Following a storied run as staff proprietor, broadcaster, podcaster, media govt, and CARS Tour co-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is about so as to add one more feather to his cap. This weekend at Pocono, he’ll step atop the pit field as crew chief for rising star Connor Zilisch, filling in for Mardy Lindley, who’s serving a deferred one-race suspension as a consequence of two free lug nuts discovered on the #88 automobile after Nashville Superspeedway.
When sidelined, Lindley didn’t hesitate to choose his stand-in. He instantly turned to Earnhardt Jr., a trusted identify with deep roots within the sport. Each males hail from legendary racing bloodlines, Dale Jr. because the son of the late seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, and Lindley because the son of Butch Lindley, a revered short-track ace who traded paint with the Intimidator of their heyday.
With 50 wins throughout the Cup and Xfinity ranks, years behind the mic calling NASCAR’s largest moments, and 20 years co-owning a championship-caliber Xfinity staff, there’s little in NASCAR that Dale Jr. hasn’t already tackled. Nonetheless, he’s missed having a direct hand in race-day execution since stepping away from full-time competitors in 2017, other than his occasional Xfinity begins by means of 2024.
Now, as crew chief for the #88 staff, Dale Jr. received’t simply name the pictures, he’ll form how Zilisch’s Saturday shakes out. Whereas Lindley is predicted to remain plugged in remotely, a gradual hand on-site was important. For Lindley, Earnhardt was the pure selection, and after some consideration, Dale Jr. agreed to take the reins.
“There’s most likely over 100 folks at JR Motorsports that will have been extra certified, however Mardy requested me to do it. So I used to be like, ‘It’s essential to need me to do it.’ … We received an awesome staff and an awesome group that may deal with a lot of these challenges. Ought to be no downside,” Dale Jr. stated.
Even Zilisch didn’t see this alteration coming. “All of it got here collectively fairly shortly — and at first, I didn’t even notice it was gonna be actual. I simply assumed that Cory Shea, the crew chief of the 9 (JRM’s part-time automobile), was gonna come and do it. However yeah, contemplating Dale’s already right here doing the printed, it’ll be one thing cool for him to examine off his bucket checklist.”
Whereas Dale Jr. takes on a brand new problem from the highest of the pit field, Zilisch sees this as a uncommon likelihood to study from a Corridor of Famer and two-time Xfinity champion. With two Cup wins already beneath his belt at Pocono, Earnhardt has wasted no time providing pointers, even sharing technique of their pre-race briefing. “I’ve sat on loads of pit packing containers, but it surely must be cool to see it from this angle,” he stated.
