WATCH: Kyle Busch Bumps Dale Earnhardt Jr in the Pace Car

In 2018, Dale Earnhardt Jr was back in the NASCAR scene and on the racetrack. However, he played a different role this time, namely as the Safety Car driver. Ahead of the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dale Jr hopped into the pace car to lead the field.

At the time, Kyle Busch was on pole position for the race, ahead of Kevin Harvick. Apparently, Busch got slightly impatient, so he decided to be cheeky and bump into Earnhardt Jr. Obviously, there was no damage, and this little act was all in good fun. Needless to say, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver laughed it off.

Speaking about the experience, Dale Jr said, “Some good-looking race cars back there, and it’s a great feeling. There is so much energy as you get closer and closer to dropping that green flag.

“I’ve had so many opportunities to see this from so many different perspectives.

“I want to thank Indy and Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch for giving me a bump on the back straight.”

How did the race pan out after the Dale Earnhardt Jr cameo?

Sadly for Kyle Busch, his pole position did not last very long. As the race wore on, the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver steadily tumbled down the order. By the end of the first stage, he found himself down in fifth place behind Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson.

Things took a turn for the worse when Stage 2 concluded and he was nowhere in the Top 10. In the meantime, Matt Kenseth took the win. The good news was that Busch was able to recover and eventually finished the race in eighth place, while Brad Keselowski won the race, defeating Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin.

Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, and Jame McMurray all finished ahead of the pole man. Finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr certainly got his money’s worth and enjoyed an exciting race.