{"id":89402,"date":"2025-08-17T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T11:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/89402\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T11:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T11:31:13","slug":"dale-earnhardt-jr-convinced-hes-set-new-record-after-nascar-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/89402\/","title":{"rendered":"Dale Earnhardt Jr. convinced he’s set ‘new record’ after NASCAR return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned his iconic No. 8 Budweiser paint scheme Saturday night at Anderson Speedway, turning the zMAX CARS Tour South Carolina race into a nostalgia trip 8,806 days in the making\"DaleDale Earnhardt Jr looks into the crowd(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought back his legendary No. 8 Budweiser paint scheme Saturday night at Anderson Speedway, transforming the zMAX CARS Tour South Carolina race into a nostalgic journey 8,806 days in the making.<\/p>\n

The classic Budweiser USA Baseball design, among NASCAR’s most iconic looks, hit the asphalt for the first time since Earnhardt Jr. last wheeled it in 2001.<\/p>\n

The qualifying session itself focused more on memories than hardware. Earnhardt Jr. secured 22nd position in the 125-lap feature with a 15.167-second lap time. Hudson, North Carolina’s Thomas Beane claimed the top starting spot.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Dale Earnhardt Jr has had last laugh since feud with dad’s widow Teresa turned ugly<\/a>READ MORE: Chase Elliott crash has big NASCAR championship consequences<\/a><\/p>\n

But trust Junior to spin the outcome into some comedy, suggesting it was a very familiar scenario.<\/p>\n

“I think I set a new record today for a driver who has qualified 22nd the most,” he posted on social media, blending wit with the humility that’s made him beloved among NASCAR supporters worldwide, reports the Express US<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No one reached a definitive conclusion by evening’s close, but the playful exchange had supporters chuckling as loudly as they were applauding. One enthusiast playfully hinted that the racing icon might be referencing his iRacing statistics, particularly with NASCAR’s forthcoming video game, slated for an October launch.<\/p>\n

Dale Jr. has wielded considerable influence in the title’s creation, shaping its gameplay, music selection, career progression, and additional features. The game’s reveal has thrilled NASCAR enthusiasts while disappointing certain other racers who failed to secure spots on the final lineup.<\/p>\n

\"DaleDale Earnhardt Jr. was back in a race car at Anderson(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

For the spectators at Anderson, the outcome was irrelevant. The real thrill was witnessing Earnhardt Jr. back in the driver’s seat, even if just for one more night, sporting the same paint scheme that marked his rise to fame.<\/p>\n

Enthusiastic fans queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the two-time Daytona 500 champion, who is now a broadcaster, team owner, and son of seven-time Cup Series legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. , as they reminisced about a bygone NASCAR era.<\/p>\n

The CARS Late Model Stock Tour qualifying race took place just hours before the sold-out Cup Series lit up the Richmond Raceway.<\/p>\n

For many fans, the smaller track had already outshone the top NASCAR stars. Earnhardt Jr. will be aiming to add another trophy to his collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned his iconic No. 8 Budweiser paint scheme Saturday night at Anderson Speedway, turning the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-89402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}