Latest news with #DaleEarnhardtJr
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Connor Zilisch wins Xfinity Series race at Pocono with Dale Jr. as crew chief
With JR Motorsports team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. sitting atop the No. 88 Chevrolet pit box as interim crew chief, Connor Zilisch made a late-race pass on Richard Childress Racing's Jesse Love to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. After leading 34 of 100 laps, Zilisch picked up his third career Xfinity Series victory and first oval win. Zilisch scored his first two victories on road courses at Watkins Glen and Circuit of The Americas. Advertisement Love, Christian Eckes, Chase Elliott and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top five. RELATED: Unofficial race results | At-track photos: Pocono Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray and Justin Allgaier completed the top 10. The Xfinity Series returns to action next Friday night under the lights at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) for the Focused Health 250 at 7:30 p.m. ET (The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This story will be updated.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR Saturday schedule at Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway will feature more than seven hours of on-track action Saturday for the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup series. The Xfinity Series will be on track at 10 a.m. for a 55-minute practice that will be followed immediately by qualifying for a 100-lap race. The green flag will drop at 3:40 p.m. Advertisement The Cup Series will begin a nearly hourlong practice at 12:35 p.m. with each of the two groups getting 25 minutes each of track time. Qualifying will begin at 1:45 p.m. to set the lineup for Sunday's 160-lap race. Cole Custer is the defending Xfinity race winner but is absent from this year's entry list after moving back up to the Cup Series in 2025. NASCAR Xfinity Series The Chilango 150 Dale Earnhardt Jr. to serve as crew chief in Pocono Xfinity race Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be the crew chief for Connor Zilisch as Zilisch's regular crew chief sits out due to a penalty. Pocono Raceway Saturday schedule (All Times Eastern) Garage open Advertisement 8:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. — Xfinity Series 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. — Cup Series Track activity 10 - 10:55 a.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App) 11:05 a.m. - noon — Xfinity qualifying (CW App) 12:35 - 1:35 p.m. — Cup practice (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 1:45 - 2:30 p.m. — Cup qualifying (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 3:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (100 laps, 250 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 25, Stage 2 at Lap 50; CW Network; MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Weather Saturday: A mixture of sunshine and clouds with a high of 81 degrees and winds from the west at 5 to 10 mph. It's expected to be 80 degrees with a 15% chance of rain for the start of the Xfinity Series race.
New York Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR crew chief: How his one-off Xfinity cameo came to be
LONG POND, Pa. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a driver, team owner, television analyst, podcast host, and corporate spokesman throughout his years in NASCAR. This weekend at Pocono Raceway, he's adding another role: crew chief for a team in Saturday's Xfinity Series race. 'I've sat on plenty of pit boxes, but it should be cool to see it from this perspective,' Earnhardt said. Advertisement Earnhardt is stepping into the role as fill-in crew chief for Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 car fielded by JR Motorsports, the team Earnhardt co-owns. The team's regular crew chief, Mardy Lindley, is serving a one-race suspension after Zilisch's car was found to have two lug nuts unsecured following the Nashville race earlier this month. Even though Lindley will likely remain in communication with the team remotely, having someone on-site to lead the No. 88 team is a necessity. From Lindley's perspective, it made sense that the person should be Earnhardt, so Lindley reached out to gauge his interest. After thinking about it, Earnhardt took Lindley up on the offer. 'There's probably over 100 people at JR Motorsports that would have been more qualified, but Mardy asked me to do it,' Earnhardt said. 'So I was like, 'You must want me to do it.' … We got a great team and a great organization that can handle these types of challenges. Should be no problem.' New role for Dale Earnhardt Jr. this weekend: crew chief. Here he is talking to Connor Zilisch and Jamie McMurray. — Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) June 20, 2025 Earnhardt admits he previously has thought about serving as a crew chief, but the right circumstances never arose. With Pocono relatively straightforward in terms of strategy — such as when to pit and how many tires to put on — and with Earnhardt surrounded by a team that's won two races (one with Zilisch, one with Kyle Larson) this season, the time felt right. Pocono marks Earnhardt's first time as crew chief at the NASCAR series level, and it's at a track where he has two wins in NASCAR's premier Cup Series. He's quickly discovered how much he enjoys being more hands-on involved. Flanked by the No. 88 team's engineers, Earnhardt will be atop the pit box on Saturday. From this position, he'll lead the team by deciding what chassis adjustments to make, when Zilisch should pit, and other strategy calls that can make the difference between winning and losing. Advertisement 'It's way more fun than being the owner,' Earnhardt said. 'When you're the owner, you don't do anything, and there's nothing you provide of assistance during the race weekend. There's nothing that you do that makes or breaks a weekend or lifts a team's performance. And it sucks. 