Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is over the Moon as Connor Zilisch Secures JRM’s Historic 100 Xfinity Race win at Indy

Connor Zilisch has emerged as one of the better drivers for his age on the NASCAR Xfinity grid. The JRM star has secured his fifth race win this year as he puts forth a stellar performance at Indianapolis. Notably, Zilisch’s most recent victory has helped JRM achieve an impressive total of 100 career wins for the team in NASCAR. Now, the 19-year-old’s crew chief for the past couple of races, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has applauded the former’s racing skills that helped the team achieve such a great feat.

Connor Zilisch’s performance in the 2025 season, especially the last nine races, has been extremely impressive. The 19-year-old hasn’t finished outside P5 since then and has achieved four coveted race wins. As such, Zilisch has received widespread praise and applause for his performances. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spotted the JRM star in the Pocono race as the latter emerged victorious in that race as well, receiving great praise from the Hall of Famer.

Now, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is overjoyed with Connor Zilisch’s stellar victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 50-year-old asserted that Zilisch did a great job racing at Indy and applauded the latter’s ‘awesome’ driving that helped him achieve the race win ultimately. Dale Jr. also thanked Sam Mayer and his help to the #88 driver on the final straightaway that pushed the latter closer to the race win.

Yeah, I was, uh, a lot of people to thank, But he [Zilisch] did a good job, man. Just awesome driving to him. We got some help from Sam on the back straightaway. Just a good little driver.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. told The CW Network

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has won over 26 races in the Cup Series, acknowledged that a majority of the races on the current grid are tough on the heart, and more so if a driver has to fight really hard for the race win.

Connor Zilisch went through a lot of ups and downs at Indianapolis before finally bringing home JR Motorsports’ 100th race victory in the sport. Dale Jr. revealed that even his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, and many other people would be very emotional as JRM achieves such a massive feat in NASCAR.

Hey, these races are tough on your heart. Up and down, up and down. 100 wins for our team. That’s a big deal. I know my sister and everybody’s very emotional, and we’re going to enjoy this one.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added

Dale Earnhardt Jr. labels Connor Zilisch as a ‘hell of a driver’

Connor Zilisch lost the lead momentarily in the final stages of the race, but quickly earned it right back and did not falter in his performances. Zilisch has started making winning races a habit at just 19 years of age as he has a very successful career ahead of him if he keeps up with such results. Dale Earnhardt Jr. christened the young gun with an impressive title following his stellar victory at Indy.