Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still mostly retired from NASCAR these days but is still good for a handful of driving appearances between the Xfinity Series and Late Model Stock Cars.
Earnhardt will be racing in the latter this weekend, making a rare start in the CARS Tour, on Saturday night at Goodyear All American Speedway in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Earnhardt co-owns the CARS Tour alongside fellow NASCAR luminaries Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Justin Marks.
Since making his return to Late Model Stock Cars in 2022 at North Wilkesboro, Earnhardt is good for five or six starts per season, usually at North Wilkesboro and at Florence Motor Speedway. This is actually the first time that Earnhardt has ever raced at the coastal Carolina bullring.
It will be his third start in the CARS Tour, driving his No. 3 out of the JR Motorsports stable, with his previous appearances coming at Wilkesboro the past two years.
“I’m a huge fan of the CARS Tour and local short-track racing,” Earnhardt said. “The competition, the tracks, and the drivers are some of the best around. These regional series are vital to the quality of racing you see at the top level – it’s the heartbeat of motorsports in North America.”
The CARS Tour is one of the most prestigious short track touring series in the country and is simultaneously a launching pad for NASCAR careers while also serving as a home base of sorts to numerous veteran drivers.
Josh Berry, Corey Heim, Todd Gilliland and Layne Riggs all draw the start of their careers to the CARS Tour.
The race starts at 7:00 p.m. and it will air live on the FloRacing streaming platform.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.