Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Connor Zilisch suffered a lower back injury Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, an injury that will keep him out of the Xfinity Series race this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Cup Series driver Kyle Larson will replace Zilisch in the JR Motorsports No. 88 car.
Both Larson and Zilisch have won Xfinity races this year. Zilisch, who is sixth in the series point standings, won at Circuit of the Americas. Larson, the 2021 Cup champion and second in the current Cup Series standings, has two starts in the series this year and won in his most recent Xfinity start at Bristol. A Cup driver is allowed a maximum of five races in the Xfinity Series each year.
The 18-year-old Zilisch was involved in a late wreck battling for the lead at Talladega, where he tried to block a run by Jesse Love and was turned, sliding head-first into the inside wall.
He complained about his back to his team on the in-car radio after the crash but said after exiting the medical center that x-rays were clear.
“Just a big hit like that, everything compresses and you feel it,” Zilisch said. “I’m all good.”
Zilisch said he would follow up with his doctors this week, and the team sent out a statement Wednesday night that he would miss Texas. Trackhouse Racing wouldn’t comment on the extent of the lower back injury and if he does have any fractures.
The Xfinity Series has two weeks off after Texas as it does not run at the upcoming Kansas and North Wilkesboro weekends. Zilisch is scheduled to run both the Xfinity and Cup races during Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte.
Zilisch would need a waiver from NASCAR to remain eligible for the playoffs while also missing a race during the regular season. NASCAR routinely grants a waiver for medical conditions.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Get more from NASCAR Xfinity Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
