Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to his finish at Bristol, hints at racing future
Friday night at Bristol was another successful trip for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. P7 on the night with many problems to start the race, Earnhardt drove up through the field at least once on Friday.
Despite radio issues, multiple trips to pit road, swapping wires and radios, and also losing his glasses – Dale Earnhardt Jr. had fun. At 49 years old, P7 and a bunch of fun is the most you can ask for.
to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!
On Saturday morning, Earnhardt gave a recap of his night. He was out until 2AM at the track drinking beers with family, friends, and crew members. Sounds like he's ready to do it all over again already.
"Drank beer on pit road till 2am. I think we got everything out of this evening we possibly could," Earnhardt said in response to a post from Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. "Recommend 10 out of 10. Would come again [to Bristol]."
In 14 races in the Xfinity Series at Bristol, Dale Jr. has a pretty good record, folks. Only a single DNF, 2023 when his feet caught on fire. He was on his way to win that race prior to that.
Besides that P30 finish, he has only three other finishes outside of the top-10. That's an average finish of 8.57. If you take out the DNF, it drops to 6.92. Two pole awards and a win at the track, Earnhardt feels more than comfortable at The Last Great Colosseum.
Does this mean we are going to see him in 2025? Well, that is where the fun kinda ends.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans to skip racing in 2025Outside of racing his Late Model in the CARS Tour, Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his desire to not race next year. When it comes to NASCAR, he has no contract obligations for 2025. His one-off race with Hellmann's at Bristol the last two years was part of the overall sponsorship deal Unilever has with JR Motorsports.
In 2025, that deal no longer requires him to race. So, what does that mean? Is Dale Jr. officially retired from NASCAR? Well, don't get too far ahead of yourself. But the Hall of Famer is focused on returning to broadcasting and wants to focus on that endeavor.
"Come out here and be competitive," Earnhardt said after the race. "Man, I don't know how much longer I'l be able to be competitive. I can come out here another 20 years but you know, eventually these young kids they just get to be so good. So it's fun to be able to run with them tonight."
Earnhardt is already thinking about 2026 , in case you're wondering.
"So I want to be great [at broadcasting]. Been missing you guys at NBC and you know the CW and all that. I feel like I need to really focus on that. That's really the priority. So, I want to do well in the booth and maybe I'll get back in this thing. I'm sure I'll miss it and end up signing up for something in 26 [2026]."
