change.
Fuel for Thought
Many fans will rejoice at seeing Dale Earnhardt Jr. win in his debut as crew chief, as he filled in for a suspended Mardy Lindley. Despite this, some in the NASCAR community have been debating just how much crew chief work Earnhardt would really be doing.
Many wonder if he’d just be taking calls from the JR Motorsports headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. Others were just happy to see him take on a new challenge in NASCAR.
No matter what Earnhardt’s involvement really was, this race win will be remembered for years because he was atop the pit box and added another notch to his belt of achievements.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Daniel Dye had a rough go of it at the Tricky Triangle, finishing 31st after multiple incidents. Despite the poor day, his No. 10 car looked sleek as it donned the Champion Container colors.
Where to Next?
The Xfinity Series will head to Atlanta, Ga., next Saturday (June 27) to the newly-dubbed EchoPark Speedway. It’s their second visit to Georgia this season; Austin Hill won the first outing.
Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW. Radio coverage will be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network.
Logan Kendall joined the Frontstretch team in 2025 as the Tuesday News Writer and fills in other roles as needed. He resides in the Finger Lakes region of New York and spends his free time writing as a hobby creatively and is a self published author.
Logan can be found on X @LoganKendall48