Connor Zilisch trolls owner, crew chief Dale Earnhardt Jr. with celebration after Pocono win

In a big first for both Connor Zilisch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the newest driver-crew chief pairing walks away as winners. Zilisch gets his first win on an oval in NASCAR. Meanwhile, Earnhardt is batting 1.000 as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series. What a race.

Connor Zilisch had to earn this one. He had to remain patient. When it looked like Chase Elliott and Justin Allgaier were going to settle things among themselves, Zilisch did not panic. He didn’t overstep his car and force the issue. Instead, he stayed calm.

If you listen to Dale Jr.’s podcast, you will know he has a pet peeve when it comes to driver celebrations. The one celebration that makes him skeptical, a driver coming out of the roof hatch. He has called it out before, and guess what his driver did today after the win? Crawled out of the roof hatch.

So, Dale Jr., is there something fishy going on with that car? Did you cheat up the aero a bit on that 88? No, his 18-year-old driver just seems to think it’s fun to do. And it’s always fun to troll the boss.

Well, that'll be a topic on the @DaleJr Download 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QeR0TIfLEi

— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) June 21, 2025

Known for his talents on the road courses, this is a big win for Connor Zilisch. To finally get that oval win after being so close on multiple occasions this season. It has to feel good. He got to learn a lot from Chase Elliott and Justin Allgaier while he did it, too.

Pocono Raceway has been a demarcator of success for many drivers. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney both had breakthrough moments at the track in their respective careers. Zilisch getting his first oval win at Pocono shows that he is more than capable of competing for the championship this year.

Connor Zilisch has been on a roll since injury

Ever since the wreck at Talladega and his one-week absence from Texas to mend his back, Connor Zilisch has been on another level. P2, P2, P5, and P1, with a pole award in the mix as well. He has been fantastic in the last four races, and I don’t see that stopping any time soon.

If Zilisch can consistently find a way to be calm during races, he’s going to do great things. Mexico City, he let himself get too caught up in fighting for the lead. Once he learns when to fight and when to let things go, gets his decision-making abilities better, he’s going to be a real problem in this series.

Zilisch is also a problem for Daniel Suárez. Being able to adapt so quickly to the ovals might put Zilisch on the fast track to the Cup Series. Trackhouse Racing has to make a tough decision for 2026. Either promote Zilisch and move on from Suárez, or keep Suárez on for one more year and let Zilisch develop for one more season in Xfinity. To me, developing one more season seems redundant at this point.

Connor Zilisch isn’t just going to win road course races. But he does have road course races coming up that I fully expect him to either win or finish in the top-five. Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen are all coming up. It’s going to be a one heck of a time watching him the rest of the year. He’s a legit contender.