Connor Zilisch injury update: Kyle Larson to replace JRM No. 88 driver at Texas
Kyle Larson will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday as he will replace Connor Zilisch. JR Motorsports announced the news on Wednesday afternoon, saying that Larson will take over for Zilisch, who is dealing with an injury.
“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,” JR Motorsports said in a statement. Zilisch thanked Larson for driving the No. 88 car.
“Thank you to [Larson] for stepping up for me this weekend and everyone who has helped me through this process,” Zilisch wrote on X/Twitter. Doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible.”
On Saturday, Connor Zilisch was involved in a single-car crash at Talladega. The incident happened on the final lap, and Zilisch was evaluated at the infield care center. After the race, Zilisch talked about friend and competitor Jesse Love checking up on him.
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More on Connor Zilisch and Kyle Larson
“He was crying in there. He just wanted to make sure I was OK,” Zilisch said, per NASCAR.com. “He doesn’t want to hurt his best friend, and I wouldn’t want to do that to him. I’m grateful to have someone like Jesse, who we race hard on the race track, but we care about each other off the track.”
On Sunday, Zilisch gave an update on his health. “Sore today but more than anything just upset that I couldn’t close that one out for my team,” Zilisch posted on X/Twitter. “If we keep putting ourselves in position to win races, it will come. Thank you to everyone who reached out to make sure I was okay.”
This will be the third Xfinity Series race Kyle Larson will compete in this season. He drove the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports at Homestead and Bristol and finished fourth, and first, respectively. Larson has competed in 118 Xfinity Series races and has earned 16 victories with 84 top-10 finishes.