Dale Earnhardt Jr. drops a subtle hint about Connor Zilisch “more than likely” taking over Daniel Suarez’s seat at Trackhouse Racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his thoughts on the rumours of Connor Zilisch replacing Daniel Suarez at Trackhouse Racing next season. Following an intense battle between Zilisch and Shane Van Gisbergen in Saturday's(July 12) Xfinity Series race at Sonoma, Earnhardt highlighted the two drivers' budding partnership as a 'look into the future'.

Zilisch entered the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 with a point to prove after losing out to SVG on the Chicago Street Course. The two drivers began on the front row and pulled away from the rest of the field with a combined lead of 70 laps, all the while posting 27 fastest laps each.

Much like last weekend, they once again fought for the lead during the end stages, but Zilisch held his ground and bested Van Gisbergen with a 0.438 second lead. On the Cup Series front, the 18-year-old prodigy has long been discussed as Suarez's replacement at Trackhouse Racing since he's their development driver.

Now that he has proved his mettle against a road course ace like SVG, Earnhardt has openly acknowledged Zilisch's readiness for the next level.

"SVG wanted to win the race but he's got to take care of Connor at the same time. This is exactly what we saw last week and we saw, you know, a little bit of a different outcome. But we know that they're going to more than likely be teammates racing into the future and beyond. And SVG come over to victory lane and they had a fun little back and forth about about the day's result and I think this is just kind of a look into the future of what we're all gonna be able to enjoy for years to come," Earnhardt said in an interview with CW Sports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn't more pleased about Saturday's outcome. Apart from Zilisch and SVG nabbing a 1-2 result for JR Motorsports, the rest of the team also finished within the top-10, making it yet another strong weekend for the organisation.

Meanwhile, SVG scored yet another pole for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. His Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain starts three spots behind, while Suarez placed further back at 19th.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. sees promising partnership between Connor Zilisch and SVG

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently spoke about the growing rivalry between Connor Zilisch and Shane Van Gisbergen. He reckoned they'll share a dynamic much like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports.

During an episode of Dale Jr Download, the JRM co-owner said,

"They will be the best of friends. They will push the s**t out of each other. In terms of, like, trying to get better and investing in each other."

Sonoma marked Connor Zilisch's third win of the season, following a previous victory where Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped in as his crew chief at Pocono Raceway. The result has now propelled him to fourth in the driver's standings, 69 points behind his JRM teammate, Justin Allgaier.