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Dale Earnhardt Jr. is focused on nurturing emerging talent at his NASCAR Xfinity Series team, JR Motorsports. The JRM team owner is reportedly anticipating Connor Zilisch to be part of their program for a year or two and has expressed a desire to give Carson Kvapil a full-time season next year.
Connor Zilisch is an 18-year-old Charlotte native who recently won his debut Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. Carson Kvapil, on the other hand, is a 21-year-old CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion who races in the second-tier series as a part-time driver for JR Motorsports.
This was reported by NASCAR veteran reporter Bob Pockrass on X (formerly Twitter) during a pre-race interview at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“Dale Jr. said he expects Connor Zilisch to be at JRM for 12-24 months. He also mentioned hoping to get Carson Kvapil full time next year,” Pockrass wrote.
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Zilisch already signed a full-time seat deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports in August. He will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet next season along with NASCAR veteran driver Justin Allgaier.
The youngster chose to work with Jr Motorsports because of its resources and development program. JRM is the only Xfinity team to produce rookie champions: Chase Elliott in 2014, William Byron in 2017, and Tyler Reddick in 2018. All of them have made their way to the Cup Series and are currently playoff contenders.
“I do think there’s a lot of really good resources at JR Motorsports that I’ll be able to go and learn from as we look on to the years to come. I feel like I’m in a really good spot with a lot of great people around me that’ll help guide me in the right direction as I get into the Xfinity Series next year,” Connor Zilisch said last August.
Meanwhile, Kvapil is starting the 2025 season with a handful of Xfinity Series races driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team. After his first five races, the driver has an average finish of 8.4. His best result came at Dover International Speedway, where the North Carolina native finished second behind Ryan Truex.
Current JR Motorsports drivers Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer will be leaving the team at the end of the season. The former will head to Joe Gibbs Racing, while the latter will drive for the reworked Haas Factory Team.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has no plans to race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year
Dale Earnhardt Jr. also talked about his own future as a driver in the sport. The two-time Xfinity champion said at the Bristol media center that he has no plans to enter a race next year, saying:
“Well, I’m not planning on racing next year.”
However, the 49-year-old driver didn’t rule out getting behind the wheel again in 2026.
“I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up because of anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
“And I will miss it terribly, regret that I didn’t race and probably in 2026 find me somewhere that I can go compete in the Xfinity Series again. But right now, I don’t have any plans,” the JRM owner concluded.
The upcoming stop at Bristol Motor Speedway will be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final race in NASCAR.
