Dale Earnhardt Jr. Uses the ‘Example He Hates to Bring up’ to Console Conor Zilisch Over Xfinity Title Loss

The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity series season finale wasn’t kind to Conor Zilisch. He lost the championship to RCR’s Jesse Love in a wild overtime restart, due to the one-race playoff format. The No:88 team was the most dominant car of the season, having won 10 races and was the most deserving to be the champion. His team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was heartbroken as he lost the tile, even after having two racers in the finale.

But after the race, he kept his emotion as check, as he had a young sensation who experienced the biggest heartbreak of his life to console. In the latest episode of his podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed that he used the example of his father Dale Sr.’s tragic death in the 2001 Daytona to remind Conor Zilisch that the finale Saturday isn’t the worst day he will have at a track.

You go over to Connor and you go, ‘Listen, I had the worst day that you could imagine at a racetrack, losing my dad.’ And I hate to bring that up as an example. But I tell people, no matter what happens at the racetrack, what he experienced that Saturday night is not going to be the worst day he’s had at a racetrack.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr. Download.

The veteran reminded the 2026 Trackhouse Cup driver that he is going to experience many more such bad days in the future and those days might going hurt more than what he is feeling at the moment. He pointed out that though it is going to be hard, one day he will learn to live with the massive disappointment of the 2025 Xfinity title loss.

There will be others. I’ve experienced some bad days, and there will be other things that happen in his career. There will be successes and failures. This stings and this hurts and this feels like the worst day that you’ve had at a racetrack, but it won’t be. You’ll be able to, at some point, kind of come to terms with it. You won’t love it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits the pain over the loss will always follow Conor Zilisch

Further talking about the point, Junior admits that there are moments from his past that he still daydreams about, where a small change could have earned him success. He expects that same to happen with the young Zilisch and pointed out that such upsetting moments are part of a racer’s life.

You will never not be bothered by it. There’s races that still pop up in my mind today where I’ll spend 15 minutes daydreaming about what I should have done to fix it or do a better job to have won. He’s going to do that. This might pop up in his mind 10 years down the road and he’ll freaking have a moment and get all upset about it and wonder what he could have done or should have done or whatever.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

Furthermore, he reiterated that it is never going to be the worst day of the youngsters or his team’s career. Going into the 2026 season, where Zilisch will return on a part-time basis, Junior will remind him this point and motivate him to aim for bigger wins.

But it ain’t as bad as it felt. It’s not the worst day… And he’ll, you know, we’ll go to race together next year. I think about it like that and I don’t know if that’s right or wrong and maybe that’s extreme. I just try to think, I say to myself, ‘This ain’t the worst thing that’s ever happened at the racetrack and it won’t be.’

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Having such an experienced racer as his boss is helping Conor Zilisch and will benefit him a lot in the future as well. It would be interesting to see how the loss is going to affect the young Trackhouse driver’s rookie Cup season in 2026.

Also Read: “This Is What Movies Are Made of!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sees Ultimate Denny Hamlin Redemption in 2026

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