Dale Earnhardt Jr. lays down the conditions for his return to NASCAR Xfinity Series
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a ton of fun during his return to the Xfinity Series at Bristol over the weekend, but many were left wondering if it was the last time we’d see him behind the wheel in NASCAR.
On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download following the Food City 300, Earnhardt Jr. elaborated on what he’s feeling in the days after the race, and whether any plans for 2025 and beyond and in the works for one of NASCAR’s transcendent personalities.
“Everybody was like, ‘Is this your last one?’ I don’t have any plans,” Earnhardt Jr. revealed. “I like it that way. If I want to run one, I will. If I don’t, I won’t.
“Right now, there’s nothing on the schedule for next year, but knowing me, I’m probably going to go, ‘Man, I missed running.’ When 2025’s over-with — actually, when I’m done broadcasting, and NBC finishes out the year, I’ll probably be sitting there going, ‘I should’ve ran a race. I should’ve ran one of these. Darn it.’ Then, I’ll probably go to Kelly and LW and say, ‘Hey, let’s find one for 2026,’ and I’ll get nervous all over again.”
While 2025 is a question mark at the moment, Earnhardt Jr. relieved some of his fans by adding that he’s not done behind the wheel, but there’s a bevy of factors that he’s going to prioritize over him getting back into the Xfinity Series, even if it’s only for one race.
“I’m sure. I’m not done. ” Earnhardt Jr said, regarding whether he’d return or not. “I want people to remember, I’m racing my late-model. Amy and I sit down at the start of the year and we put the schedule in front of us, and I go, ‘Amy, I want to run this many late-model stock races, and here’s a bunch of races that are interesting to me,’ and we’ll look at what the family has going on, what my work schedule is. Everything else is a priority. Racing, driving a race car, while I love it, is way down on the list. It is. There’s so many other things now in my life that insist on being prioritized above that, and must be.
“So, we take racing and try to fit it into the puzzle that’s built. … If I’m prioritizing driving, I’m going to prioritize driving my late-model over driving that Xfinity car, for me. That’s a selfish thing, whatever, but I want to drive that thing more. If giving up an Xfinity race gets me another late-model race, I’m going to do that, if I can. But if somebody walked in here tomorrow, the phone rang and somebody said, ‘Hey, we want Dale to drive an Xfinity race, and we’ll sponsor one of the other four cars for a package deal, five or ten races,’ we’re doing that. We’re doing that.
“That’s going to check the box, and I’m back at the race track in the Xfinity car. But until that happens, I’m going to mess with this late-model stock car.”
Alas, that’s huge for Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR as a whole, as he brings a different level of popularity to the track when he’s behind the wheel. After racing at tracks like Bristol and Homestead over the last couple of seasons, the NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee might be willing to switch it up next time around, as well.
“I might go to Kansas. That looks pretty fun, running the fence,” Earnhardt Jr. added, regarding whether he’d race at Bristol again or not. “I love running the wall, and that’s why I went to Homestead a couple of times in the past couple years.
“So, Kansas you definitely run the fence. That was a fun one, back in the day, for me. I remember the last several times we’ve raced there. I mean, I don’t know. We’re just talking.”
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. does indeed return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it’ll always be a can’t-miss event. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later, and some last minute plans get made for 2025.