SVG and Connor Zilisch Have Both Crashed in the Sim at San Diego

We’re used to having a couple Red Bull cans in the studio, but today we’ve got a couple Red Bull athletes joining us for a full guest segment on The Dale Jr Download. Ahead of NASCAR’s long-awaited San Diego race, two of the best on the road in Shane Van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch join Dale Jr to talk about the prep they’ve put into this weekend – including crashing in the sim.

Connor dives into his rough rookie season in the Cup Series and why the jump from a dominating year in O’Reilly has been so difficult for him, but still a challenge that he enjoys.

Meanwhile, SVG is starting to show strength on the ovals, even when Team Trackhouse as a whole is struggling to keep the speed they’ve had the last few seasons.

The two talk about what they’re studying when it comes to Denny Hamlin’s recent dominance, how they approach the Next Gen car, and give a sneak peek into their weekend plans in San Diego.

Grab a Red Bull and get ready for another episode of The Dale Jr Download.

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:30 - Red Bull's New NASCAR Cans
00:05:05 - Red Bull Racing
00:07:49 - SIM Prep for San Diego: It's Rough
00:09:51 - Does it Compare to Chicago?
00:12:00 - The Track is Still an Active Runway
00:13:11 - How Will NASCAR Handle Cautions?
00:18:26 - Racing Each Other as Teammates: Respect on the Track
00:20:32 - Connor's Brutal Cup Series Season
00:24:19 - Trackhouse's Regression in 2026
00:27:54 - Chevy's Struggle to Close the Gap on Toyota
00:30:28 - How Shane Finds Speed Without Living in the Sim
00:35:18 - Looking Ahead
00:37:08 - Superspeedways Aren't Their Friend
00:38:41 - Dale Back at Daytona...?
00:44:23 - Why Denny Hamlin Is Even Better Than the Other Toyotas
00:55:53 - The Jump from O'Reilly to Cup... It's No Joke
01:01:09 - Has the New Chevy Body Fixed the Offset Draft Problem?
01:02:09 - The Heat Soak Conversation
01:03:06 - Track Walks & Pace Car Rides
01:05:40 - Outro

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