Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s driver reveals why he dropped his plans of running in the Chili Bowl next year
Connor Zilisch has reportedly dropped the race at Chili Bowl due to a conflict in schedule. Zilisch will instead run the three-day test session for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, dubbed the Roar Before The 24, in January next year.
Zilisch is an 18-year-old Trackhouse Racing development driver who will run full-time in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with JR Motorsports, a team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Before his full-time Xfinity debut, he will compete in the Rolex 24, prompting to the driver to skip the race at Chili Bowl, which is referred to as the “Super Bowl of midget racing.”
The news was reported by NASCAR Insider Chris Knight on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote:
“@ConnorZilisch said he was planning to run the chili bowl in January and had sponsorship lined up, but it is the same weekend as the ROAR @DAYTONA where he plans to the ROLEX 24 race in late January, so he had to withdraw his plans.”
During his last time out at Rolex 24, Connor Zilisch emerged victorious in the LMP2 class along with Era Motorsports teammates Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, and Christian Rasmussen. With the win under his belt, Zilisch became the second youngest driver to win the 24-hour enduro race at Daytona.
In the world of stock car racing, the Charlotte native showed up big time after winning his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen last September 2024.
His most recent victory was at the ARCA Menards Series West season finale at Phoenix Raceway, which was his first start in the series. The championship title was won by Sean Hingorani, who finished 3rd in the 100-lap race.
“Our goal was to go to JR Motorsports”: When Connor Zilisch decided to sign with Dale Jr.’s Xfinity Series team
Connor Zilisch announced his full-time seat with JR Motorsports for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season last August. While the youngster explored his options, he said JRM had the resources to help him realize his full potential.
Zilisch said in a statement:
“I think our goal was to go to JR Motorsports […] It wasn’t guaranteed, and we looked at other options. There’s a lot of good Chevrolet-affiliated teams with Kaulig and RCR (Richard Childress Racing), but at the end of the day, when you look at the Cup Series and the guys who have come through JR Motorsports and gone to the Cup Series, I feel like they’ve had the most success.”
JR Motorsports is the only Xfinity team that produced rookie champions. Chase Elliott was crowned champion in 2014, while William Byron accomplished the feat in 2017. Tyler Reddick also brought Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team with a title in 2018.
Meanwhile, Dale Jr. shared his thoughts on the 18-year-old driver, saying:
“Connor is such an impressive driver at this young […] We’re excited for him to get behind the wheel full-time next season. He is on a path to sure success with support from Chevrolet, Silver Hare Racing, Trackhouse, and now JR Motorsports.”
With a full-time drive secured for 2025, Connor Zilisch should continue climbing up the stock car racing ranks in the coming years. He will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in the second-tier series in 2025.