Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always been an advocate of grassroots racing and is particularly a fan of short-track racing.
After retiring from full-time racing in NASCAR, Junior has been actively involved with grassroots racing as a driver as well as an owner. In 2023, he became the co-owner of the zMAX CARS Tour alongside Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Marks.
Plus, he actively talks about different racing formats on his podcast ‘Dale Jr. Download’.
In a recent episode, he announced his return to he broadcast booth for the upcoming CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. And he is not alone, he has two other legendary broadcasters joining him in the box.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Return to Broadcasting
On his podcast, Junior began the segment by alerting the room and his audience about a big CARS Tour announcement. He said:
“Okay, this is a big damn deal. So, pay attention. Don’t be skipping!”
The NASCAR Hall of Famer revealed that the CARS Tour will have its race on May 15th at North Wilkesboro, just four days before the NASCAR All-Star race on the same track.
However, Junior added a layer to it. He mentioned that the late model portion of the tournament was scheduled right after the Cup Series qualifying race, and FS1 was one of the broadcasters for the contest.
Although FloRacing would cover the event live too, it won’t have Junior, Kevin Harvick, and Eric Brennan in the booth.
“If you want to watch it on Flo, it’ll still be there on Flo, but also you’ll be able to watch it on FS1. Me and Harvick are going to be in the booth. ”
Dale Jr. continued that with FS1 and FloRacing as the broadcasters, and the All-Star race right around the corner, it was a huge step for the CARS Tour. He could barely contain his excitement and said, “Being in the booth with Kevin, talking about our series. I can’t wait. I just can’t believe it.”
Junior then detailed the schedule for the weekend, which was divided up between different categories.
This prompted Junior’s co-host, TJ Majors, to recall his time racing in the 2003 NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series at Charlotte. He said:
“When I ran the Dash Series in ’03, we ran before the All-Star race at Charlotte, and that was a huge crowd. It was cool.”
Dale Jr. then urged his audience and fans to support his venture by tuning in for the hour-and-a-half-long race. He also revealed to his viewers the best way they could show him their backing.
“If you’re if you’re wanting to support short-track racing and the CARS Tour, the Z-Max CARS Tour, tuning in is the best way you can do that,” he said.
While it is a lesser-known fact, Dale Jr. was one of the few personalities who played a critical role in reviving the Nort Wilkesboro Speedway.
He started with digitally preserving the historic track via iRacing for the eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series held during the pandemic. His efforts later translated to the physical restoration of the track, where Junior was a key figure as well, who, with his influence, helped raise funds for the task.