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5 things to know about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s upcoming lone race of the 2021 season

It’s that time of year again when Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the track as a driver for one race during the second-tier Xfinity Series season.

The 46-year-old soon-to-be NASCAR Hall of Famer will compete at Richmond Raceway on Saturday in the Go Bowling 250 for his lone race of the year for his own team, JR Motorsports. And it’ll be a very busy day for him.

There’s no way of knowing if this will be his last race ever or if he’ll continue with this one-off tradition. After finishing fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his one race of the 2020 season, Earnhardt said he needed to evaluate whether he’s helping his team or not by jumping back behind the wheel. He said he still enjoys race, but he’s “certainly” not interested in running more than one race a year.

Well, the good news for JR Nation is he’s back for at least this season, so here are five things to know about Earnhardt’s one race of 2021.

1
Dale Jr.'s car and paint scheme for Richmond Raceway

Back in May, Earnhardt and JR Motorsports unveiled his No. 8 Chevrolet, and the 9/11 United For America paint scheme is a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack with the race falling on the 20th anniversary.

Here’s a look at Earnhardt’s No. 8 car for the Richmond race:

In the video announcing the paint scheme and its tribute, Dale Jr. said in part:

“Today we face new challenges that test the resolve of our nation, which means the lessons of 9/11 are as important today as they were 20 years ago. Those lessons — to unite, to take care of each other, support our frontline heroes and commit to helping our communities recover, rebuild and reimagine their futures.”

JR Motorsports recently expanded on the significance of the paint scheme:

The 9/11 United For America Chevrolet pays tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on its 20th anniversary this Saturday. The hood showcases the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s Tribute in Light, which signifies the four locations targeted in the attacks (World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 site in Shanksville, Pa).

2
Dale Jr. will start toward the back of the pack

Unfortunately for Earnhardt, he (and the other drivers) won’t have the opportunity to qualify for the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond. Because challenges related to racing during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most race weekends this season do not include qualifying or practice sessions.

So not only will this be Earnhardt’s first race since June of 2020 (at Homestead-Miami Speedway), but he’ll also start 30th out of 40 cars, and that was determined based on NASCAR’s formula.

In lieu of qualifying, starting lineups are based on these weighted factors:

  • 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
  • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
  • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

So from the 15th row, Earnhardt has his work cut out for him to get to the front of the field at the short track.

3
Earnhardt basically will go straight from the Richmond track up to the broadcast booth

(Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

Dale Jr. won’t have too much time to celebrate or sulk about his performance in the Xfinity Series race because he and his NBC Sports broadcast team will have to cover the Cup Series race later on Saturday.

The Go Bowling 250 is set to start at 2:30 p.m. ET, and then the Cup race, the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

It’ll be a busy day for Earnhardt…

4
...but he's OK with that

In June, For The Win spoke with Earnhardt about a variety of topics, including his quick turnaround from the driver’s seat to the broadcast booth. When asked if he’ll be going straight from one job to another, he said: “I guess I will.”

He further explained:

“I don’t know these things when I sign up to race in the Xfinity Series. I don’t know exactly what the schedule looks like, so I might not have chose that particular race, had I known all that when I did. But it’ll be fine.

“And it’ll be good because when I get into booth, I can say, ‘Hey, I was just out there! This is what I was dealing with. This is what the track’s like. This is what the drivers can expect.’

“So that’s always helpful to have some recent experience behind the wheel when you’re in the broadcast booth because you bring a little more credibility, I think, to the to the viewers.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on why he loves diving into histories of old and abandoned race tracks

5
Dale Jr.'s history at Richmond Raceway

(Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

In the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt made 36 starts at Richmond, and he accumulated three wins, 10 top-5 finishes and 14 top-10s. But remember, he’s competing this weekend in the second-tier Xfinity Series, not Cup.

In eight Xfinity starts at Richmond, Earnhardt has four checkered flags, winning the most recent one in 2016. He also has six top-5 finishes and seven top-10s. His most recent race at Richmond was in 2018 — the first time he did a one-off Xfinity race since retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 2017 season — and he started second and finished fourth.

In his other post-retirement Xfinity races, Dale Jr. finished fifth at Darlington Raceway in 2019 and then fifth at Homestead in 2020.

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