Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared Connor Zilisch an encouraging message after JR has confirmed Motorsports that he will sit from the Nascar XFinity series race on the Texas Motor Speedway.

Zilisch has had a back injury since a wreck with Jesse Love in Talldega last weekend.

“It is shit to suspend Connor, but I am grateful that he is wise and patient with this injury,” wrote Earnhardt.

“He will soon be in the seat and in front of the field.”

Kyle Larson will replace Zilisch in the Nascar Xfinity Andys Frozen Custard 300, which JR motorsport confirmed in a statement:

“This weekend Kyle Larson will sess to Connor Zil at the Texas Motor Speedway behind the CHEVROLET No. 88, while Zil continues to recover from a violation of the lower back in Talladega.”

On February 13, 2025, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

MEG Oliphant/Getty Images for Siriusxm

When Zil spoke to the media after the race in Talladega, he had commented that he was “grateful to get up and go”.

“Yes, I'm fine,” he said.

“This is one of the wrecks in which you move your legs and make sure that everything feels fine afterwards. So, very grateful to drive Safe JR Motorsports racing car.

“Our WeatherTech -Chevrolet was as fast as XFinity Mobile. We were in the right place, just, yes, I didn't really see it exactly what happened. But yes, grateful to get up and walk.

“Yes, that's great,” added Zilisch. “Jesse is probably my best friend in the world, and I am grateful to have someone like him who can come and stand in front of me, and they know that I can hug afterwards.”

NASCAR XFinity series: AG-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway results

  1. Austin Hill – done
  2. Jeb Burton – completed
  3. Jesse Love – done
  4. Justin Allgaier – done
  5. Matt DibenDetto – done
  6. Anthony Alfredo – completed
  7. Blaine Perkins – done
  8. Harrison Burton – done
  9. Sheldon Creed – done
  10. Daniel Dye – done
  11. Taylor Gray – done
  12. Patrick Emerling – done
  13. Leland Honeyman – done
  14. Sam Mayer – done
  15. Nick Sanchez – done
  16. Ryan Ellis – done
  17. Carson Kvapil – completed
  18. Dean Thompson – done
  19. Brennan Poole – done
  20. Jesse Iwuji – completed
  21. Joey Gase – completed
  22. Mason Maggio – done
  23. Kyle Sieg – completed
  24. Kris Wright – completed
  25. Christian Eckes – completed
  26. Jeremy Clements – done
  27. Connor Zilisch – completed
  28. Brandon Jones – done
  29. Josh Williams – done
  30. Caesar Bacarella – done
  31. Sammy Smith – done
  32. Jeffrey Earnhardt – out
  33. Aric Almirola – off
  34. Katherine Legge – out
  35. Greg van Alst – out
  36. Ryan victory – out
  37. William Sawalich – out
  38. Parker Retzlaff – out