Zilisch’s Victory At Indy Gives JR Motorsports 100 Xfinity Series Wins
Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
In his first race on the famed 2.5-mile oval, Connor Zilisch got to kiss the bricks.
It was a belated birthday present, of sorts, for the 19-year-old phenom as he won his sixth series race of the season and, in the process, scored the 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series win for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Yeah, not a lot of words to describe the feeling,” said the driver of the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet. “I've been a part of this team for less than a year, and I've got six wins with JRM in, I think, 24 races. So you know, a quarter of the races I've run I've won, which is a stat that is pretty hard to imagine. And you know, if you told me that July last year I would have called you crazy.
“I don't really have words to describe how cool it is to win the 100th race for JRM. I know it means a lot to Dale, Kelley (Earnhardt-Miller), LW (Miller), Mr. H (Rick Hendrick), everybody that works at the shop. This one's definitely special for them. I've been a part of the team for, like I said, just under a year. And even in the time that I've been with the team, I've learned to love the people and it's just been an awesome journey thing.”
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Team co-owner, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was quick to credit everyone in the organization for the achievement of 100 wins in the Xfinity Series.
“Yeah, it's a big deal, man. I guess the one thing that I'd like to say is thank you to every employee that moved in the door and walked through that building in the last, I don't know how many years. Everybody that's working upstairs in the office, everybody on the shop floor. I don't care if you push a broom, clean the toilet or build a super speedway car that we went to Daytona with. It takes every single employee to move all that forward and to keep it going. And so everyone or anyone that ever stepped in that building had an influence on anything we ever did. And that goes with all the drivers, obviously, too, is a list of great drivers that were behind the wheel of our cars over the years that have helped us win all these races.
“You don't set out to win 100 races,” Earnhardt said. “You just set out to win the first one you can, you know, to get one win, and maybe another, and then maybe another. And you just stack it together, and then you try to stack years together and try to give your partners value. And it's just been a fun ride. It's been rewarding and wonderful. There's been some tough times and some hard times, but it's what you’re willing to go through to have the great moments and protect the livelihood of your employees, too. So it's been awesome and special to win in Indy.”
Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment
Expected to be strong on NASCAR’s road courses, Zilisch has proven to be a quick study on the ovals with consecutive Xfinity Series wins at Pocono Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway and now at Indy. Zilisch credits former drivers Josh Wise and Scott Speed and lots of studying for his development on the ovals.
“Yeah, it’s watching a lot of races.
"Josh Wise and Scott Speed, especially, I've sat with them in a room and watched races and just studied for countless hours, and I wouldn't know as much as I do today without them, I wouldn't be as good as I am today. Without them, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
“I really do owe a lot to Josh and Scott and everything that they've taught me. They study this stuff more than anybody. I'm just very fortunate to be a part of Chevrolet. I've never raced a stock car with another emblem on the hood, and that means a lot to me. So yeah, it's often guys jump around and move manufacturers. And I couldn't do that at this point with how much Chevy has done for me and the people that they've provided for me to learn and grow as a driver.”
All six of Zilisch’s wins this season have come on tracks he hasn’t raced on before. According to Zilisch, his success is a combination of hard work and an ability to adapt quickly.
“I don't want to discredit my work and then the effort I put in before I go to the track every week. But you know, I tell people all the time that some people have it and some people don't. And I'm very fortunate that I was born with whatever the gift is of being able to drive a race car fast. But with that said, there's a lot of talented drivers in this series, right? And you know to set yourself apart, you have to do the work. And I show up to every track, and I know exactly where I'm going to lift, I know exactly where I'm going to brake and, you know, I make sure I know what I'm doing before I go to the racetrack. And with simulators these days, when I show up to a track, I feel like I've already driven on it before.
“So, yeah, I'm very fortunate to have a lot of tools around me and people around me that help me prepare for these these moments.”
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Earnhardt has seen and raced with some of the all-time greats in NASCAR. He believes that Zilisch will be one of them someday.
“I mean, the only thing I think it's close to is probably Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson. He might be even more than that, because I don't know, man, if y'all get a chance to spend time around him, you'll realize how mature he is. I think there's probably a lot of parents that would be amazed at his level of maturity at 19 years old.
