Over the years, Dale Earnhardt Jr has shown that he has an eye for talent when it comes to racing.
NASCAR fans have seen teen driver Connor Zilisch behind the wheel in the Craftsman Truck Series and in ARCA races. Now 18, the young driver can run on any size track on the NASCAR circuit. His accomplishments include being a part of the winning team at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Beginning next season, Connor Zilisch will driving the number 88 car in the Xfinity Series full time for JR Motorsports.
JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr spoke on Zilisch saying, “Connor is such an impressive driver at this young age. We’re excited for him to get behind the wheel full-time next season. He is on a path to sure success with support from Chevrolet, Silver Hare Racing, Trackhouse, and now JR Motorsports.”
Zilisch spoke on his driving career saying, “I’m taking it as it comes. I feel like at every level that I’ve gone to, I’ve never really felt to this point that I’ve been rushed up to something too fast. I feel like everything I’ve gotten into, I feel like ARCA was a good step for me, and I think those ARCA races are really important for my growth because I do think that I’m learning a lot, racing in ARCA. But honestly, I don’t think it’s too big of a jump for me. I do think I’m going to have to learn a lot, and there’s going to be some growing pains, for sure, at the beginning of my tenure in the Xfinity Series, but I do think that racing in the Xfinity Series, there’s a lot of veterans — guys like Justin Allgaier and people in the series that have been there for a long time — that I think I’m going to learn a lot from, and I think it’s really valuable to have that.”
He added, “I think our goal was to go to JR Motorsports. It wasn’t guaranteed, and we looked at other options. There’s a lot of good Chevrolet-affiliated teams with Kaulig and RCR (Richard Childress Racing), but at the end of the day, when you look at the Cup Series and the guys who have come through JR Motorsports and gone to the Cup Series, I feel like they’ve had the most success. And I do think there’s a lot of really good resources at JR Motorsports that I’ll be able to go and learn from as as we look on to the years to come. I feel like I’m in a really good spot with a lot of great people around me that’ll help guide me in the right direction as I get into the Xfinity Series next year.”
Zilisch will not have to wait until next season to get behind the wheel of a JRM car; he will make his debut on September 14 at Watkins Glen International. He is also scheduled to drive at Kansas Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway to close out the season.
Zilisch is scheduled to drive in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond this weekend for Spire Motorsports.