Erik Jones reveals advice he gave Connor Zilisch after back injury at Talladega

In 2024, Erik Jones suffered a compression fracture in his back that kept him out of multiple races. So, Jones is the driver that Connor Zilisch called up for advice after his own, undisclosed, back injury that he received at Talladega. The two NASCAR drivers talked seats and more.

Over the years, NASCAR has seen more than a few back injuries. Erik Jones had his last year. Alex Bowman was injured in a sprint car between Cup Series races in 2023.

Connor Zilisch hit the inside wall at Talladega head on. It was a nasty collision. He insists that he is only sitting out as a precaution and that it isn’t going to keep him out of the car long-term. It helps the Xfinity Series is on a two-week break now, too.

Jones talked to the media at Texas this weekend. During the scrum, he revealed a little bit of the advice he gave Zilisch regarding his injury, and what he can do to avoid it in the future.

“There’s not a lot you can really do to speed up that process other than, you know, just trying to stay active, walk – there’s just not a lot you can do other than that,” Jones said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “Keep blood flowing to the area. So, shared a little bit of just what I learned through my seat and seatbelts and all that kind of stuff. You know, I think he, hopefully, learned a lot through that.”

Connor Zilisch is only 18. He is going to be fine after this injury. No one wants to see a driver get injured, but if this ends up changing his seats and seatbelts and his in-car positioning and keeps him from being injured later down the line, it’s a net positive.

Connor Zilisch gets much needed break after injury

When all is said and done with this injury, if Connor Zilisch only misses one race, it will be a good thing. Not to mention, Kyle Larson got the win in his car for the one race that he has missed so far. That doesn’t sound too bad, all things considered.

This weekend, Zilisch was at Texas Motor Speedway to support his team. He gave a little bit of an update on his status.

“I don’t know what I’m allowed to say,” Zilisch told Bob Pockrass. “I cleared all my X-rays at the track, and there was nothing obvious. Everything is very minor, I’ll say that.

“But, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say to the extent of what my injuries are, but I’ll probably just plead the fifth and not get myself in trouble. Everything is, there is no crazy big injury that is going to hold me for months. It’s going to be day by day.”

Hopefully, we see Connor Zilisch back at Charlotte. He has a win on the year and is leading the Xfinity Series in poles. It will be worth watching to see if his qualifying speed takes a hit. Ideally, he will be back to 100% and ready to pick up where he left off before Talladega.