History in the making. It took 20 years for JR Motorsports to achieve racing immortality. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s vision has blossomed into one of NASCAR’s most dominant Xfinity Series programs. The organization has not only built its legacy but has also been a launchpad for future Cup Series stars like Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick, who all came through its doors as champions before climbing to NASCAR’s top level. And on a rainy, chaotic evening at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that legacy reached a milestone.

JRM achieved a historic victory on Saturday, brought in by 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, a rising phenom who has become the face of JR Motorsports. Zilisch seized the movement, fended the field, and drove across the iconic yard of bricks, delivering the Junior envisioned all those years ago.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. praises Connor Zilisch after historic win

“I have a big expectation to be an owner… I think that after my driving days are over, I’ll still be around the sport. I’d love to be an owner in the sport.” This is what Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in 2005 about his ambitions in NASCAR. Now, JR Motorsports, courtesy of their 18-year-old, has notched up its 100th Xfinity Series win!

Connor Zilisch gave JR Motorsports the milestone moment it had been chasing. At just 18, Zilisch etched his name into the team’s legacy. Starting from fifth, Zilisch methodically worked his way through the field, showcasing the composure of a veteran while embodying the future Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been cultivating since putting faith in the young star. Zilisch’s race was a master class in patience and precision. He ended Stage 1 in fifth, quietly holding position, and then became a force in Stage 2, shoving Justin Allgaier to lead before snatching it back on lap 52. Though Allgaier edged him by mere inches to win the stage, Zilisch’s intent was clear. He was ready to run with the best.

As the final stage descended into chaos with rain delays, multiple cautions, and late race blocks, Zilisch kept his nose clean and his focus sharp. With 11 laps to go, when Justin Allgaier and Kyle Larson made contact while battling for the lead on a late restart, Zilisch capitalized and stormed in front. With just two laps to go, Connor made the move that sealed history.

He chased down Taylor Gray, capitalized when Gray wiggled off Turn 2, and, with a push from Sam Mayer, drove to the inside to take the lead for good. In the final sprint, Connor fended off the hard-charging pack, crossing the yard of bricks and delivering Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team its landmark 100th win. He beat out Taylor Gray and Sheldon Creed in the closing laps, holding his line while others folded under pressure.

Post race, Zilisch’s excitement was raw and infectious. He said, “Dude, this is awesome. Those bricks look really kissable, and I’m ready to kiss them. Man, this is awesome. 100 wins for JRM. Congrats to Dale, Kelly, LW, everybody who’s raced for JRM, everybody who works at JRM. I’m the smallest part of this team, and man, I’m so glad to be a part of it. It’s been such an awesome journey with JRM, and it’s so cool to get them 100. Winning at Indy is awesome, and getting 100 wins for JRM is really cool too, so I consider this a pretty awesome day.” For Dale Earnhardt Jr., the partnership has already been paying dividends, not just another trophy for the shop but a victory that cements Zilisch as the future of NASCAR.

Junior couldn’t hold back his praise. “Oh, man. He’s a hell of a driver. You know, he just went up there and got it back. We’ve got great race cars, a good race car underneath him to do what he needed to do. So, it takes a lot of us, and want to thank the engine shop. Hendrick Motorsports engine shop, that’s what wins races in places like this and at Dover. So, thank y’all for all the hard work; they’ve worked hard this year. And all the support we get from HMS it’s important to our performance.”

Connor Zilisch has been on a tear this season, racking up five wins and making it look almost effortless. Late race pressure barely seems to faze him anymore. And even after suffering a grueling back injury at Talladega that sidelined him for one race, Zilisch came back even better than before. Since Memorial Day Weekend, he has scored four victories and hasn’t finished worse than fifth!

Behind the wheel of the iconic No. 88, Zilisch is proving to Junior that he is something special, and the teenager hasn’t held back praise about his team owner either. But while Connor took the checkered flag, it could easily have been his teammate Justin Allgaier’s day. The driver of the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet led a race-high 37 laps before contact with Kyle Larson late in the event dashed his hopes for victory.

Dale Jr. has a word with Mr. H amid JRM and HMS driver collisions

Leaving Indianapolis Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports had every reason to celebrate. The shop will no doubt be buzzing this week with pride and celebration over that achievement. But the flight back to North Carolina carried a thing. Justin Allgaier, the cornerstone of the program and the series points leader, had been in position to claim that landmark victory himself, but contact with Kyle Larson sent him crashing out of the lead with just 14 laps to go. On the exit of turn 2, Larson got loose, making contact with Allgaier, sending the No. 7 hard into the outside wall.

Moreover, Allgaier’s lead in regular-season standings over the race winner has been trimmed to 21 points after a 36th-place finish with five races remaining in the regular season. In a post-race interview, Justin didn’t hold back. He said, “Unfortunately, we got the worse end of the deal. I’m disappointed. I’ll have to go back and look at it. I don’t really have a lot to say on it right now.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., backing his driver, said, “You know, I told Mr. Hendrick just now, he’s texting me about that wreck off of two, and I said, you know, we’ve done this a long time. You put good race car drivers in good cars, they’re going to run together and sometimes wreck together. Larson’s a guy that’s going to lay it out on the line. I know it wasn’t intentional, and it hurts. But, you know, we’re racing for the lead and he’s racing for the win, too. You know, it is what it is. We’ve seen that, I’ve been in this game a long, long time, seen a lot of crazy things happen.”

This also marks the second time in six weeks that Justin has been involved in a late-race scuffle with a Cup Series driver in the No. 17 Xfinity Series car. At Pocono Raceway, contact between Justin and Chase Elliott resulted in Connor winning after Justin and Chase fell out of contention. The tension between JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports seems to be building, but with a long and fruitful relationship already in place between Rick Hendrick and his former driver Dale Jr., we expect things to be sorted out professionally.

So, what did you think of the milestone-shattering race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Let us know in the comments!