For us, the Earnhardt name and NASCAR are synonymous.
The sport, which began with Ralph Earnhardt and was carried on by the great Dale Earnhardt, also influenced Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s life. But what if we told you there’s something Junior enjoys more than the asphalt-igniting Cup races?
Do not believe us? Well, the man himself stated that, after a successful career in the top tournament, the rawness of late model racing brings him the most satisfaction.
Reflecting on his NASCAR days, in a conversation with recent Hampton Heat 200 winner Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, the veteran honestly admitted, “I didn’t enjoy the moment. And it’s hard. You can’t enjoy it. You can’t. You can’t afford to. That’s why I go back and do what I’m doing. When I talked to Josh Berry, and he’s going up through the Xfinity and got this opportunity at Cup, I said, ‘Hey man. All this is great. You’ve made it. Right? But I’ma promise you, you’ll never look back on that late-model stuff that you did and you will always personally say, you might not publicly announce it, or admit it, but that is probably the most fun you’re ever gonna have in your whole racing career.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to his origins in a series he first raced as a youngster, finishing fifth in the Hampton Heat 200 Late Model race at Virginia’s Langley Speedway on July 20. Jr showed signs of his previous greatness, gaining six positions in the race’s closing top laps, with incredible patience and resilience to clinch a top-five finish. While the 49-year-old lacked the speed to compete with the race leaders, his finish was an outstanding feat.
However, as Queen cruised through to pick yet another win, the CARS Tour owner had no regrets. “I’m real proud of it. A lot of fun watching those guys duke it out up there. We just didn’t have enough car to get up there. Congrats to Butterbean, Lee and his team. They represent Late Model Stock racing really good.”
After retiring from NASCAR in 2017, the former racer and broadcaster can now genuinely enjoy racing. Dale Jr. glided through the first 38 laps at Langley Speedway, driving at his own pace and inside the top 20, until getting involved in an incident that damaged his car’s front end. To save his tires, Dale Earnhardt Jr stayed in the top 20 for the first half and finished 16th during the pit break. Despite handling troubles in the second half, Dale Jr pushed into the top ten about lap 130 and eventually secured 5th place by lap 173, where he remained for the rest of the race.
As for what we can confirm now, two decades since Dale Jr coined the iconic phrase, “It’s Bristol baby!!!”, he will be racing at the Food City 300 this September. As for his Cup Series aspirations, fans might be in a for a heartbreak!
Nothing can convince Dale Jr to return to the top tourney
Zero. That is the exact number of Cup Series races Dale Earnhardt Jr. has competed in since retiring in 2017. While he competes in one Xfinity race per season, a Cup return has been difficult thus far.
“I don’t get the itch to drive even one Cup race,” said the 49-year-old racer in between his practice runs at at Langley Speedway. His reason for the snub? “People just don’t really appreciate how hard it is to get into one of those cars and compete with those drivers on a one-off deal. It is impossible to go in there and be anywhere near competitive. When you’ve raced as much as I have and you don’t have much of a chance to be competitive, you’re not going to be really interested in doing that.”
Instead, the two-time Daytona 500 winner invites fans to focus on late model racing. With the CARS Tour dealing with high operational costs, a lack of sponsorships, and financial difficulties, Dale Jr. believed that competing here was a refreshing experience.
Reflecting on the state of the series, he said, “I think we’re living in peak times right; these are really good times for late model stock racing. There’s been good times in the past. We’ve got challenges today. Things are expensive. Racing is hard. Budgets are tough. Guys can’t afford to run a touring series like the CARS Tour. They can run a local show, so there’s different types of outfits out there and there’s challenges, but even in the past peaks there were challenges, but we’re in a really great era right now, and everybody should really appreciate it, and come support it.”
The Hampton Heat 200 was the second race in Virginia’s Triple Crown, and while the series will focus on the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway later this fall, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not compete. He may have loved his comeback to Late Model Stock racing, but other commitments will force the two-time Daytona 500 winner to skip the remaining races. Dale Jr., on the other hand, has informed supporters, “I had a blast, and I’ll be back,” indicating that he intends to return to Virginia’s Langley Speedway next year.