LONG POND, Pa. Dale Earnhardt Jr. might already be NASCARs most popular crew chief.
Hes certainly an undefeated one.
Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet and they landed in victory lane Saturday in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway.
It felt good to have some input and decision-making power, Earnhardt said. And then helping Connor understand what our plan was so he knew when to push and what he was expected to do.
Earnhardt, who won NASCARs most-popular driver award 15 times, made a pit stop from his day job as team owner at JR Motorsports with normal crew chief Mardy Lindley suspended one race because of a lug-nut infraction this month at Nashville.
Aside from his duties as team owner, Earnhardt also was at Pocono for his role on the Prime broadcast for the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday.
Lot of fun for me today, Earnhardt said. I missed the thrill of competition. I love broadcast, dont get me wrong. But nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesnt really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun.
Earnhardt had his wife and two young daughters in tow as he made the celebratory walk to victory lane. Older daughter Isla Rose clutched the checkered flag while younger Nicole Lorraine soaked in the scene from her dads arms.
I love that they just get to experience things about NASCAR, Earnhardt said. I had such a great time growing up as a kid in this sport, just running around here. I want them to have that opportunity and understand that this is a place where they could create opportunities for themselves down the road.
The win continued a banner season for the NASCAR Hall of Famer who swept two races at Pocono as a driver in 2014 after JR Motorsports and reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier qualified for the season-opening Daytona 500 and secured their Cup Series debut.
Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s, in 2004 and 2014, and 26 races overall.
His side hustle Saturday was made a bit easier with Zilisch behind the wheel. Zilisch, who turns 19 in July, raced to his second Xfinity victory of the season and third of his young career. He won his Xfinity debut last year at Watkins Glen International.
Earnhardt even pitched in during the race and tossed tires over the wall during pit stops.
Midway through the race, man, I was feeling it, Earnhardt said.
Zilisch took the win down to the wire and finally passed Jesse Love with five laps left. Love finished second.
Dale Junior, not too bad on the box, Zilisch said. Pretty cool to have him up there. Getting him a 1-for-1 win as crew chief is pretty awesome.
Even with the victory, it just might be one-and-done on the pit box for Earnhardt.
I dont know that I see myself doing it again, he said.
宾夕法尼亚州朗庞德电 —— 小戴尔·恩哈特（Dale Earnhardt Jr.）或许已成为NASCAR赛事中最受欢迎的赛车队长。
他无疑是一位从未被击败的强者。
临时受命担当指导的厄恩哈特，为驾驶88号雪佛兰赛车的18岁新秀康纳·齐利希出谋划策。周六，两人在波科诺赛道举办的二级赛事Xfinity系列赛中携手冲过终点，成功登上冠军领奖台。
“能够参与决策并拥有一定话语权的感觉很棒，”厄恩哈特说道，“随后我还帮助康纳理解我们的计划，让他知道何时该发力以及他需要做些什么。”
曾15次荣获NASCAR最受欢迎车手奖的厄恩哈特，本月因在纳什维尔站比赛中出现车轮螺母违规问题，其JR Motorsports车队的常规比赛工程师马迪·林德利被禁赛一场。作为车队老板的他，日常工作也因此稍作停歇。
除了车队老板的职责外，厄恩哈特周日还现身波科诺赛道，为纳斯卡杯系列赛担任Prime频道的赛事解说。
“今天对我来说非常有趣，”厄恩哈特说道，“我怀念比赛的刺激感。别误会，我热爱广播工作。但没有什么能比得上亲自驾驶或成为团队一员的感觉。当老板可无法带来这样的体验，这真的太棒了。”
厄恩哈特携妻子和两个年幼的女儿一同走向胜利车道庆祝。大女儿伊斯拉·罗斯紧握着方格旗，而小女儿妮可·洛兰则在父亲的臂弯里沉浸于这一场景中。
“我特别喜欢他们能亲身体验纳斯卡的一切，”小厄恩哈特说道。“我小时候在这项运动中度过了一段美好时光，就是在这里跑来跑去。我希望他们也能有这样的机会，并且明白这是一个未来能为自己创造机遇的地方。”
这场胜利延续了这位纳斯卡名人堂成员的辉煌赛季——他曾在2014年作为车手横扫波科诺赛道的两场比赛。此前，JR赛车公司与卫冕Xfinity系列赛冠军贾斯汀·阿尔盖尔已成功晋级赛季揭幕战戴通纳500，并锁定了他们的杯赛系列赛首秀资格。
厄恩哈特曾于2004年和2014年两度赢得戴通纳500赛事冠军，职业生涯共斩获26项赛事冠军。
由于齐利希（Zilisch）的出色驾驶，他在周六的副业比赛轻松了不少。这位即将在七月迎来19岁生日的年轻车手，本赛季第二次夺得Xfinity系列赛冠军，这也是他职业生涯的第三场胜利。去年，他曾在沃特金斯格伦国际赛道上演Xfinity首秀并一举夺冠。
比赛期间，**恩哈特**甚至亲自上阵，在维修站换胎时帮忙将轮胎扔过围墙。
“比赛中途的时候，老兄，我真切感受到了压力，”厄恩哈特说道。
齐利施（Zilisch）与杰西·洛夫（Jesse Love）的冠军争夺战持续到最后一刻，最终在剩余五圈时完成超越获胜，洛夫获得亚军。
“小戴尔在指挥台上表现不错，”齐利希说道，“有他在上面坐镇感觉很棒。作为车队首席，能让他首战告捷实在令人振奋。”
即便赢得了比赛，厄恩哈特（Earnhardt）在维修区的执教生涯可能就此止步。
“我不确定自己是否会再做一次，”他说道。
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