Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to make a highly anticipated return to racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the iconic Bristol Motor Speedway. Known as “The Last Great Colosseum,” the Bristol track will host Earnhardt as he revisits the scene of a dramatic incident from last year.
Earnhardt’s return promises a tribute as he prepares to race in a completely rebuilt version of the car that almost brought him victory last time.
During last year’s Bristol race, Earnhardt was forced to retire due to a fire at his feet. The incident cut short what could have been a remarkable win, but not without leaving a lasting impression on fans and analysts.
This year, Earnhardt, backed by his JR Motorsports team, aims to settle unfinished business with the refurbished car that has been stripped down and rebuilt to ensure optimal performance and safety.
The driver shared to social media:
“We are bringing back the same car as last year. Totally stripped and rebuilt. Hope it handles as well. See ya in a week.”
Earnhardt did make it to Victory Lane last year, though not as a driver. He celebrated triumph alongside driver Justin Allgaier as the owner of the winning JR Motorsports team.
The driver also recently spoke about the ongoing saga between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR. He explained during an episode of his podcast, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:
“It’s interesting, interesting times. I honestly don’t see this creating — I don’t see this turning into a clown show, or creating some sort of a legal battle, I don’t,” he said.
“I mean, (23XI Racing) may, but I don’t think anyone’s going to really care (about a legal battle). I don’t, you know, I don’t think the public is going to invest emotionally in any litigation or a legal battle.
“I mean, if it goes into the courts, are you going to follow that? I would probably go, ‘Okay, they’re going to do that. I’ll see that. We’ll see who wins.’ … I think the news cycle is just too fast, and like, there’s a lot of wild shit that happens in today’s world that gets your attention, but in a week later, you’re like, ‘On to the next,’ and I just feel like this would kind of be the same thing.
“Once it gets kind of down, weaving and woven into the, you know, a court case, I think we’re all going to check out, and there’s the other stuff going on in the sport that will be more important. … I just don’t see it getting to be — I don’t see the sport like, rushing up to a roadblock and everything grinds to a halt over this.”
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