“His mom and dad sent him overseas at 12 to race go karts by himself,” Earnhardt related. “They didn't go with him. They didn't send the cousin or brother or sister or anybody. He only knew one individual over there. And as Connor tells that he had to ride a bicycle up down the road every day to get his dinner, his lunch, to breakfast, get his haircut, get his mail, do everything at 12. And you know, I'm sure he had some guidance, but how that matured him is insane. I would never send my 12 year old. I don't have one. I got a seven and a four. I ain't never sending my 12 year old overseas, even if I knew it would turn out great. I just couldn't make myself and bring myself to do it.
“But, there's something that has positioned him in such a way that's very unique, and in terms of his maturity and his ability to understand the moment, to make the mature decision. Now, he makes mistakes, and we've seen him do that. But I mean, you know, when it comes down to it, it's pretty impressive to see him work, and I just feel like we're on the front end. We're all kind of on the front end of witnessing this really incredible career. So it's kind of, it's almost whatever he wants to do.”
Earnhardt isn’t the first to say that Zilisch can have a Hall of Fame career. Four days removed from his 19th birthday, how does that make him feel to hear that?
“Not only hear something like that, but have him say it is really, really special. Those words carry a lot of meaning, and I still have a long way to go before I get to that point, and a lot of work ahead of me, and, you know, a lot of bad days ahead of me.
“It's going to be an incredible journey. I'm so excited for the next 10, 15, 20 years, hopefully in this world of NASCAR racing, and I've enjoyed my time so far, but I really do hope there's a long, long journey left ahead of me. I really am having a lot of fun. And you know, I show up to work every day. And I can tell myself I love my job and I love what I'm doing, and it’s not very common in this world anymore. People can say that. So, yeah, I'm very fortunate to do what I do and to have the opportunities that I have.”
Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Growing up, NASCAR wasn’t on Zilisch’s radar. Before he turned 18, Zilisch won the LMP2 class in IMSA’s Rolex24 at Daytona and the Mobil1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. But now that he’s in NASCAR, he wants to make the most of it.
“My dream as a kid was always to race sports cars or F1 or INDYCAR or something like that. I never thought I would race NASCAR. I never raced ovals growing up. I mean, I was watching it from the shadows. I can't say I grew up going to NASCAR races. I just grew up racing go karts, and I still wear a tapered (driver’s) suit. It's just, it's kind of in my DNA.
“I can't say that my dream was to race NASCAR, but now that I'm here, I'm loving it. And I really do think NASCAR is the biggest form of motor sports in America. And I want to be the best at the biggest and highest level, and to do that in America, you have to race in NASCAR.
“So, yeah, you know, growing up, I wanted to race F1 but nowadays it's really, really difficult to get to that level and I quickly realized that it wasn't possible for me.
Photo by John Grainda/Penske Entertainment
While Zilisch appears to be headed to NASCAR’s Cup Series full-time as soon as next season with Trackhouse Racing, he also has designs on racing in the Indianapolis 500.
“I would love to race in the Indianapolis 500. I grew up watching that race on TV, and in my opinion, it's the biggest race in the world. And as a race car driver, you want to win those races. So, I mean, I would love to get the opportunity to do that. I don't, know when the opportunity would come, or how it would come, or who I'd race with, but obviously, with Kyle (Larson) doing the double, it's possible. But there's a lot of implications. It's a very hard thing to pull off, but if I were to have a bucket list, it would certainly be on it.
“I definitely want to be settled here (in NASCAR) before I commit to doing something like that,” Zilisch continued. “That's a big time commitment, and I need to focus on what I'm doing here first. But down the road, if I get settled in and I'm doing well on Sundays, hopefully one day, it's certainly something that I'd want to do. And, I don't want to wait. It's such a cool race.
And even today, like just driving past every grandstand and imagining people in every seat is something that's pretty unreal. I definitely want to be able to experience that, so hopefully I'll get the chance to do that.”
Who knows, Saturday’s Xfinity Series win may not be the last time Zilisch ends up kissing the bricks at Indy.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.