“We will not reach the lowest point of the route”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make his first and final Xfinity Series appearance this season at the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday.

Before qualifying, Earnhardt talked about the challenges Bristol presents this year, as opposed to last year when he led 47 laps before a mechanical issue ended his evening early.

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“The track is completely different from last year, the car is really clattering, jumping around front and back,” said Earnhardt NBC Sports. “I felt like I had to understeer the car a lot more this year because otherwise it would slide through the middle with the rear or the front. We won't have the bottom part of the track this year. Last year I enjoyed driving down the bottom and I don't know if that will be there too. I was surprised last night that the tracks sagged like that but we'll see how it goes.

“We have to go where it's fastest, and hopefully that's at the bottom and the top.”

The 49-year-old has been active in Late Model Stock Car racing this year, but it's been a while since he sat in a stock car again. NASCAREarnhardt, a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will be making his 147th Xfinity Series start, but his first appearance at Homestead-Miami since October 2023.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to get up to speed in Bristol with car No. 88

Even for an experienced driver like Earnhardt, Bristol is no easy task.

“You have to learn as much as you can from every corner very quickly and process as much as you can. Hopefully you do a good job and don't slip up tonight,” Earnhardt said.

The No. 88 Chevrolet has been fast this year, no matter who's behind the wheel. Connor Zilisch won his Xfinity Series debut last Saturday at Watkins Glen, and Earnhardt hopes that speed carries over to Bristol.

“Had a great car last year. Really, really great car,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said at the Bristol Media Center. “And it's no surprise that the '88 was fast every time they put it on the track, no matter who drove it this year. So I'm pretty confident the car will be good again. It's the same car that was driven last year. They took it home, took it apart, put it back together and nobody's driven it since. So I'm hoping it drives as well as it did last year.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals plans for 2025 Xfinity Series

For fans of the 15-time Cup Series Most Popular Driver, the main goal is simply to witness Earnhardt's swan song in NASCAR. Earnhardt has competed in at least one Xfinity Series race every year since 2001, but said Friday that he doesn't plan on racing in 2025.

“Well, I don't plan on racing next year,” Earnhardt said. “It would be foolish to say I'm never going to race again because I don't know it well enough to back out. I'll probably miss it next year and I'm absolutely willing to sign up because it could benefit JR Motorsports. I have to remind the fans and people who follow us that I run this race and have run it the last few years because it benefits JR Motorsports so much.

“It's a package deal where Hellmann's and Unilever have placed their logos on Justin's. [Allgaier] car and it helped complete the car. And I don't have to compete next year, so maybe I just won't do it. And I'll miss it terribly, regret not competing, and probably find a place somewhere in 2026 where I can compete in the Xfinity Series again. But right now I have no plans.”