Connor Zilisch is finally a winner on an oval in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Sorta. Kinda.
Zilisch won at Pocono Raceway on June 21 with interim crew chief Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the pit box to secure his second win of the season.
“I’ve been working for this one for a while now,” Zilisch said in the post-race press conference.
Oh yeah. We know.
It was two months ago when Zilisch was half a lap from winning at Talladega Superspeedway until a bad bump sent him head on into the inside wall and onto the sidelines for the race at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson hopped in the car and won as Zilisch watched on at the 1.5-mile track.
When he came back, Zilisch started on the front row for an overtime restart at Charlotte Motor Speedway but failed to catch a charging William Byron. The next week at Nashville Superspeedway, Zilisch was close but no cigar once again, finishing runner-up to Justin Allgaier.
“Finally, all the cards fell our way today,” Zilisch said. “We took the lead with a few laps to go, and we set sail.”
While Earnhardt filling in for a suspended Mardy Lindley was the dominant storyline of the weekend, the big picture story was that the win at Pocono was — for a lot of people — the turning point that finally solidified Zilisch as a contender for the title.
It’s not because we just learned Zilisch can win on ovals. That was just a matter of when. It’s the way this No. 88 team from JR Motorsports has succeeded in the face of difficult circumstances.
Yes, Zilisch was a highly touted prospect coming into the season. Yes, Lindley had plenty of success with Sam Mayer the last two seasons. But it was far from automatic when the season began considering the other top contender duos had plenty of experience together.
“I knew it was going to take time to get up to speed,” Zilisch said. “A lot of these guys have been with their crew chiefs for years now. They have setups they know and can go to the racetrack and be confident with. It’s tough showing up with a new pairing and expecting to win races out of the gate.”
It showed on the ovals. The win with Larson at Texas and Zilisch’s runner-up finishes at Charlotte and Nashville were the team’s first back-to-back top 10s on ovals.
Then came the penalties at Nashville that put Lindley on the sideline for a week, and in came the rookie crew chief Earnhardt. That rookie crew chief — who just happened to be a two-time Xfinity champion and a multi-time champion car owner — wound up winning without having to do all that normally comes with the role. According to Earnhardt, his day mainly included coaching his driver, having an influence over strategy and — most importantly to Earnhardt — helping exchange tires with the carriers during pit stops.
All the while, Zilisch and Earnhardt followed Lindley’s playbook to a tee. For the second time this season, the No. 88 team was without one of its two most important people, the crew chief. And for the second time, they went out and won.
The team owner-turned-super sub came out of the weekend with a greater appreciation for his crew chief and driver.
“It says a lot about Mardy and the operation he runs,” Earnhardt said in the post-race press conference. “He put a great car on the track for practice today. Top-three speed, really happy with that car. It makes the job super easy.
“Connor is a young man going on 35. He’s got tons of maturity. There aren’t a lot of things I can tell him he’s not already thinking. A lot of times, when I was thinking about some things, he was talking about them too. He’s very present and self-aware.”
How could he not be impressed? Despite Zilisch missing a race, he’s still fifth in the overall standings. The No. 88 is second in owner’s points behind only the No. 7, a driver-crew chief combo of Allgaier and Jim Pohlman in its third season together.
While the playoffs are always unpredictable, it’s fair to say Zilisch, Allgaier and Austin Hill were the three biggest favorites entering the season. Allgaier has taken his performance to a new level and Hill has shown race-winning speed more weeks than he hasn’t.
Zilisch being in that conversation before ever running most tracks on the schedule, including Pocono, probably drew plenty of doubters. He’s going to be great, but championship great? Never a doubt for the driver.
“I’ve never thought of myself as not a title contender,” Zilisch said Saturday.
It’s only June, but nobody is doubting Zilisch’s championship hopes anymore.
James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in La Crosse, Wisconsin as a local sports reporter, including local short track racing. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with football, music, anime and video games.