Dale Jr.’s NASCAR prodigy shares the surprising role William Byron played in his ‘smart’ COTA decision

During a post-qualifying session press conference on Friday, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team driver Connor Zilisch revealed how William Byron contributed to him earning the pole position for the Focused Health 250.

The #88 Chevy driver secured the pole position for the Focused Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race scheduled for Saturday, March 1, 2025. He completed the 3.426-mile track in just 97.262 seconds, with a top speed of 88.832 mph.

In the press conference, Zilisch disclosed that he didn't want to go for the second lap because he thought his "first lap was good enough." However, upon seeing Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron "down Pit Road," he decided to go for it.

"when I saw Byron roll down Pit Road, I told Marty, I was like, Hey, it's probably smart to, um, do it just because, you know, we haven't seen anybody run a second lap after a mock or after a, you know, sticker run, so we didn't know if it'd be faster or not, so we didn't want to take the risk of, you know, being too confident in our lap, so I went back out there," Zilisch explained. [03:26]

The NASCAR prodigy earned his career's second pole position in just his seventh start. He is also set for his Cup Series debut at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix race scheduled for Sunday, March 2, 2025.

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“Time to burn some fuel and rubber!”: Dale Jr. shares his excitement for the first race of the 2025 CARS Tour

On February 28, 2025, former NASCAR driver Dale Jr. shared his excitement over the 2025 zMAX CARS Tour season. The season's first race will be held at the New River All-American Speedway on Saturday, March 1, 2025. It will feature 19 full-time Late Model Stock drivers, including JR Motorsports' Connor Hall.

Reflecting on the big day, Dale Jr. took to his X account and wrote:

"I woke up so damn anxious this morning. The first practice day of the new @zMAXFormula @CARSTour season is here. I hope it goes smooth for our staff and competitors. So much work goes into each offseason. But it's time to burn some fuel and rubber!"

In 2024, Dale Jr. talked about competing in a few CARS Tour races in the 2025 season, including the Cordele Motor Speedway race in Georgia scheduled for April 12, 2025.

"It’s exciting to have the chance to take the zMAX CARS Tour to Cordele. Fans in the area are really looking forward to it, and so are our teams. I’m thrilled to add this race to my schedule for next year," Earnhardt Jr. said (via Racing America).

The 50-year-old will also compete at Florence Motor Speedway in August 2025. He competed in the event last September and earned a spot among the top 10 drivers.