Dale Earnhardt Jr. Defies Denny Hamlin’s Skepticism With a Win on Debut as a NASCAR Crew Chief

Neha Dwivedi | 22/06/2025
Denny Hamlin (L) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)

Several drivers found themselves behind the eight ball at the Tricky Triangle on Saturday — except for the one who knows it like the back of his hand, Denny Hamlin, who even won the pole for this year’s Pocono Cup race. With more wins at Pocono than any other driver, Hamlin has long had a read on the place, which is why his insights carry weight when he speaks.

Ahead of the weekend’s race, during media availability, Denny Hamlin was asked about Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepping in as crew chief for Connor Zilisch in the Xfinity Series. His take: the leap from driver to crew chief is no walk in the park.

Earnhardt was set to climb atop the pit box for Zilisch, filling in for Mardy Lindley, who is serving a deferred one-race suspension after two loose lug nuts were found on the No. 88 following the Nashville Superspeedway event. When sidelined, Lindley wasted no time in calling on Dale Jr., banking on his experience and pedigree.

As a team owner himself, Hamlin understood the complexities of such a move and didn’t sugarcoat the challenge. “If it’s a real crew chief, I think that’s a pretty tough transition… I don’t know what his role is. It looks like they’re going to lean heavily on the engineers… I’d love to see he ultimately pulls the trump card or whatever the strategy is and says, ‘This is my call. This is what I want to do.'”

Hamlin added, “So, the transition from someone being a car owner-driver to actually being a crew chief, that’d be huge undertaking because that’s a total different job, especially if you were going to do it full-time and to the full capacity, but I think this is just more of a temporary thing.”

While Dale Jr.’s stint may be short-term, Hamlin’s comments reflected the stark difference between driving and making the calls, suggesting that even for a veteran like Dale Jr., steering strategy from the pit box is bound to present a new kind of challenge.

However, it turns out Dale Earnhardt Jr. played the role of good luck charm atop the pit box for 18-year-old Connor Zilisch. After a pair of near-misses in recent weeks, the rookie finally broke through for his first career oval victory in his debut at Pocono Raceway.

With seven laps to go, Zilisch lined up third on the restart and wasted no time charging forward. He slipped past Christian Eckes for second and soon found himself trading blows with close friend and fellow Xfinity winner Jesse Love. With four laps remaining, Zilisch pulled ahead of Love and never looked back, while Eckes settled for third behind them.

Dale Jr., who famously swept Pocono in 2014 with crew chief Steve Letarte, had Letarte back in his corner for his own crew chief debut. The result echoed the past. Since Zilisch sat out the Xfinity race at Texas following his late-race run-in with Love at Talladega, he has been on a tear, bagging consecutive runner-up finishes at Charlotte and Nashville before finally reaching the top step.

Long known for his racing skills on road courses, Zilisch had made a name for himself in sports cars. But with this win on an oval, he silenced any doubts about his versatility and sent a clear message that he’s not just passing through the Xfinity Series, he’s here to win.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Connor Zilisch Dale Earnhardt Jr. Denny Hamlin

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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