Dale Earnhardt got “nauseous” over Carson Kvapil-Connor Zilisch at COTA Xfinity race
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his feelings about his drivers Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch’s battle at COTA.

Carson Kvapil, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Connor Zilisch (Via IMAGO)
JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch has yet again proved why he is the most highly rewarded upcoming racer in the stock car racing scene. The Trackhouse Racing development driver took advantage of his road course arcing prowess to win the Xfinity Series event at the iconic Circuit of The Americas track at Austin, Texas.
But the victory didn’t come easy as Connor Zilisch has to fight the rest of the field aggressive that used and use some of the “dark arts.” 23XI Racing development driver Corey Heim, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ very own Carson Kvapil were his major challenger, with the later giving him the most headache.
This put Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., the owner of JR Motorsports in a tough situation. Following the impressive win, Junior took it X to share his feelings and admitted that the battle between Zilisch- Kvapil made his nauseous. He admitted that the 2025 season is going to be very stressful for him with the teammate battle in the card.
Very proud of [Connor Zilisch] and [Mardy Lindley] and the [JR Motorsports] team. That battle with Carson made me nauseous. Gonna be a fun but very stressful year!
Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote on X.
Very proud of @ConnorZilisch and @Mardylindley and the @JRMotorsports team. That battle with Carson made me nauseous. Gonna be a fun but very stressful year! 😀😀😀💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 1, 2025
Connor Zilisch was very self-critical about his performance
Though he secured the win, Zilisch wasn’t much happy about his performance as he got involved in some situation that was avoidable. He admitted that he is more frustrated with himself that being happy about the win, as he needs to say calm during the races.

I’m honestly more frustrated with myself than I am happy. I definitely have a lot to clean up with myself moving forward. … I’ve just got to stay calmer from now on.
Connor Zilisch said.
Connor Zilisch says he texted three drivers he wronged before starting his news conference: "I'm honestly more frustrated with myself than I am happy. I definitely have a lot to clean up with myself moving forward. … I've just got to stay calmer from now on."
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 1, 2025
The comments from Connor Zilisch shows the string attitude he has that is going make him a star in the future. It would be interesting to see how he can perform on his Cup debut this Sunday at COTA, with the momentum of Xfinity win.