This weekend promises to be one of the most anticipated in NASCAR Cup Series history. This is because the North Wilkesboro Speedway is making a return to the Cup Series after several years. The credit for all of this goes to the tireless efforts of Dale Earnhardt Jr to restore the track to its former glory.
Evidently, he did too good a job, because the restored track has been added to the 2023 Cup Series calendar.
Not only that, but in the buildup to the All-Star race at the venue, Dale Jr himself got to race on the track as he competed in his CARS Tour series for a Late Model race.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr Gives His Candid Take On Track He Helped Re-Build
Post the race, he posted a video on Twitter, in which we heard him saying, “Hey everybody, hope you can hear me over the fireworks. Butterbean has won here at North Wilkesboro, and they are excited.”
“He’s a good race car driver, had a fast car. We had a good run going, got caught up in a little crash over there at Turn 3 and 4. Knocked the grille up, knocked the splitter up. Made the car really, really tight, burnt the rear tires, trying to get it to turn. When we came in to pit to get our rights, the left tires were junk. I couldn’t really go forward.”
“But I had a great time so I’m not complaining. Not a great finish, but it’s just so much fun, driving these cars. This is a tough little field for a race car driver and it’s time for a cold Sundrop.” Listening to this, even fans expressed their thoughts on the race.
Post-race. Time for a cold @SunDrop. pic.twitter.com/BcQRSYYqh1
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 18, 2023
How Did Fans React to Dale Earnhardt Jr Unfiltered Opinion on the North Wilkesboro Track?
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As Dale Jr mentioned, Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen, won the race at the iconic NASCAR venue. Queen triumphed in the first race of a triple-header at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bubba Pollard and Augie Grill were the other victors in the remaining races. In the meantime, Dale Earnhardt Jr could only muster a 16th position.
This put him behind current NASCAR stars, Chase Briscoe in 10th, Kevin Harvick in 11th and Brad Keselowski in 12th. He also finished behind Daniel Suarez, who was 15th. On the bright side, he did finish ahead of current NASCAR bad boy, Ross Chastain, who was 19th.
However, in the end, all that mattered was the effort that Dale put in to make this and all the upcoming races, like the All-Star one, a possibility. Realizing this, fans did show their support to the veteran on Twitter.
“Thank you sir for all your efforts to single handily convince not just this industry, but this state and this country to bring back our Field of Dreams! Dale, you are the man and you kicked ass tonight even with a torn up car! Can’t wait for tomorrow’s podcast!”
“We love you thank you for doing this [hear emoji]”
Awesome fun
— Nostradumbass (@OuterBanks52) May 18, 2023
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“Glad you had a great time JR you’re still the man even if luck wasn’t on your side tonight. Thank you for all you do for the sport and everything else that’s involved , your dad would be super proud of you and your continuous work you put into racing.”
“It was beyond awesome watching you race last night! You made some pretty sweet passes as well as some pushing and shoving. Thank goodness you didn’t get a lot of damage in that huge wreck. I was sooo rooting for ya!”
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WATCH THIS STORY: Dale Earnhardt Jr Follows His Father’s Legacy as He Makes a Massive Reveal, Taking Fans on a Trip Down Memory Lane
As it turned out, the CARS Tour race was quite action-packed. With the presence of Briscoe, Harvick, Keselowski, Suarez, and Chastain, they might have gotten a bit of an advantage. Along with William Byron and Chase Elliott, they got their first taste of the racetrack before their rivals.