For the first time in nearly a year, one of the most popular drivers in motorsports history was back behind the wheel of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race Friday night. at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the wheel of the No. 88 Hellman’s Mayonnaise Chevrolet Camaro as part of a sponsorship deal. Basically, Earnhardt enters this race in the Hellman’s car and the company then sponsors other drivers on Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports team throughout the season. Junior retired from racing full time after the 2017 Cup Series seasonBut the 49-year-old still enjoys getting behind the wheel in an Xfinity race or two each year, in addition to the occasional late-model CARS Tour race.
But impressively, despite a chaotic and wild night, Earnhardt finished seventh in his return to one of NASCAR’s top tiers.
And he did it while battling a wave of problems, mistakes, blunders and difficulties at Food City 300.
His radio broke. He replaced his helmet. He replaced his wiring harness. He lost his glasses. His radio fell on the ground. His water bottle fell on the ground. He couldn’t read the numbers on the dashboard. The volume on the radio was way too loud. He ran part of the race without a spotter.
Again and again and again.
Almost everything that could go wrong for Dale Jr. did. And he still finished in the top 10 in his first Xfinity race since last October.
Recap of Dale Jr.’s night so far:
— Major radio problems at the start, he almost loses his mind. He ends up stopping several times to change his helmet (it doesn’t work), change his wiring harness (I’m not sure it works) and he has a push-to-talk radio strapped to his chest. He falls to last place several times.
–…
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 21, 2024
After losing his glasses early in the race, Earnhardt rode the rest of the race without them.
Longevity.@DaleJr has now made at least one NASCAR national series start in every season since 1996.
He currently holds the longest active streak of consecutive seasons with at least one National Series start.
Career Totals
778 departures
50 wins
220 top 5
356 top 10He was… pic.twitter.com/XwEDBAZa2j
— NASCAR Classics (@NASCARClassics) September 21, 2024
In the meantime, fans will have to catch up with Dale Jr. in the broadcast boothon his podcast or on the CARS Tour.
No more NASCAR!
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This article was originally published on For The Win: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Crazy NASCAR Return Ends With Top 10 Finish and 2 a.m. Beers on Pit Lane
