“Lesson learned”: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JRM prodigy comically regrets leaving phone unattended amid Rolex 24 start

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 entry for JR Motorsports, an Xfinity Series team owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., took to X and uploaded two funny snaps of his teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin, for the 63rd annual Rolex 24.

Zilisch then jokingly wrote that he should have never left his phone unattended while he had gone for some seat time in the No. 91 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

“Left my phone on the timing stand when I got in the car. Lesson learned boys @shanevg97 @smclaughlin93,”

Zilisch, Gisbergen, and McLaughlin, along with sports car veteran Ben Keating, will run the 24-hour race under the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class for ‘Trackhouse by TF Sport.’ According to reports, the event will be held on January 25 and 26 at Daytona International Speedway.

Weathertech, the primary sponsor of the No. 91 machine, will back the Trackhouse trio. It will also serve as the primary sponsor for SVG in the Cup Series and Zilisch in the Xfinity Series.

“We are honored WeatherTech joined us on this project and we feel this combination of drivers, race teams, manufacturer and corporate sponsors are as good as any competing in Daytona this year,” said Team owner Justin Marks of the upcoming SportsCar Championship bid.

Marks won the Rolex 24 himself as a driver back in 2009. However, this will be his debut as an owner in the star-studded event. Previously, TF Sport bagged triumphs at the Spa 24 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours. They were also the 2022 World Endurance Champions.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains how the No. 40 entry for the 2025 Daytona 500 came to be

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, JR Motorsports, will field the No. 40 Chevy Camaro in this year’s Daytona 500, scheduled for February 16. This will be the first time for the Mooresville-based team to compete in the annual crown jewel event.

In a recent interview (quoted by On3), the NASCAR Hall of Famer explained why they chose the No. 40 for the job. Mentioning his team’s partnership with 10-time Grammy-winning artist Chris Stapleton and ‘Traveller Whiskey’, which he owns, Dale Jr. said,

“It’s a connection to the blend No. 40 that Traveller’s utilizes in every bottle, so much like High Rock is 88 proof. There is a connection to the product.”

“In a lot of scenarios, I would have been very opinionated about a specific number, but this is a moment where we’re kind of diving into a very limited pool of opportunity in terms of what number you can run,” he added.

The car will be driven by reigning series champion Justin Allgaier. Although Allgaier has run the Daytona 500 twice before, this is going to be his first time with JR Motorsports. Fans can watch him in action on FOX from 2:30 pm ET onwards or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.