Dale Earnhardt Jr. was elated when Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch bagged his third consecutive victory of the season, besides his 100th for JR Motorsports, the team he competes for currently. It all happened during the series’ latest outing to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2025.

Zilisch led three times for 19 laps, including the final two to deliver the win. However, he had given up his lead with five to go. As a result, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Taylor Gray got by him in Turn 2 of the Indiana-based racetrack.

It was thanks to Zilisch’s former teammate, Sam Mayer, who pushed him with three laps to go, which allowed the former’s No. 88 to clear Gray. On that note, PRN on X quoted Dale Earnhardt Jr., who co-owns JR Motorsports, saying,

“It feels very good. It’s a big deal for our company, proud of our employees, proud of Hendrick for the engines and I want to thank this driver right here, Sam Mayer.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team currently fields four full-time drivers, namely, Connor Zilisch (88), Justin Allgaier (7), Sammy Smith (8), and Carson Kvapil (1), with Cup Series regulars like Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain tabbed to run its No. 9 entry in select races. Dale Jr. himself drives for his team at times, but that’s not going to happen in 2025.

“We’re going to enjoy this one”- Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Connor Zilisch’s show-stopping victory

Connor Zilisch made all the right decisions during Saturday’s race at Indianapolis. Although he did get a bit sluggish with five laps to go until the checkered flag, the JR Motorsports driver recovered quickly.

He regained the lead from Taylor Gray and, with the help of Sam Mayer, cleared Gray’s #54 Toyota in the end. Needless to say, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was impressed. In a post-race release, the NASCAR Hall of Famer said of Zilisch,

“He’s a hell of a driver. You know, he just went up there and got it back. We’ve got great race cars, a good race car underneath him to do what he needed to do. So, it takes a lot of us and want to thank the engine shop.”

“Hendrick Motorsports engine shop, that’s what wins races in places like this and at Dover. So, thank y’all for all the hard work, they’ve worked hard this year. And all the support we get from HMS, it’s important to our performance,” he added, thanking Hendrick Motorsports, with whom JR Motorsports shares a technical alliance.

21 races into the season, Connor Zilisch sits second in the point standings with 729 points. He has five wins this year, besides 10 top-fives, 12 top-10s, and 425 laps led in all.

Next up for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver is the HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway on August 2. The 250-lap will be televised on the CW network, with live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 4:30 pm ET onwards.