Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Connor Zilisch’s Sonoma stunner by invoking Keelan Harvick’s CARS Tour win over his dad Kevin

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has reacted to Connor Zilisch's triumph in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after he beat his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen to the lead of the race. The veteran driver compared Zilisch's win to Keelan Harvick's victory at the Hickory Motor Speedway, racing in Earnhardt Jr.'s co-owned venture, the CARS tour. Keelan Harvick is the son of the veteran NASCAR driver, Kevin Harvick, and has been moving up the ladder in junior motorsports formats.

Interestingly, Kevin Harvick and his son, Keelan Harvick, have raced each other three times this year, with the son taking victory on all three occasions.

18-year-old Connor Zilisch also took a victory in a similar style at the Sonoma Raceway, racing it out with his much senior driver, Shane Van Gisbergen, who is known for dominating road courses on the NASCAR calendar. The duo battled it out fiercely during the late stages of the race while both were managing their fuel as well. Both expressed mutual respect after the race as Zilisch took his fourth career victory.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his opinions on both races, replying to Shane Van Gisbergen's social media post.

"Coincidence that @KeelanHarvick also beat Kevin today at Hickory in the @CARSTour? I think not" Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote via X.

Gisbergen was all praise for Zilisch after the race, as he congratulated the young driver and reviewed his race. The 36-year-old driver now sets his sights on the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday (July 13). Dale Earnhardt Jr. would also be flying high after the Xfinity race at Sonoma, as his team, JR Motorsports, had all five drivers finishing in the top ten during the race.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. thanks everyone involved in the ecstatic result for his team at Sonoma

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, JR Motorsports, had an amazing performance during Saturday's race in Sonoma. The team achieved a one-two finish with Connor Zilisch clinching the victory and Shane Van Gisbergen taking the runner-up position.

All five drivers of Earnhardt Jr.'s team finished in the top ten during the race. He is always the first one to thank his team members after a race, but this time around, he had more than his team to thank after the ecstatic result.

"Just incredible. Bummy, LW, the whole entire organization. All our crew chiefs, tons of resources from Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus, Jeff Gordon. Lot of support on the pit crew side from different areas. Justin Marks and Trackhouse. I mean, there are a lot of allies that we have that are part of our performance and help us run well. We do a lot of things in-house, but we also rely on a ton of help from outside that really does directly affect our performance" Earnhardt Jr. said via The CW.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will now be taking over his duties for the NASCAR broadcast team for the Cup Series race at Sonoma on Sunday (July 13). Fans would expect an enthralling and thrilling experience at the Toyota Save Mart 350 race.

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Edited by Luke Koshi