Rodney Childers hails Connor Zilisch's lifelong 'sponge-like' learning fueling his meteoric NASCAR rise

Connor Zilisch continued his meteoric rise in NASCAR with an impressive win at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday (July 26). The 19-year-old rookie won his third consecutive Xfinity Series race and gave JR Motorsports its 100th win in the series. Zilisch's latest win also triggered a tribute from the veteran crew chief, Rodney Childers, on social media.

It was a personal milestone for Zilisch at one of NASCAR's most iconic tracks and a benchmark win for the Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller-led organization.

A day after the race, Childers highlighted the young racer's learning ability. He summed it up on X:

"This dude has been like a sponge his whole life. Taking it all in and learning. I used to love him sitting on the 4 Team pit box with us. I always admired his will to listen and learn. There were a lot of other things he could've been doing at 14 and 15 yrs old."

Five wins, twelve top-10 finishes in 24 starts this season, predict a bright future for Zilisch, who turned 19 this month. Now a Trackhouse Racing development driver, Zilisch was brought into the fold last year and is expected to replace Daniel Suarez in 2026 as a full-time Cup racer on the back of such performances.

Connor Zilisch takes the checkered flag in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250. Source: Getty

Zilisch's execution at Indianapolis on Saturday was clinical. Sam Mayer's Ford pushed him on the final restart into the lead, ahead of Taylor Gray on Lap 99. From there, he didn't look back, crossing the line 0.339 seconds ahead of Mayer and giving JR Motorsports its long-awaited 100th Xfinity Series win.

Connor Zilisch wins Pennzoil 250 as JR Motorsports celebrates a century

Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Connor Zilisch after winning the Pennzoil 250. Source: Imagn

JR Motorsports became just the fourth organization in Xfinity Series history to hit the century mark, joining elite teams like Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Richard Childress Racing. Connor Zilisch's win is proof that the team's development pipeline and its investment in youth continue to pay off.

Zilisch shared a clip of Dale Earnhardt Jr. embracing him in victory lane and wrote on X:

"So much love for this guy @DaleJr. Thank you for letting me be a small part of 100 wins for @JRMotorsports ❤️❤️"

The 2025 Pennzoil 250 was one of the most defining races of the Xfinity Series calendar that saw six cautions and 10 lead changes. Zilisch benefited from a timely push by Sam Mayer and went past Taylor Gray on the penultimate lap to secure the win.

His JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier had led a race-high 37 laps and looked poised for the win, with 26 laps to go. But disaster struck on Lap 87 when Kyle Larson's No. 17 broke loose entering Turn 1, sending Allgaier into the wall and ending his day early. He finished 36th, the lowest of JRM's four entries.

For the rest of JR Motorsports, the day was mixed. Sammy Smith finished seventh in the No. 8 car, while Carson Kvapil finished outside the top 30.

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale