NASCAR Hall of Fame driver turned broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr has reunited with long time sponsor Budweiser to “have some fun” as he returns to Late Model Stock cars at Florence Motor Speedway for the South Carolina 400.
At the NASCAR Awards ceremony on Friday night, Earnhardt noted that he was “going to have some fun”.
Starting 40th in the 41 car field, JR drove the iconic number eight Budweiser car while Junior Nation filled the stands in red. The race was the first time the iconic paint scheme has been on the track since 2007 – nearly 18 years.
Earnhardt worked his way through the field, moving into second place but a busted fuel pump ended JR’s day 31 laps shy of the end of the race. He finished in 28th place.
Speaking on the race JR said, “I felt great about the car. Picked them off as I could. The car was excellent and a lot of guys were starting to struggle with the balance of their car. For the second half, we were going to sit there in second. When it was time to start pressuring (leader Treyten Lapcevich), I could probably get him loose, drive off the corner and beat him. It was about time to turn it on and then the fuel pump broke.”
After leaving DEI, JR moved to Hendrick Motorsports and the number 88 car; but the iconic Bud car was where it all began; driving for his Dad, Dale Sr.
In his eight years at DEI, JR won 17 races including the Daytona 500 and led over 5,000 laps.
Junior Nation fan David Faulkner drove five hours to see JR and the iconic Bud car. Speaking on seeing the car Faulkner said, “I remember the wins at Richmond, because Richmond is my home track about an hour away [from Hampton. Just watching the Budweiser car running around brings back a lot of memories.”
Faulkner was just one of hundreds of fans who travelled to see JR…and his Bud car…but it was just the fans. Spending his entire life around race tracks, JR has plenty to offer the next generation of drivers and is often surrounded by young drivers seeking advice.
Earnhardt noted, “I qualified really bad and I was pretty mad at myself. I got done, pulled around and one of the other drivers [Gary Greenwood] who qualified poorly got out and said, ‘Keep your head up. I am racing because of you. I lost my dad and listening to your podcast has really helped me. That’s why I got this car.’ I was so upset with qualifying, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that it’s not that important.”
For some the night was about memories and “back in the day” stories. Dyan Braswell became a NASCAR and JR fan thanks to his grandmother Dianne. He noted, “my grandmother got me into NASCAR and she was always big into Earnhardt Jr. I got to watch the VCR tapes and all that stuff back in the day, so that’s kind of where the No. 8 car is for me, watching it on TV. I bought tickets instantly as soon as I heard.”
Earnhardt put the deal together with Budweiser as a thank you to his fans. He has four Late Model races planned for next season but gave no indication as to which race, if any, would have the iconic car saying, “at some point, you’re going to age out. “ don’t know why that happens or how it happens, but I don’t know when that happens. Maybe I got another three, four, five years left. If I have anything to do with it, they will see that Bud car again.”
But whenever that happens, the track officials are sure to see the stands filled…and filled with Junior Nation fans donned in red and black.