Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes historic win on shock NASCAR debut at Pocono

Cup Series legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a brilliant winning debut in a new NASCAR role this weekend.

The 50-year-old won 26 races in his Cup Series career, but it was the Xfinity Series – which he won twice in 1998 and 1999 – where he made his crew chief debut at NASCAR level this weekend.

Earnhardt Jr. is the owner of JR Motorsports, team that runs four full-time entries in the series, including Connor Zilisch in the No. 88.

No. 88 crew chief Mardy Lindley was suspended this weekend for a loose lug-nut penalty at Nashville, which was deferred to this weekend's race at Pocono. That left the team needing to fill that spot and Earnhardt Jr., who was already scheduled to be at the race for the Amazon Prime broadcast, stepped up.

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Earnhardt Jr.: Zilisch is going to be a big deal

Zilisch won in a chaotic race which saw more cautions thrown than any other Xfinity Series race at Pocono, with Earnhardt Jr. saying after the chequered flag: “Yeah, it sure was [fun]. When we have an issue like this with somebody being suspended, and uh, Mardy and everybody, they know what to do. Just a great job, putting us in a position to succeed. And we had a lot of things go our way.

“A lot of good luck. Great strategy. Had a little help from Letarte up here. I wasn’t not gonna have Steve Letarte not get on this pit box after the races we won together in 2014. So, he was a big help. But Pat, everybody on this team, just amazing all weekend long. And what a great race car driver. Connor Zilisch is going to be a big deal in this sport for a long time. So, a lot of fun for me today!”

He added: “I missed the thrill of competition, you know. I love broadcasting, don’t get me wrong, but nothing compares to driving or just being kind of part of the team, and being an owner doesn’t really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun, thank you.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pocono Results Today

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pocono Stage 2 results

NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pocono Stage 1 results

READ MORE: NASCAR Qualifying Results: Cup Series legend shines on return as 23XI suffer disaster

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