BRISTOL, Tenn. — The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbed from his NASCAR Xfinity Series car at Bristol Motor Speedway, flames were nipping at his ankles as a mechanical failure parked him late in the race.
Earnhardt Jr. returns to the 0.533-mile bullring Friday night to drive the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in what he said may be his final start in a NASCAR national series race as he has no plans to compete in the Xfinity Series in 2025.
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“Well, I’m not planning on racing next year,” Earnhardt said Friday in the Bristol media center. “I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up because of anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports. I have to remind fans and people that follow us that I run this race and have ran this race over the last several years because of the big benefit that it is to JR Motorsports. It’s a package deal where Hellmann’s and Unilever has put their logos on Justin’s [Allgaier] car and it’s helped fill out that car. And I don’t have a requirement to run next year, so I may just not do it. And I will miss it terribly, regret that I didn’t race and probably in 2026 find me somewhere that I can go compete in the Xfinity Series again. But right now, I don’t have any plans.”
Earnhardt is a two-time series champion with 24 wins, 71 top fives and 95 top 10s through 146 starts and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. The 49-year-old made two starts in 2023 and has competed in at least one Xfinity race every year since 2001, winning titles in 1998 and 1999 with 13 victories combined across both seasons. He is also a 24-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series and the sport‘s 15-time most popular driver.
Earnhardt‘s starts last year were memorable, with one each at Bristol and Homestead-Miami Speedway. The veteran driver especially shined on the Bristol high banks, leading 47 laps and averaging an 8.3 running position — with significant time inside the top five — before a mechanical issue cut his night short. He followed that effort with a fifth-place finish at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval.
Even better news for Dale Jr. fans is that the No. 88 Chevrolet visited Victory Lane just one week ago with Connor Zilisch‘s stellar showing in a debut win at Watkins Glen International.
“Had a great car last year. Really, really great car,” Earnhardt said. “And no surprise the 88 has been fast every time they take it to the race track, no matter who’s driving it this year. So I feel pretty good about the car being good again. It’s the same car ran last year. They took it home, tore it apart, put it back together, and nobody’s drove it since then. So hoping it’ll drive as good as it did last year.
“And no pressure in qualifying. Last year we came here, we were one of the eight or so drivers that could miss the race if something were to go wrong in qualifying. So we don’t have to worry about that and can just get in the car and practice and see where we need to be on the race track and try to get through qualifying and be ready for the race.”
His one-off appearances, however, may be ending following Friday‘s 300-lap contest, perhaps capping a career that dates back to 1996. He has not appeared to lose a step, nabbing four top-five finishes in his last seven Xfinity starts.
“I’m just going to see how badly I miss it and see,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I mean I figure I‘ve only got a handful of these years left to be relatively somewhat competitive, but I‘m gonna be fine.”
Earnhardt has found his way back to the cockpit of a race car more frequently in 2024, however, making multiple starts in the No. 3 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in Pro Stock Late Model races this year.
“I found what I love, to be honest with you, driving that Late Model stock car,” Earnhardt said. “I mean, the things that I’ll enjoy (Friday) are there as well, and I can go to some grassroots race track and have a good time and enjoy what I love about driving cars just the same. So I’m gonna continue to do that next year as well.”
Earnhardt was 17th on single-lap speeds in Friday‘s Xfinity Series practice, but was third-fastest in 20-lap averages of the 16 drivers who made runs of at least 20 consecutive laps.
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