'I used to be a driver and have a role, and when you win, you get out (of the car) and go, 'I was part of that.' When you're the owner, you're just kind of standing there going, 'Good job, everybody.' But this is way more fun.' This week, Earnhardt attended the No. 88 team's Wednesday competition meeting where Zilisch, Lindley, spotter Josh Williams and the team's engineers extensively prepared for Pocono. During the meeting, Zilisch observed Earnhardt listening intently and writing in a notebook he brought. His boss also shared some key advice on how to best get around Pocono, one of NASCAR's most uniquely configured and challenging tracks (it's shaped like a triangle) and a place the 18-year-old Zilisch has never previously raced at. 'He talked about how to manage the runs,' Zilisch said. 'This is a track that's got a really long straightaway, so timing your side-drafts is important, and he gave me a few tips on that. I mean, it's not every day you get advice from a guy like him. So for him to be in there solely for you, it feels pretty cool.' After the competition meeting, Earnhardt went through pit practice on Thursday to get reps on what he'll need to do during pit stops. His duty is to stand behind the pit wall, assisting with the front tires that go on and off the No. 88 car — catching the right-front tire that's rolled to him, then rolling a new tire to the left-front changer. It's a job that may sound minor, but any tire that isn't controlled results in a penalty — a fact not lost on Earnhardt. Advertisement 'The toughest part is really just going to be getting involved in the pit stops,' Earnhardt said. 'That's a real job that could go bad; you don't want to be the guy (that makes a mistake). 'I feel like I've got an understanding of what to expect.' On Friday, Earnhardt was in the garage right when it opened, helping the team prepare its Chevrolet. He then accompanied the car as it went through technical inspection. It just so happened that the car failed to pass on its first attempt. Earnhardt reacted like most veteran crew chiefs do when they disagree with a NASCAR ruling. 'I got my opinions, but I'll keep it to myself 'til later today, once we get past (inspection),' Earnhardt said, laughing, 'then I can speak freely.' (Top photo of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at last weekend's Xfinity Series race in Mexico City:)
Forbes
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Set For Crew Chief Debut With Connor Zilisch
As if Nascar Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't busy enough, he's giving himself one more crazy assignment. The two-time Nascar Xfinity Series champion will step on top of the pit box for the first time as a crew chief, working with JR Motorsports rookie driver Connor Zilisch during the Pocono Mountains 250 at Pocono Raceway. Earnhardt will replace regular crew chief Mardy Lindley, who was suspended by Nascar for missing a pair of lug nuts following a race at Nashville. Earnhardt, who is currently in an analyst role for Nascar on Prime Video, will be pulling double duty this weekend. He will be in his normal role with Amazon throughout the weekend's Cup Series events. Zilisch took the Nascar world by storm last year, winning in his Xfinity Series debut with JRM at Watkins Glen in dominating fashion. He inked a development deal with Trackhouse Racing, which formed a partnership with JR Motorsports to get him a full-time Xfinity Series ride in 2025. Zilisch won the third race of the year at Circuit of the Americas, and has been in contention to win several additional events. He missed a race at Texas after he injured his back a week prior at Talladega Superspeedway. Even after missing an event, he sits fifth in the Xfinity Series standings. Trackhouse has also begun to field a part-time fourth Cup Series team for Zilisch, with backing from Red Bull. He's already competed in a pair of Cup races at COTA and Charlotte, finishing 23rd in Nascar's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. Earnhardt has not raced an Xfinity Series car this year, with no races planned for the first time since his 1996 debut. Last year, he finished seventh in his only race at Bristol.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dale Earnhardt Jr. to crew chief for Connor Zilisch in NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is adding another title to his NASCAR resumé. Earnhardt Jr. will serve as the crew chief for Connor Zilisch in the Xfinity Series race at Pocono on Saturday. Zilisch's crew chief Mardy Lindley is serving a one-race suspension for loose lug nuts on Zilisch's car at the end of the race in Nashville earlier this month. Junior is the co-owner of Zilisch's JR Motorsports car and his team fields four cars in NASCAR's second-tier series. Zilisch's teammate Justin Allgaier won the 2024 Xfinity Series title for the first NASCAR championship of his career. Advertisement Zilisch, 18, already has one win over 14 races this season in the Xfinity Series. The road course ace won the third race of the season when he led 26 laps at Circuit of the Americas for the second victory of his career. He missed the 12th race of the season because of a back injury sustained in a hard crash late in the race at Talladega. He returned at Charlotte and has finished second, second and fifth in the last three races. Pocono could be a race filled with strategy based on how the cautions fall on Saturday. The 2.5-mile track allows drivers near the front of the field to pit under green without losing a lap. If there are long green-flag runs during the first two stages, you'll likely see many drivers in the top 10 forego stage points to pit before the end of the stages and cycle back towards the front of the field during the stage break. After he crew chiefs Zilisch on Saturday, Junior will be in the booth for Amazon Prime again on Sunday. The NASCAR Hall of Famer is the lead analyst for Amazon and TNT's NASCAR coverage this season. Amazon has two more Cup Series races left in 2025 before TNT takes over for five races ahead of NBC's portion of the schedule.
