Over the course of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR Hall of Fame career, he’s served as a winning race car driver, a decorated television analyst, a championship-winning NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner, and a renowned podcast host. Now, he’s going to take on the challenge of the crew chief role.
That was not a typo. Earnhardt, 50, will make his debut as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 as he will call the shots for the No. 88 JR Motorsports team and driver Connor Zilisch.
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
Zilisch’s primary crew chief, Mardy Lindley, is currently serving a suspension for multiple unsecured lug nuts on the No. 88 Chevrolet in post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway two weeks ago.
Wildly enough, there’s a decent chance Earnhardt wins the race in his first attempt as a crew chief as Zilisch is a skilled road racer, and road racers typically fare well at the oddball 2.5-mile triangular Pocono Raceway.
Zilisch comes into this weekend’s race fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings, and the 18-year-old racer already has two wins through his first 18 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts. He’ll look to add a third to the tally this weekend, and if he does, it’ll add another prestigious notch to Earnhardt’s illustrious career, this time as a crew chief.
One Response
Go Conor and Dale Jr. should be a win for you. ????