Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his planned entry in next year’s spring NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Martinsville Speedway on April 8 on his Dale Jr. Download podcast Tuesday (Oct. 26).
“I love short tracks. People ask me all the time, ‘What was your favorite track?’ I either say Martinsville or Bristol,” Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast. “When it gets down to it, what type of racing do I love to do? It’s short-track racing.”
BIG NEWS.@DaleJr just got us hyped for '22 ? pic.twitter.com/GEwvVY5Onn
— Martinsville Speedway (@MartinsvilleSwy) October 26, 2021
The two-time Xfinity Series champion has earned three top fives in four series starts since his retirement from full-time Cup Series racing in 2017.
While it will be Earnhardt Jr.’s first career Xfinity Series start at the 0.5-mile short track, the 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner has one win and 13 top fives over the course of his Cup Series career.
The effort will be sponsored by Unilever, Earnhardt Jr. said. His car number for the event will be the No. 88, according to a release from JR Motorsports.
Unilever will also sponsor Justin Allgaier for six races next year.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT
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