“It’s a good thing I’m upset”: Connor Zilisch reacts to having high standards after top-5 run at Bristol night race

JR Motorsports driver, Connor Zilisch shared his honest thoughts after finishing the Bristol Motor Speedway Xfinity Series in fifth place. Zilisch, the best driver in terms of statistics in the regular season championship, came home behind four drivers as he competed in his first-ever NASCAR playoffs race.

Zilisch started the race from P4 after a formidable qualifying outing on Saturday. He started the race behind Aric Almirola, the eventual race winner, and ahead of Taylor Gray. Despite starting from fourth place, he improved to second place by the end of Stage 1, moved to the top by the end of Stage 2.

However, he missed out on the race win as Almirola took the race victory ahead of Sheldon Creed. Creed tried his best to overpower Almirola, but ended up being the second-best driver on Sunday. Sam Mayer came home in third place, ahead of Carson Kvapil.

As Connor Zilisch finished his race in fifth place, he took to social media to share his thoughts. Here's the JR Motorsports driver's post on the micro-blogging site, X, formerly known as Twitter:

"Having to remind myself that it’s a good thing I’m upset about finishing 5th"

Connor Zilisch

@ConnorZilisch

Having to remind myself that it’s a good thing I’m upset about finishing 5th👍🏼

Connor Zilisch finished the regular season championship on top. With nine wins in 26 races, the rookie NASCAR Xfinity Series driver shocked everyone with his performances. He has 16 Top 5s, 18 Top 10s, seven poles to his name, and led a staggering 848 laps, and has an average 6.154 starting position, and has an average 8.346 finish position.

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Connor Zilisch shared his reaction to Rodney Childers' arrival

Renowned NASCAR crew chief, Rodney Childers, is all set to join JR Motorsports next year. He will be in charge of the #1 Xfinity Series car for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s co-owned team. Zilisch and Carson Kvapil will jointly drive the #1 car in number of races, which is still to be decided.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch (88) heads into turn 3 during the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn Images

Sharing his thoughts, here's what he wrote on the micro-blogging site, X:

"Excited to get the opportunity to work with @RodneyChilders4 next year at @JRMotorsports! Going to be fun."

Rodney Childers is renowned for winning the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series Championship with Kevin Harvick during his stint at the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. He last worked at Spire Motorsports when he was the crew chief of Justin Haley.

Earnhardt Jr. co-owns JR Motorsports, a team that fields part-time Cup Series and full-time Xfinity Series cars. He co-owns the team with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, LW Miller, Kelley Earnhardt's husband, and Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports.