Since retiring from the Cup Series in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR appearance is limited to a handful of races. And like every year, the veteran driver will return to his Xfinity Series feature at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Which is also touted to be his last NASCAR race, thus making the event ever so important to him.
With this, there also come expectations from the fans, who are eager to see their favorite NASCAR star back in action. As easy as it might sound, competing in a NASCAR race is a tough ordeal that even gets the mighty Dale Jr. edgy and nervous. So what will be his plan of action piloting the #88 JRM car at Bristol this weekend?
Dale Jr. is looking to adopt Chase Elliott’s approach to handling pressure situations
The veteran driver’s nervousness is indeed justified given how his last race at the Thunder Valley ended. During the final 30 laps of the race, the #88 Chevy had electrical issues beneath the steering column, which caused a fire in his cockpit. As a result, he had to end his night with a DNF finish in the 30th spot.
Now add the parallel context that this weekend’s race could be his last NASCAR race. It only adds to the pressure of delivering his very best. So how does Dale Earnhardt Jr. deal with these demands? The answer lies with Chase Elliott’s nonchalant approach of looking at these situations and pressure races as opportunities. One that helped him clinch the Cup Series championship in 2020.
“Some of us look at that and go; that’s more pressure. And others look at it and go—that’s an opportunity, right? Chase Elliott, he gets to Phoenix for his first finals…I’m sitting there in my mind thinking, Man, I’d be sweating bullets. I’d be so nervous, so I don’t know how these drivers when they get to the final race at Phoenix. How do they manage the pressure, and they asked him about that, and he said, Pressure man, this is an opportunity.” Dale Jr. explained this on the DJD special segment, Ask Jr.
He even laid down the list of things he is expecting from his crew for the race at Bristol. “I wanna have fun, whoever it is that I’m racing. I don’t wanna get pushed around, and I don’t want to get pi–ed off. There’s a lot of boxes I wanna check and some I don’t want to check, and when at the end of the night it’s hey, alright, we came here to do what we did and had fun doing it.”
via Getty
Jr. did finish the Miami Homestead race with a top 5 finish last year. So, he knows that his team is well equipped to deliver the goods when they are up against the wall.
Same setup as last year’s Bristol race for the #88 JRM team
Teams and drivers are often conflicted with the idea of tuning their race setup or going with the tried and tested approach. In Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s case, his #88 JRM Chevy was arguably the winning race car at Bristol last year. Had it not been for the freak fire incident, Jr. could’ve clinched his first Xfinity Series win since 2016 at Martinsville.
However, with a redemption dream race in sight, the 49-year-old driver is banking on the same set-up as last year. “We are bringing back the same car as last year. Totally stripped and rebuilt. Hope it handles as well. See ya in a week.” He shared this update with the race fans via his X account.
Nothing but the best will be expected from the #88 JRM team this weekend at Bristol in what could be Dale Jr.’s last NASCAR race. While it does sound as if he is retiring for good, the veteran driver will still compete in late-model races. Something, which he has done more regularly since taking the co-ownership of z-MAX CARS Tour.
