If you tune into this Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), there will be a familiar face atop the pit box for JR Motorsports rookie Connor Zilisch.
With Zilisch's full-time crew chief, Mardy Lindley, suspended one race because of two unsecured lug nuts following the May 31 race at Nashville, team co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his debut as crew chief of the No. 88 team this weekend, the team confirmed to its X account on Wednesday.
Lindley's suspension was deferred for one race, meaning he was able to call the shots for Zilisch at Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, ultimately guiding the rookie to a fifth-place finish in arguably one of the best cars of the race.
Earnhardt Jr. looking to add another accomplishment to Hall of Fame career
Earnhardt Jr. is no stranger to NASCAR's second-tier series. After all, he is a two-time champion (1998, 1999) and a 24-time winner in the series as a driver. He made at least one start in the series from 2001-24, but said he has no plans to get behind the wheel this season. Earnhardt Jr. is still involved with the series, though, as co-owner of JR Motorsports, where has won an additional three championships (2014, 2017, 2018) and tallied 58 wins.
The current analyst for NASCAR on Prime Video and the upcoming five-race slate on TNT Sports, Earnhardt Jr. has plenty of experience at the unique track. The Tricky Triangle, as it is known, is the only track on the schedule that has three distinct turns, and each of them is drastically different, making for a challenging day for any driver. Earnhardt Jr. knows that better than anyone, but still managed to win two Cup Series races there in 2014.
He may not have experience as a crew chief, but his years of experience as a driver and past success at Pocono should prove valuable. Zilisch is already locked into the Xfinity Series playoffs by virtue of his win at Circuit of The Americas earlier this season. Since he missed the May 3 race at Texas due to a back injury from a crash at Talladega Superspeedway the week prior, Zilisch has recorded a pair of top-fives at Charlotte and Nashville, plus his fifth-place finish at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this past weekend.
The talent that the 18-year-old possesses is obvious as he currently sits fifth in the regular-season standings. Saturday will be his first career start at Pocono, though, so it could be somewhat of a learning experience as the weekend gets underway until he gets acclimated to the difficult track.
It is hard to know what to expect from Earnhardt Jr., given that this is entirely new to him. However, with Zilisch's talent behind the wheel and Earnhardt Jr.'s ability to adapt to anything he does, it will be interesting to see how he fares on top of the box.
With a successful driving career in the Xfinity Series, as well as 26 wins at the Cup level and two Daytona 500 triumphs (2004, 2014), Earnhardt Jr. will look to add another accomplishment on Saturday as he makes his crew chief debut.