Kyle Larson to replace injured Connor Zilisch (back), who vows a quick return

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. T

Speaking Friday at Texas, Zilisch was coy on whether he had any fractures.

"I cleared all my x-rays at the track and there was nothing obvious," Zilisch said. "Everything is very minor. I'll say that. … I'll probably just plead the fifth [on my exact injury[, but there's no crazy, big injury that is going to hold me for months."

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, and he said Friday that he plans to do both races.

He is not in a back brace and he indicated that he wouldn't need an x-ray to indicate whether to return to racing.

"They don't want to see anything, really," Zilisch said. "It's just a matter of not pushing the limit. If you have an injury head-on at Talladega, … and then you go to Texas the next week, and if you're going through [Turns] 3 and 4 and you blow a right front [tire], there's no easy wrecks here, right?

"The biggest concern was going to a track like this, where if you wreck, it's going to be big, and that's how you hurt yourself."

Zilisch received 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.