It has been over a year June 2020, in fact since two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. has sat behind the wheel of a race car but looked to be in top form during Saturday’s Go Bowling 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Piloting his familiar No. 8 United for America Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, the NBC Sports analyst made his ninth career Xfinity Series start at the famed Viriginia short track but had a tall task to climb to the front from his 30th place starting position.
Despite the uphill trek, the Mooresville, N.C. native showcased a ton of optimism when it was time to race.
By the competition caution on Lap 35 of the 250 lap event, Earnhardt drove his way to 19th place which
is where he would later finish in stage one and climbed to 12th place at the conclusion of Stage 2.
Fans were elated when Earnhardt took to the race track Saturday afternoon, but the four-time Richmond Xfinity winner was not exactly making friends at the beginning.
Racing hard through the field, Earnhardt made contact with the No. 92 Chevrolet of Josh Williams showcasing the fun form of “bump and run” during his climb through the field.
Earnhardt later came on the radio and said, “I’m having fun, he probably ain’t liking it much.”
Hoping for a late race caution, Earnhardt would find himself on a different strategy than much of competition during Stage 3, hoping to have new tires for the end of the race.
Following a restart with 65 to go, Earnhardt fell back as far as 21st due to older tires.
The caution that the team and Earnhardt desperately wanted came but at a cost.
Upon exiting from pit road during his final pit stop of the afternoon, Earnhardt was tagged with a speeding penalty and sent him to the rear of the field taking him out of contention for the victory with just 20 laps left in the race.
While his teammate Noah Gragson cruised to a second straight victory, Earnhardt recovered to finish 14th.
Although disappointed with the penalty, Earnhardt emerged from his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro with a gleaming smile.
“We didn’t have the car that I was looking for and maybe I just couldn’t figure out how to get it around the track but we tried hard and tried to make adjustments to make the left front work, car was real tight,” he said after the race.
“It was fun, I love racing in the Xfinity series. All these guys have so much heart, they just race so hard, and you can tell they are trying to prove themselves. I had fun.
“I hope everyone enjoyed the race. Looked like it was really wild. I’d like to do another so I’m hoping to get back in there.”
Earnhardt is hopeful for a solo Xfinity Series race again in 2022, but no plans have been announced.
