For us, the Earnhardt name and NASCAR are synonymous. Starting from Ralph Earnhardt, and carried on by the legendary Dale Earnhardt, the sport also trickled down to Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s life. But what if we tell you there’s something Junior loves even more than the asphalt-igniting Cup races?

Don’t believe us? Well, the man himself admitted how, after an illustrious career in the top tourney, it’s the rawness of late model racing that gives him the most joy.

Reflecting on his NASCAR days, in a conversation with recent Hampton Heat 200 winner Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, the veteran honestly admitted, “I didn’t enjoy the moment. And it’s hard. You can’t enjoy it. You can’t. You can’t afford to. That’s why I go back and do what I’m doing. When I talked to Josh Berry, and he’s going up through the Xfinity and got this opportunity at Cup, I said, ‘Hey man. All this is great. You’ve made it. Right? But I’ma promise you, you’ll never look back on that late-model stuff that you did and you will always personally say, you might not publicly announce it, or admit it, but that is probably the most fun you’re ever gonna have in your whole racing career.”

Going back to his roots in a series that he first began racing as a teenager, Dale Earnhardt Jr debuted in the Hampton Heat 200 Late Model race at Virginia’s Langley Speedway on July 20, finishing in a respectable 5th place. Showing glimpses of his former self, Jr gained six places in the final top laps of the race, showing great patience and resilience to secure a top-five result. While the 49-year-old lacked the speed to compete against the race leaders, his race result was an impressive achievement.

However, as Queen cruised through to pick yet another win, the CARS Tour owner had no regrets. “I’m real proud of it. A lot of fun watching those guys duke it out up there. We just didn’t have enough car to get up there. Congrats to Butterbean, Lee and his team. They represent Late Model Stock racing really good.” 

Having retired from NASCAR in 2017, the former racer turned broadcaster can now truly focus on enjoying racing. At Langley Speedway, Dale Jr cruised through the initial 38 laps by running at his own pace while being inside the top 20, before being involved in an incident that caused some damage to the front end of his car. To conserve his tires, Dale Earnhardt Jr stayed within the top 20 for the first half and ended up in 16th place during the hallway break. Despite facing handling issues in the second half, Dale Jr pushed towards the top 10 around lap 130 and went on to secure 5th place by Lap 173, where he stayed for the rest of the race.

But that’s not all as, in a post-race conversation, the veteran promised he’ll be coming back. Because in the veteran’s own words last year: “I’ll run as long as I can. I like running one here and there.” 

As for what we can confirm now, two decades since Dale Jr coined the iconic phrase, “It’s Bristol baby!!!”, he will be racing at the Food City 300 this September. As for his Cup Series aspirations, fans might be in a for a heartbreak!

Nothing can convince Dale Jr to return to the top tourney

Zero. That’s exactly the number of Cup Series races Dale Earnhardt Jr has participated in since retiring in 2017. While he’s fit one Xfinity race every season, a Cup return has been elusive so far.

“I don’t get the itch to drive even one Cup race,” said the 49-year-old racer in between his practice runs at at Langley Speedway. His reason for the snub? “People just don’t really appreciate how hard it is to get into one of those cars and compete with those drivers on a one-off deal. It is impossible to go in there and be anywhere near competitive. When you’ve raced as much as I have and you don’t have much of a chance to be competitive, you’re not going to be really interested in doing that.”

Instead, the two-time Daytona 500 champion encourages people to focus on late model racing. Especially, with the CARS Tour struggling with high operational costs, lack of sponsorships, and financial pressures, Dale Jr felt that competing here was a refreshing experience.

Reflecting on the state of the series, he said, “I think we’re living in peak times right; these are really good times for late model stock racing. There’s been good times in the past. We’ve got challenges today. Things are expensive. Racing is hard. Budgets are tough. Guys can’t afford to run a touring series like the CARS Tour. They can run a local show, so there’s different types of outfits out there and there’s challenges, but even in the past peaks there were challenges, but we’re in a really great era right now, and everybody should really appreciate it, and come support it.”

Hampton Heat 200 was the second race of Virginia’s Triple Crown, and while the series will set its sights on ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway later this fall, Dale Earnhardt Jr will not be competing. He may have enjoyed returning to Late Model Stock racing, but other commitments mean that the two-time Daytona 500 winner will be forced to miss out on remaining races. However, Dale Jr has told fans, “I had a blast, I’ll be coming back”, making it clear that he plans on returning to Virginia’s Langley Speedway next year.

What are your thoughts on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s views on Late Model Stock racing? Let us know in the comments!