From the booth to the racetrack, bonds are strong. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Parker Kligerman used to work together at NBC Sports, with the former serving as an analyst in the booth and the latter acting as the pit reporter. Dale Jr. has left his job at NBC, while Kligerman stayed behind. However, that gap has hardly produced a scratch in their NASCAR relationship, as Kligerman eagerly came forward to help out Dale Jr.’s young prodigy, Connor Zilisch.

The 19-year-old speedster is the belle of the ball in the 2025 Xfinity Series season. Connor Zilisch encountered a freak back injury at Talladega Superspeedway, yet he returned to clinch five wins. Despite this history of recovering fast, Zilisch is not taking any chances this time.

Connor Zilisch has a notable standby

In a nasty accident at Watkins Glen, Connor Zilisch lost his footing on the door of his car and fell to the ground, headfirst. The resulting collarbone injury threw a shade on his victory, and he was rushed to the hospital. Zilisch underwent successful surgery on Aug. 12, during which doctors added a plate and screws to his collarbone to aid the healing process. Getting an extra week to heal (Xfinity did not race at Richmond), Zilisch has now been medically cleared to return to competition. He will wheel the No. 88 Chevrolet at Friday’s Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola to clinch the regular season championship. However, Dale Jr. is making his return foolproof.

Despite the medical clearance, Connor Zilisch’s return remains a risk. Dale Jr. has tapped his close acquaintance just in case. Parker Kligerman, a three-time winner in the Truck Series, will be on standby to take the No. 88 wheel. Kligerman retired from full-time competition after the 2024 season. After multiple heartbreaks of clinching the fourth victory, he could not be happier to get another opportunity to do so. Kligerman wrote, “Not everyday you get a call from @DaleJr asking if you can lend a hand for his race team. Honored to help out & thanks to @TheCW for letting me do this. Most of all, I’m happy for @ConnorZilisch to have such a speedy recovery. The kid is incredible.”

Indeed, Connor Zilisch‘s brilliance over the season has heavily insured him. He would earn points just by starting the race, and would earn points even if Kligerman replaced him in the car. Zilisch will try to race all 100 laps, aiming to optimize the 7-point lead over teammate Justin Allgaier. Zilisch told Bob Pockrass about his advantageous situation: “So, you’re not losing that much doing that here. You’re not going to go a lap down changing drivers – the track’s long enough under caution. So, looking at it now, I’m most likely going to pull out of line until the race starts and ride around until the caution comes out.” 

Connor Zilisch also prioritized his health over a satisfying race finish. He continued, “But say I wake up tomorrow and I’m feeling really good, then who knows? But that’s very probably unlikely, and the risk isn’t worth fighting for. And I don’t want to see what the risk is, either.”

While Connor Zilisch’s accident was indeed nasty, a NASCAR veteran simply took it in stride.

Just another legendary moment

When you are a legend, your career has a healthy dose of memorable moments. Connor Zilisch has his own – for instance, when he clinched his first Xfinity Series win in his debut race at Watkins Glen. Then, the 19-year-old sparred in a lively match with road course racing star Shane van Gisbergen. However, that is hardly all, as those memorable moments can be a mixture of good and bad. We saw an extremely bad moment unfold when Zilisch broke his collarbone in a nasty slip-and-fall in his return to Watkins Glen this year. Although risks and concerns surround his recovery, Brad Keselowski believes it is just as good a moment to cherish as any other.

The 2012 Cup Series champion has had his dose of accidents, too. Brad Keselowski commented on Zilisch’s fall: “Man, that was sure scary.” Yet he ironically added, “The funniest part to me was Adam just saying, ‘Oh my god, he fell.’ And my wife and I, we’ve had a lot of fun with that. But, you do this sport long enough, you’re bound to have a moment that you wish you could have back. And, I’ve got quite a few of them, and Connor got his first one… I sliced my hand open one time. I’ve got quite a few of them, and Connor got his first one. Just adventures in racing.”

Hence, nasty or not, Connor Zilisch’s Watkins Glen accident has made for a fascinating storyline. With Parker Kligerman part of that, let us see how things unfold for Dale Jr.’s driver in Daytona.