“That’s Where I’m Going to Be”: Dale Earnhardt Jr Drops Enticing Update on Popular Demand

Dale Earnhardt Jr had last raced in a Late Model Stock event at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. But a return to the tracks remained elusive. He finally broke that drought with a visit to the South Carolina 400 in Florence.

The return to the “spiritual successor” of the Myrtle Beach 400 didn’t go as planned for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He couldn’t repeat the performance that got him the win in 1996 on this track. He finished 9th after being involved in 2 incidents and being penalized by being sent to the back of the pack for both those incidents.

However, he enjoyed his night out in Florence. He said after the race, “It’s the same ol’ place, a lot of fun. I’d like to run the IceBreaker or this race again, one of the two; maybe both. We’ll just have to see.” 

The whole feeling was so good for the star that he said, “I love these worn-out race tracks. If you want to find me, that’s where I’m going to be, driving a Late Model Stock car somewhere that’s going to grind the tires off the car.”

He also narrated his conversation with Steve Zacharias, General Manager of Florence Motor Speedway, which led to him joining for the weekend. “One thing I told [Zacharias] was, Tell me what you need me to do; I want to be able to help whatever it is that will mean the most for you and your weekend. Let me know and I’ll do it,” Dale Jr. said.

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Grassroots racing isn’t where the big bucks are for companies and sponsors, but that’s where drivers come from. It needs help to survive, and it’s amazing that Dale Jr. has magnified his efforts in that direction.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has glorious memories of Florence

This was not Dale Jr’s first time on the tracks in Florence, but it turns out a Dale Jr in his 20s could churn out much better performances than today’s Dale Jr who has 19 years of Cup Series experience behind him.

Two contact incidents marred his weekend, one with Matt Cox and the other with Landon Pembelton. Finishing 9th, this was among his worst performances on the track; his record earlier was 1 win, and 14 second-place finishes out of 16 starts.

Junior recalled his earlier races at the FMS, “I remember wrecking off (Turn 2) one night, running second to Robert Powell [one of former long-time FMS owner Charlie Powell’s sons]. I ran second to Robert a lot in 1996; he won a lot of races in the Huddle House car. And we’d run second a lot. But one night, we won.”

“I remember spinning Gilbert King [of Chesterfield] out for the lead on [Turn 4] one night; I don’t remember when that was. We were friends with Gilbert and his whole crew. My crew chief was on top of Gilbert’s truck that night. He thought they were going to throw him off after that.”

He also got in touch with some old competitors. “I took a photo on the front straightaway with some drivers I had raced against in the ’90s that I hadn’t seen in years.”

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Dale Jr has truckloads of experience, and his presence at the FMS must’ve been a great motivator for the budding drivers that aim to make a career in NASCAR.