Connor Zilisch will miss this weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway due to an injury sustained at Talladega Superspeedway.
Trackhouse Racing and JR Motorsports announced the news on Wednesday. The teams stated that Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in Saturday's Xfinity Series race as Zilisch continues to recover from a lower back injury.
The teams did not say when Zilisch will return to competition, only that the plan is "as soon as possible."
Zilisch sustained the injury in a crash on the final lap of last weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway. He went to block a move by Jesse Love, but contact between their cars sent the No. 88 sliding toward the inside wall.
The Chevrolet made hard, nose-first contact before spinning around. NASCAR quickly responded by throwing the caution and sending the safety crews to Zilisch's car.
A replay of the finish at @TALLADEGA.@ConnorZilisch was evaluated and released from the infield care center following the race. pic.twitter.com/wbsDanVy2x
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 26, 2025
The rookie driver went to the infield care center and underwent evaluation. He then met with media members and said that he was sore. He noted that he would see his doctor in the week leading up to the Texas race for a follow-up, but that he expected to suit up as usual.
"X-rays were all good," Zilisch said at Talladega. "Just a big hit like that, everything compresses, and you feel it. Yeah, I'm all good and X-rays were clear, so, thankful."
Zilisch will have time to recover from this injury. He will miss Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, and then he will have two more weeks off.
The series will not be active at Kansas Speedway or North Wilkesboro Speedway, so Zilisch will not return to the No. 88 until May 24 at the earliest.
"Thank you to (Kyle Larson) for stepping up for me this weekend and everyone who has helped me through this process," Zilisch posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"Doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible."