Connor Zilisch will be sidelined for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway after suffering a back injury in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway. During the closing stages at Talladega, Zilisch, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, was involved in an incident with Jesse Love from Richard Childress Racing. Love made contact with the rear of Zilisch’s car, causing the 18-year-old to spin out and hit the barriers head-on.
Initially, Zilisch was cleared by the infield medical team after the crash and was expected to compete in Texas. However, JR Motorsports later confirmed that he would not be racing this weekend due to lingering issues with a lower back injury sustained during the Talladega wreck. In his place, Kyle Larson will step in to drive the No. 88 car at Texas Motor Speedway. The team released a statement saying:
“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.”
Zilisch also addressed the situation on social media, thanking Larson and everyone supporting him through his recovery. He shared:
“Thank you to @KyleLarsonRacin for stepping up for me this weekend and everyone who has helped me through this process. Doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible.”
At this time, there is no clear timeline for Zilisch’s return to racing.
Following the race, Jesse Love reflected on the incident. Speaking to Newsweek Sports, Love mentioned he had been receiving strong pushes late in the race. He explained:
“I just got really good pushes there at the end. I was able to lift enough off of [Turn] 2 to get big pushes. I kind of thought we made our bed and were not in a good spot to win, and then I was able to get Austin [Hill] connected to me and he was able to give me some good pushes down the backstretch for a few laps.”
Love added that he didn’t want to comment further on the crash until he had checked on Zilisch, noting the impact looked severe and expressing concern for his friend.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. ET at Texas Motor Speedway.
