Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing in a stock car is always a lovely sight. The 2-time Xfinity Series champion made a return to the tourney this weekend, making Bristol an eventful day. Driving the beautiful #88 with the classic blue and yellow Hellmann paint, he recreated some moments from his days of racing in the Cup Series. Junior led the race at one point and ran strong despite an unfortunate end to his outing.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver John Hunter Nemechek uses this opportunity to get a gesture of gratitude from Earnhardt after receiving help from his side.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sends his thanks to Joe Gibbs’ driver

The Food City 300 was genuinely exhilarating. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a major attraction for the crowd, returning to the series after a long time. The pressure was incredible with the fans gathered to watch him race again. Thankfully, he delivered. But with 30 laps left in the race, Earnhardt’s car seemed to give off smoke. Well, there is no smoke without a fire.

Junior was quick to act upon it as his race was cut short due to the fire that erupted from his car. From what he understands, he was capable of winning the whole thing at one point in time when he was running strong in the lead.

Joe Gibbs’ rising star John Hunter Nemechek’s pit crew was present by the trackside as Junior continued to struggle in the middle of the increasing heat. Immediately jumping on to the car to help the legend out, the crew members pulled him out of danger.

Owing to this, Nemechek posted a clip of a conversation between them over text where Junior acknowledges the help from John’s pit crew.

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While it’s unclear if the video represents the exact words shared between the drivers, there is no mistaking Nemechek’s enthusiasm. With proper editing afoot, the 26-year-old pulled out all the stops to receive his gratitude.

Of course, the gratitude was well deserved. A few hours after the debacle, Dale explained how the situation unfolded.

Jr explains how the fire spread through his car

After the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pretty disappointed with how abruptly his race ended.

Explaining his situation that led to a spot of bother, he briefed, “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… So I pulled over by the pit stall, and some of those guys are pretty alert, and they helped me out.“

Junior’s eagerness to win is always great to see. Even after securing more than 50 wins in the Cup Series and countless more outside of it, his hunger is certainly admirable. He voiced his displeasure over losing important places in an otherwise memorable outing, saying, “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 I had fun.”

Well, at least he is safe from danger and we can hope to see him racing pretty soon.

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