NASCAR team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) talks with NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson during qualifying for the 2025 Daytona 500. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Loose lug nuts suspension leads to epic crew chief for NASCAR team

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 1:05 PM ET

NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch will have a new voice calling the shots on the pit box this weekend at Pocono Raceway, but it's not a name you'd expect to see on the roster as crew chief.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., a NASCAR Hall of Famer and owner of JR Motorsports, will serve as crew chief for the 18-year-old driver during Saturday's Explore The Pocono Mountains 250 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

This weekend, @DaleJr will be filling in for Mardy Lindley as crew chief of the No. 88 as Lindley serves his one race suspension for loose lugnuts following the NXS race in Nashville two weeks ago.
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) June 18, 2025

Earnhardt Jr. will make his debut as a NASCAR crew chief following the one-race suspension of crew chief Mardy Lindley. He earned the sitdown after NASCAR discovered Zilisch's No. 88 Chevrolet had two loose lug nuts at a post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31.

It's only one race, but it will be fun to see Earnhardt Jr., who is perhaps the best advocate for NASCAR of anyone in the industry, take on a new challenge.

Earnhardt Jr. will be the voice guiding Zilisch around the 2.5-mile "Tricky Triangle" of Pocono for the first time in the young driver's career. If the first 15 races of his rookie season are any indication, Zilisch — who is fifth in the series standings — won't have any issues figuring out one of NASCAR's most unusual tracks.

Earnhardt Jr. won 26 Cup Series races, including two Daytona 500s, and also carved out a legendary career in the Xfinity Series, winning 24 races in 147 starts and the 1998 and 1999 titles. It is unknown whether or not Earnhardt Jr. will make another Xfinity Series start in his career, but Saturday gives him the chance to earn a victory in a different role.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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