There is no questioning the potential Connor Zilisch has, and no one recognizes that better than NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Unless Zilisch completely unravels in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, which began Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, he stands as the odds-on favorite to capture the Xfinity championship this season.
Coming into the race at Bristol, the Mooresville, North Carolina native has dominated the Xfinity Series so far, with nine wins, 15 top-five finishes (including three runner-up results), and 17 top-10 finishes in the 25-race regular season, which earned him the regular-season championship. If he carries that form into the final stretch, Zilisch should finish the campaign on top.
And that championship, as well as his hoped-for overall Xfinity Series title, would be a victory for JR Motorsports, the Xfinity Series team co-owned by Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller.
During an appearance Friday at the Hard Rock Casino in nearby Bristol, Virginia (just across the state line from Bristol, Tennessee, home of Bristol Motor Speedway), the son of the legendary Dale Earnhardt once again praised Zilisch’s potential to become NASCAR’s next big superstar, joining voices like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and, of course, Earnhardt himself.
“Connor Zilisch is just a generational kind of talent,” Earnhardt said. “I feel like he’s got a real opportunity to be a big star in the sport. The sport needs personalities always, right?
“We’ve got great personalities in the sport now, but they move on, and you’ve got to have another group coming in and filling that void.”
“I think he could be something special for NASCAR and fans and take our sport to places where he’d be eager to take us.”
