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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Hellmann’s Chevrolet, stands next to his car after the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
via Getty
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Hellmann’s Chevrolet, stands next to his car after the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Earlier, Dale Earnhardt Jr made his racing comeback, to the delight of his fans. Of course, it was not in any NASCAR-affiliated race, because the season is over. Instead, he competed in a Late Model Stock Car race at the Florence Motor Speedway. Sadly, he did not win the race, but he had fun, nevertheless. As it happened, he ultimately finished 9th in the race, but he was happy about the entire experience.
Still grinning ear to ear from driving in that Late Model Stock race last weekend @FlorenceMSpdwy. Fun from the green to the checkered. The only bad part was it had to end.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 23, 2022
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I confessed that he was still so thrilled about racing at the Florence Motor Speedway. Although he had fun from the green flag to the chequered flag, he was bummed that it had to end. That was apparently his only regret about the Late Model Stock Car race.
READ MORE: Dale Earnhardt Jr Labelled “That Guy” by Fans After Hilariously Embarrassing Incident
How did the race play out for Dale Earnhardt Jr?
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To be perfectly honest, the entire race weekend was a heck of an adventure for Dale Jr. Firstly, he had a rough time during the time trials, which resulted in him starting near the back of the field. Things got worse when he got caught up in two incidents, for which he got sent to the rear of the field. There were a couple more incidents, but he managed to avoid them by driving onto the dirt. Despite all the shenanigans, he even challenged for the win before settling for ninth place.
He said, “A lot of boxes got checked for that race. Had plenty of race car to win. Just didn’t have my head on straight those last 20 laps. It dawned on me that we had a good shot to run second. (Mason Diaz) looked like he was going to win it. His car was super-fast, but he used a lot of it trying to get back there, but probably still had a little more car that we did. But I thought, ‘wow, we really got a shot to run second’ and then all that happened.”
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One thing is for sure, Dale Jr. proved that he never really lost his competitive spirit. So in 2023, when he eventually makes his annual one-off Xfinity Series cameo, he could be a strong contender for a good finish.
WATCH THIS STORY: Dale Earnhardt Jr Provides Much-Needed Clarification on Victim Jordan Anderson’s Burns to a Confused NASCAR Audience
