“He's more prepared for Cup than what SVG was”: Denny Hamlin delivers an honest take on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity star

Denny Hamlin shared his take on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s star driver, Connor Zilisch's part-time Cup Series entry. Hamlin stated that he is more ready for the top tier of stock car racing than his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, was at the start of this season.

Zilisch, a full-time Xfinity Series driver, is all set to make his third Cup Series start at Atlanta this weekend (previous races at Austin and Charlotte). He will drive the #87 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing, alongside Van Gisbergen, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez.

As he approaches his third Cup Series race, questions have been asked if he is ready for the competition at the top tier of stock car racing. Sharing his take, here's what the Joe Gibbs Racing star said about Zilisch, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s driver at JR Motorsports on his Actions Detrimental podcast:

"I would say that he's more prepared for Cup than what SVG was entering this season. Does that make any sense? Like, I think SVG is getting better on the ovals. Certainly, it's starting to show probably over the last four or five weeks or so. He's had some good legitimate runs. Now, I would say that it seems like his performance is also connected to the uptick in Trackhouse performance."

"But, generally speaking, I think Connor's having more success in Xfinity. Now, the two are not the same, because you know SVG was driving for Kaulig, Connor's driving a JRM car, which is you know the best cars on the racetrack. But as far as being ready, I didn't think SVG was ready and short of his Mexico win, I think that that's proving to be true. But yet he's getting there," Hamlin further added. (21:28-22:31)

Notably, Shane van Gisbergen, a full-time Cup Series driver for Trackhouse, entered the NASCAR scene with the Truck Series in 2023 and moved to the Xfinity Series in 2024, where he drove for Matt Kaulig's Kaulig Racing.

Zilisch signed up to race for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-led JR Motorsports, one of the best teams in the Xfinity Series at the moment, and the defending owner's champion in the series.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. let his feelings known after assisting Connor Zilisch in Xfinity race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. served as the crew chief of Connor Zilisch's #88 Xfinity Series ride at the recently concluded Pocono Xfinity Series race. This change occurred after Mardy Lindley, Zilisch's original crew chief, was suspended by NASCAR following a discrepancy with the #88 car that was discovered during the Nashville race.

Connor Zilisch, and JR Motorsports team owner, and fill-in crew chief Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrate in victory lane - Source: Getty

As Earnhardt Jr., who is also the co-owner of JR Motorsports, took up the charge as crew chief, he and Zilisch ended up winning the Xfinity race at the Pocono Raceway. Here's what the former Cup Series driver said afterwards (via NASCAR.com):

“Hats off to everybody on this team. It’s been amazing all weekend long. Great race car driver. Connor Zilisch is going to be a big deal in this sport for a long time. A lot of fun for me today.”

Zilisch started the race from ninth place and improved to third by the end of Stage 1. The JR Motorsports driver was in the race lead by the end of Stage 2, and in the end, took the checkered flag ahead of Jesse Love.