Connor Zilisch Ruled Out Of NASCAR Xfinity Race At Texas As Replacement Confirmed
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
JR Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch has been ruled out of the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway due to his ongoing recovery from a wreck at Talladega last weekend.
31-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Kyle Larson will step in for the 18-year-old in the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 on Saturday. JR Motorsports confirmed:
"Kyle Larson will sub for Connor Zilisch behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway as Zilisch continues to recover from a lower back injury sustained last weekend at Talladega."
Statement from JR Motorsports. pic.twitter.com/Q2oT4hqKku — JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) April 30, 2025
On the final lap of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Zilisch, who was leading at the time, got caught up in a wreck with Jesse Love. The nudge from behind sent Zilisch into a spin before he collided with the barriers nose first.
Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, prepares to qualify for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama.
Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, prepares to qualify for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama.The North Carolina-born driver was heard complaining about his back over the team radio as soon as the crash took place. While speaking to the media after being cleared by the infield medical center, he explained:
"Yeah, I'm okay.
"That's one of the wrecks where you move your legs and make sure everything feels okay afterwards. So, very grateful to drive safe JR Motorsports race cars.
"Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was as fast as Xfinity Mobile. We were in the right spot, just, yeah, I haven't really watched it close enough to know what happened. But yeah, grateful to be up and walking."
A day alter, he confirmed that he was still feeling sore from the wreck.
"Sore today but more than anything just upset that I couldn't close that one out for my team. If we keep putting ourselves in position to win races, it will come. Thank you to everyone who reached out to make sure I was okay."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Driver dies after medical emergency during race in North Carolina
Robbie Brewer, a short-track racecar driver, died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race. Brewer's vehicle smashed head-on into a wall at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday night. He was competing in the 20-lap Sportsman Series race, which occurs every weekend across four divisions. The car came to a halt near the finish line, and the 53-year-old Brewer was taken out of it after track workers took the roof off. Brewer was rushed to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hospital, where he eventually died, per the Winston-Salem Journal. "We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical facility following an on-track medical incident," track officials said in a statement on Sunday. "Robbie was a talented and passionate race, and highly respected competitior among his peers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robbie's family and friends at this time." Details of Brewer's medical emergency were not disclosed. Brad Lewis, a fellow driver at Bowman Gray, said Brewer "was like a big brother to me even though we were not that far apart in age." Lewis' race shop was near where Brewer lived. "He was a wheelman thorugh and through," Lewis added. "I'm not only going to honor him the rest of the season, but for as long as we race out there. He'll be missed." Brewer has been racing at the track, which served as a preseason NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event back in February, since 1990. Brewer made almost 260 Sportsman Division starts, and he won the championship in 2011, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stock Car Racer Passes Away After Crashing
Read the full story on Backfire News Veteran stock car racer Robbie Brewer passed away after crashing at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina on Saturday night. While his collision with the wall on turn four during the Sportsman division race looked scary, that was apparently not what killed the reports from local news stations say Brewer suffered some sort of medical emergency which caused him to crash. Pictures of his racecar from after the incident look worse because track personnel had to rip off the roof just to reach him. They then pulled the man out of the stock car, loaded him into an ambulance, and rushed him off to the hospital. According to Flo Racing, Brewer suffered a heart attack while he was driving. There were just four laps left in the first of two 20-lap races for the Sportsman division on Saturday night. Fortunately, after Brewer's car hit the wall and bounced off, other racers were able to avoid a secondary collision with him, otherwise the night might have been even more tragic. Brewer enjoyed a successful career of racing, having one 11 times in Sportsman races at Bowman Gray Stadium. He was also the division champion back in 2011. For the 2015 season, the man racked up four wins, his best showing. With 311 career starts at Bowman, it's a track he knew well. Unfortunately, it was also the last one he ever raced. Image via WXII
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Brady: Belichick's challenge at UNC is working with 17- and 18-year-olds
Tom Brady knows better than most what it's like to play for Bill Belichick, which informs his confidence in his former coach's first foray into the college ranks as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. Brady, who won six of his seven Super Bowl championships as quarterback of Belichick's New England Patriots, declared he's part of the large group intrigued to see how Belichick coaches college players in Chapel Hill, N.C. -- a.k.a. "Chapel Bill." "What they're gonna get is, obviously, the most prepared, the most hard-working coach that I'd ever been around," Brady said during the latest episode of "The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast," which was released on Monday. "If you go to that school, you will be prepared to play at the next level. He's gonna teach you the right fundamentals, the right techniques. He's gonna have a high expectation for you and you're gonna develop a lot. That's what I know." North Carolina signed Belichick, 73, to a five-year deal through the 2029 season to replace Mack Brown. He will earn $10 million a year, plus up to $3.5 million in performance incentives. The first three years of the contract are guaranteed. Belichick won six Super Bowls in 24 seasons with the Patriots while compiling an 302-165 regular-season record as head coach for the Cleveland Browns (1991-95) and Patriots (2000-23). "I think the challenge for him is he's dealing with a lot of, probably, under-developed players, because he's dealt with guys that are four, five, six years further along than what he's normally had to deal with. So I think there's probably a learning curve for him," Brady said on the podcast. "And this is just me hypothesizing -- I don't have much knowledge of it -- but I'm sure it's different coaching a 17- or 18-year-old than even a 22- or 23-year-old. So, there's probably just less physically developed and he's a very deep thinker of the sport." Since last spring, North Carolina's players have been working in what has been called an NFL-style program to prepare for the season opener on Sept. 1 at home against TCU. "I think what makes Coach Belichick so unbelievable, tactically, (is) he can break down an opponent. He watches so much film. He is so smart with how he approaches defensive schemes and offensive schemes," Brady said. "How much can these young kids retain? That may be an interesting challenge as well because, in some ways, they're not professionals. They don't have as much time as we had as professional athletes to go in there and study film and practice and meet and all that. They don't have that amount of time at the college level." Brady, 48, played for the Patriots from 2000-19 and won Super Bowls in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons before capturing another league championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. A three-time NFL MVP, Brady retired after the 2022 season with three first-team All-Pro and 15 Pro Bowl selections. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
