Battling for third place in this past Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway, Connor Zilisch went three-wide into Turn 1 on Lap 214 with JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Ross Chastain. Zilisch got loose and slid up into Chastain, who collided with Allgaier and sent him around.
As of recording time for Tuesday’s “Dale Jr. Download,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he hadn’t yet talked to Zilisch about the incident. He gave him some strong advice on the podcast, telling him that next time he wants to go three-wide under his teammates, “you better f*cking wrap the apron.”
“Here’s another piece of advice and I haven’t talked to Connor yet and I will: if you are going to go three-wide into Turn 1 under your teammates at Iowa, you better f*cking wrap the apron. If you’re making that decision on corner entry, you better make sure you adjust, and your ass can wrap the f*cking apron and not get loose and into your teammates,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t mind you trying to go three-wide, I don’t mind you going for it. Wrap the f*cking bottom and if you make the pass, you make the pass. That’s kind of the way it is.
“That was my initial reaction when it happened is why the f*ck wouldn’t you just go down in the corner and wrap the bottom and don’t charge the corner and get your ass loose underneath him? Shit happens, but you just always try to say, ‘Hey, let’s not make this a habit.’”
Connor Zilisch takes responsibility for ruining Justin Allgaier’s day at Iowa
Allgaier got the worst of it. He went from contending for the win to finishing a disappointing 15th. Zilisch, meanwhile, finished fourth and Chastain ended up one spot ahead in third. Zilisch apologized to Allgaier after the race.
“I feel really bad for the 7 team,” Zilisch said, via Frontstretch. ‘They’ve had a rough last few races, and today I definitely played a little bit of a part in that. So, yeah, I’ll look back and see what I could have done differently, but I’m excited for the rest of the year.”
Though teammates at JRM, Zilisch and Allgaier are racing against each other for a regular season points championship. The two drivers are tied atop the points standings with four regular season races remaining. Zilisch has closed the gap thanks to a 2.3 average finish over his last 10 starts. In that same span, Allgaier’s average finish is 16.5.
Right now, Zilisch has the momentum. Allgaier will look to bounce back this Saturday at Watkins Glen International.
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