Dale Earnhardt Jr. shows off burnt firesuit after catching on fire in Food City 300 at Bristol

Dale Earnhardt Jr. got behind the wheel once again during Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol, and it was a sight to behold.

The immensely popular driver held his own with some of the Xfinity Series’ best. Throughout the night, Earnhardt Jr. was among the fastest on the track. However, it all came to a screeching halt, when Earnhardt Jr. had to deal with a fire inside his car.

It ended his night prematurely, and even left burns on his fire suit, as he showed off following exiting the car to The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck.

“Hey Jeff, look at this shit. I was on fire, brother!” pic.twitter.com/tefxKANPPh

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 16, 2023

Those are pretty gnarly. After the race, Earnhardt Jr. spoke with NASCAR on NBC to explain what was going through his mind when he realized he was on fire.

"We got a hole in my pants."@DaleJr on the fire that ended his night early, and the fun he had at @ItsBristolBaby. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ng8DR5XL4s

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 16, 2023

“We got a hole in my pants,” Earnhardt Jr. joked, showing off his battle wounds. “Somehow the shift control caught on fire. Saw some smoke in the car. I smelt it, and I said, ‘I hope that’s not me,’ but that last lap, I saw a big fire ball down in the tunnel, in the car. I felt it, obviously. My uniform was burning up. I was like, I can’t keep going. I’ve got to stop. Usually when you stop, the fires get bigger. So I pulled over by the pit stall, and some of those guys are pretty alert, and they helped me out.

“I hate it. We were going to finish in the top ten, maybe top five. Had a shot at winning it, if the car was going to run good at the end. But trying not to mess nobody’s night up at the same time, it was hard. But I had fun.”

Alas, Earnhardt Jr. went from a top ten finish to finishing P30 due to the flames. Nevertheless, it was awesome to see him behind the wheel once again, but it would’ve been even cooler to see him contend for a win.

At least it wasn’t all bad for Earnhardt Jr., as the car he owns found Victory Lane at Bristol. Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet was victorious on the night, and Earnhardt Jr. got to celebrate in style with him, even riding on the side of the car following the win.

It’s always a treat when Dale Earnhardt Jr. does these one-off races, and it reminds us why he was so popular in the first place. We can’t wait until the next time we get to see him behind the wheel again, and hopefully the fire will stay away in the future.