“I wish I could wake up in the morning and work on the CARS Tour until I went to bed every single day of the year.” That was the keen motivation that Dale Earnhardt Jr. heralded when he hopped onto the CARS Tour executive board in 2023. His determination to grow it into a premier division for short-track racing was solid. However, building upon the foundation Jack McNelly constructed from the remnants of the USAR Pro Cup Series in 2015 was no mean task.

That is what Dale Earnhardt Jr. confessed recently when he created a huge sensation. Donning his old bright red racing colors and the famed No. 8 Budweiser logo, he ran a CARS Tour race. Not only did he run a spectacular race, but it also made him reflect on his racing journey.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets candid about work left

Working with veterans like Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Justin Marks, Dale Earnhardt Jr. achieved a lot in the first year. With FloRacing and zMAX on board, the on-track product had a solid streaming partner as well. However, problems persisted through 2024 – like the lack of a condensed race-day schedule. That would ensure that CARS Tour events start on time and make weekends easier for competitors. Regular communication with team owners and making the CARS Tour veterans stay longer in the sport was part of the process. And one of those veterans is Dale Jr.

After stunning crowds with his Budweiser and No. 8 colors, Dale Earnhardt Jr. frankly stated why any future plans stand suspended at the moment. “Well…I don’t have it on the schedule right now. But it’s always an opportunity if we get through the year, things are good, and it works for my family. It’s just gotta fit into every part of my life. There’s a lot of things that we put on hold to come run these races. We had guys that wanted to have some weekends off.”

He added the impact of the new updates, like leveling up Connor Zilisch. “The teams run hard, they run full-time with another driver this past year…and Connor coming up this year…We gotta try to run… some limited stuff maybe. So we got a lot on the plate that we wanna do.” 

However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a thumping good day, racing at Florence Motor Speedway. Having first got his racing kick from driving Late Models at Myrtle Beach, he confessed his desire to run longer races in the CARS Tour. “But I do love the long races. I just feel like, I don’t know – I’m not a hot lapper with qualifying issues. I’m not gonna go out there and hammer down kind of guy. I can find how to work the car in a rhythm – so the long races certainly suit me for that. Yeah, I’m gonna try to run the CARS Tour stuff. Wish those races were longer.”

Indeed, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s reappearance in the CARS Tour worried the eventual race winner.

All eyes were glued to the veteran

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Returning with the iconic Budweiser colors was in itself a crowd-puller. The stylized No. 8 was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s logo between 1999-2007 when he clinched 17 Cup Series wins. But fans were almost treated to a glimmer of Dale Jr.’s past glory in Florence.

After a poor qualifying effort, Dale Jr. had to start 40th in a field of 44. He swiftly made his way to 11th place when officials waved a red flag for a wreck, after which Mason Diaz and Connor Jones locked horns in a fight. After the race restarted, Dale Jr. sliced up the gap and was by first-place runner Treyten Lapcevich‘s side before the 10-minute pit stop break.

Dale Jr. hounded Lapcevich’s back, as the latter put in great effort to maintain control and keep the veteran five to eight car lengths behind. Junior was holding his tires, waiting for a CARS Tour regular to make a run through the field. However, with 31 laps left, Dale Jr.’s engine betrayed him and he had to pull over for a long pit stop. Lapcevich could breathe slightly easy for the last 30 laps with the veteran gone.

Eventually, he won the race ahead of Doug Barnes – but the 2023 NASCAR Canada champion confessed his hands were clammy. “This is all thanks to the team. All weekend, I haven’t been too confident, honestly, but Chad and the team keep me in this.”

Evidently, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s presence raised the bar of the race a notch. If the veteran can introduce the desired changes, then maybe we will see more of him in the CARS Tour!