Dale Jr. Nets Top-Five Finish In Second NASCAR Start Of The Season
Credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images
For the second time this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. traded in his suit and tie for a firesuit, and climbed behind the wheel of the #88 car that he owns in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Being a team owner has its perks, one of which being that there’s always a ride available for you whenever you should choose to want it, something Earnhardt Jr. has taken advantage of since his retirement from full-time racing back in 2017. Since then, the former two-time Xfinity Series champion has made a habit of making one start in the series per-year, driving for his own team Jr. Motorsports. This season however, the bossman decided to schedule two starts for himself, one at Bristol and one at Homestead-Miami Speedway, much to the delight of his loyal fans.
A few weeks ago, he made his 2023 debut at Bristol Motor Speedway, and by all reasonable expectations he had a fantastic race. The 49 year-old ran up front all night long, even leading 47 laps. He was in the hunt for the win at the end before an electrical fire started near the floorboards, and caused Earnhardt Jr. to retire from the race early. He was credited with a 30th place finish, but the pace he showed during the night gave both he and his fans hope that his next start at Homestead would see him mixing it up for the top spot once again.
The weekend started off a bit slow for Earnhardt Jr., qualifying all the way back in 23rd position. The driver of the #88 car was displeased with his effort, as he had run top-10 in practice, and knew he had a car capable of running much better. He showed this promise early on in Saturday’s race, passing his way all the way up into the top-15 in the opening laps. However, his progress then seemed to stall out, unable to execute the moves that he had made to get him to that spot. A poor set of adjustments after the first pit stop put the #88 team even farther behind the eightball, as Jr. had to fight and claw to keep the car underneath him.
These struggles continued throughout stage one and for most of stage two, as he just could not find the pace he needed to work his way into the top-10. Earnhardt Jr. stayed around 12th-17th for most of this time, which while still a solid run, was nowhere near most of the other Jr. Motorsports drivers, namely Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier who were battling for the top spot. However, as the race progressed, Dale Jr. and his team managed to find a little more speed in their car, and he started making the moves that the Earnhardt faithful in the grandstands had been waiting for. Jr. finally cracked the top-10, and found himself restarting in one of the first few rows with roughly 30 laps to go.
Heading through turns one and two, Earnhardt Jr. was in the middle of the track. But, he thought that there was no one to the outside of him, when in reality one of his own drivers, Josh Berry, was out there. The #88 car snapped loose on the exit of turn two, and Earnhardt Jr., thinking he had a ton of space to the right, tried to correct the car up the race track. In doing so, he door slammed the side of Berry’s #8 car, putting his fellow Jr. Motorsports competitor into the wall. Berry’s tire went flat right after, and the caution came out as he limped onto pit road, his day done. Fortunately, the bossman was able to continue with seemingly only minor damage. However, Earnhardt Jr. immediately voiced his frustration and disappointment over what had happened on the radio.
Of course, there was still a race left to be run, and the former two-time Xfinity Series champion was able to put the incident behind him, and focus on the task at hand. He would emerge from the ensuing restart in fifth place, and remain there until the end of the race to eke out a satisfying top-five finish. Sam Mayer, one of Earnhardt Jr.’s drivers, battled Riley Herbst in the closing laps for the win, with the Jr. Motorsports #1 team ultimately taking the checkered flag. This marks the second time in as many Dale Jr. starts this year that a Jr. Motorsports driver has found victory lane. The bossman was understandably happy for Mayer, who locked himself into the Championship 4 at Phoenix with the win, but he also expressed remorse for the unfortunate contact with Berry.
All-in-all, this race was a bit of redemption for Jr. Nation. After such a brilliant run at Bristol that had fallen flat on its face in the closing laps, Earnhardt Jr. was able to get the finish he deserved this time out. While he didn’t show quite the same winning pace he had displayed a few weeks ago, he showed that he absolutely still has what it takes to be competitive and run up front with a good race car. While this was Jr.’s final start of the 2023 season, we are sure to see him back behind the wheel next year, and perhaps 2024 will be the year he finally finds victory lane in his part-time Xfinity Series effort.
