Dale Jr. Wins In His Incredible Debut As a Crew Chief!

Dale Jr. has had his hands in most NASCAR-related pies like a driver, car owner, commentator, and podcaster. Now, he can add crew chief to his many job titles. And his long list of successes too, as he won in his crew chief debut, leading Connor Zilisch to victory for the first time at an oval!

This Makes Him the Ninth Person Ever To Win As a Driver, Crew Chief, and Owner!

He joined legends like Junior Johnson, Sam Ard, Bob Keselowski, Wendell Scott, Cotton Owens, and Lee Petty. Also, a shoutout to James Hylyon because he’s awesome and also has wins as a driver, owner, and CC. What makes this more impressive is that the driver Dale Jr. led to victory, Connor Zilisch, is an 18-year-old who’s never won on an oval until now. I would go as far as to say that, especially at the beginning of the year, it looked like Zilisch would struggle at ovals. But the only thing that stays the same is that change always happens.

Dale Jr. Led Zilisch To a Dominant Win!

The No. 88 earned 58 points, winning the race but also his third stage win of the season. Dale Jr.’s strategy was central to the No. 88 team’s second win of the season. As in the final five laps, Zilisch blew by Jesse Love like he was not there all because of Junebug’s adjustments, showcasing he wasn’t carried by the driver. He has the skills.

Why Was Dale Jr. Even the Crew Chief To Begin With?

Heading into the Pocono weekend during the Xfinity race at Nashville Superspeedway, the No. 88 Chevrolet had two lug nuts left unsecured after finishing second. This resulted in a $10,000 fine and one-race suspension for Lindley. He was allowed to do the Mexico City trip, however, leaving the suspension for the weekend at the Poconos. Lindley is a veteran crew chief, having worked with Kyle Busch and Corey Heim in trucks and then moving into the JRM crew, chiefing Sam Mayer and helping him to 7 wins.

Culmination Of a Hot Streak

Connor Zilisch came in with a ton of hype after he won in his Xfinity Series debut, exactly like 2022 champion Ty Gibbs. Despite a win at COTA in the third race of the season, he started off the season struggling. He had 3 top 10s in the first 11 races, with the only top 5 being the COTA win. He was then injured after a hard hit at Talladega. But it’s like that injury and missing Texas lit a fire under the young man. He finished top 5 in all four of his comeback races, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in his first two races back.

Will Dale Jr. Return As Crew Chief?

“I love owning race cars, and I love racking up statistics and championships, but it does not have the competitive sort of skin in the game if you will, that (today) does,” Dale Jr. said. “If you’re in the car, it’s on you to make sure you’re doing everything right. And when you’re the crew chief, you’re under a ton of pressure. I understand that I did not come in here and handle all of the layers that Mardy usually handles or any given crew chief manages.

“They certainly were putting me in a position to do some light lifting, but as the race went on, we got more comfortable and more aggressive. It was fun. I felt like I really had some involvement, some input in the energy that the crew and team had. Keeping them pumped up, everybody executing, and keeping Connor aware of what our goals were and what our expectations were on the restarts. He wanted to deliver.”

So with Dale Jr. having a bunch of fun in this new role, he admitted he is open to being an interim crew chief if the time ever comes again. Thanks a bunch for reading!